Luxembourg Peace Prize
Luxembourg Peace Prize
Each year, since 2012, the Schengen Peace Foundation and the World Peace Forum award the Luxembourg Peace Prize, an award that honors the outstanding in the field of peace. The categories of the Luxembourg Peace Prize and their celebration amplify the aims and goals of the World Peace Forum.
Luxembourg Peace Prize Awardee 2020-2021
William Vendley
Luxembourg Peace Prize 2020
Dr. William Vendley is the Secretary General Emeritus of Religions for Peace International, the world’s largest and most representative multi-religious coalition advancing common action for peace. He works to promote multi-religious consensus on the positive aspects of peace, as well as concrete actions to stop war, eliminate extreme poverty, and protect the Earth. He is a pioneer in advancing multi-religious cooperation to help resolve conflicts and advance development, having facilitated the establishment of multi-religious councils around the world. He has championed multi-religious efforts to prevent conflicts, mediate among warring parties, and heal societies in the aftermath of violence in Ethiopia, Eritrea, Liberia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Iraq, and many other countries. He is convinced that multi-religious efforts for peacemaking provide unique strengths that complement those marshaled by governments and organizations like the United Nations.
Scilla Elworthy
Luxembourg Peace Prize 2020
Dr. Scilla Elworthy is a visionary leader who translates her commitment to peace into concrete action. Currently, her primary focus is on expanding The Business Plan for Peace, a project inspired by her 2017 book of the same name, aimed at building a world free from war. Her TED talk on nonviolence has garnered over 1.4 million views, resonating with a global audience. Dr. Elworthy founded Peace Direct in 2002, an organization that empowers local peace-builders in conflict zones and continues to flourish under dynamic young leadership. Her advisory roles have included guiding Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Sir Richard Branson in establishing The Elders, a group of global leaders advocating for peace and human rights. For her groundbreaking efforts, Dr. Elworthy received the Niwano Peace Prize in 2003 and has been nominated three times for the Nobel Peace Prize. Her earlier work with the Oxford Research Group, which she founded in 1982, fostered crucial dialogue between nuclear policymakers and their critics, underscoring her lifelong dedication to effective, sustainable peace-building.
Transatlantic Dialogue
Luxembourg Peace Prize 2020
The Transatlantic Dialogue conference series on global citizens, held in Luxembourg since 2008 as a collaborative effort between Luxembourg University and Miami University in Ohio, explores the significance of culture and liberal education for fostering global citizenship from both the United States and European perspectives.– articulating why intercultural competence and dialogue matters in their own institutional and societal context– considering a philosophy of practice that incorporates arts-based approaches for developing students’ and peers’ capacity for cultural diplomacy, peace, and global citizenship– advocating for the principles of cultural diplomacy as a critical component of a university education – in the co-curriculum and the formal curriculum.The challenges our world presents today can seem unprecedented. Profound differences over the complex issues confronting us, manifest themselves in loud and often discouraging public debates over everything from how we best foster human prosperity to how we address each other on an equal foot in its many forms, protect our fundamental freedoms, and care for the most vulnerable and marginalized among us. Bridging differences begins with approaching others with the will to acknowledge and understand their and our own identity and cultural ‘otherness.’ “The more astute awareness we achieve concerning our own and other’s cultures, the more sophisticated we can be as thinkers and actors on a world stage. Therefore, our engagement with diverse forms of cultural expression may enable us to relate to different codes of humanity with confidence, sympathy, and growing curiosity towards each other.” Universities have a key role in this regard and this interdisciplinary forum explores multiple perspectives on how this can be achieved.
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Words Heal the World
Luxembourg Peace Prize 2020
It is a non-profit organization that was set up by a Brazilian young woman to empower undergraduate students to challenge online hate speech and tackle different types of extremism. It is a worldwide organization that places young people at the forefront of the development of strategies to combat hate speech and extremism on the internet. With over 50 volunteers spread across the UK and Latin America, Words Heal the World produces toolkits to educate teenagers to use digital media to promote peace, develops social media campaigns, produces movies, elaborates the groundbreaking report The Hate Map of Brazil, and also works in partnership with other peacebuilding organizations to maximize their impacts, especially among young people.
