BEFORE CEO, Dr. Heinz Krummenacher, discusses the work of the BEFORE Project, both in principle and in practice including their ‘active violence prevention’ work in Guinea and Guinea-Bissau. Started in 2008 as a joint swisspeace and the Alliance for Peacebuilding project and governed by a Board of renowned peacebuilding practitioners, the project works to prevent violent conflict in fragile states based on several key principles and guidelines:

• local leadership in peacebuilding efforts (where international experts only provide guidance),
• a comprehensive approach, addressing both structural and operational forms of prevention,
• cooperation between state, supra-state and civil society actors,
• flexibility to quickly adapt to changing circumstances,
• long-term involvement since durable peace cannot be achieved overnight.