Cities of peace, Brands of coexistence - ahead of visits to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan

 

Next month (August 19-23), I will be traveling to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan with a group of university students from South Korea.

 

I also have a lecture on our schedule, and while thinking about the topic, I decided on "City of Peace, Brand of Coexistence".

 

There are more than 300 cities around the world that have "peace" as their city slogan, brand, or value.

Most of these cities have experienced extreme conflict, such as war and genocide.

 

 

Over the years, I've given several talks on the topic of peace cities.

 

At the Peace City Network across Regions in Conflict session at the 2021 Pyeongchang Peace Forum, I presented the cases of Belfast and Coventry in the UK and Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, South Korea.

 

 

In discussing the conflict in Belfast, Northern Ireland... I mentioned C.S. Lewis, a writer and theologian from Belfast.

 

C. S Lewis grew up in Northern Ireland, the site of conflict between the British and Irish. I think his ideas and work reflect the concerns of the times and the desire to solve problems. The city shaped a person's personal brand.

 

In my talk this August, "A City of Peace, a Brand of Coexistence", I’ll be discussing a "for-profit/not-for-profit" brand that was born and grew in a city that seeks peace.

 

Everywhere we go in the world, there's a market, and people buy and sell things there. There are goods that are locally based, businesses exist to produce them, and businesses employ local people.

 

The nonprofit sector is also creating brands that embody cause-related values to fulfill their purpose.

 

Cities that have experienced conflict have attributes within them that long for peace. From keychains in a small souvenir shop to public policy in a city and fostering related industries...

 

The talk will include examples of how the value of peace has become more than just a slogan, but has permeated local stakeholders and been branded in many ways.