A Land for All - Two States, One Homeland
Luxembourg Peace Prize 2020
A Land for All, Two States One Homeland is a joint Israeli-Palestinian movement, co-founded in 2012 by Israeli and Palestinian thinkers, geographers, lawyers and agents of change. It was born out of a series of meetings which resulted in a Statement of Principles : democracy, freedom of movement, sovereignty, justice, security, Jerusalem and a homeland for all in the framework of a confederation of two independent States with several joint institutions. The vision of the co-founders of the movement is that two nations live in one land, and both want to live peacefully and safely. Solutions entailing separation have failed in the past. However, cooperation succeeds. There is a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and it is right here in front of us. It is a matter of putting respective fears aside.
Libby Liu
Luxembourg Peace Prize 2020
Was at the helm of Radio Free Asia (RFA) for 16 years, a non-profit created to provide accurate, timely news to citizens living in closed societies through Asia. Libby’s principles at RFA were enshrined in Human Rights: “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” She is committed to restoring human rights to citizens who have been denied them, Libby led RFA to give voice to the voiceless and enable people the ability to make informed decisions about their lives and own their human dignity. In 2019, after using this approach in innovative internet freedom technology and allowing more than 2 billion people around the world to use the internet more safely despite the declining state of internet freedom globally, the Open Technology Fund (OTF) emerged as its own private non-profit. As the CEO of OTF, Libby is committed to expanding the work and impact of OTF by continuing to build coalitions, public-private partnerships and capacity in the communities most at risk. If citizens of humanity can participate openly as part of the global online community freely and without fear, we can be a world that respects all regardless of where they reside. A world built on human dignity would be one aligned with the vision of internet freedom. Libby is now CEO of Whistleblower Aid, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping whistleblowers safely protect the public because no one should risk their careers or their lives to follow their conscience.
Boniface Mwangi
Luxembourg Peace Prize 2020
Is one of the most vocal and courageous Kenyans of our generation. Recognized globally for his passion and excellence in photography, this photographer-cum-activist could not resist the call to activism after witnessing, first-hand, the brutality that disadvantaged Kenyans experienced in the wake of the Post- Election Violence of 2008. He then established Picha Mtaani, a traveling photography exhibition showcasing images of the violence. The travelling photo exhibition toured across Kenya and drew more than 2 million visitors. The exhibition tour offered a platform for individual reflection, honest dialogue, interpersonal healing and community reconciliation.
Steve Youngblood
Luxembourg Peace Prize 2020
Is a Kansas City, USA area professor and Director of the Center for Global Peace Journalism and Associate Professor of Communications at Park University (Parkville, Missouri). He has taught peace journalism to journalists, academics, and students in 27 countries and territories worldwide, including conflict areas like South Sudan, Indian-administered Kashmir, Lebanon, Cameroon, and Turkey. He is also the editor of the semi-annual Peace Journalist magazine, author of the university textbook Peace Journalism Principles and Practices, and writer of the Peace Journalism Insights blog.
Water Peace Security
Luxembourg Peace Prize 2020
Water, Peace and Security (WPS) partnership was founded in 2018 to pioneer the development of innovative tools and services that help identify and address water-related security risks. These tools and services can link hydrological, social, economic and political factors to pinpoint changes in short-term water availability and provisionally assess their potential impacts on society. Based on this information, evidence-based actions can be triggered to prevent or mitigate human security risks. WPS can also facilitate this process by raising awareness, developing capacities and supporting dialogue that together underpin effective coordinated action.
Pedros Reyes
Luxembourg Peace Prize 2020
Is a Mexican artist whose works aim to increase individual or collective agency in social, environmental, political or educational situations. He has won international attention for large-scale projects that address current social and political issues. Through a varied practice utilising sculpture, performance, video, and activism, Reyes explores the power of individual and collective organisation to incite change through communication, creativity, happiness, and humour. A socio-political critique of contemporary gun culture is addressed in Palas por Pistolas (2008), in which the artist worked with local authorities in Culiacán, Mexico, to melt down guns into shovels, intended to plant trees in cities elsewhere in the world. Similarly, in Disarm (2013) the Mexican government donated over 6,700 confiscated firearms for Reyes to transform into mechanical musical instruments, which are automated to play a delightful, if surreal loop, retaining the raw emotion of their origins.
