History
The Life & Peace Institute (LPI) is an international and ecumenical centre based in Uppsala, Sweden, that has been working with peace and conflict issues since the 1980s. LPI was founded in 1985 as a result of a major international conference held in 1983 which was a response by the churches to the conflicts in the world, especially in light of the nuclear threat.
Since then, LPI has carried out programmes for conflict transformation in a variety of countries, conducted research, and produced numerous publications on nonviolent conflict transformation and the role of religion in conflict and peacebuilding.
The main focus of LPI’s work has been on Africa, with Horn of Africa Programme being established and well-known in the early 1990s. Other initiatives have been carried out in Congo-Brazzaville, Croatia and East Timor. The Institute has strengthened the capacity of a substantial number of civil society organisations to address the conflicts in their own context, in some of the most difficult and war-torn counties.
Currently, the Institute runs conflict transformation programmes in the Horn of Africa and Great Lakes regions in partnership with local civil society organisations and universities in Somalia, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya and DRC. There is also a common programme including publications, policy work and improved methodology.