Nobel Peace Laureate Martti Ahtisaari created the Crisis Management Initiative (CMI) in 2000, following his term of office as President of Finland. Ahtisaari founded CMI because he believes that all conflicts can be resolved. Over the course of 20 years, CMI has grown into one of the world’s leading conflict resolution organisations that works every day to fulfil this vision. We are an independent Finnish organisation that prevents and resolves political conflicts through informal dialogue and mediation and builds sustainable peace across the globe. On 1 May 2021, CMI became CMI – Martti Ahtisaari Peace Foundation. The foundation makes CMI more sustainable and ensures Ahtisaari's lifework is taken forward to future generations. There are no quick fixes to the complex conflicts that are ravaging the world today. Achieving lasting peace requires long-term commitment, local ownership of solutions, creative ideas, and broad involvement by the entire society, including women. We support a more peaceful world by:
• mediating between conflict parties,
• enabling dialogue among key groups & helping them find new, sustainable solutions,
• supporting other actors – states, multinational organisations & mediators – to bring about peace, and
• helping national actors to build their internal conflict resolution capacities. Being an independent Finnish organisation gives us the scope to act where official diplomacy cannot. We can work in all phases of a peace process and at all levels of society. We can act quickly, go to places that are inaccessible for many governments and talk to people others cannot reach. However, we always ensure coordination of our actions with other actors, and have close working relationships with key international and regional organisations. We pride ourselves on our impartial approach, creativity and high-quality working processes. Ultimately, all our work aims to create extensive and lasting positive change in societies devastated by conflicts.
