Promoting Peace and Sustainable Development through Action and Advocacy

70 Pages·2017·4.16 MB·English

by  Laura Longoria

2017 Report

Promoting Peace
and Sustainable
Development
through Action
and Advocacy

“Building peace in the minds of men and women”
UNESCO
Peacebuilding Initiatives
By Forest Whitaker
UNESCO Special Envoy for Peace and Reconciliation
2017 Report

Promoting Peace
and Sustainable
Development
through Action
and Advocacy
Peacebuilding Initiatives
By Forest Whitaker
UNESCO Special Envoy for Peace and Reconciliation
Table of Contents
Foreword

My Mission: To Get Young People to Become Partners in the Promotion of
Lasting Peace and Sustainable Development in their Communities

I. Participation of Forest Whitaker in Key High Level Events in 2017 in His Capacity
as UNESCO Special Envoy for Peace and Reconciliation…………………………4
January: Special Guest at the World Economic Forum at Davos 2017
February: Forest Whitaker, supported by SDG Advocates Muhammad Yunus and Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser’s
organisations, works with young peacemakers
April: Driving Social Innovation at the Gamechanger Festival 2017 in Vienna
May: Championing African Youth at the World Economic Forum at Durban 2017
May: Joining forces at the Hague with SDG Advocates to call for renewed international efforts to protect education in conflict
June: Forest Whitaker moderates a panel with the Dalai Lama at the invitation of Starkey Hearing Technologies
September: UN Week: SDG Advocates meet with the Secretary-General and Deputy Secretary-General in New York
September: UN Week: Forest Whitaker and UNESCO Director-General exchange on key challenges and opportunities for
peace and development at the 2017 Concordia’s Annual Summit in New York
September: UN Week: Tribute to the Heroes of the Global Campaign Against Extremism and Intolerance
September: UN Week: Forest Whitaker reads one of Martin Luther King’s historic speeches where it was
first delivered, at Riverside Church fifty years ago
September: Forest Whitaker’s work as an artist and social activist in the spotlight at the El Gouna Film
Festival in Egypt
November: Advocating for SDGs at Philanthropy Awards organized by Bank of the West / BNP Paribas

II. Missions as CEO of the Whitaker Peace & Development Initiative and UNESCO
Special Envoy…………………………………………..……….…………19

UGANDA
February: Strengthening programs in Uganda
April: Launch of a new deployment of the Youth Peacemaker Network in Acholi sub-region
December: In Northern Uganda, Forest Whitaker and his partners take stock of progress made by WPDI on the ground and
welcome a new cohort of future community leaders

SOUTH SUDAN
February: Strengthening programs in South Sudan
April: Expanding the scope of WPDI in South Sudan through a new cohort of youth leaders
April: Forward-looking words of inspiration to the students of Juba University
December: Forest Whitaker inaugurates a new Community Learning Center in South Sudan, signaling a major step in the
expansion of WPDI in the country
December: Forest Whitaker welcomes a new cohort of young peacemakers in the Western Equatoria of South Sudan
1A
III. Articles and Blogs from Forest Whitaker Published in his Capacity as UNESCO
Special Envoy………………………………………………….…………33
January: From the blog of the World Economic Forum at Davos: “This is what real leadership means to me”
March: On CNN.com: “It’s not too late to save South Sudan”
May: From the blog of the World Economic Forum on Africa at Durban: “How young people can break the cycle of violence”
May: Joint Letter to the Editor of the London Times on the Protection of Education in Conflict
June: From the UN SDG Knowledge Platform: “Investing in ICT access and quality education to promote lasting peace”
September: On Africa.com : Let’s Help the Youth of South Sudan Write Their Own History
November: With UNESCO The role of a lifetime: fostering peace and creativity

IV. Video Messages Recorded for UNESCO and the UN………………………47

February: Forest Whitaker delivers video message on children in armed conflict
September: UN Week: Video message of Forest Whitaker for the International Conference on Sustainable Development
September: Forest Whitaker dedicates a video message on International Peace Day to the peoples and the youth of
South Sudan

V. Awards Received in 2017 for his Work as UNESCO Special Envoy and CEO of the
Whitaker Peace & Development Initiative………………………………….49

January: 2017 Crystal Award at the 47th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum
April: 4GAMECHANGER Of The Year Award at the Vienna 4GAMECHANGER Festival

VI. Youth Trained by WPDI in the Spotlight……………………………..….51
WPDI Peacemaker participates in 10th UNESCO Youth Forum to brainstorm on new avenues to peace and
sustainable development
UNESCO Courier: The story of Magdalena—South Sudan

VII. WPDI’s Partnerships……………………………..………………….53

VIII. Translating Our Ideals Into Concrete Action…………………………..55

A. Activities on the ground in South Sudan
Testimonies from South Sudan

B. Activities on the ground in Uganda
Testimonies from Uganda

C. Activities on the ground in Mexico
Testimony from Mexico

D. Activities on the ground in United States
1B
Foreword

2
My mission: to get young people to become partners in the promotion of lasting
peace and sustainable development in their communities

When communities have been touched by darkness, when they have been shattered by violence
or poverty, their energy must be rekindled from within. For these communities, recovery is
always possible, but never inevitable.

