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Dialogue is structured by the society we live in. It shapes the conversations we have which are in turn segregated along class, capital, and cultural divides. Where we find ourselves has a profound effect on the information we receive and trust, and thus on the nature of the debates and opinions we hold. Information is everything.

Mainstream (media and political) narratives, however, offer no guarantee for quality dialogue nor a balanced exposure to pertinent information, subject as they are to their own group and market mechanisms. A concerted effort is required to ensure that good (informed) dialogue is present in any discussion.

At The Hague Peace Projects we pursue peace through dialogue and attempt to unravel battles of narratives by having honest conversations. In the process, we steadily expose information about conflicts which is structurally underrepresented in the media today. Information that is critical for an accurate representation of facts and exposure to knowledge, such that a healthy and well-informed civil and political discourse may be equipped to achieve peace through consensus one day.

However, anno 2024 and peace through consensus seems further away than ever. Particularly in the face of conflict, dialogue must contend with increasingly singular narratives from media and political landscapes that perpetuate cycles of selective information towards escalation and away from understanding. A process, more often than not governed by divisive algorithms, which emboldens and energizes the call for conflict resolution by force while undermining genuine efforts towards peace.

Dialogue, coupled with a sufficient wealth of information upon which our conversations are based, is the only method we have to counteract and make sense of an escalating conflict of competing stories. Especially when these narratives thrive on the creation and demonisation of opposites and the division they generate.

The Hague Peace Projects finds itself playing an increasingly important role providing context and balance to mainstream narratives on global and domestic conflicts, both here in The Netherlands and abroad. Our pursuit of dialogue seeks to represent the stories behind our conflicts and empower us to ultimately break the cycle that keeps them returning.

Alas, our mandate of understanding remains outside the reward mechanisms of free market capitalism and is only possible with your help. We ask for your support for a healthy and well-informed civil and political society to effectively engage in peaceful discourse and decision-making and to properly consider what is necessary to end our cycles of war and conflict.