What is peacebuilding?

The absence of war and violence does not equate with presence of peace. Peacebuilding seeks to create the conditions for positive or active peace where conflict is managed constructively when it arises. It  involves developing the structures, institutions and civil society processes that allow communities to engage with each other, address their differences, fears and needs and find ways of living constructively and productively together.  If their shared past has been one of violence and war, then there is an additional requirement to deal with the past and find ways of moving forward to a better future.