I founded the Whitaker Peace & Development Initiative (WPDI) to strengthen my work on the
ground as UNESCO Special Envoy for Peace and Reconciliation with the mission of promoting
peace at the global level and facilitating peacebuilding and reconciliation in parts of the world
impacted by conflict. Through WPDI, I seek to bring women and men together and to empower
them to become peace leaders and agents of positive transformations in their countries and
communities. I believe that young people, so often entrapped in destructive cycles of violence,
have in fact the passion and creativity to lead their communities down a different path, one of
peace and sustainable development. If we can connect these young women and men to each
other and channel their collective energy to be a force for good, their sparks will come together
to create a fire that will drive out even the most impenetrable darkness.

My teams and I are proud to work jointly with UNESCO in Mexico, Uganda, South Sudan, and the
United States. In these countries, we develop on-the-ground program to:

• Empower a new generation of peacebuilders with trainings in conflict resolution,
computers and technology, entrepreneurship, and life skills.
• Harness the potential of the Internet and mobile technology to connect
individuals and communities.
• Establish Community Learning Centers to bring Internet connectivity
and continuing education to fragile communities in Uganda and South Sudan.
• Build social networks to empower young people as peace leaders who can
disseminate values of tolerance and reconciliation.
• Mobilize international and local partners who can provide expertise in conflict
resolution.
• Support young women and men in the design and development of income-generating
projects through the provision of grants, continuous trainings and networking
opportunities.

3
I. Participation of Forest Whitaker in key high level events in 2017 in his capacity as
UNESCO Special Envoy for Peace and Reconciliation and UN Advocate for the SDGs
Among his roles as UNESCO Special Envoy for Peace and Reconciliation, one of the key missions of
Forest Whitaker is to champion the values of UNESCO and to heighten its visibility in important
international events.
January: Special Guest at the World Economic Forum at Davos 2017
Forest Whitaker actively contributed to the 2017 session of the Davos World Economic Forum,
notably at its opening, when he received the Crystal Awards for the leadership in peacebuilding
and conflict-resolution he has demonstrated throughout the years. Forest Whitaker participated in
a series of events and interviews some of them livestream. The Forum as a whole presented him
with a unique opportunity to showcase the work of his Foundation as well as to promote
innovative approaches to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
Established in 1971 as a not-for-profit foundation by Klaus Schwab, the World Economic Forum
engages the foremost political, business and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and
industry agendas. The 47th Annual Meeting convened from 17 to 20 January 2017, under the
theme “Responsive and Responsible Leadership”, on which Forest Whitaker published a tribune
on the website of the Forum.
On Monday 16 January, he received the prestigious Annual Crystal Awards, which honours artists
whose important contributions are improving the state of the world and who best represent the
“spirit of Davos”. The award was given to him for the leadership in peacebuilding and conflict-
resolution he has demonstrated throughout the years, notably by empowering youth as leaders
and entrepreneurs in communities touched by violence and poverty. The two other awardees
were violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter and singer/songwriter Shakira.
After the award ceremony, Mr Whitaker participated with Shakira in the media reception in their
capacity as SDGs Advocate. Mr Whitaker presented to more than 100 journalists his concrete
actions on the ground towards peace and security.

