In late April 2004 Christina Alexander, USCPAA, Founder received an invitation to participate in the "Towards a World Without Violence" international peace congress June 23 - 27, 2004 in Barcelona, Spain. The conference brought peace workers from around the world together to share information and learn from each other.

The 5-day congress was part of the larger World Forum of Cultures Barcelona 2004 (Forum Barcelona 2004 May 9 to September 26, 2004), a new world event based on cultures and arts, designed to counterbalance the tensions of globalization through dialogue, debate, and celebration. "Educating and mobilizing for a culture of peace" will be
one of the topics explored during the Congress.

Ms. Alexander was invited to participate based on her knowledge and expertise gleaned from her work with the Peace Arch International Park and the USCPAA over the past nine years. "Your work with the Peace Arch Park is an excellent example of peace building efforts in North America and would be a very positive contribution to our theme of educating and mobilizing for a culture of peace," stated Ashleigh Arledge, Conference Organizer for the International Peace Bureau, Geneva, Switzerland.

We have divided the The Universal Forum of Cultures into two seperate web pages with photographs. The first page is about the "Universal Forum of Cultures" Barcelona 2004 itself. The second page is about the USCPAA's participation in the "Towards a World Without Violence" peace congress a Forum Dialog.

The introduction below will give you a overview the event. We hope it helps you understand why the the story of the Peace Arch and the USCPAA's work in the international peace park was a welcomed addition to the Barcelona event. If you like you skip the introduction and go directly to the pages with the links below.

Peace with each other,
Peace with the Earth and sustainable future development are the core themes of the Universal Forum of Cultures, Barcelona 2004.

Billed as an event that will move the world, this first world's fair of peace & culture ran from May 9, 2004 to September 26th, 2004, in Barcelona, Spain.

The mass media is perpetuates the stereotype that peacemakers and peace workers are either activists
or pacifists. These stereotypes do not serve the peace
building community or the general public. There are
as many aspects of peacemaking as there are faces of war. 

Forum Barcelona provided a wonderful opportunity for the public to learn about and become more familiar with many thought provoking world issues.

It did this in a culturally based environment that was both informative politically inoffensive. There are many causes and movements that would benefit from simulating this non-confrontational style of expressing sharing their message through art, culture and dialog.

Dialogues topics at the Forum included the amplification and respect of Human Rights; cultural diversity in a globalizing world; the reform of international bodies with inclusion of civil society; immigration as a challenge for global development; an effective enforcement of gender equality; the reform of the international health cooperation models; cities as the stage for globalization; freedom of expression; interreligious dialogue; the European alternative for multilateralism; knowledge as an essential component of development;  the demand to put in practice the principle of corporate social responsibility;  the need for a new model in energy and water management; and peace building as a permanent process.

Forum Photo Timeline 1995 ~ 2004

The City of Barcelona, the Spanish Government spent 9 years of planning and development on the Universal Forum of Cultures.

The Universal Forum of Cultures was such a success that the mayor of Monterrey, Mexico, Ricardo Canavati, has expressed his hope that the second edition of the Forum, to be celebrated in this Mexican city in 2007.

City of Blaine's
Letter of Support