Peacebuilding

Our mission calls us to build bridges out of conflict, to engage in the difficult but deeply meaningful work of reconciliation and resolution around the world.

A man in a yellow cap and turquoise shirt rides a red bicycle on a street. Behind him, a vibrant mural reads “LA PAZ ES AHORA” in white and orange over a blue and green painted landscape, with a graffitied door.

Video

Pilgrimage of peace: 80 Years after Hiroshima and Nagasaki

In August 2025, a group of Notre Dame students and faculty joined representatives from other U.S. Catholic universities in Japan as part of a “Pilgrimage of Peace” to mark the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
The Hiroshima Peace Memorial, also known as the Genbaku Dome, a skeletal structure with a bare metal dome and crumbling walls, framed by green leaves against a pale sky.
  • A large, vintage-style globe is shown, with a close-up of the continents of North and South America.

    Article

    Origin story

    The Peace Corps began in part on the campus of Notre Dame.

  • An elevated view of a city with buildings and mountains under a cloudy sky

    Article

    Verifying peace

    Kroc Institute will monitor peace implementation in Colombia

Article

Implementing the Colombian Peace Agreement

Professors Doug Cassel and David Cortright played a pivotal role in ending 50 years of conflict in Colombia.

An aerial view of Bogotá, Colombia, featuring the Church of San Francisco with its twin spires, surrounded by residential and commercial buildings, against a backdrop of mountains and a cloudy sky.
  • An illustration of a handshake between a person in a military uniform and a person in a business suit.

    Article

    Fighting for lasting peace

    Discover how Notre Dame human rights attorney Doug Cassel helped broker the peace deal that ended Colombia's bloody civil conflict.

  • A large stone cross in the foreground overlooks a busy port city with a bay and a skyline of modern buildings.

    Article

    Peace wager

    Law expert assists with negotiations in Columbia

Article

Fighting for a new generation of peacebuilders

Notre Dame student Prashan De Visser founded “Sri Lanka Unites”, a youth movement to educate young people, unite them across ethnic and religious divides, and show them how peace, not war, will best preserve their country, their communities and their culture.

Three men paint a mural. One crouches beside a vibrant red and yellow bird. Another man paints a vertical stripe, and a third watches. Left of the mural is a large, grayscale portrait of a young person with dark hair and wide eyes.
  3. Rashied Omar was one of the religious leaders who met with Nelson Mandela in 1999 to commemorate his historic presidency. As an activist and a leader, Mandela played a crucial role in South Africa’s transition from Apartheid to a multiracial democracy.

    News

    Religion and peace: A conversation with imam and scholar A. Rashied Omar

    Rashied Omar was one of the religious leaders who met with Nelson Mandela in 1999 to commemorate his historic presidency.  As an activist and a leader, Mandela played a crucial role in South Africa’s transition from Apartheid to a multiracial democracy. As a young man in 1970s South Africa, A....

  7. A graphic depicts the U.S. and Chinese flags enmeshed and merging in the middle where they overlap, representing U.S.-China relations.

    News

    US states shape foreign policy amid national China unease, research shows

    State-level officials such as governors, state legislators and attorneys general are shaping U.S.-China relations as the two countries navigate a strained geopolitical relationship, according to new research by political scientist Kyle Jaros. “The state level has independent importance in the U.S.-China relationship — it’s not just a reflection of what’s...

  8. Tropical mangrove green tree forest view from above, trees, river. Mangrove landscape, Ecosystem and healthy environment concept. Mindanao, Philippines.

    News

    Peace Accords Matrix expands to the Philippines

    Building on its international success and reputation in peace accords monitoring, the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, part of the Keough School of Global Affairs, and its Peace Accords Matrix (PAM) program have launched their next global project: PAM Mindanao (PAM-M) in the Philippines. PAM-M is a partnership between PAM...

  11. Josefina Head Shot

    News

    Kroc Institute’s Peace Accords Matrix to address UN Security Council

    The Peace Accords Matrix (PAM) program, part of the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame, has been invited to present to the United Nations Security Council at 10 a.m. ET Friday (Oct. 20). The presentation can be watched live on the U.N. livestream service: https://media.un.org/en/webtv....

