ABOUT US
The Institute Novact of Nonviolence is a non-profit association dedicated to conflict transformation and peacebuilding. It has been working in the Euro-Mediterranean region for more than 20 years.
NOVACT is committed to driving change in fragile and conflict-affected contexts, creating transformative policies that promote peace, defend civic space, generate human security, ecological justice, gender justice, digital justice, and prevent corporate abuses. The aim is to ensure that decisions affecting the future of communities can be made by the communities themselves.
NOVACT is closely connected to social movements through a comprehensive protection strategy, understanding that for social transformation, it is crucial to work on the collective strength of the people.
History
NOVACT was founded by a group of former conscientious objectors to the Spanish army during the Franco dictatorship. They created the association to share their experience in conflict transformation with the people. They aimed to work with individuals who organized themselves in response to violations of their rights, with the goal of contributing to a peaceful, just, dignified, and equitable world.
Nonviolence
Nonviolence is the idea that inspires NOVACT’s political thinking and is at the core of its organizational mission, strategy, and all its actions.
Nonviolence is not confined to the negation or absence of direct violence in any form. Instead, nonviolence manifests as a project of social, individual, and collective transformation, founded on the principles of full democracy, the pursuit of human security, the defense of human rights, and the safeguarding of the commons. Therefore, to underscore NOVACT’s aim of fostering positive peace, we frequently use the term Nonviolent Action.
Where we work
NOVACT operates in 14 countries across the Euro-Mediterranean region. Geographically, our intervention is divided into three regions: the Maghreb, with the central office located in Tunis and another in the Sahrawi Refugee Camps of Tindouf; the Mashreq, with the central office in Amman, Jordan, and one in Ramallah, Palestine; and finally, Europe, with the central office in Barcelona and additional offices in Madrid and Extremadura.
Mission
NOVACT’s mission is to break cycles of violence and build peace by strengthening the role of organised civil society in peacebuilding, conflict prevention and transformation processes. .
NOVACT claims nonviolent action as a principle, strategy, and tactic to address human rights violations, end violence in all its dimensions and promote transformative policies for a peaceful, just, decent, and equitable world.
