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Peace Table: 15 years of gathering people around the same table

Published on Monday, 25th of April 2016

What do the Paris peace treaties in 1947 and the Aceh peace agreement signed in Helsinki nearly 60 years later have in common? The table, of course. This mundane piece of furniture provides a surprisingly good insight into conflict resolution.

The most important decisions in life are made around a table. Family dinners, meetings at work… and crafting peace in fragile societies. As in life, also in peace processes, we sit at many different tables. Numerous tables with various combinations of people are needed on the journey towards a stable society. In 2015 the peace table was at the heart of our anniversary campaign. The concept was designed by Mirum agency.

ALL THINGS REVOLVE AROUND THE PEACE TABLE

CMI (Crisis Management Initiative) strives to build trust between conflicting sides, by bringing them together around the same table and helping them find common ground for constructive solutions.

No solution is possible unless the conflicting parties can be brought together peacefully. Wherever peace deals emerge, there is a table of some shape or form, standing straight, firm and level. The peace table provides reliable and impartial support for joint solutions, just like CMI. CMI is an independent Finnish peace broker that has played a key role in many challenging peace negotiations for 15 years now.

Peace mediation is an integral part of responsible foreign and security policy. Peace and stability are prerequisites for any societal development be it education, health care or economy. However, peace is not a quick fix. Achieving peace requires, above all, long-term efforts and resilience. Although greatly publicised, the actual negotiations and the famous handshakes are only the tip of the iceberg. Beneath the surface the overall situation must be charted, local parties must be heard, and a thorough conflict analysis must be prepared by experienced experts. The official negotiations are also always preceded by countless unofficial contacts and discussions around a variety of tables.

Violence and war do not solve conflicts. Every lasting peace requires a mediated and negotiated solution. Peace, with the necessary foundations for sustaining it, is patiently and painstakingly built at many levels of society. Such vital work takes willpower, time, and dedication. In all these areas, CMI has proven its mettle.

CREATE HARMONY AT WORK WITH A PEACE TABLE

Help your company to participate in peace building by investing in a Peace Table! This investment will be the focus for fair, constructive and sustainable solutions at your workplace also. The high-quality tables are made by the Finnish furniture manufacturer Isku. Isku will donate part of the profit from every Peace Table sold to CMI, making your purchase a valuable contribution to peace.

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