Healing & Positive Energy Globally
Luxembourg Peace Prize 2020
During this unprecedented time of Covid on a global perspective people from around the world are helping with Inner Peace sharing their wonderful healing and positive energy online. We have people that are sharing this through Yoga, Mindfulness, Meditation, Reiki, Positive and Inspiring Webinars, Spirituality and other Healing Energies. Now more than ever we need this Inner Peace to help us through these difficult times and it is amazing how much healing and positive energy is being shared by so many Peace Minded and Positive Energy people.
Luxembourg Peace Prize Awardee 2019
Masami Saionji
Luxembourg Peace Prize 2019
Masami Saionji succeeds the work of her adoptive father, Masahisa Goi, who initiated a movement for world peace through the universal prayer May Peace Prevail on Earth. As a spiritual leader and lecturer, she has touched thousands of people’s lives through her guidance and inspiration. She travels globally on speaking tours and has led peace ceremonies in many countries, including the United Nations and other international organizations. She is the author of 35 books including The Golden Key to Happiness, You Are the Universe, The Earth Healer’s Handbook, and Vision for the 21st Century.Masami Saionji is the vision holder of the following three organizations consisting of the Goi Group:The Goi Peace Foundation, founded in Japan in 1999, is dedicated to fostering a sustainable and harmonious global society by building cooperation among forward-thinking individuals and organizations across diverse fields, including education, science, culture, and the arts. The Foundation engages in research and educational activities, local and global community building, and empowering citizens, especially young people.May Peace Prevail On Earth International, founded in the U.S. in 1988, is dedicated to spreading the message and prayer May Peace Prevail on Earth is a way to unite the hearts of humanity transcending all boundaries of culture, religion, and politics. Members and supporters of this global grassroots movement participate in the Peace Pole Project, World Peace Flag Ceremonies, Peace Pals International Art Exhibition, and other activities. www.worldpeace.orgByakko Shinko Kai, founded in Japan in 1955, offers spiritual teachings and practices based on the philosophy of Masahisa Goi, to foster a consciousness of peace and harmony in people and enable them to contribute to world peace. At their sanctuary at the foot of Mount Fuji, Byakko hosts the Symphony of Peace Prayers, a large-scale annual event to promote harmony among all faiths and spiritual traditions.
Hiroo Saionji
Luxembourg Peace Prize 2019
Hiroo Saionji spearheaded the establishment of the Goi Peace Foundation and May Peace Prevail On Earth International, and oversees their direction and international activities. He travels the world promoting dialogues and initiatives for peace, notably the ‘Creating a New Civilization’ initiative launched in 2005 with 14 international organizations.The Goi Peace Foundation, founded in Japan in 1999, is dedicated to fostering a sustainable and harmonious global society by building cooperation among forward-thinking individuals and organizations across diverse fields, including education, science, culture and the arts. The Foundation engages in research and educational activities, local and global community building, and empowerment of citizens, especially young people.May Peace Prevail On Earth International, founded in the U.S. in 1988, is dedicated to spreading the message and prayer May Peace Prevail on Earth as a way to unite the hearts of humanity transcending all boundaries of culture, religion, and politics. Members and supporters of this global grassroots movement participate in the Peace Pole Project, World Peace Flag Ceremonies, Peace Pals International Art Exhibition and other activities.
Rotary International
Luxembourg Peace Prize 2019
Through their service projects, peace fellowships, and scholarships, Rotary addresses the underlying causes of conflict, including poverty, inequality, ethnic tension, lack of access to education, and unequal distribution of resources. Each year, Rotary club members:Invest hundreds of millions of dollars and countless volunteer hours to prevent disease, improve the health of women and children, provide access to basic education, and ensure communities have clean water and sanitation.
Support future leaders with scholarships for undergraduate and graduate study in peace and conflict resolution. Rotary’s Peace Center master’s degree program has more than 1,300 graduates in key, decision-making positions in governments, corporations, and organizations around the world working to inspire positive peace on a global scale.
