A transformative initiative uniting research, education, and the arts to rethink what it means to be “at peace” and “at war” in the 21st century
At the heart of this Center lies a clear claim: in today’s world, none of us truly lives in peace. Societies that define themselves as peaceful, no less than those engaged in war, sustain a global system built on arms trade and military interventions, while the psychological, ecological, and political suffering produced by escalating cycles of conflict and genocide reaches us all—even those who have never set foot in a war zone. Channeling our shared accountability and suffering, the Center’s Interdisciplinary Lab, Art Gallery, and Pedagogical Hub unite the world's leading scholars and artists with local communities and children to radically redefine how we understand and live peace and war.
This vision takes shape in the Center’s flagship project, The Memorial for Those Who Did Not Fall in War (MNW). The MNW reimagines the emblem of war’s suffering, the memorial, within the ecopolitical realities of the 21st century, where peace no longer shields any of us from the harms of war. As the living embodiment of the Center’s mission, the MNW moves between every region of the world, transforming with each place it inhabits into a collaborative space where local memory and global perspectives come together as equal partners to co-create a new language of peace and justice, working toward a future of cross-border peace and ecological justice.
