For worldwide peace – The Civil Peace Service
Berlin series of talks
„Kaleidoscope Peace Work – Civil society engagement in crisis regions“
The Civil Peace Service (ZFD) is a globally unique instrument of civil conflict resolution abroad. Founded
as a civil society initiative at the end of the 1990s, the Civil Peace Service has been a successfully
running project for more than 10 years. It is financed by the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation
and Development (BMZ) and constantly developed further in close cooperation with civil society
organisations.
The importance of the ZFD for German engagement in crisis and conflict regions worldwide has prompted
Steps for Peace and the zivik program of the Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen (ifa) to talk to former
peace experts in the third part of the series of events “Kaleidoscope Peace Work”. Following the event in
March about the role of civil society in peacebuilding with Dr. Thania Paffenholz and the event in June
about the role of the media in news reporting about peace with Michael Gleich, the event this time
focused on people who are working as professional peace consultants.
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On 27 November 2012, in front of an audience of about 50 people at the Humboldt-Viadrina School of
Governance, Cornelia Brinkmann, director of Steps for Peace, discussed with former peace experts Kerstin
Kastenholz (Mediationsgemeinschaft) and Sven Reuter (Forum ZFD) about their personal journey in this
line of work as well as the challenges of working in the field.
Kerstin Kastenholz vividly described her three years as a peace expert in Peru and Cambodia. There she
worked for the German Development Service (DED) as a consultant for local organisations on the topic of
dealing with the past. She was motivated to join the Civil Peace Service by her work on the issue of
dealing with the past in Peru during her studies as well as her final thesis on Peruvian truth
commissions. She emphasized the importance of a clear definition of a peace expert’s role with regard to
the local partner organisation. Ms Kastenholz sees herself as a coach and consultant for the local experts
and organisations, aiming at strengthening their competences and projects and giving impulses as an
external actor. Today Ms Kastenholz uses the knowledge she gained in her project work for educational
work in Germany as well as for her work as a freelance trainer in civil conflict resolution.
In his talk with Cornelia Brinkmann, Sven Reuter discussed the conceptual side of the Civil Peace
Service. As part of the team, which established the Civil Peace Service department at the DED in the
early 2000s, he was able to shape the development and professionalization of this instrument. He
pointed out certain milestones in the development of the ZFD: the start of the public financing, the
development of a first set of standards for this field of work as well as the 10-year anniversary. Mr Reuter
emphasized how the institutionalisation and professionalization of this field of work as well as the
accompanying organisational structures have created more space for the design of the content of
projects.
The discussion with the audience showed the variety of approaches within the ZFD and the
exceptionalism of the program due to the cooperation of state actors (BMZ) with civil society. Following
the talk, participants had the possibility to chat over a drink and get more information about different
aspects of the Civil Peace Service. An information desk of the Consortium Civil Peace Service provided
information about career paths and opportunities with the Civil Peace Service. The exhibitions “We don’t
shy away from conflicts” and „Eyes on Darkness“ illustrated the work of the Civil Peace Service in the
field as well as the conceptual background of its work.
Organizers
Steps for Peace – Institute for Peacebuilding is a humanitarian non-profit organisation that promotes
peace work especially in crisis regions through education, research, international understanding and
development cooperation. www.steps-for-peace.org
The zivik program of the Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen e.V. (ifa) supports and advises international
peace projects in crisis regions and initiates networking of state and non-state actors. www.ifa.de/zivik
You can find further information about this series of talks at www.steps-for-peace.org.
Report by Felix Koltermann
Translation by Katharina Waczek
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