Partner with the Institute for Economics and Peace to apply data-driven methodologies and tools to support peacebuilding efforts.
Foster international goodwill and cultural understanding by engaging the next generation of philanthropists through Rotary’s Interact, Rotaract, and Youth Exchange programs.
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G P P A C
Luxembourg Peace Prize 2019
The Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC) consists of hundreds of civil society organisations from around the world. What unites is the drive and dedication to prevent violence everywhere. Together, we seek a world where violence and armed conflicts are prevented and resolved by peaceful means based on justice, gender equity, sustainable development, and human security for all. GPPAC brings together civil society with relevant local, national, regional and international actors and institutions to collectively contribute to a fundamental change in dealing with violence and armed conflict: a shift from reaction to prevention.
Promundo
Luxembourg Peace Prize 2019
Promundo, now Equimundo, works to promote gender equality and create a world free from violence by engaging men and boys in partnership with women and girls. They envision a world where all people work to create a nonviolent, caring, and gender-equitable future for themselves and for their children. It has worked in collaboration with partners to advance gender equality and prevent violence in over 50 countries through high-impact research and evaluation, targeted advocacy, and evidence-based educational and community-wide program implementation. Founded in 1997, they have reached approximately 10 million individuals, including 4,500 health professionals, 22,000 teachers, 1,700 police, military, and government officials.
Peace Training EU
Luxembourg Peace Prize 2019
Peace Training’s mission is to aggregate a comprehensive collection and analysis on the state-of-the-art in conflict prevention and peacebuilding (CPPB) training in Europe and the EU. Over the period of two years, the project assessed practices, efforts and training needs of European actors. The goal to map out and connect stakeholders, to provide recommendations on best practices, as well as ICT approaches to training involving relevant stakeholders at every stage of the process, has been finally achieved and all aggregated and curated information is available on their online platform. The platform is open and free to CPPB academics and practitioners, individuals and organizations, to register accounts and advertise their training offers, and also to contribute content in the form of events, news, training materials and any other CPPB training-related works, including handbooks, ICT tools, case studies, guides, innovative training methods and concepts in any language, especially English, French, Spanish and German.
Jamil Simon
Luxembourg Peace Prize 2019
Jamil Simon- is a visionary peace activist, an award-winning documentary filmmaker, and an expert in communication strategy. He founded his media production and consulting firm, Spectrum Media, more than 40 years ago and has since made films and worked on media projects in countries in Africa, Europe, Asia and Latin America to promote social and environmental reform.For the past 25 years, in addition to his work as a filmmaker, Jamil has worked as a consultant in communication strategy for multilateral organizations like USAID and the World Bank. He designed and implemented public awareness programs in developing countries to promote reform of all kinds. He worked to promote sustainable agriculture in Malawi, conflict resolution skills in Jordan, democracy in Mali, and water conservation in Tunisia. His programs have worked well at the grass roots level.Currently, he is engaged in creating media tools to promote peaceful solutions to conflict. Toward that end, he is working on two major projects– the first is an event in NYC called War Stories Peace Stories, which brought together journalists and peacebuilders to focus on how peace and conflict are reported in the news media and its impact on public perceptions of how to reduce conflict. The second project is a feature length documentary called Beyond Diplomacy telling the story of the peacebuilding process in four countries.Jamil and a team of creative professionals produced a one-day symposium called War Stories Peace Stories: Peace, Conflict & The Media— a multimedia project designed to challenge journalists and peacebuilders to examine new strategies and approaches for covering peace and conflict. It was a remarkable event, held in NYC on April 18,2018 that brought peacebuilders and journalists together to talk about how to cover peace and conflict. For his work promoting peace efforts to journalists, he has been awarded the 2019 Luxembourg Peace Prize.He is producing Beyond Diplomacy in collaboration with the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. It will be a feature length documentary on peacebuilding in four countries– Colombia, Ireland, Sri Lanka and Burundi. These are four countries, on four continents with different cultures and different conflicts, and all in different situations in their journey towards peace like Colombia, or away from it, like Burundi, or with violence behind them but still facing many unresolved issues, like Ireland and Sri Lanka.As part of the project, he and his team would create a global multimedia educational web platform to train practitioners in peacebuilding skills. The customized curriculum that the Fletcher team would develop, would harness the video captured for the films, to make the curriculum come alive. To the extent possible, we would translate the case studies into stories, showing real people facing significant challenges in their efforts to recover from conflict.This ambitious program grew out of a feature documentary, Fragile Island of Peace, which will tell the story of a decade long peace process that emerged in Burundi following the treaty that ended its long bloody civil war. The story continues to unfold, and the film is a work in progress.Here is the link to a 10-minute Preview Video to introduce the story – https://vimeo.com/137625516Jamil is an accomplished still photographer; his pictures have been published in books and magazines and exhibited in galleries. Jamil has spoken at a variety of institutions, including Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, The Fletcher School at Tufts University, Stanford University, Brandeis, Boston University, Georgetown, and others. He has given talks on ways to elevate awareness of peacebuilding and reconciliation. He has also given talks on innovative ways to reach audiences in developing countries.
