The creation of IAJP was an initiative of Archbishop Isidore de Souza. After the “National Conference of the Active Forces of the Nation” of February 1990, he recognised that the Catholic Church of Benin had a duty to accompany – without ethnic or religious distinction – politicians, executives, social actors and above all pastoral workers and students in their vision of a peaceful and prosperous Benin.
He therefore decided to create an Institute of Artisans of Justice and Peace, in charge of research and training. Conceived from 1990 onwards, IAJP was founded on 22 December 1997 at the St Gall Major Seminary in Ouidah, during its first symposium entitled “Ethnic identities and national integration”, which may be regarded as its founding programme.
IAJP thus has a national vocation, while being open to the CERAO region (Regional Episcopal Conference of West Africa), to the whole of Africa and to the world.
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