From 30 September to 2 October 2024, a special event took place at the adult education centre by the Seddiner See and in the city of Berlin: it was the 10th PeaceBread annual conference initiative held under the motto “PeaceBread across generations: Ready for the next start – Promoting European dialogue for peace and agriculture”.
With the return of the European PeaceBread to its original location, the former death strip at the Berlin Wall, a significant anniversary was celebrated in the presence of patron and Federal Minister Cem Özdemir, as well as Dr. Christian Stäblein, Bishop of the Protestant Church in Berlin-Brandenburg and Silesian Upper Lusatia. As an academy, it was important for us to support FriedensBrot e. V. in planning and realising the conference and to be there to accompany them.
FriedensBrot e. V. is a non-profit association that has set itself the goal of emphasising the connection between peacekeeping and sustainable agriculture in Europe. By cooperating with partners from countries that joined the European Union after 1989 or have the prospect of joining, the association is committed to peace and international understanding.
Since being founded in 2014, it has united Germany and 11 partner countries from Central and South-Eastern Europe from behind the former “Iron Curtain” in a unique network. The association has its origins in a highly symbolic project: the Mauerroggen, literally “wall rye”. This rye was sown on the former death strip at the Berlin Wall, harvested and transformed into a joint European PeaceBread with rye from the partner countries. Since then, this bread has stood for overcoming conflict, cohesion and experiencing European solidarity. It is particularly significant that Finland and Ukraine have also been participating as host countries since 2024 and that Ukrainian rye has become part of the joint PeaceBread for the first time. In times of war in Europe, the PeaceBread project is of particular significance. In addition to remembering history – notably the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Iron Curtain – the network also sees itself as a bridge to the future for young generations in agriculture.
This year’s three-day conference marked the culmination of ten years’ successful networking. The project launched on 30 September 2024 at the Seddiner See with content produced by the partners in the network and an excursion to the Trebbin agricultural cooperative. The day of 1 October 2024 ended with a festive Brandenburg evening at the invitation of the state government, where participants intensified exchanges and created new momentum for future collaboration.
On 2 October, the anniversary conference continued with a ceremony at the Katholische Akademie Berlin and a panel discussion comprising high-ranking representatives of politics and civil society from partner countries. There followed a solemn ceremony in the Chapel of Reconciliation at the Berlin Wall, which was particularly moving. Here, the symbolic peace bread made from rye was blessed and distributed to participants.
During the event, Federal Minister Cem Özdemir made an urgent appeal to participants: “Anyone who believes that they can sacrifice one thing – freedom – in order to achieve peace, will lose both in the end” and emphasised the close link between freedom and peace. The Federal Minister closed the event by presenting the European PeaceBread to the Hungarian representative, with Hungary officially assuming the role of host country for the 2025 conference.
In a joint declaration published during the conference, partners made an urgent appeal to continue European dialogue, deepen cooperation and, above all, actively involve the younger generation.
From 2025, the association plans to create a new format for dialogue between young people from partner countries with “Sourdough C(h)amps” – a message of responsibility.
Looking ahead to coming years, PeaceBread will remain a living symbol of real European values – based on the conviction that peace and cooperation constitute the foundations for a sustainable future.
We would like to thank all participants and supporters of this anniversary conference and kindly invite you to stay informed about the activities of the PeaceBread initiative in the future.
For further information: „PeaceBread“