Jane Goodall
Luxembourg Peace Prize 2019
Dr. Goodall, Founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and UN Messenger of Peace, learned from her time studying wild chimpanzees and their habitats that everything is connected. This helped her innovate community-centered conservation, based on the idea that when we put local communities at the heart of conservation, we can improve the lives of people, other animals, and the environment. Founded in 1977, the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) advances Dr. Goodall’s holistic approach through two main mission supporting goals and a tapestry of eight objectives that build on each other bringing the power of hope to life. Their objectives of Understanding Chimpanzees, Protecting Chimpanzees and Other Great Apes, Advocacy & Public Awareness, Chimpanzee Welfare, Roots & Shoots, Science and Technology, and Jane’s Legacy work together to create a healthy planet where people make compassionate choices to live sustainably in harmony with each other, other animals and the environment we all share.Once people realize their power to make a difference in the lives of their families, communities, and environment, there’s no going back—only forward. The Jane Goodall Institute helps one success lead to another as they build on the impact made together: restoring critical habitat to save chimpanzees from extinction; improving health for women and education for girls; cultivating local livelihoods in harmony with nature; and helping young people become the informed generation of compassionate change-makers the world so urgently needs through JGI’s Roots & Shoots youth program in more than 50 countries. Over nearly three decades since it was founded by Dr. Goodall, young people of all ages in more than 100 countries have been involved in the program.
Thich Nhat Hanh
Luxembourg Peace Prize 2019
Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh is a global spiritual leader, poet and peace activist, revered throughout the world for his powerful teachings and bestselling writings on mindfulness and peace. His key teaching is that, through mindfulness, we can learn to live happily in the present moment—the only way to truly develop peace, both in one’s self and in the world. A prolific writer, Thich Nhat Hanh has published over 100 titles in English, ranging from classic manuals on meditation, mindfulness and Engaged Buddhism, to poems, children’s stories, and commentaries on ancient Buddhist texts. He has been a pioneer in bringing Buddhism to the West, founding six monasteries and dozens of practice centers in America and Europe, as well as over 1,000 local mindfulness practice communities, known as ‘sanghas.’ He has built a thriving community of over 700 monks and nuns worldwide, who, together with his tens of thousands of lay students, apply his teachings on mindfulness, peace-making, and community-building in schools, workplaces, businesses – and even prisons – throughout the world. Thich Nhat Hanh, now in his 93rd year, is a gentle, humble monk – the man Martin Luther King called “An Apostle of peace and nonviolence.” The media has called him “The Father of Mindfulness,” “The Other Dalai Lama” and “The Zen Master Who Fills Stadiums.”
Mohammed Aly Aly
Luxembourg Peace Prize 2019
Of Egyptian nationality and currently resident in Spain in Cabrera de Mar (Catalonia), Mohammed is a film and television actor in Egypt. He has produced and starred in the film THE OTHER LAND, based on the epic of current immigration, highlighted by his values of humanity. Its objective is that the future of the African continent is in collaboration with Europe. He is currently financing a project in the city of Barcelona to bridge between Spain and Egypt. The project is a transversal space of reflection and innovation to consolidate our vision of peace in the world.
