Promote Peace

Rutgers' International Institute for Peace: a UNESCO Category II Institute

The International Institute for Peace at Rutgers University (IIP) was approved last year to become the second UNESCO Category II institute in the United States.

The IIP was co-founded in May 2011 by Forest Whitaker, Goodwill Ambassador for Peace and Reconciliation, and Aldo Civico, a Rutgers University anthropologist and expert in conflict resolution. The IIP’s activities are wide-ranging: it will offer graduate-level degrees in Conflict Resolution and Peace Studies, promote research on cutting-edge issues relating to peace-building, and participate in real-life mediations of communities in conflict. Further, the IIP brings a unique expertise in addressing the violent conflicts that take place in cities, particularly among youth and gangs. Harnessing the talents and experience of filmmaker Forest Whitaker, the Institute will also seek to document conflict all over the world, providing people with an outlet to share their own stories of conflict and peace. The resulting documentaries shall raise awareness and, hopefully, instigate change.

From the signing ceremony in Paris.
Forest Whitaker, Ambassador David Killion, UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova and  Aldo Civico

International Institute for Peace joins forces with UNESCO

The International Institute for Peace (IIP), co-founded by UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Forest Whitaker, will formally join forces with the Organization on 7 February with the signing of an agreement between UNESCO, the Institute, the Rutgers University in New Jersey, US, and the US government, the UN agency said in press statement here Friday.

It said that the agreement will place the IPP under the auspices of UNESCO.

The agreement to this effect will be signed at UNESCO Headquarters after a press conference with UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova, Forest Whitaker, Rutgers University Chancellor Philip Yeagle, and the US Ambassador to UNESCO, David Killion.

At the ceremony, video messages of support from Esther Brimmer, the US Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs, and Okello Sam, the founder of Hope North, a centre for refugees, orphans and former child soldiers in northern Uganda, will also be shown.

Read more from Afrique en Ligne

Rutgers University International Institute of Peace (IIP) Designated as UNESCO Category II Center

IIP Co-Founder Aldo Civico (left) with
UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Forest Whitaker (right)

At its recent General Conference, UNESCO approved the International Institute of Peace at Rutgers University as a UNESCO Category II Center.

UNESCO Category II Centers are institutions that don't receive funding from nor are legally part of UNESCO, but maintain association with UNESCO through a formal agreement.

The International Institute of Peace is the second UNESCO Category II Center in the United States. It joins the International Center for Integrated Water Resources Management (ICIWARM) based at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer Institute for Water Resources (IWR) based in Alexandria, VA.

For information about IIP and its designation as a UNESCO Category II Center, go here. 

Congratulations IIP!

Conversations With America: Bridging Divides: Youth, Peace and Reconciliation

UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Forest Whitaker and U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for International Organizations Esther Brimmer recently sat down for a State Department interview to discuss youth, peacebuilding and UNESCO.

Click image below to see the full interview. 

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Today is the International Day of Peace

 The United Nations' (UN) International Day of Peace is celebrated on September 21 each year to recognize the efforts of those who have worked hard to end conflict and promote peace. The International Day of Peace is also a day of ceasefire – personal or political.

Read UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova'a:

• message on the occasion of the International Day of Peace in 2011
• message on the occasion of the International Day of Peace in 2010

Plaza de Mayo Grandmothers receive UNESCO Peace Prize

The Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo (Argentina) receive the 2010 Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize at UNESCO Headquarters on 14 September, in the presence of the President of Argentina, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, President of Côte d'Ivoire Alassane Dramane Ouattara and several other Heads of State or Government.*

Call for Nominations - 2011 Prize

UNESCO-Madanjeet Singh Prize for the Promotion of Tolerance and Non-Violence

Closing date for submissions is 9 September 2011 at midnight.

The UNESCO-Madanjeet Singh Prize for the Promotion of Tolerance and Non-Violence rewards significant activities in the scientific, artistic, cultural or communication fields aimed at the promotion of a spirit of tolerance and non-violence. More......

Call for Nominations - 2011 UNESCO-Madanjeet Singh Prize for the Promotion of Tolerance and Non-Violence

V. Ananda Sangaree Receiving 2006 Award

UNESCO calls for nominations for the 2011 UNESCO-Madanjeet Singh Prize for the Promotion of Tolerance and Non-Violence. The closing date for submissions is 9 September 2011 at midnight.

The Prize is awarded every other year to an individuals, institution or non-governmental organization that has made exceptional contributions and demonstrated leadership in the promotion of tolerance and non-violence.