4
Mr. Whitaker also shared his experiences as artist and humanitarian and his vision for peace in a
number of events, press interviews and sessions.
Mr. Whitaker was interviewed live on his artistic and humanitarian careers by Tany Bryer of CNBC
Europe. (http://www.cnbc.com/live-tv/?trknav=navigation:livetv:watch-cnbc-tv:100563680).
He also participated in the interactive panel session “The New Lead Characters”. At this session,
other artists including choreographer Jin Xing (China), producer Karan Johar (India) and Filmmaker
Haifaa Al Mansour (Saudi Arabia) spelled their views on the diversity and complexity of our world.
The session is available onwatch on the Forum’s Youtube Channel.
Forest Whitaker engaged as well in a one-on-one conversation with BBC World News presenter
Zeinab Badawi. Through a provocative interview, Mr Whitaker was able to elaborate on fostering
peace and reconciliation in disadvantaged and fragile communities around the globe.
Mr Whitaker also participated as a keynote speaker in the session on the Future of Humanitarian
Response. Here are the key highlights from the humanitarian discussions:
Shifting the narrative on public-private collaboration: there exist great opportunities to grow
collaboration that goes beyond corporate social responsibility (CSR) and philanthropy to delivering
value both to people in need and to the private sector.
Leveraging technology and data responsibly: there has been a large increase in “digital
humanitarianism” in recent years. The constraint is not the technology, but a number of legal and
policy issues.
Understanding the connected refugee: delivering connectivity to all is essential for informed and
effective responses. Better connectivity has the potential to put crisis-affected people at the heart
of humanitarian response.
Applying innovative financing approaches: further exploration of new models – from Islamic
Finance to impact investment and social impact bonds – that secure long-term financing is
required.
Mr Whitaker did some additional interviews with Reuters, the Wall Street Journal, CNBC “Squawk
Box”, etc.
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February: Forest Whitaker, supported by SDG Advocates Muhammad Yunus and Her
Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser’s organisations, works with young peacemakers
On 06 – 10 February 2017, Forest Whitaker hosted, through his foundation, the Whitaker Peace &
Development Initiative (WPDI), a week-long workshop for young peacemakers from Uganda and
South Sudan, partnering with foundations and organisations founded by fellow Advocates
Muhammad Yunus and Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser.
Young peacemakers trained and supported by WPDI gathered in February in Uganda to
participate in workshops to reinforce their capacities as mediators and entrepreneurs. The
workshop benefited from the expertise and contribution of Yunus Social Business, an initiative of
Muhammad Yunus, Education Above All (EAA), founded by Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint
Nasser, and UNESCO. The participants learned a unique mix of conflict resolution, personal
development, Information and Communication and business/project management skills, as well
as learning about the SDGs.
“The young people we are gathering at this training have been active peace leaders for some time
now through our Youth Peacemaker Network program. They have already accomplished a lot for
their communities,” said SDG Advocate Forest Whitaker. “This week is not just about teaching
them things they do not know. It is also a time for us to listen to them, to learn from their stories.
As they grow in confidence and experience, I feel that I receive more and more from them.”
During the week, the workshop featured lectures and interactive sessions run by WPDI on conflict
resolution and business skills, as well as a session on life skills led by Forest Whitaker. In addition
a representative of Yunus Social Business taught participants the principles of social business and
provided concrete examples of how they can improve livelihoods for youth. EAA through its
Protect Education in Insecurity and Conflict (PEIC) initiative, held workshops on international law
and the protection of education, and together WPDI and UNESCO taught the SDG framework to
help the young leaders identify how they can contribute to the global goals through their
community projects and reach out to stakeholders for their support.
The young peacemakers left the training with greater mediation and entrepreneurial skills,
further empowered to transform their communities from the inside.
6
April: Driving Social Innovation at the Gamechanger Festival 2017 in Vienna
Forest Whitaker participated in the Gamechanger Festival 2017 to exchange on the issue of
refugees and the work of WPDI to empower young refugees in Uganda with his partner, Híkmet
Ersek, CEO of Western Union, and Sebastian Kurz, Austria’s Foreign Affairs Minister.
The Festival was an opportunity to showcase the work Forest Whitaker initiated with the Western
Union Foundation to empower young women and men residing in a settlement for refugees in
Kiryandongo Uganda. WPDI and Western Union Foundation decided to join forces in the benefit
of refugees in Uganda because the country is currently host to more than 800.000 people who
have fled from South Sudan since 2013 – and 400.000 since July 2016, when the civil war was
taken to new record levels of violence. Since WPDI already runs projects for internally displaced
people in South Sudan and has youth programs in northern Uganda, it was a logical move to
initiate work benefiting South
Sudanese youth in Uganda, a
country, which also has open
policies towards refugees and
favors innovative solutions in this
domain.
As a stage designed to showcase
innovation, notably through
information and communication
technology, the Gamechanger
festival provided a unique
opportunity to exchange on such groundbreaking projects as the Youth Peacemaker Network,
which equips young people with peacebuilding, ICT and entrepreneurship skills as well as mobile
technology so they can actively promote peace and reconciliation in their communities. A key
aspect of the project is indeed that young people are in the driving seat and develop their own
educational and business projects to benefit other youth of their community. They are the
partners, not just the beneficiaries of the program.
Forest Whitaker notably hold a conversion on the issue of refugees with Híkmet Ersek, CEO of
Western Union, Sebastian Kurz, Austria’s Foreign Minister, and innovators from the Austrian
business scene. In his keynote address, he said: “If no one cares for the physical and psychological
well-being of young refugees, then we allow in them the seeds of resentment and violence to be
sown, and we will only reap more conflict and war in the next generation. When women and
children are disenfranchised and abused, when men and boys are idling in neglect, peace is in
danger. […] We must help them wherever they are. It can be Syria, where some 11 million people
have fled their homes since the outbreak of the civil war in 2011. It can be Colombia, where the
decades of civil war have internally displaced nearly 7 million people. It can be South Sudan,
where nearly 3 million people have been forced out of their homes since 2013 by civil war,
including more than 1.8 million internally
“When women and children are disenfranchised and
displaced and 1.1 million seeking refuge in
abused, when men and boys are idling in neglect,
neighboring countries.” peace is in danger.”
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Forest Whitaker in Vienna, Austria