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Peace Parks

IIPT Global Peace Parks Project

Living symbols of peace on six continents

The IIPT Global Peace Parks Project is a worldwide initiative dedicated to creating “living” symbols of peace. These parks serve as places for reflection, community gathering and the promotion of international understanding through the universal language of nature and shared green spaces.

Launched in 1992 with Peace Parks Across Canada, the project has grown to more than 450 IIPT Peace Parks on six continents. From major urban centres to rural villages, each park is committed to IIPT’s core mission: making travel and tourism a “Global Peace Industry.” Since 1992, an IIPT International Peace Park has been dedicated as a legacy of each of IIPT’s international conferences and global summits.

“The future belongs to those who give the next generation reasons to hope.”Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
An IIPT Peace Park dedication ceremony
Where to find them

IIPT Peace Parks & Cities of Peace

Designated places around the world. Click Canada on the map to open the full list of Peace Parks Across Canada.

IIPT Peace Parks and Cities of Peace World map of IIPT Peace Parks, Cities of Peace and Peace Towns. Select Canada to open the full list of Peace Parks Across Canada (PDF) in a new window. Peace Parks Across Canada: click to open the full list (PDF)
Click Canada to open the full list of Peace Parks Across Canada (PDF, opens in a new window).
IIPT Peace Park sign in Canada
Where it began · 1992

Peace Parks Across Canada

In 1992, to mark Canada’s 125th anniversary, IIPT invited every community in Canada to dedicate a park as a “place of peace.” The Peace Parks were dedicated at noon local time on October 8, 1992, as the National Peacekeeping Monument was unveiled in Ottawa, and each one includes a Peace Grove of 12 trees, one for each of Canada’s 10 provinces and 2 territories.

From St. John’s, Newfoundland, across five time zones to Victoria, British Columbia, communities took part. Of more than 25,000 Canada 125 projects, Peace Parks Across Canada was said to be the most significant, and it became the foundation for IIPT’s International Peace Parks around the world.

  • 381Peace Parks dedicated, as reported by IIPT
  • 12trees in every Peace Grove
  • 10provinces taking part
Around the world

Landmark IIPT Peace Parks

The Caux Palace at sunset, Montreux, Switzerland
2025

Caux Palace, Switzerland

Inaugurated on 8 July 2025 at the opening of the Caux Democracy Forum, at a place that has hosted dialogue between divided communities for 80 years.

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IIPT executives and local supporters at the IIPT Kepez Olive Peace Park
2025

Kepez, Çanakkale, Türkiye

The IIPT Kepez Olive Peace Park faces the Gallipoli Peninsula across the Dardanelles, dedicated on National Sovereignty and Children’s Day, 23 April 2025.

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Planting the first of six olive trees from Bethany Beyond the Jordan at Victoria Falls
2011 and 2013

Victoria Falls, Zambia

A legacy of IIPT’s Fifth African Conference in Lusaka, rededicated on 24 September 2013 as the opening-day event of the UNWTO 20th General Assembly. Six olive trees from Bethany Beyond the Jordan were planted, linking two World Heritage Sites.

IIPT Peace Park dedication in Uganda
A conference legacy

Kampala, Uganda

IIPT Peace Parks in Uganda carry forward the legacy of IIPT’s African conferences, including the 4th IIPT African Conference on Peace through Tourism, held in Kampala in 2007.

Pu’er Sun River IIPT Peace Park, Yunnan, China
Asia

Sun River, Pu’er, China

Set in Sun River National Park in Yunnan, one of IIPT’s International Peace Parks in Asia, alongside Danzhai Wanda Village in Guizhou, an IIPT Global Town of Peace.

The first IIPT Peace Park in Serbia
2022

Kruševac, Serbia

The first IIPT Peace Park in Serbia, designated by IIPT Serbia under President Jovan Popesku, followed by further parks across the country.

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Noteworthy IIPT International Peace Parks

  • Bethany Beyond the Jordan, site of Christ’s baptism
  • Victoria Falls, one of the seven natural wonders of the world
  • Ndola, Zambia, where UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld’s plane crashed en route to a peace mission in the Congo
  • Medellín, Colombia, dedicated on the opening day of the UNWTO 21st General Assembly
  • Sun River National Park, China
  • The Uganda Martyrs’ Shrine, Uganda
  • Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, where Gandhi began his non-violence movement
  • Bucharest, Romania
  • Danzhai Wanda, China
  • The Harrisburg Peace Promenade along the Susquehanna River, Pennsylvania, USA

Bethany Beyond the Jordan, 2000

Dedicated at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 2000, at the site of Christ’s baptism, as a legacy of the IIPT First Global Summit in Amman.

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, 2018

The city’s 2-mile Riverside Promenade was dedicated as an IIPT Peace Park, the model for the IIPT Global Peace Parks Project, with a special event each month leading up to November 11, 2018.

More than gardens

Why Peace Parks matter

Every IIPT Peace Park is dedicated to the idea that peace is not just the absence of conflict, but the presence of justice, harmony and mutual respect. By transforming public spaces into dedicated places of peace, communities create a visible reminder of our shared commitment to a better world.

Community Engagement

Empowering local citizens to take ownership of their peaceful environments through collaborative planting and care.

Educational Focus

Inspiring the next generation with outdoor classrooms where peace education and ecology meet.

Unity Landmarks

Physical anchors in the community, providing a space for reflection on our common humanity.

Environmental Stewardship

Venues for cultural exchange and care for our common natural heritage, across political and geographic boundaries.

Project objectives

  • Create a global network of dedicated peace spaces
  • Promote environmental awareness and sustainability
  • Foster cultural diversity and mutual understanding
  • Support tourism as a tool for international peace