The Guerrand-Hermès Foundation for Peace (GHFP) was founded in 1995 by Simon Xavier Guerrand-Hermès, then a board member of Hermès International, and by Sharif Istvan Horthy, the grandson of Admiral Horthy (Regent of Hungary 1920-1944).

Our motivating ideals are to work from, and to cultivate and support, human qualities and values.— Sharif Istvan Horthy, Co-Founder and Chairman of the Board.

The founders believe that to effect enduring positive change and transformation in the world, the individual ought to start from a deeper connection with his/her inner life and spirituality. This principle guides the GHFP’s Trustees’ decisions in terms of the focus of our work and how to approach it.

Mission and Objectives
The GHFP’s mission is to promote and support peace, and a flourishing human future. We seek to contribute strategically to the resolution of human problems, in a spirit of optimism and realism. Our objective is to facilitate processes that help true human qualities to develop in the world, and for our work to be inspired by these qualities.

Our Work
The GHFP works as a research institute, investigating areas of concern key to the advancement of our mission. Our team work to specify strategically incisive questions to be explored in collaboration with others. These questions aim to challenge practically relevant assumptions that typically drive the way in which problems are defined and resolved.

Areas of Engagement
The GHFP focuses on five major areas:

  • Advancing the concept of positive peace and cultivating peaceful relationships globally
  • Fostering collective healing of historical mass trauma and instilling racial equity in global communities and institutions
  • Introducing the notion of holistic human well-being and supporting the development of governments and institutions that are well-being sensitive
  • Promoting deep dialogue in transforming conflicts in divided communities
  • Encouraging humanity-centred education and inspiring a culture of care in schools

Approaches
The GHFP undertakes research (normative, conceptual and empirical). The priority of our research is to identify good questions that are strategically important and seek appropriate methodologies for relevant investigations. We also involve other scholars and practitioners to help us improve the questions and methodologies. We repeat this process until arriving at some answers and understandings worthy of sharing or disseminating. Often this process also includes grounded experiences in the field and/or pilot projects.

More specifically, our work involves

  • research inquiries and open spaces for dialogue, listening and learning;
  • relevant research and projects and pilot studies to learn from experiences in the fields;
  • educational programmes at universities, schools and workplaces;
  • international seminars, symposia and forums;
  • dissemination through publications such as books and journal articles.

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