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The ASPR was founded in September 1982 as an independent, non-profit and non-partisan organisation. It aims to contribute to the promotion of peace and peaceful conflict transformation and to the dissemination of practical ideas for peace. In this sense, the ASPR was the founder of the European University Center for Peace Studies (EPU) and established a European Peace Museum in Schlaining Castle in the year 2001. In order to facilitate its activities, the ASPR set up an unique infrastructure including the Peace Library in a former synagogue, a Conference Center in Schlaining Castle, the Hotel Burg Schlaining, and Haus International, which is a student hostel. For these and other efforts the ASPR was awarded UN “Peace Messenger” status in 1987, and in 1995 the ASPR and the EPU were awarded the UNESCO “Prize for Peace Education”, and in 2002 the UNESCO UniTwin Award.
Trainings and Events
Several major conferences are organised each year, including a summer academy and an annual international meeting of peace researchers on "The State of Peace."
Since 1992, the ASPR has become active in various peace-building training programmes and projects. ASPR founded the “International Civilian Peace-keeping and Peace-building Training Program” (IPT) - the first programme world-wide in which professionals from a variety of cultural, organisational and professional background receive a general and function-orientated training for various peace-building activities.
Since 1997 the ASPR organises the annual two-week “Summer Academy on OSCE” and since 2000 the “Mission Preparation Training Programme for the OSCE” (MPT) is organised several times a year. Both programmes aim at enhancing OSCE’s existing and developing new capabilities in preventive diplomacy, peace-making, peace-keeping and peace-building. However, while the Summer Academy focuses more on academic and diplomatic skills, the MPT Programme is a practitioners programme for field missions. Both programmes are conducted under the patronage of the OSCE.
From 2001–2005 the ASPR was contracted by the EU to coordinate and lead the EC project on “Training for Civilian Aspects of Crisis Management”. The aim of the project is the development of civilian EU capabilities and appropriate common standards and modules for training in the areas of rule of law and civilian administration. In the framework of this project, the ASPR organises a core course and various specialisation courses per year.
Activities in the Field
The ASPR has also developed peace-building training programmes and projects for specific conflict regions. Since 1996 training programmes have been conducted for former Yugoslavia and the South Caucasus and since 1997 for specific African regions. In 2001, the ASPR became engaged in the ongoing peace-process in Sri Lanka. Several dialogue workshops in Austria accompanied by follow-up activities in Sri Lanka were conducted in order to support the official negotiation process. Since 2002 the ASPR supported the establishment of the OSCE Academy for Central Asia in Bishkek.
Publications
The ASPR publishes several periodicals and publications such as Dialog, Friedensforum, Friedensbericht – dealing with various peace issues.
For further information, please see www.aspr.ac.at
See contact information.