  12. Catholic Peacebuilding

    News

    Catholic peacebuilders bring hope amid the world’s crises

    The virtual conference “Catholic Peacebuilding in Times of Crisis: Hope for a Wounded World,” held June 20-23, was a four-day, intensive exploration of Catholic engagement on a wide range of topics — from conflict in Ukraine and Congo and peace processes in Colombia and South Sudan to the refugee crisis,...

  15. Colombia (Photo by Mateo Leguizamón Russi)

    News

    Implementation of ethnic provisions lags in 2016 Colombian Peace Agreement, report finds

    The Peace Accords Matrix program (PAM), part of the University of Notre Dame’s Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, has released its first report monitoring the implementation of 80 stipulations within the 2016 Colombian Peace Agreement related to ethnic communities across the country. The report, “Recognition and Guarantees for the...

  16. David Cortright

    News

    New volume highlights voices for peace and nonviolence from history and the present

    A new book, edited by David Cortright, brings voices for peace and nonviolence from around the world into conversation. Truth Seekers: Voices of Peace and Nonviolence from Gandhi to Pope Francis (Orbis Books, 2020) includes seminal writings from pioneers in nonviolence including Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., labor...

  23. Pam Launch Image

    News

    Kroc Institute releases seventh report on Colombian Peace Agreement implementation

    A new report from the University of Notre Dame’s Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies and its Peace Accords Matrix Barometer Initiative in Colombia presents the status of peace accord implementation as of November. The sixth year of implementation of the Colombian Final Accord was marked by minor variations in implementation levels....

  24. PAM

    News

    Kroc Institute identifies Colombia’s next steps in fourth peace implementation report

    On June 16, the University of Notre Dame’s Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies published its fourth comprehensive report on the peace agreement implementation in Colombia, covering the period between December 2018 and November 2019. In addition to describing the current status of implementation, the report includes comparative findings and...

Discover and engage
  1. Broadly smiling woman with dark hair in a navy jacket with gold buttons, arms crossed, in front of bookshelves.

    Podcast

    What happened to the traditional American family?

    The American family has changed dramatically over the past four decades, raising urgent questions about marriage, economic stability, and child well-being.

  2. Statue of Sacred Heart of Jesus, two lit candles, surrounded by worn black and brown shoes and scattered red tokens on wood.

    Article

    A saint of our own?

    The humble piety of Notre Dame cobbler Brother Columba inspires a canonization push.

  3. Golden Dome and Basilica of the Sacred Heart silhouetted against a red and orange sunset, reflected in a Notre Dame lake.

    Photo Essay

    A model March

    Semester in full swing, snow, sun, fun, madness, and mulch.

  4. Congregation and clergy gather at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart with a purple banner and white-draped coffin.

    Photo Essay

    Remembrance and appreciation

    Lou Holtz, 1937–2026

  5. Smiling man with gray hair wearing a navy blazer, light blue dress shirt, and blue striped tie with orange accents, seated in a conference room with artwork and a monitor visible in the blurred background.

    Article

    A dignity movement

    2026 Laetare Medalist Timothy Shriver

  6. Smiling older man with short gray hair wearing a gray blazer and light blue shirt, set against a deep blue background overlaid with colorful financial candlestick chart graphics in teal, pink, and red.

    Podcast

    How do you measure success?

    Mendoza professor Joe Holt joins Jenna Liberto to talk purpose-driven goals, meaningful work, and redefining success.

  7. Students and three priests in white vestments gather for a night mass around a lit snow chapel and altar, snow-covered Sorin Hall in background.

    Photo Essay

    Between winter and spring

    The month in photos, February 2026

  8. Side-by-side black and white portraits. On the left, a man with wavy hair and a patterned blazer is shown in a grainy halftone style. On the right, Father Theodore Hesburgh, C.S.C., in a clerical collar, looks thoughtfully to the left.

    Article

    The press vs. the power

    Observer founder Robert Sam Anson had a contentious yet strong relationship with ND President Father Hesburgh.

  9. A woman with short dark hair smiles slightly while looking off-camera. She wears a brown, fleece-lined winter jacket. In the background, snow rests on dried plants in front of a tan brick wall.

    Podcast

    Cold plunges and unicorns

    Anthropologist Cara Ocobock reveals what extreme cold reveals about our bodies and human resilience, and why hunting a “unicorn” is harder than it looks.