UP EXPERT OPINION: World Peace Day: UP expert’s peacebuilding blueprint for South Africa

The International Day of Peace, also officially known as World Peace Day, is a United Nations-sanctioned day of commemoration observed annually on 21 September.

World Peace Day offers a unique opportunity for reflection, action, and renewed dedication to building safer, more resilient communities. South Africa's National Development Plan (NDP) envisions that by 2030 "people living in South Africa [will] feel safe … and enjoy an active community life free of fear," with a professional, well-resourced police service and community participation in safety initiatives. Despite these past efforts by government and civil society, violence and crime remain pressing challenges, undermining quality of life, socioeconomic stability, and overall community well-being.

Violence in South Africa exacts enormous costs on individuals, health and social systems, and the economy. Each act of violence ripples outward, weakening community bonds and deterring investment. Community safety has thus become a crucial priority: without safety, communities struggle to thrive, and efforts to improve education, healthcare, or economic opportunity are undermined by fear and instability.

The significance of peacebuilding in this context cannot be overstated: it will provide a pathway to address these challenges by fostering social cohesion, trust in institutions, and long-term safety.

This message resonates beyond South Africa as well. The United Nations has chosen 'Act Now for a Peaceful World' as the theme of World Peace Day 2025 - a reminder that in a time of turbulence, every person must take concrete action for peace.

For South Africans, "acting now" might mean volunteering in a community safety initiative, bridging divides through dialogue, or holding our leaders accountable to uphold justice. It means refusing to be bystanders. As global peace advocate Desmond Tutu observed, "Ubuntu tells us that we can create a more peaceful world by striving for goodness in each moment, wherever we are." In other words, every act of kindness and every stand against wrongdoing, however small, will send ripples of hope across our country. Together, those ripples swell into powerful waves of change.

Collaborative and evidence-based approaches

Critically, peacebuilding is about more than reacting to crime. It is about addressing root causes and preventing violence before it occurs. This preventive approach involves investing in social programmes, urban design for safety, youth engagement, and conflict resolution mechanisms at community level. It also means confronting the inequality and historical grievances that often underlie violence. By focusing on collaborative violence prevention strategies, we can work to break cycles of violence and create conditions where all residents feel secure.

No single institution or sector can achieve peace and community safety alone. Whether security challenges are shaped by national, regional or local forces, they require targeted, innovative, and collaborative interventions involving policymakers, law enforcement agencies, community leaders, civil society organisations, academia, and private-sector actors. Through breaking down silos, these stakeholders must build a shared understanding of the problems and coordinate their efforts in pursuit of common goals. Such institutional collaboration is essential for pooling resources, aligning policies, and avoiding duplication of efforts in violence prevention.

Equally important is a commitment to research-informed policy. We must promote evidence-driven dialogue, drawing on local case studies and international best practices to identify what works in violence and crime prevention. There is growing evidence globally that investing in prevention yields substantial returns: violence prevention not only saves lives but also reduces costs such as healthcare and policing.

By advocating for policies proven effective, whether it be early childhood interventions, community policing forums or urban renewal projects in high-crime areas, we can ensure that peacebuilding efforts are informed by data and expertise rather than anecdote. This research-informed stance enhances credibility and increases the likelihood of sustainable impact.

Communities at the heart of sustainable peace

Achieving Sustainable Development Goal 16 (Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions) will ultimately depend on the residents of our towns and cities. SDG 16, adopted by the United Nations in 2015, calls on societies to "promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels". In practice, this means governments must work in tandem with local communities to end conflict and insecurity.

The role of communities in peacebuilding is indispensable. It is communities that experience the daily reality of crime and violence, and it is often community members who first detect tensions or threats. Local leaders, youth groups, religious organisations, and ordinary citizens are thus on the front lines of violence prevention, whether mediating local disputes, mentoring at-risk youth, or cooperating with police through community policing forums.

Our approach must empower these community actors as equal partners. By elevating community voices in policy discussions, we ensure that interventions are culturally appropriate and address grassroots needs. Community buy-in also fosters legitimacy: when residents see themselves as co-creators of safety solutions, they are more likely to support and uphold those initiatives.

Community-centred approaches should bring together representatives from community-based organisations, faith-based groups, and local forums alongside officials and experts. By sharing success stories - for example, how a township might have reduced gang violence through a school-based programme, or how a faith coalition built peace between rival groups - community delegates can inform local, provincial and national policy with on-the-ground wisdom.

At the same time, institutions can offer communities greater support, whether through funding promising local initiatives or training community leaders in conflict resolution. This two-way collaboration enhances trust: citizens see institutions delivering on public safety, and institutions gain confidence that communities are invested in peace. In the long run, such trust is the bedrock of a peaceful society.

From vision to action

Still, however illuminating the discussions and resolutions made at workshops, they will carry little weight unless they inform concrete changes in policy and practice. Political leaders, institutions, and communities will need to carry forward the momentum by implementing what is learned and agreed upon.

As we commemorate World Peace Day and renew our commitment to work together to achieve the NDP's vision of "active communities living free of fear", I call upon stakeholders at all levels to remember the three core pillars that deliver safer communities: integrating evidence-based strategies into policy; institutionalising multi-stakeholder collaboration; and empowering and resourcing communities.

These steps form a reasoned call to action. They are grounded in the understanding, backed by both global research and local experience, that peace, justice, and strong institutions are achievable when evidence guides policy, when institutions collaborate across sectors, and when communities are placed at the heart of solutions.

Dr Mary Mangai, Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences at the University of Pretoria (UP) and a research representative at UP's School of Public Management and Administration.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the University of Pretoria.