1. INTERNATIONAL PEACE BUREAU
Nobel Peace Prize 1910 - 2010
100th anniversary
“MAKING PEACE“
A photographic exhibition dedicated to the global peace movement and the
organisations and people - many of whom are based in Geneva - who work for a
safer and more sustainable world.
IMPORTANT: This event will mark the centenary of IPB’s Nobel Peace Prize.
www.ipb.org
International peace conference, exhibition and award
Geneva, Switzerland. 17 June - 17 July 2010
2. • Established in 1891, IPB is the oldest
international peace movement federation in the
world.
• Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1910 - 2010
will mark the centenary of IPB’s Nobel Peace
Prize.
• Thirteen of its officials have also been
recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize, a total
unequaled by any other organization.
• IPB has United Nations ‘ICOSOC’
Consultative Status since 1977 and is the
Secretariat for the NGO Committee for
Disarmament (Geneva).
• Federating 300+ member organizations in
over 70 countries.
• A long record of campaigning and public
education on disarmament, peace and related
issues.
International Peace Bureau
IPB board meeting, Bern, Switzerland 1899
The IPB is truly a global network, bringing together expertise and campaigning experience in a common cause.
3. The IPB was founded in 1891-92, as a result of consultations at the Universal Peace Congresses, large
gatherings held annually to bring together the national peace societies that had gradually developed, mainly in
Europe and North America, from the end of the Napoleonic Wars onwards. The representatives of the Peace
Societies felt that the movement needed a permanent office to coordinate the activities of the national
associations and to organise the Universal Peace Congresses. Thus was born the 'Permanent International
Peace Bureau', as it was known ('Permanent' was later dropped from the title).
The seat of the new organisation was Berne, the capital of neutral Switzerland. The first President of the IPB was
the Dane Fredrik Bajer and its first Secretary-General the Swiss Elie Ducommun. Ducommun was later
succeeded by another Swiss, Albert Gobat. Both of them, and Fredrik Bajer, won the Nobel Peace Prize.
Another Nobel laureate was the colourful Austrian countess Bertha von Suttner, who was a friend of Alfred Nobel
and encouraged him to establish the Peace Prize. She was the author of the celebrated book (and film) Lay
Down your Arms! It should be noted that between 1901 and 1982 thirteen of IPB's officers individually received
the Nobel Peace Prize, as well as the Bureau itself in 1910.
During these early years the IPB was more or less the only international peace movement. It took positions, not
only in favour of disarmament, but also on the various international conflicts of the day. Its basic ideological
approach has been described as bourgeois pacifism, i.e. a heavy emphasis on the development of international
law, disarmament and the peaceful settlement of conflicts. Von Suttner and others entered into dialogue with
Tsar Nicholas II, urging him to establish an International Peace Conference, an idea that eventually came to
fruition at The Hague in 1899 and 1907. IPB was active in promoting the idea of the establishment of a League of
Nations and an International Court.
Early years of the IPB
4. International peace conference
Original headquarters of the League of Nations named after US
President Woodrow Wilson and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who
played an important role in the establishment of the League of
Nations during the 1919 Paris Peace Conference after World War
I. Today the building houses the Office of the High Commissioner
for Human Rights (OHCHR).
The IPB intends to organise an international
conference entitled “Peace in the 21st Century“
to be held in the Palais Wilson in June 2010.
This conference will bring together important
Geneva based organisations (such as UNHCHR,
ICRC, WILPF, WCC, ICBL, Green Cross…) as
well as other NGO’s and IGO’s. Attended by
numerous Nobel Peace Laureates, politicians and
personalities including Michael Douglas and
George Clooney, we hope to be able to screen
the conference live to the Geneva public via an
outside screen.
Organised by the IPB, the conference will take a
look back at the history of the peace movement,
but more importantly discuss present challenges
such as poverty, climate change and military
spending and try to foresee (and find solutions to)
growing threats to peace such as conflicts over
energy and other natural resources; climate
change and the spread of weapons.
Palais Wilson, Geneva
6. Aim & message
“It is possible to prevent
the scourge of war and
create a more just and
peaceful future - if we
are prepared to learn
the lessons of history
and apply proven
peacemaking
knowledge. “
Kofi A. Annan,
Former Secretary-General of the United
Nations and Nobel Peace Prize laureate 2001
This exhibition sets out to show - through photography and
accompanying texts - why the global peace movement is
important and how it has shaped the history of the modern
world.
The exhibition will also explain how the ideas of peace and non-
violence have changed notably during the latter half of the 20th
century; and how since the end of the Cold War regional
conflicts and poverty have increased in importance especially in
the developing world. Presenting the different ways in which civil
society attempts to influence decisions, the exhibition will
identify possible future areas of conflict, such as resource wars,
and sketch out solutions that are being proposed.
