Give peace a chance.
A home for the ideas, data and people working to make peace real, one community at a time.
“The only hope for any of us is peace.”John Lennon, press statement, 1969
In 1969 John Lennon and Yoko Ono turned the world's attention on themselves into a campaign for peace. They invited the press into their hotel rooms, answered every question about war, and gave the peace movement a song that is still sung today.
Bed-in, Amsterdam
From room 702 of the Hilton Amsterdam, John and Yoko hold a week-long bed-in and talk with reporters from morning until night about peace.
Bed-in, Montreal
A second bed-in at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel draws visitors, journalists and fellow activists for seven days.
A song recorded in a hotel room
In room 1742, with Timothy Leary, Tommy Smothers, Dick Gregory, Allen Ginsberg and others joining in, Lennon records "Give Peace a Chance."
Released as a single
Credited to the Plastic Ono Band, the single reaches number 2 in the UK and number 14 in the US. It was never on a Beatles album.
Half a million voices
At the Vietnam Moratorium in Washington, D.C., Pete Seeger leads about half a million demonstrators in singing it. A single becomes an anthem.
War is over, if you want it
Billboards in twelve cities around the world carry John and Yoko's holiday message, placing the choice for peace with the people who read it.
“If everyone demanded peace instead of another television set, then there'd be peace.”John Lennon, 1969, as shared by IMAGINE PEACE TOWER
Peace can be measured.
Every year the Institute for Economics & Peace publishes the Global Peace Index, the world's leading measure of how peaceful countries are. Its 2026 edition shows how far we still have to go.
A connection worth knowing. Iceland, the world's most peaceful country, is also home to the IMAGINE PEACE TOWER, the column of light Yoko Ono created in John Lennon's memory on Viðey Island near Reykjavík. It is lit every year from his birthday, October 9, until December 8.
Negative peace
The absence of violence or the fear of violence. It is what we usually mean when we say a war has ended.
Positive peace
The attitudes, institutions and structures that create and sustain peaceful societies. It is what keeps peace from breaking down, and what we can build on purpose.
“We're trying to sell peace, like a product.”John Lennon, The David Frost Show, 1969
What peaceful societies have in common.
IEP's research found eight factors that, working together, make societies more peaceful, more resilient and more prosperous. No pillar works alone; strengthen one and the others tend to follow.
Well-Functioning Government
Delivers public services, earns trust and upholds the rule of law.
Sound Business Environment
Lets businesses start, grow and create jobs.
Equitable Distribution of Resources
Makes health, education and income reachable for everyone.
Acceptance of the Rights of Others
Protects basic freedoms and treats people fairly.
Good Relations with Neighbours
Builds trust between communities and between countries.
Free Flow of Information
Keeps media independent and knowledge open to all.
High Levels of Human Capital
Invests in the skills and wellbeing of people.
Low Levels of Corruption
Keeps power accountable and public resources honest.
“…having to use violence, then you are playing the system's game.”John Lennon, Bed-In for Peace, Montreal, June 1, 1969
Peace, measured four ways.
The Rotary Club of Newport Beach created 4-7-8-17 so every service project can be tested against four frameworks at once. The Institute for Economics & Peace's 8 Pillars sit at its center.
Rotary International and IEP begin their strategic partnership. The first joint Positive Peace workshop is held in Puebla, Mexico.
The free Rotary Positive Peace Academy opens online.
At the Rotary World Peace Conference in Ontario, California, the Rotary Club of Newport Beach is the only Rotary club with booth space, and it fills two booths with its original 4-6-8-17 banner.
Rotary adds Supporting the Environment as its seventh Area of Focus, and 4-6-8-17 becomes 4-7-8-17.
Steve Bender is certified as an IEP Ambassador, presenting 4-7-8-17 as his Ambassador Challenge.
WAR IS OVER! If you want it.John Lennon and Yoko Ono, billboard campaign, December 1969
People who give peace a chance every day.
This site celebrates the Rotarians and organizations whose work makes the 8 Pillars real.
Shab El Awar
Past District Governor, global grant builder and host of the Peace Park at the 2025 Rotary convention in Calgary.
Read his storySolutions for Peace
Rudy Westervelt's foundation, behind the Rotary World Peace Conferences of 2016 and 2020 in Southern California.
See all they doMines to Vines
Roots of Peace, founded by Rotarian Heidi Kühn, turns former minefields into vineyards and farms.
Read their storyLN4 Hands
Free prosthetic hands, built by our district in Newport Beach and carried by hand into Ukraine.
Give someone a handRotary and Peace
Peace fellows, peace parks, India's Pathway to Peace Groves and 135 Rotary peace projects in 44 countries.
See Rotary's peace workCambodia Peace Mission
Eye surgery, dental care and prosthetic hands in one clinic, plus a landmine school and the Killing Fields.
See how a mission worksRebuild Ukraine Green
Helping Ukraine rebuild once, and rebuild green, through Rotary global grants and local partners.
Our work for UkraineGive peace a chance, starting where you live.
Become an IEP Ambassador
A free six-week online course from the Institute for Economics & Peace, ending with a Positive Peace presentation to your own community.
Apply at IEPLearn Positive Peace
The Rotary Positive Peace Academy teaches the 8 Pillars through short lessons and real case studies, free of charge.
Visit the AcademyTalk across differences
Democracy In A Box offers nonpartisan tools for voting, civic life and respectful political conversation, guided by the Four-Way Test.
Open the boxGrow the next leaders
Growing Green Leaders brings climate action and Positive Peace to students and Rotary mentors across the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Meet the program“Our opposition… don't know how to handle humour.”John Lennon, on the Amsterdam bed-in, 1969
Places that keep the idea alive.
John Lennon was 40 years old when he was killed outside his home in New York. The places made in his memory are quiet by design, and they ask visitors to think about peace.
His birthday, October 9, is a good day to visit one, or to start something of your own.
Strawberry Fields, New York
A garden memorial in Central Park, across from the Dakota, dedicated on what would have been his 45th birthday in 1985.
IMAGINE PEACE TOWER, Iceland
A tower of light on Viðey Island, created by Yoko Ono and first lit on October 9, 2007.
Queen Elizabeth Hotel, Montreal
The hotel where "Give Peace a Chance" was recorded during the 1969 bed-in.