United States Institute of Peace Moves into Permanent Home
Today the United States Institute of Peace, a congressionally funded institution which works on international conflict, moved into its first permanent home in the nation’s capital at 23rd Street and Constitution Avenue NW. The headquarters will serve as a national hub for research, training and on-the-ground work in preventing and managing international conflict and allow USIP to address the difficult problems of war and peace using cost-effective and efficient problem-solving approaches.
March 21, 2011
(Washington) - Today the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), a congressionally funded institution which works on international conflict, moved into its first permanent home in the nation’s capital at 23rd Street and Constitution Avenue NW. The headquarters will serve as a national hub for research, training and on-the-ground work in preventing and managing international conflict and allow USIP to address the difficult problems of war and peace using cost-effective and efficient problem-solving approaches.
"Today marks the realization of a vision brought to life by Congress 27 years ago," said USIP President Richard H. Solomon. "We are grateful to President Ronald Reagan, during whose administration we were created, and to President Carter for the bipartisan Matsunaga Commission he appointed that recommended our creation."
"At a time of war, with enormous economic burdens, we need cost-effective, efficient, problem-solving organizations like USIP, that can get ahead of international crises before they happen and help our military and civilians to avoid loss of lives around the world," said Stephen J. Hadley, former national security adviser and senior adviser for international affairs at USIP.
Known for its ground-breaking work such as The Iraq Study Group, the Genocide Prevention Task Force, the Strategic Posture Review, and many other bipartisan commissions, the Institute has also trained thousands of military and civilian personnel in how to manage transitions from war to peace. Its National Peace Essay Contest is recognized as a leading American resource for high school students interested in learning to be peacemakers. Twenty-five percent of the Institute’s budget goes each year to grantees working to develop the international conflict management field, and hundreds of scholars and publications emanate from USIP. A leader in the fields of religion and peace, rule of law, sustainable economies, gender, media, technology and peacebuilding, the Institute operates offices in Iraq and Afghanistan and runs training programs in Sudan, Haiti, the Balkans, Pakistan, Nigeria, the Philippines, throughout Africa and the Middle East.
At the Institute's 20th anniversary, the U.S. Congress issued a resolution that stated “Congress recognizes that the Institute has become an important national resource for education, training, and applied programs in the prevention, management, and resolution of international conflict."
It was not until 1996 that the U.S. Congress, recognizing the Institute’s contributions to international conflict management, authorized the Navy to transfer jurisdiction of federal land- a portion of its Navy Hill facility- as the site of the permanent headquarters of the United States Institute of Peace. A bipartisan group of current and past congressional and executive branch officials attended the groundbreaking in June 2008. President George W. Bush, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid were some of those who testified to the valuable contributions that USIP had made to the national security of the United States.
"Today, the campus of the United States Institute of Peace will have all the elements of a national institution—the working offices of the headquarters facility, a state-of the-art conference center, a professional education and training Academy, and a public education center,” said Tara Sonenshine, executive vice president. “By virtue of its purpose and location facing the monuments and memorials, the new headquarters of the United States Institute of Peace is a symbol of peacebuilding on the National Mall as well as a substantive programming center.”
The U.S. Institute of Peace will resume public programming at the new building in April. Upcoming events are posted online at: www.usip.org/events.
Additional Resources
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The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) provides the analysis, training and tools that help to prevent, manage and end violent international conflicts, promote stability and professionalize the field of peacebuilding.