Whilst also mentioning the individual work of outstanding
individuals such as Bertha von Suttner, Jane Addams, Simone
Weil, Mahatma Gandhi, Bertrand Russell, Woodrow Wilson,
Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, Mikhaïl Gorbachev, and
more recent figures like Kofi Annan, Shirin Ebadi, Wangari
Maathai, Al Gore and Muhammad Yunus, we hope that this
exhibition will inspire the public to make their own contribution to
peace and non-violence: sometimes the contribution of one
person can make all the difference.
7. Presentation
Whilst there will be photographs showing major
events that have marked our history such as
the fall of the Berlin Wall, it is not our intention
to produce an exhibition that focuses upon the
events themselves. Rather, the exhibition will
focus upon ways in which civil society
effectively works for peace. For example when
describing the work of the American social
reformer Jane Addams, we will also look at the
history of the women’s peace movement and
how it evolved to involve contemporary groups
such as the ‘Code Pink’.
Through the diverse content of the photographs
we will see just how wide-ranging the peace
movement really is; encompassing not only
opposition to war and violence, but also wider
themes such as human rights, social justice,
racial equality, and climate change.
Jane Addams and fellow delegates bisembark from SS
Noordham to attend the 1st International Congress of
Woman in The Hague.It also markedthe establishment of
the WomensIntern
ational Leaguefor Peaceand Freedo (WILPF).
Jane Addams and fellow delegates bisembark from SS
Noordham to attend the 1st International Congress of
Woman in The Hague.It also markedthe establishment of
the Womens International League for Peace and Freedo
(WILPF). Jane Addams and fellow delegates bisembark
from SS Noordham to attend the 1st International
Congress of Woman in The Hague. It also marked the
establishment of the Womens International League for
Peace and Freedo (WILPF).Jane Addams and fellow
delegates bisembark from SS Noordham to attend the 1st
International Congress of Woman in The Hague. It also
marked the establishment of the Womens International
League forPeace and Freedo (WILPF).Jane Addams and
fellow delegates bisembark from SS Noordham to attend
the 1st International Congress of Womanin The Hague. It
also marked the establishment of the Womens
International League for Peace and Freedo (WILPF).
Jane Addams and fellow delegates bisembark from SS
Noordham to attend the 1st International Congress of
Woman in The Hague.It also markedthe establishment of
the Womens International League for Peace and Freedo
(WILPF).
Jane Addams and fellow delegates bisembark from SS
Noordham to attend the 1st International Congress of
Woman in The Hague. It also marked the establishment of
the Womens International League for Peace and Freedo
(WILPF).
Jane Addams and fellow delegates bisembark from SS
Noordham to attend the 1st International Congress of
Woman in The Hague.It also markedtheestablishment
Jane Addams and fellow delegates bisembark from SS
Noordham to attend the 1st International Congress of
Woman in The Hague. It also marked the establishment of
the Womens International League for Peace and Freedo
(WILPF).
Jane Addams and fellow delegates bisembark from SS
Noordham to attend the 1st International Congress of
1915 Women’s Peace Movement
Possible panel design
8. Foundation of the International Peace
Bureau as a result of consultations at the
Universal Peace Congresses. The Swiss
politician Eli Ducommun as its first General
Secretary.
1890 - 1900 1910 1920s
1915: Jane Addams and fellow delegates
disembark from SS Noordham to attend the 1st
International Congress of Women in The
Hague. It also marked the establishment of the
Women's International League for Peace and
Freedom (WILPF).
• Possible choice of photographs 1889 - 2010
First-ever series of nationwide people's
movements of non-violent resistance and
civil disobedience, led by Mahatma Gandhi
and the Indian National Congress.
Other subjects:
• IPB awarded Nobel Peace Prize
• US President Woodrow Wilson proposed 14
Points that formed the basis of the terms of the
German surrender at the end of WWI
• Versailles Peace Treaty established the League
of Nations
• Nie wieder Krieg movement, Germany
• IPB organised Franco-German Congress
• International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR)
• Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to
Frédéric Bajer, the first IPB president
• Bertha von Suttner wrote:
‘Lay Down Your Arms’
• The Hague peace conventions
• Scout movement is formed (Girl Guides
1910)
• Geneva Protocol outlawing chemical
warfare
• Permanent Court of Justice established
• War Resisters International (WRI) founded
• Kerk en Vrede (Church and Peace): 1.5
million signatures against the Navy Law
• German Deutsche Friedensgesellschaft
(DFG)
• Joint Peace Council appealed against
conscription
9. Importance of a free press / how media
coverage has contributed to peace. Photo:
Robert Capa Spanish Civil War 1936.
1930s 1940s 1950s
United Nations Universal Declaration of
Human Rights. Photo:: United Nations'
prisoner-of-war camp at Pusan, S Korea.
