What forumZFD does

Pro Peace (formerly forumZFD; legal name: Forum Ziviler Friedensdienst e.V.) is a German non-profit registered association founded in 1996 and headquartered in Cologne (Köln). It delivers civil peace services across three integrated lines: (i) international peacebuilding programmes in 13 countries including Iraq, Israel & Palestine, Jordan, Cambodia, Lebanon, the Philippines, Ukraine, and the Western Balkans; (ii) a Germany-based Local Conflict Counselling programme; and (iii) professional training and certification through the wholly-owned Academy for Conflict Transformation, which has trained peace-work specialists for more than 25 years and recently launched its first certified-trainer cohort in Dealing with the Past and Conflict-Sensitive Journalism.

The organization operates through a tri-partite structure: the parent association runs field programmes and central operations, the Academy delivers curriculum (online seminars and part-time qualifications such as Friedens- und Konfliktarbeit, Climate-Sensitive Peacebuilding, and the Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus), and the affiliated Stiftung Pro Peace Foundation supports complementary fundraising. Distribution relies on direct in-country engagement, a content-led marketing surface (website, annual report, themed publications up to 52 pages), social channels (Facebook, YouTube, Mastodon, Instagram, LinkedIn), and a self-serve donation portal banking through GLS Gemeinschaftsbank. There is no proprietary technology platform; the offering is human-delivered expertise rather than software.

The business model is donation- and grant-funded, not commercial. Programmes are delivered free of charge to beneficiaries; funding flows from individual donations, institutional donors, and government grants (notably through the German Civil Peace Service / Ziviler Friedensdienst ecosystem, of which Pro Peace is a core member, alongside Initiative Transparente Zivilgesellschaft and Plattform Zivile Konfliktbearbeitung). Revenue figures, ARR, and budget totals are not publicly disclosed. In 2024 the organization completed a rebrand from forumZFD to Pro Peace, signalling organizational repositioning while preserving its mandate.

Name

forumZFD

Legal name

Forum Ziviler Friedensdienst e. V.

Website

https://forumzfd.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Pro Peace (formerly forumZFD) is a German non-profit founded in 1996 that delivers civil peace services, conflict counselling, and professional training across 13 countries through international field programmes and its Academy for Conflict Transformation.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Non-profit Peacebuilding and Conflict Transformation Services

NAICS

Civic and Social Organizations (813410), Educational Support Services (61171), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

International Affairs (9721)

akta.pro primary industry

Post-Conflict Recovery, Reconciliation & Social Cohesion Programs (BPADAFAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus & Resilience Programming (BPADAEAK), Democracy, Human Rights & Governance Assistance (BPADABAG)

Keywords

• Civil peace services
• Conflict transformation
• Peacebuilding programmes
• Conflict counselling
• Peace and conflict training

Headquarters

HQ city

Köln

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Donations and charitable contributions: Pro Peace operates as a non-profit organization funded primarily through donations from individual supporters, institutional donors, and government grants. The organization provides its peacebuilding services through international programmes without direct revenue generation from programme participants.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

forumZFD (now Pro Peace) delivers non-violent conflict transformation services through international peacebuilding programmes in 13 countries and domestic local conflict counselling in Germany. Core offerings include country-specific International Programmes (Iraq, Israel & Palestine, Jordan, Cambodia, Lebanon, Philippines, Ukraine, Western Balkans), the Academy for Conflict Transformation providing professional training and certification in peace and conflict work, and a Germany-based local conflict counselling service. Services are provided free of charge to beneficiaries and supported by donations, institutional grants, and government funding.

