Peacebuilding in Venezuela: A local model for International Day of Peace

How everyday actions and strong communities create lasting peace

When we think about peacebuilding, we often think of peace agreements, negotiations or international diplomacy. Yet some of the most important work of building peace happens much closer to home: It happens in classrooms, on sports fields, around family tables and in the everyday choices that teach children interactions where people learn how to listen, resolve disagreements and respect one another. These seemingly small moments are where a culture of peace begins.

In Venezuela, peacebuilding began when World Vision staff and community members asked what was preventing children and families from living peacefully together. Through conversations with teachers, school leaders and communities, they identified everyday behaviours that undermined relationships, including bullying, disrespectful language, poor conflict resolution and a lack of empathy for others. Rather than importing a ready-made solution, they developed a locally grounded approach that would help children understand and practice the values that strengthen social cohesion and peaceful coexistence.

One result of that process was Respetina. Inspired by a respected local community leader, Respetina is not simply a character or classroom mascot. She is a practical peacebuilding tool. Through stories, role play and reflective activities, she helps children explore respect, listening, inclusion and responsibility. Her famous "cape of light” becomes a visible reminder of the school climate, reminding children that peaceful communities are built through everyday choices and actions.

The real innovation is not the character herself, but the approach behind her. Respetina translates broad ideas such as peace, social cohesion and conflict resolution into behaviours children can understand, practice and carry into their homes, schools and communities.

Strengthening community connections to support peacebuilding

One of the most important lessons from this work is that lasting change rarely happens through a single institution acting alone. This approach connects the family, the school and the local church, creating shared spaces. The church serves as a place where children and adults come together and where local capacity can practice values such as justice, honesty, responsibility, compassion, solidarity and support both peacebuilding and disaster management.

From the classroom to the football field: Building life skills, leadership and peace through sports

The learning does not end in the classroom. In sport for peace activities, football becomes a place where values are tested under pressure. Children practice respect for rules, co-operation, dialogue and non-violent conflict resolution in moments of competition, frustration and disagreement.

These activities do more than teach conflict resolution. They help children build trust, work across differences and develop a sense of responsibility for the well-being of the group. Football provides something that every peacebuilding program needs: an opportunity to put values into practice. While children may learn about respect, listening and empathy in the classroom, it is often on the football field that those lessons are tested. Moments of competition can bring frustration, disagreement and conflict.

By incorporating peacebuilding principles into sports activities, children are encouraged to resolve disputes constructively, respect rules, work as a team and value others' perspectives. In this way, the football field becomes more than a place for play; it becomes a space where children can practice the skills of dialogue, co-operation and non-violent conflict resolution that contribute to stronger relationships and more cohesive communities.

The link between peacebuilding, earthquake recovery and community resilience in Venezuela

Peacebuilding is also part of resilience. Although the communities involved were not among those directly affected by the earthquakes that struck north-central Venezuela on June 24, 2026, the crisis was a reminder that disasters test more than infrastructure. They test whether neighbours trust one another, whether families know where to turn, and whether communities can act together under pressure.

The relationships that help a community navigate a playground dispute are part of the same social fabric that helps it prepare for, respond to and recover from a crisis. Humanitarian action, development and peacebuilding cannot always be treated as separate tracks.

A practical invitation for the International Day of Peace

The experience from Venezuela offers something modest and hopeful for the International Day of Peace.

Peace is built incrementally. It grows through small acts of listening, honesty, empathy and co-operation. It grows when local leaders shape solutions, when children are treated as peacebuilders, and when values move beyond the classroom into daily life.

Research and experience repeatedly show that communities recover more effectively from shocks when strong relationships, trust and mechanisms for co-operation are already in place:

• Neighbours who know one another are more likely to support one another.
• Community leaders who are trusted can mobilize collective action more effectively.
• Children who have learned empathy and co-operation are better equipped to navigate stress and uncertainty.

Peacebuilding and social cohesion, therefore, play a critical role in resilience, helping communities withstand and recover from crises together.

Ultimately, peacebuilding is about more than preventing conflict. It is about strengthening the relationships that hold communities together, so they are better equipped to face uncertainty, respond to crisis and build a more hopeful future.

Peace is not only the responsibility of governments, institutions or international organizations. It belongs to all of us. And sometimes, as communities in Venezuela are showing, it begins with something as simple and demanding as choosing respect.