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Peace

Peace work

Peace work is both a profession and a voluntary commitment. Some spend years in conflict regions, others mediate in their own town

Key points at a glance

  • Peace work covers everything that prevents violence, deals with conflicts without violence and rebuilds trust after violence, as a volunteer as well as in a profession.
  • Young people often start through voluntary services such as weltwärts, the International Youth Volunteer Service or the European Solidarity Corps.
  • Projects in conflict regions work with peace committees, theatre and radio programmes that let both sides of a conflict speak.
  • In Germany the work is carried by local groups, specialist services and the churches, for example Evangelische Friedensarbeit and the Catholic commission Justitia et Pax.

In numbers

1999

first peace professionals

left on 22 November

1,800

professionals since 1999

in over 60 countries, according to the BMZ

380

professionals at present

in around 45 countries

Three funded voluntary services comparedSource: Aktionsgemeinschaft Dienst für den Frieden, longer-term voluntary services

weltwärts

Funded by
Federal Development Ministry
Age
18 to 27
Duration
6 to 24 months, usually 12
Location
countries of the Global South

International Youth Volunteer Service

Funded by
Federal Family Ministry
Age
16 to 26
Duration
6 to 18 months, usually 12
Location
worldwide

European Solidarity Corps

Funded by
European Union
Age
18 to 30
Duration
2 to 12 months
Location
across Europe
Three ways into peace workSources: Aktionsgemeinschaft Dienst für den Frieden, Civil Peace Service, Development Workers Act

Volunteering

Requirements
no training needed
Duration
flexible, alongside school or work
Example
peer mediation at a school

Voluntary service

Requirements
age and school leaving certificate, depending on programme
Duration
usually one year
Example
accompanying Holocaust survivors

Profession

Requirements
training, several years of work experience, knowledge of conflict transformation
Duration
at least two years abroad
Example
dialogue project with a partner organisation abroad
Programme
Civil Peace Service, since 1999
Funding
around 60 million euros a year from the BMZ
Length of assignment
at least two years under the Development Workers Act
Figures as of
BMZ, June 2025

What is peace work?

Peace work covers everything that helps to prevent violence, to deal with conflicts without violence and to rebuild trust after violence. It takes place on many levels: in distant conflict regions, but also in schools, neighbourhoods and clubs here at home.

A large part of peace work is voluntary. People settle disputes at their school, support refugees, organise encounters between groups that have little to do with each other. Alongside this there is professional peace work, for which you are trained and paid.

The two are connected. Many who work as peace professionals today started out as volunteers, and many volunteers use methods that were developed in professional peace work.

How do peace professionals work abroad?

One important route into professional peace work abroad is the Civil Peace Service (Ziviler Friedensdienst). It describes itself as a programme for violence prevention, civil conflict transformation and peacebuilding. It is run by nine organisations and funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

On 22 November 1999 the first professionals left for the former Yugoslavia, Guatemala, Romania, Zimbabwe and the Palestinian territories. According to the ministry, around 1,800 professionals have worked in over 60 countries since then. At present there are about 380 professionals in around 45 countries, most of them in Africa.

The concept had a longer history. From 1993 a discussion forum of individuals and groups developed the idea of professional peace work, and in 1997 numerous public figures supported it with the Berlin Declaration for a Civil Peace Service.

What do peace professionals work on?

Peace professionals always work together with local partner organisations, not in their place. Typical tasks are building dialogue between groups, accompanying people who stand up for human rights, working with young people and coming to terms with past violence.

Added to this are educational work, support for media that want to report without hate speech, and strengthening local arbitration bodies. The projects are planned over several years, because trust between people who have long seen each other as opponents takes time.

In Germany, too, peace work exists as a profession, for example in peace education in schools, in mediation, in work with refugees and in the research and education institutions described on the page about peace organisations.

How do you become a peace professional?

The Civil Peace Service looks for people with life and work experience, knowledge of civil conflict transformation and a qualification in a relevant field of work. Knowledge of civil conflict transformation is a requirement before you leave; the member organisations also prepare their professionals individually for their assignment.

One way to acquire this knowledge is the Academy for Conflict Transformation run by Pro Peace. It offers further training in a two-month on-site course in English or part-time over ten months in German.

Legally, the professionals are sent out under the Development Workers Act (Entwicklungshelfergesetz). It provides for an assignment of at least two years, together with social security cover, maintenance payments and support for returning to work after coming back.

How can you get involved as a volunteer?

You do not need any training to volunteer in peace work. Many organisations, from parishes to peace initiatives in your town, are looking for people who bring time and experience. Schools look for mentors for peer mediation, initiatives look for people for encounter projects.

A good way in is further training in a method of conflict transformation, such as Nonviolent Communication or mediation. It helps in everyday life and is the basis of almost every form of peace work.

On W3ltfrieden you can find peace missions in your area or start one yourself. For this, the Peace Mission Bot asks you about your time, your skills, your concern, your location and your network.

Which voluntary services lead abroad?