Product overview

Pro Peace (formerly forumZFD) is a peacebuilding organization offering a unified portfolio of services centered on international peace work and conflict transformation. The core offering consists of country-specific International Programmes operating across 8 regions, combined with a Germany-based Local Conflict Counselling program. Supporting these field programs is the Academy for Conflict Transformation, which provides professional training courses in peace and conflict work. The organization also produces publications including annual reports and thematic studies. All offerings are interconnected under the unified Pro Peace brand, which replaced the forumZFD name in 2026.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Academy: Academy for Conflict Transformation - training specialists for international peace work for over 25 years

Products and services

• International Programmes On-the-ground peacebuilding programmes in 13 countries providing conflict transformation, civil society strengthening, and local conflict counselling for conflict-affected populations and civil society partners.
• Germany Programme - Local Conflict Counselling Local conflict counselling service within Germany helping communities address and resolve local conflicts through trained peace specialists.
• Academy for Conflict Transformation - Training & Qualification Professional training, qualification, and certification programmes in peace and conflict work, including Friedens- und Konfliktarbeit (berufsbegleitende Weiterbildung), Dealing with the Past, Climate-Sensitive Peacebuilding, and The Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus and Conflict Sensitivity, delivered as in-person and online seminars for peace workers and conflict professionals.

Quantifiable outcome

• 174 employees worldwide delivering peacebuilding programmes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Ziviler Friedensdienst (Civil Peace Service)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCore membership in the Civil Peace Service network in Germany. Ziviler Friedensdienst is a joint initiative of German peace and church organizations working towards civil conflict management internationally.
• Initiative Transparente ZivilgesellschaftminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommitment to transparency standards for German civil society organizations, demonstrating organizational accountability and governance standards.
• Plattform Zivile Konfliktbearbeitung (PZKB)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMembership in the platform for civil conflict management in Germany, contributing to the broader peacebuilding community and policy dialogue.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• International Alert: London-based peacebuilding NGO working on conflict prevention and peacebuilding policy. Shares the conflict-transformation methodology and multi-country field model that defines Pro Peace, with comparable organizational scale.
• Berghof Foundation: German peace research and peacebuilding organization operating internationally with a focus on conflict transformation, dialogue, and training. Direct geographic and methodological peer to Pro Peace within the German peace infrastructure.
• Search for Common Ground: The largest dedicated peacebuilding NGO globally, working in 35+ countries on conflict transformation. Directly comparable in mission, methodology (prevention, dialogue, training), and target populations to Pro Peace, with significantly greater scale.
• Austrian Study Centre for Peace and Conflict Resolution (ASPR): Austrian peace research and training institution with a long-running peace and conflict studies programme. Closely comparable to Pro Peace's Academy for Conflict Transformation in DACH-region training market.
• swisspeace: Swiss peace research and practice organization offering peacebuilding training, dialogue, and applied research. Comparable in mission, training/academy model, and DACH-region positioning.
• Peace Direct: UK-based peacebuilding NGO focused on partnering with local peacebuilders in conflict-affected regions. Comparable in field-based delivery model and emphasis on local actors.
• Conciliation Resources: UK-based NGO specializing in peacebuilding in fragile and conflict-affected states, with emphasis on dialogue, inclusion, and dealing with the past — overlapping directly with Pro Peace's portfolio.

Broad incumbents

• International Crisis Group: Global think-tank and field-based organization working on conflict prevention and resolution. Overlaps in countries of operation and analytical/policy orientation, but operates primarily as a research and advocacy body rather than a programmatic NGO.
• Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ): German federal development agency implementing large-scale international cooperation programmes. Overlaps with Pro Peace in countries of operation, German government funding source, and civil-society-empowerment objectives — but at vastly greater scale and as a state implementing agency.

Emerging players

• Center for Civilians in Conflict (CIVIC): US-based NGO focused on civilian protection in conflict, particularly in the Middle East. Shares geographic overlap with Pro Peace (Iraq, Israel/Palestine) and a conflict-affected-civilians mission, with comparable organizational scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@propeace_ngo
• Facebookfacebook.com/propeace.ngo
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/propeace-ngo
• Instagraminstagram.com/propeace_ngo
• Xx.com/forumzfd

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about forumZFD