The Prize was created in 1995 on the occasion of the United Nations Year for Tolerance and the 125th anniversary of the birth of Mahatma Gandhi, thanks to the generosity of the Indian writer and diplomat Madanjeet Singh, who is also UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador.

The Prize carries a monetary award of USD 100,000. Winners also receive a certificate highlighting the major contributions for which it is awarded. The awardees are officially recognized at a ceremony that is held at UNESCO Headquarters on the International Day for Tolerance, celebrated every year on 16 November, at which they are invited to deliver an acceptance speech.

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Do you know about the Peace Program"

The Peace Program was created to support capacity development in the universities serving the Palestinian people. It is implemented by an international Network, The Network counts at present (March 2011) of 66 members: 53 European and 13 Palestinian universities. It cooperates closely with the major NGOs of higher education: the International Association of Universities (IAU) the International Association of University Presidents (IAUP), the European Association of Universities (EAU), the Association of Arab Universities (AARU), the Community of Mediterranean Universities (CUM), etc.

As an interuniversity network which seeks to promote international academic cooperation with the Palestinian universities, PEACE focuses its action on those areas in which international cooperation has made full proof of its efficiency, notably by contributing to raising the quality, efficiency and relevance of teaching and research at Palestinian universities and enhancing their institutional and staff development.

The support of UNESCO was instrumental in setting up the PEACE Network and developing its activities. When UNESCO launched its UNITWIN/UNESCO Chairs Programme in 1992, PEACE was recognized as a UNITWIN Network and has been functioning within that framework ever since. An office of the Programme was established at UNESCO, in Paris, in 1995.

An international conference on research development in Palestinian universities was held by UNESCO in Paris in 2007 in conjunction with the Research Network.

American film star Forest Whitaker's new role: UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador

Forest Whitaker with
UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova

UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova will designate American actor, director and producer Forest Whitaker as UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Peace and Reconciliation. The nomination ceremony will take place at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris on 21 June, at 6 p.m.

The designation comes in recognition of Mr Whitaker’s humanitarian and artistic commitment. This is most visible in his projects, such as “Better Angels”, a film about Ugandan child soldiers or “Common Destiny”, a documentary about the common goals of achieving peace and mutual understanding, and the power of education in promoting peace and reconciliation between and within communities.

Forest Whitaker was born in 1961 in Texas, USA. He studied opera in California to become a tenor singer but decided to focus on film acting eventually and moved to study in London. Since his film debut in “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” in 1982, he has been one of Hollywood’s most accomplished figures. His best known performances include his roles as jazzman Charlie Parker in “Bird”, for which he was awarded the Palme d’Or in Cannes for best actor in 1989, and as Ugandan leader Idi Amin in “Last King of Scotland”, for which he received an Academy Award in 2006.

Building the Defenses of Peace in the Minds of Men

It has been said before, but it needs to be said again: “While UNESCO has several mandates, it has but one mission – that of constructing peace”. When discussing detailed questions relating to the programmes, activities and functioning of our Organization, it is right that we set aside a moment to reflect on UNESCO’s fundamental purposes so as to focus on the goal that must shape and inform our particular policies and projects.

Irina Bokova
On the occasion of the 185th Session of the Executive Board Thematic Debate "Intercultural Dialogue in the 2010s: Revisiting policies within the context of culture of peace"

The Power of Peace Network Introduction Video

Visit the Power of Peace Network's website. The Power of Peace Network is supported by UNESCO.

2010 International Essay Contest for Young People

The Goi Peace Foundation and UNESCO organize an international essay contest for young people from all over the world. Participants will express themselves on the theme: “My Role in Creating a Peaceful World”. What is your vision of a peaceful and harmonious world? What can you and the young people of the world do to realize that vision?

To participate in the 11th edition of the Contest people up to 25 years of age can submit their essays in one of the following categories: children (ages up to 14) and youth (ages 15 - 25). Essays must be 800 words or less in English, French, Spanish or German; or 1600 characters or less in Japanese, typed or printed. They must have a cover page indicating the category (children or youth), the title of the essay, the name of the participant and their personal information (mailing address, phone number, e-mail address, nationality, age as of June 2010, sex, school name (if any) and word count). Essays must be original and unpublished and they must be written by one person. Read more!

Lula Wins UNESCO Peace Prize

The Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize is awarded this year to Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva, President of the Federal Republic of Brazil. The prize includes a gold medal and $150,000. Henry Kissinger is the President of the Jury that selects the prize winner. The prize is to be awarded in a ceremony on July 7th.

