By Petra van der Ham, Managing Director UPEACE The Hague.
The University for Peace (UPEACE) has been founded in 1980 by the General Assembly of the United Nations in order to give substance to its peace and security objectives. UPEACE fosters strong ties with various components of the UN-system, among which the UN Secretariat. The mission of UPEACE is to provide an international institute for graduate peace education for humanity.
The headquarters of UPEACE are situated in Costa Rica, with its own campus and various facilities for students, employees and visitors. At this international and multicultural academic institution for peace and peace related issues, applied research and education go hand in hand. At UPEACE, experts are brought together with students from all over the world, in order to educate a new generation of peace negotiators and peace builders. They are being trained to bring peace to a global level, to manage conflicts and to uphold human rights. Mobilizing worldwide support, awareness and education of the (world) population play an important role. Over the past years UPEACE has relied on a mix of resident and visiting faculty members to teach its face-to-face courses, among whom Jan Pronk, former Dutch Minister for Development Cooperation, and Bert Koenders, Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Throughout its almost 35 years of existence, UPEACE has developed a range of Master- and capacity building programmes in the field of peacebuilding and conflict resolution, and has provided courses and trainings for students as well as for professionals and practitioners from across the world.
Currently UPEACE offers three Master programmes, each with various specialisations: 1) “Environment and Development”, 2) “Peace and Conflict Studies”, and 3) “International Law and Human Rights”. Each year approximately 150 Master students from some 60 different countries spend a year at the UPEACE campus; another 150 students study at the affiliated centres.
UPEACE The Hague
UPEACE has centres in Addis Ababa, Belgrade, Manila and, since 2012, in The Hague. The Hague: “International City of Peace and Justice”, hosts numerous institutes in the field of (international) law, but still relatively few in the specific fields of peace issues and peace education. The Centre in The Hague, called UPEACE The Hague, has a small office in the Academy Building of the Peace Palace. UPEACE The Hague focuses on education and research in the field of peace issues, in close cooperation with renowned academic and policy-oriented institutes in The Hague region. It provides, for instance, educational services (“peace education”) to The Hague University of Applied Sciences, organizes conferences, workshops and lectures, and performs peace research. An important characteristic is the emphasis on interaction between theory and practice, with a strong policy-oriented character. This combination makes its educational supply attractive to students, academics and professionals alike, building on the existing knowledge and expertise of the worldwide network of the University for Peace in Costa Rica.
For the time being UPEACE The Hague focuses on two programmes: “Peace and Conflict Studies”, and “Water and Peace”. Recently preparations have begun for a new programme on “Business and Peace”.
If you wish to receive a copy of the Annual Report 2014 please send an e-mail to info@upeace.nl.
For further information on UPEACE and UPEACE The Hague see: www.upeace.org and www.upeace.nl.
