Virtual Office Resource

The latest wave of advocacy for global peace is coming from a somewhat unexpected place: the communications industry. Whether or not you’re familiar with the Oprah Winfrey Network’s Belief Series and the Belief Team, the Voice Communication Exchange Committee (VCXC) has taken to heart its energies with the recent announcement of a Belief Campaign. VCXC is an organization dedicated to encouraging the widespread (and eventually exclusive) adoption of IP-based communications.

In terms of analyzing relations between nations on a global scale, investment in communications infrastructure serves as a sort of opposing force to military spending: conflicts obviously reduce communication between nations, whereas in times of peace military force tends to move aside. Thus it is not hard to see why companies operating in this industry have much to gain from aligning themselves with peace groups and taking other steps to encourage global harmony, which in turn will inevitably lead to more business.

VCXC will officially launch the Belief Campaign on September 21 in celebration of the United Nation’s International Peace Day, alongside hundreds of other contributing organizations and of course the Oprah Winfrey Network. One of its efforts include the production and release of an official “Belief Song,” the proceeds of which will go to two not-for-profit organizations dedicated to encouraging healthy interactions among nations: Télécoms Sans Frontière and Independent Diplomat.

“Everyone recognizes the expanding reach of the Internet and proliferation of mobile phones as a communication miracle,” said Daniel Berninger (News - Alert), founder of VCXC. “The Belief Campaign harnesses the new globally shared experience of day-to-day events arising from these expanding communication options toward the cause of a first ever global cease-fire.”

The communications industry is one of the largest and highest concentrated in the world. Because these companies have a stake in reducing or eliminating global conflict, as described earlier, it’s reasonable to interpret the Belief Campaign as more than a smart PR move and instead as an effort that may actually help bring people together and that much closer to finally achieving world peace.