2008 Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize is awarded to President of Brazil Lula da Silva

The President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has been chosen as the laureate of UNESCO’s 2008 Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize. The award ceremony will take place in July.

Read more!

The American Artist for Peace

UNESCO Artists for Peace are internationally-renowned people who use their influence, charisma and prestige to help promote UNESCO’s message and programs. UNESCO works with these distinguished personalities in order to heighten public awareness regarding key development issues and to inform the public about the Organization.

One U.S. citizen is included in this distinguished group, N. Scott Momaday, a Kiowa, who won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction for his novel, House Made of Dawn, Momaday is the Poet Laureate of Oklahoma and operates the Buffalo Trust, a nonprofit organization working to preserve native cultures. He has most recently been awarded a 2007 National Medal of Arts by President George W. Bush.

He was designated UNESCO Artist for Peace by UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura in a ceremony at the Organization’s Headquarters on 12 May 2004.

Mr Momaday received this distinction “for his outstanding achievements as a writer and painter, his action in support of the restoration and preservation of Native American heritage and cultural traditions and communities […] and in recognition of his dedication to UNESCO’s Programme for intercultural dialogue and for the safeguarding of indigenous cultures.”

The Power of Peace Network

The Power of Peace Network (PPN) is a UNESCO-led initiative seeking to harness the power of the 2.0 web and the energy of young innovators and activists.

• The Second Global Forum on the Power of Peace wiil be held in Bangkok, Thailand, from 21 to 23 May 2009.
• University students and faculty from some 80 countries convened in Waterloo, Canada from 7 to 9 August 2008 for the Power of Peace Network Global Forum of Universities. (There is a Facebook site related to that meeting.)
  
• The First Global Forum was held in Jimbaran, Bali, Indonesia, on 21-23 January 2007.

UNESCO and UPEACE agree to reinforce cooperation

On 18 February 2009, the Director-General of UNESCO, Mr Koïchiro Matsuura, and the Rector of the University of Peace, Mr John J. Maresca, met at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris to discuss ways of strengthening cooperation between the two organizations.

Headquartered in Costa Rica, the University for Peace (UPEACE) was established in December 1980 as a Treaty Organization by the United Nations General Assembly. Its mission is: “to provide humanity with an international institution of higher education for peace with the aim of promoting among all human beings the spirit of understanding, tolerance and peaceful coexistence, to stimulate cooperation among peoples and to help lessen obstacles and threats to world peace and progress, in keeping with the noble aspirations proclaimed in the Charter of the United Nations.”

The Director-General indicated that UNESCO would rapidly examine practical opportunities for collaboration based on these common competencies and interests.

UNESCO and Ecomigration

Source: "Climate Fears Are Driving 'Ecomigration' Across Globe," Shankar Vedantam, The Washington Post, February 23, 2009.

There were about 25 million ecomigrants in the world a little more than a decade ago, said Norman Myers, a respected British environmental researcher at Oxford University. That number is now "a good deal higher," he added. "It's plain that sea-level rise in the wake of climate change will inundate the homelands of huge numbers of people."

In Bangladesh, about 12 million to 17 million people have fled their homes in recent decades because of environmental disasters -- and the low-lying country is likely to experience more intense flooding in the future. In several countries in Africa's Sahel region, bordering the Sahara, about 10 million people have been driven to move by droughts and famines.

In the Philippines, upwards of 4 million people have moved from lowlands to highlands as a result of deforestation. And in an earlier era, about 2.5 million Americans became ecomigrants after droughts and land degradation during the Dust Bowl years of the 1930s.

Editorial comment: UNESCO has a program utilizing its expertise in education, science, culture and communications to help small island developing states meet their development problems. Climate change will be especially devastating for those states, and UNESCO can help them to deal with the challenge. Perhaps especially relevant will be efforts by UNESCO to help ecomigrants from these states to deal with the cultural impact of their forced migration.

That is not to say that the need for UNESCO services to assist other ecomigrants will be less acute or extensive. An ecomigrant fleeing from desertification in the Sahel will not face lesser challenges than one fleeting from inundation of his island home.

History suggests that when a people are forced into wholesale migration, violence often follows. UNESCO's primary mission is to build the defenses of peace in the minds of men, and doing so in the minds of ecomigrants may be especially important in the prevention of war.

John Daly
(The opinions expressed are mine alone, and do not necessarily represent those of Americans for UNESCO.)