Peace-Friendly Cities
The Cities for Peace Program, of the Forum of Universities for Peace – FOUP, in partnership with the Catholic University of Cuenca through the Institute of Cities of Peace – ICiPaz, mobilizes and recognizes municipalities committed to institutionalizing a Culture of Peace in their territories.
Its mission is to transform cities into safer, more resilient, inclusive, and harmonious spaces, articulating integrated public policies and strengthening collaborative governance.
More than a program, it is a learning network: municipalities that exchange experiences and good practices and, together, build positive peace from their local realities.
The Program in Detail
Learn about the purpose, methodology, and membership path of the Peace-Friendly Cities program — FOUP · ICiPaz · Catholic University of Cuenca.
To create safe and inclusive cities where everyone can live with dignity and respect, regardless of origin, belief, gender, or sexual orientation. By joining the Cities for Peace Network, municipalities unite around a common goal: promoting peace and sustainability from the territory.
Our objectives:
- Establish partnerships between government, civil society, the private sector, and international organizations for integrated planning.
- Act on the roots of conflict and violence, developing proactive rather than merely reactive policies.
- Introduce and strengthen education for peace and non-violence as a fundamental pillar in municipal school curricula.
- Develop continuous, long-term actions, integrated into Municipal Development Plans, to ensure lasting impact.
The Catholic University of Cuenca is part of FOUP, an international university network dedicated to promoting peace through academic cooperation, research, innovation, education, volunteering, institutional coordination, and action programs. Within this ecosystem, the Peace-Friendly Cities program is a direct opportunity to link local governments, universities, social organizations, and communities around a practical culture-of-peace agenda.
ICiPaz is in a key position to lead this program, given its institutional identity centered on the study, measurement, training, and intervention regarding Cities of Peace. The Institute contributes its own methodological structure, diagnostic instruments, training processes, territorial projects, academic networks, and monitoring mechanisms that turn the program into a sustainable, verifiable initiative.
How will ICiPaz help the program work? By turning it into an organized, measurable, and replicable process that allows cities to join, diagnose their capacities, design action plans, track progress, and earn progressive recognition.
The program is implemented through a five-phase model that moves from the institutional declaration of intent to the execution of concrete actions, generating evidence and continuity.
| Phase | Objective | Expected outcome |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Membership | Formally engage the municipality | Municipality joins the program |
| 2. Diagnosis | Understand the initial state of local peace | Municipal baseline |
| 3. Action | Translate commitment into concrete measures | Approved action plan |
| 4. Monitoring | Track progress and generate evidence | Monitoring map |
| 5. Recognition | Make progress visible and encourage continuity | Recognized city |
The membership path lets municipalities join the program through a clear and simple procedure — flexible enough to adapt to different local realities and rigorous enough to keep the program from becoming a symbolic act without continuity.
| Moment | Description | Lead |
|---|---|---|
| Expression of interest | The municipality formally expresses its will to participate | Municipality / FOUP / ICiPaz |
| Letter of commitment | The local authority signs minimum culture-of-peace commitments | Municipality |
| Technical counterpart | A municipal team is appointed to coordinate actions | Municipality |
| Initial diagnosis | Guided application of a baseline tool | ICiPaz |
| Municipal plan | A verifiable action agenda with timeline and indicators | Municipality (with ICiPaz) |
| Joining the network | Participation in gatherings, meetings, and good-practice banks | FOUP / ICiPaz |
So the program works under uniform criteria, ICiPaz develops a set of institutional tools usable by municipalities of different sizes and capacities — the technical core of the model:
- Letter of commitment — formalizes the city's membership.
- Rapid diagnosis — assesses the initial state of peace, coexistence, and capacity for action.
- Municipal peace plan template — guides the design of local actions.
- Good-practice sheet — records successful experiences; input for FOUP's Best Practices Bank.
- Monitoring map — tracks progress and results.
- Institutional kit — a package of documents, guides, and formats that makes the program easy to replicate.
The rapid diagnosis provides a first municipal snapshot of strengths, gaps, and opportunities for action, structured across five dimensions:
| Dimension | Guiding question |
|---|---|
| Human security | What conditions protect life, integrity, and everyday tranquility? |
| Coexistence and mediation | Are there local mechanisms to manage conflicts peacefully? |
| Human rights and inclusion | Does the city protect vulnerable groups and guarantee dignified treatment? |
| Governance and citizen participation | Does the city open real spaces for dialogue and co-responsibility? |
| Education and culture of peace | Are there educational and communication processes to promote peace? |
A progressive system recognizes progress without requiring every city to be at the same level of maturity, offering gradual incentives to sustain participation:
| Level | Access criterion |
|---|---|
| Peace-Committed City | Signing of the letter of commitment and appointment of a counterpart |
| City on a Path to Peace | Application of the diagnosis and formulation of the municipal plan |
| Peace-Friendly City | Execution of verifiable actions and progress report |
| Peace Reference City | Sustained results, good practices, and network leadership |
- School of municipal peace agents — training for municipal staff, community leaders, teachers, young people, and social organizations in culture of peace, community mediation, human rights, citizen participation, violence prevention, and peace-project design.
- Bank of municipal good practices — each city records its successful experiences on a standard sheet, feeding FOUP's Best Practices Bank and showcasing replicable projects.
- Monitoring map — tracking of each city's progress, from an indicator matrix to a digital platform connected to the ICiPaz Think Tank.
- Annual meeting of peace-friendly cities — presentation of progress, recognition of municipalities, and alliance building, within the International Congress.
- Territorial labs — in pilot cities, peace labs in specific neighborhoods and communities to test methodologies of dialogue, mediation, restorative justice, and collaborative solution design.
A light governance structure with clear responsibilities:
| Body | Role |
|---|---|
| FOUP | International framework and global network: validates the program, engages signatory institutions, disseminates results |
| ICiPaz | Lead technical-academic support: methodology, training, diagnoses, systematization, and reports |
| Participating municipalities | Territorial actors: sign commitments, execute actions, and report progress |
| Allied universities | Territorial and academic support: accompany local processes, generate research, and train peace agents |
| Monitoring committee | Coordination: reviews progress, removes bottlenecks, and proposes improvements |
The program will start with a pilot phase involving 3 to 5 municipalities to test the instruments, adjust the methodology, measure the real operational load, and produce a first results report before expansion.
| Period | Activity | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Months 1–2 | Design of instruments and municipal kit | FOUP–ICiPaz kit ready for use |
| Months 3–4 | Call for and selection of pilot municipalities | Pilot cities identified |
| Months 5–6 | Signing of letters of commitment | Municipalities on board |
| Months 7–8 | Application of the rapid diagnosis | Municipal baselines |
| Months 9–10 | Design of municipal peace plans | Approved action plans |
| Months 11–12 | First report and initial recognition | Pilot report and recognition ceremony |
ICiPaz's leadership translates into concrete products that make the program's operation visible and support accountability to FOUP, the Catholic University of Cuenca, municipalities, and allied institutions:
- Operations manual of the Peace-Friendly Cities program
- Letter-of-commitment template for municipalities
- Rapid peace-friendly-city diagnosis
- Municipal culture-of-peace plan template
- Progressive recognition system
- Program monitoring map
- Bank of municipal peace good practices
- Institutional kit for participating municipalities
- FOUP–ICiPaz annual report on peace-friendly cities
- Annual meeting of participating cities
The network is in its pilot phase, with 3 to 5 municipalities. The list of participating cities will be published once the first memberships are formalized.
