The International Fellowship of Reconciliation

The work of IFOR

The International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR) is an international, spiritually based movement, composed of people who commit themselves to active nonviolence as a way of life and as a means of transformation – in personal, social, economic, and political ways. Here are some examples of some IFOR members’ recent work.

The Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR) in Zimbabwe hosted a four-day training workshop in January for activists from IFOR organizations in Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. All three groups are involved in setting up youth peace clubs. The sessions provided activists with skills for involving youth in nonviolent conflict resolution, and with ways to raise the gender consciousness of all peace activists.

SERPAJ (Servicio Paz y Justicia) Chile undertook a peace education campaign using a local radio station. Using the slogan 'The Right to Live Under Peace', they created nine one-hour programs put forth on local radio stations about diverse aspects of a culture of peace. They also created a campaign against military and war toys in grade schools and child care centers.

Richard Deats, editor of Fellowship Magazine at FOR USA has written a new book about Martin Luther King Jr. entitled 'Martin Luther King Jr., the Spirit-Led Prophet'. The relatively short biography – 150 pages - emphasizes the spiritual sources of King's life and work, which not only casts new light on his journey to leadership, but also creates a personal bridge with the reader.

Numerous examples can be added about the ways in which IFOR members are active to make changes in society by promoting a nonviolent attitude and nonviolent conflict resolution. Obstacles they face are the "ever widening gulf between rich and poor, man's unimaginable capacity for mutual destruction in the name of defense, the threat posed by humankind to the earth's entire ecosystem, and in addition the massive upheaval in political alignments and social patterns and values in the face of obsessive materialism”, as Diana Francis, former IFOR International President stated.

Short history of IFOR

IFOR started at the outbreak of World War I with a pledge of a British Quaker missionary and a German pastor, both of whom were forced to leave a conference in Germany when war was declared. They pledged themselves to work for peace, no matter what their governments might do. Out of this commitment to reconciliation, the British FOR was founded, followed by the founding of the international movement in 1918.

IFOR has developed from a Christian movement based in Europe towards a world-wide movement with an interfaith dimension. IFOR now has branches, groups, and affiliates in over 40 countries on five continents. It has changed from a pacifist perspective (working against war) to the broader concept of nonviolence (working for peace, justice and care for the environment).

IFOR is still changing. The fellowship is still a movement, based on the mainly voluntary work of many peace activists, but it has also grown into an organization with membership and international structures.

IFOR structure

IFOR is a movement consisting of branches, groups and affiliates. Its policies are made by the branches that gather in the quadrienniel International Council. The IFOR board, called Steering Committee, takes decisions between Councils. The Steering Committee consists of six volunteers from around the world. The IFOR International Secretariat, situated in the Netherlands, concentrates on information-sharing, communication, and also does program work. IFOR has consultative status with the United Nations (ECOSOC and UNESCO).

Each IFOR national or local organization generates its own income by looking for donors, organizing fundraising campaigns, selling materials, and by for the greater part depending on voluntary work. IFOR branches are voting members of IFOR and pay a yearly percentage of their income as a contribution. IFOR groups are organizations who work closely together with IFOR but don't have a vote at the Council meeting. Other organizations who find their own goals compatible with IFOR’s can affiliate, and cooperate on a sustainable basis with IFOR. They may pay some contribution as partners in the IFOR fellowship, depending on their financial resources.

Keeping the movement connected

The information and know-how gathered among the IFOR organizations is available through the International Secretariat (IS). The Secretariat keeps the movement connected through its publications (such as the quarterly ‘IFOR in Action’ newsletter) and through the direct working contacts between the several organizations.

Regular visits from the Steering Committee members to branches all over the world are also an important way of keeping the movement connected. For instance in August 2001, an IFOR delegation visited Israel/Palestine for 10 days. The delegation hoped to show solidarity, to listen, and to encourage those who are committed to nonviolence as the way to achieve justice and peace. It was not an easy trip. They arrived two days after the suicide bombing at a pizza restaurant in Jerusalem, which was followed by the Israeli governments's takeover of the Orient house in Palestinian East Jerusalem. Tension and violence were growing with each passing day. But their visit was definitely of value. As one Palestinian activist told them: "It is a gift from God to have outside solidarity. We feel like sitting ducks in a shooting gallery. We need your help to keep up our spirits”.

The Women Peacemakers Program

To strengthen the work of the branches, IFOR has developed programs that need to be funded by external donors. These IFOR programs bring a special dynamic into the movement's networking. One important IFOR project is the Women Peacemakers Program (WPP). It was initiated during the 1992 Council in Ecuador where the few women present expressed their disappointment about the fact that so many men were representing the IFOR branches, whereas the women's peace work was hardly visible or recognized. The Council adopted the idea to develop a program for women peacemakers, which was launched at the IS in 1997.

The WPP empowers women peace workers in the IFOR organizations, and helps mainstreaming gender awareness in the peace movement. By organizing Trainings for Trainers, the WPP is founding a pool of expert women nonviolence trainers. 'Cross the Lines' consultations bring women together from different sides of a conflict. IFOR's WPP is for the greater part funded by the Dutch Ministry for Foreign Affairs' department of Development Cooperation.

Several IFOR organizations have now developed their own Women Peacemakers Program (in Zimbabwe, India, and the Philippines) and are mostly working on human rights as women’s rights.

Conclusion

In the separate countries, IFOR branches are often respected and well known peace organizations whose actions are taken seriously. Starting at the grass roots level, IFOR organizations are intentionally working to mainstream their work, and often succeed in that. For instance, the shelter for battered women, founded by FOR India, cooperates with the local police. The Dutch branch Kerk en Vrede coordinates peace actions with several Christian churches. In Palestine, the IFOR branch developed a television series to document the lives of Palestinian youths in Jerusalem. In many countries, IFOR branches initiate the formation of trainer networks.

IFOR's consultative status in the UN enables it to make its voice heard at this level, which is for instance visible in the declaration of the United Nations Decade for a Culture of Peace and Nonviolence for the Children of the World (2001-2010). IFOR members, some of them Nobel Peace Prize laureates, such as Mairead Maguire and Alfonso Esquivel, lobbied hard to have this Decade declared. This growing awareness is for IFOR the proof that its 80 years of work for peace and reconciliation is slowly being implemented in the hearts and minds of humankind.

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