• Geneva Conventions are signed
• Danes resist German occupation
• Norwegian teachers refuse to teach Nazi
ideas
• World War II ended
• United Nation was formed
• Emery Reeves wrote The Anatomy of
Peace
• Day and Maurin founded the Catholic
Worker
• Gandhi led the Salt March and gained
rights for Untouchables
• Maude Roydon proposed a Peace Army
• 59 nations attended the UN disarmament
conference
• Martin Luther King led the Montgomery bus
boycott and published ‘Stride Toward
Freedom’
• UN achieved a cease-fire at the Suez Canal
• Bertrand Russell organised Pugwash
conferences
• CND and SANE founded; peace symbol is
created
• UNHCR founded
Other subjects:
Racial equality / apartheid and the
Freedom Charter “The rights of the people
shall be the same, regardless of race,
colour or sex“. Photo: Freedom Charter
volunteers.
10. Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty signed.
Photo French nuclear testing in the South
Pacific.
Millions demonstrate against the Vietnam
War: Photo: Anti-war protests.
1960s 1970s 1980s
Solidarity Union grew to 10 million in Poland.
Photo: Lech Walesa, shipyard worker,
became leader of the Solidarity Labour
Union: He was later elected President of
Poland by a 77.5%vote.
Other subjects:
• Americans leave Vietnam
• United Nations 1st Special Session on
Disarmament
• President Carter brokers Israel-Egypt
Peace Treaty
• Strategic Arms Limitation Treaties
• Greenpeace is formed: now 3 million
supporters worldwide
• 250’000 listen to Martin Luther King’s
speech “I have a dream”
• UN peacekeeping force intervene in the
Congo
• Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty signed
• Cesar Chavez organised National Farm
Workers Union, USA
• U Thant and Bertrand Russell mediated the
Cuban Missile Crisis
• Desmond Tutu wins Nobel Peace Prize
• Mikhail Gorbachev proposes ending the
Nuclear Arms Race and implements Perestroika
and Glasnost
• Women’s protests at Greenham Common
Airbase, UK
•Thousands protest against nuclear testing in
Nevada, USA
• German Green Party is formed
• Mayors for Peace established
11. 10 million protest against the invasion of
Iraq; election of President Barack Obama
brings new hope of peace.
1990s 2000 2010 - hopes for the future
Middle East Peace Agreement: :
establishment of a Palestinian State.
UN Peacekeeping missions in Africa
(Angola, Congo, Liberia, Rwanda),
Central America (Haiti), Asia (Cambodia),
Europe (Bosnia and Herzegovina),
Middle-East (Kuwait).
• UN Millennium Development Goals signed
• LIVE 8 concert and ‘Make Poverty History’
campaign
• United for Peace and Justice (US national
peace coalition) founded
• President Obama’s Nuclear Free World speech
• End of Apartheid in South Africa
• Fall of the Berlin Wall
• UN Peace efforts in Somalia
• Earth Summit, Rio de Janeiro
• World Social Forums are founded
• Oslo Accords
• ICJ outlaws nuclear weapons and the
Nuclear Weapons Convention is signed
• Iran and N Korea dismantle their nuclear
programmes
• IPB Disarmament for Development global
advertising campaign
• US forces leave Iraq
• UN mediates for peace in Darfur
Other subjects:
12. School syllabus
In collaboration with partners such as the United
Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA),
the Peace History Society (PHS), USA and Geneva
University an educational syllabus will be produced
that will explore the many different themes, people
and events mentioned in the exhibition ‘Making
Peace’.
The syllabus will be initially translated into English,
French and German and posted to an online
website , so that teachers can prepare their class
prior to visiting the exhibition.
In collaboration with the United Nations online
educational website ‘Cyberschoolbus.un’ and Peace
Kids.org the IPB intends to organise an
international student competition,
whereupon students will be asked to write an essay
about their interpretation of peace. Entries will be
judged by a jury including a Nobel laureate for
literature with the chosen author being invited to
spend a week in Geneva.
1915
Women’s Peace Movement
13. Special photo award for ‘peace’
The IPB also hopes to launch a special award for
photographers and filmmakers who through their work have
made a special contribution to peace.
The award will not be judged so much by the quality of the
work itself, although this will be a criterion, but by how the
material has been actively used i.e. the manner in which it has
been presented and distributed, to bring public and political
awareness to social issues such as poverty, violence,
pollution, injustice, human rights, discrimination, and war.
A good example is the British photographer Sean Sutton.
Working for the Mines Advisory Group, MAG, a British based
NGO, his work - shown through publicity, exhibitions and
books- has made a major contribution to informing and
mobilizing the public against the awful consequences that
antipersonnel mines and unexploded ordnance have on
communities around the globe.
Selected by an international panel of judges comprising
personalities and professionals both from the media,
advertising and NGO community, the award will be presented
every two years in Geneva.
14. Possible supporting organisations & sponsors
Woman's International League for
Peace and Freedom WILPF
www.wilpf.org
Mayors for Peace
www.mayorsforpeace.org
International Committee
of the Red Cross
www.icrc.org
United Nations High
Commission for Human Rights
www.unhchr.org
World Council of Churches
www.oikoumene.org
Green Cross
www.gci.ch