For young people, a voluntary service is often the first step. The Aktionsgemeinschaft Dienst für den Frieden (Action Committee Service for Peace) lists three state-funded programmes. The first is weltwärts: it is funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, is aimed at young adults between 18 and 27 and leads to countries of the Global South. The service lasts between 6 and 24 months, usually one year.

The International Youth Volunteer Service is funded by the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs. It is open to young people between 16 and 26, can be done anywhere in the world and lasts 6 to 18 months. The European Solidarity Corps of the European Union is aimed at people aged 18 to 30 who volunteer for between 2 and 12 months in nonprofit projects across Europe.

Since weltwärts started in 2008, more than 58,000 young people have taken part, according to the programme. Many peace organisations also offer their own services, including ones without state funding. Aktion Sühnezeichen Friedensdienste (Action Reconciliation Service for Peace), for example, arranges one-year voluntary services abroad in which young people accompany Holocaust survivors and support the work of memorial sites, among other things.

What tools do projects on the ground use?

In conflict regions, organisations rely on formats that suit the people there. The Weltfriedensdienst (World Peace Service) describes peace committees, for example. They bring together members of a community from different social, ethnic and religious backgrounds, almost always alongside the local administration, religious leaders and youth and women's organisations. They deal with conflicts through dialogue and help prevent new ones. The members work as volunteers, which gives them credibility.

A second tool is the Theatre of the Oppressed, a method from theatre education. The audience chooses the topics, is drawn into the action and contributes proposals for resolving a conflict, which are voted on at the end. People who step out of a given role in the play find it easier to act differently in similar situations in everyday life.

In countries where many people can neither read nor write, radio programmes matter. They are often broadcast in several local languages, report factually on current conflict issues and let both sides speak. What all three tools have in common is that they bring the people involved into conversation instead of handing them a solution from outside.

What does the work look like locally in Germany?

There are many local groups in Germany too. Within the Aktionsgemeinschaft Dienst für den Frieden they have their own section for local and regional work. It is a forum for all members whose focus is political engagement for peace and remembrance and reconciliation work in their own communities.

According to the AGDF, the activities range from peace education and interfaith dialogue to work for human rights, inclusion and diversity. Places where this work happens include the Peace Library and Anti-War Museum of the Protestant Church Berlin-Brandenburg and the Anti-War House in Sievershausen.

In the section's own words, everyone who wants to work for peace and reconciliation is welcome locally. If you are looking for a group nearby, the umbrella organisations are a good place for first contacts. On W3ltfrieden you can also see which peace missions exist in your area, or propose one yourself.

Civil Peace Service, qualification, translated

Knowledge of civil conflict transformation is, however, a requirement for working in the Civil Peace Service.

Sources

What is peace?

The road to the Civil Peace Service

  1. from 1993A discussion forum develops the concept of professional peace work.
  2. 1996The association Forum Civil Peace Service is founded, today Pro Peace.
  3. 1997The Berlin Declaration for a Civil Peace Service finds broad support.
  4. 22 November 1999The first professionals leave, among other places for Guatemala and the former Yugoslavia.
  5. todayNine member organisations, around 380 professionals in about 45 countries, funded by the BMZ.

Common questions answered briefly

How can you support peace?

There are many ways, and not all of them take much time. You can support an organisation with money or materials, volunteer a few hours a month, learn a method of conflict transformation and pass it on, or listen in your own surroundings when a dispute escalates.

If you want to get involved for the longer term, local peace groups, church congregations and voluntary services offer a way in. On W3ltfrieden you can support a peace mission that fits your time and your skills.

What is Protestant peace work?

Evangelische Friedensarbeit (Protestant Peace Work) is the umbrella brand of several organisations and institutions working on peace within the Protestant Church in Germany (EKD). Their joint office is run by the Association for Peace Work within the EKD. Behind it stand the Aktionsgemeinschaft Dienst für den Frieden, the Protestant Working Group for Conscientious Objection and Peace and the Peace Commissioner of the Council of the EKD.

The work is funded mainly by the EKD. Its website states: “Peace work is one of the core tasks of the church.”

What does the Catholic Church do for peace?

In the Catholic Church in Germany, the German Commission for Justice and Peace (Justitia et Pax) brings together the international work. It was founded in 1967 and sees itself as a forum of the Catholic institutions and organisations active in the field of the church's international responsibility.

The commission develops church contributions to Germany's development, peace and human rights policy. There are also Catholic peace associations such as pax christi, which are listed on the page about peace organisations.

Where can you find jobs in peace work?

Many specialist services publish their vacancies themselves. The Civil Peace Service, for example, collects all open positions of its member organisations on its website and updates them weekly. The usual requirements are completed training, several years of work experience in a relevant field, negotiating skills and resilience.

Without work experience, the usual way in is a voluntary service, an internship with a peace organisation or volunteering. Jobs in peace education, remembrance work and work with refugees also count as peace work in the broader sense.

More on peace

From the idea to a mission of your own

Peace comes about where people shape it: in a neighbourhood, a school, a club. On W3ltfrieden you will find peace missions that you can start or support.

Find your peace mission