Eritrea and Ethiopia
Luxembourg Peace Prize 2019
The 2018 Eritrea Ethiopia bilateral summit took place in July 2018 in Asmara, Eritrea, between Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and officials from the two countries. The two leaders signed a joint declaration, formally ending the border conflict between both countries, restoring full diplomatic relations, and agreeing to open their borders to each other for persons, goods and services.
Luxembourg Peace Prize Awardee 2018
Jack Sim
Luxembourg Peace Prize 2018
Jack Sim is the founder of the Restroom Association of Singapore, the World Toilet Organization, the World Toilet Day Initiative, and the Bottom of the Pyramid (BoP) Hub. His vision for the WTO is a world where everyone has access to a clean, safe toilet at all times. His mission is to continue building the global sanitation movement through collaborative action that inspires and drives demand for sanitation, providing innovative solutions to achieve sustainable sanitation for all.Jack Sim has been a successful businessman since the age of 24. After achieving financial success in his 40s, he felt the need to change direction in life and give back to humanity—he wanted to live according to the motto “Live a useful life.” Jack soon left his business and embarked on a journey to be the voice for those who cannot speak out, fighting for the dignity, rights, and health of the vulnerable and poor worldwide.Jack discovered that toilets were often neglected and grew concerned that the topic was shrouded in embarrassment and apathy; discussing toilets was taboo! He believed this stigma contributed to the overall neglect of restrooms island-wide. In 1998, he established the Restroom Association of Singapore (RAS), with the mission of raising the standards of public toilets in Singapore and around the world. Through RAS, Jack aimed to put Singapore on the “world map” by taking the initiative to provide clean public toilets. As he began his work in Singapore, he realized that other toilet associations were operating in various countries.It soon became clear that there were no channels available to bring these organizations together to share information, resources, and facilitate change. There was a lack of synergy. As a result, in 2001, Jack founded the World Toilet Organization (WTO) and, four years later, the World Toilet College (WTC) in 2005.In 2004, Jack was awarded the Singapore Green Plan Award 2012 by Singapore’s National Environment Agency (NEA) for his contributions to the environment. In 2006, he was invited to launch the German Toilet Organization in Berlin and is also a founding member of the American Restroom Association. In 2007, Jack became one of the key members convening the Sustainable Sanitation Alliance (SuSanA), comprised of over 130 organizations active in the sanitation sector. He is also an Ashoka Global Fellow and was named a Hero of the Environment by Time magazine in 2008. Additionally, Jack sits on the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Councils (GAC) for Water Security and Social Entrepreneurship. He was shortlisted for the Sarphati Sanitation Award in November 2013.
Nonviolent Peaceforce
Luxembourg Peace Prize 2018
The Luxembourg Peace Prize recognizes Nonviolent Peaceforce as a global organisation deploying civilian peacekeepers in areas of armed conflict. One of the most respected and dedicated in the field. They are doing exceptional work in South Sudan and are now developing civilian peacekeeping engagement in Syria. There are few organisations more dedicated or brave in the field. They now also have extremely good relations with the UN, many governments who have come to understand, respect and support the importance of their work, and literally hundreds of thousands of people around the world who know of, admire and are inspired by them. They were nominated for Nobel Peace Prize in 2016.About Nonviolent PeaceforceBy implementing unarmed civilian protection programming, Nonviolent Peaceforce works to interrupt the cycles of violence that permeate through all aspects of life in conflict-affected communities.Through their fieldwork, they provide direct protection, preventing violence and harm to dignity when the threat of violence is imminent. Additionally, they support local communities to strengthen their capacity to self-protect without the use of weapons and to strengthen local peace capacities.Through their policy and advocacy engagements, they aim to contribute to shifting the global paradigm that privileges the resourcing of armed actors as a tool for civilian protection and conflict resolution over the sustainable, civilian-led, nonviolent approaches.As an unarmed, paid civilian protection force, Nonviolent Peaceforce fosters dialogue among parties in conflict and provides a protective presence for threatened civilians.With the headquarters in Ferney Voltaire (France) and an office in Minneapolis (United States), field teams are presently deployed in the Philippines, in South Sudan, Myanmar, and the Middle East. Their field staff includes veterans of conflict zones, experienced peacekeepers, and those new to the field with the right combination of experience, skills, aptitude, and attitude. Nonviolent Peaceforce is registered as a non-profit organization in the United States and France.Within every combat zone they enter, and throughout their work worldwide, they want to achieve four overarching goals:
Teachers Without Borders
Luxembourg Peace Prize 2018
The Luxembourg Peace Prize recognizes Teachers Without Borders as a global NGO that connects teachers to information and each other to close the education divide. Its Peace Initiatives include reconciliation conferences between teachers from regions in conflict; a “Voice of Teachers” radio program featuring classroom and community peacemaking (having reached 1.6 million listeners a week throughout Nigeria); free courses on Peace and Human Rights; digital storytelling between classrooms around the world; and free resources for teachers, translated in multiple languages. The network covers 171 countries.Teachers are the largest professionally-trained group in the world, the glue that holds communities together, and the most reliable catalysts of change. Teachers Without Borders was founded in 2000 to connect teacher development with global development; education, public health, and human rights are inextricably bound. They help teachers make those connections.Brains are evenly distributed around the world, but education is not. Teachers Without Borders (TWB) connects those brains to build local capacity. Only they can remove barriers to a quality education for all children. Their network depends upon an extraordinary level of initiative, reciprocity, human agency, and belief in social justice.Leaders are not so much born or made; they show up. Teachers Without Borders mobilizes support based on teachers who take risks to serve their communities. They are a demand-driven, rather than a supply-driven organization. All programs, courses, resources, and initiatives are designed by and with teachers, mostly in developing countries.They are designed around the qualities of an excellent classroom on a global scale: freely accessible, hospitable, results-driven, both structured and creative, designed to inspire character and a balance of both individual initiative and collaboration. In short, they foster for teachers the same high-quality educational experience we want for children.
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Alliance for Peacebuilding
Luxembourg Peace Prize 2018
Alliance for Peacebuilding (AfP) is a member network of over 100 organizations that work to build peace. Its members include some of the world’s largest development organizations, most innovative academic institutions, and the most powerful peacebuilding groups. They bring together coalitions in key areas of strategy and policy to elevate the entire peacebuilding field, tackling issues too large for any one organization to address alone. Their vision is a world where each person feels secure, dignified, and included; a world where people manage conflict without violence and build peace.
Achaleke Christian Leke
Luxembourg Peace Prize 2018
He is a youth development, civil society activist and a youth expert on peacebuilding and fights against violent extremism with nine years of experience. He was born in a community renowned for youth involvement in violence and violent extremist activities like jungle justice, kidnapping, gangs, socio-cultural and religious conflicts, armed robbery, street fighting, just to name a few. Even though he was a victim of radicalization and violence, he succeeded in transforming himself from an agent of violence to an Ambassador of peace and change. With the most recent rise in violent extremism in Cameroon and the world, Achaleke through his organization and other affiliations is currently championing youth action for peace and preventing/countering violent extremism, including work in prisons where prisoners and prison authorities explore ways to engage one another despite their violent radical pasts. In his nine years of service to young people and communities, he has empowered and reached out to over one million young people through face to face and media programs both in Cameroon and abroad. Achaleke was named Commonwealth’s Young Person of the Year in 2016.
P C D N
Luxembourg Peace Prize 2018
PCDN democratizes access to information to help individuals and organizations sustain and scale social change. It envisions a world in which all have access to resources, information, and inspiration to create positive change in the world.PCDN is the go-to-hub for the global social change community, connecting over 36,500 individuals and organizations engaged in peacebuilding, social entrepreneurship, development and related fields. It provides a one-stop shop to inspire, connect, inform and provide the tools and resources to scale social change. PCDN has had a tremendous positive impact to thousands around the world through providing access to career opportunities, funding for organizations, and daily news to changemakers in the often long hard slog of advancing change. Since its founding, PCDN has had over 5 million visitors and 25 million page views.Dr. Craig Zelizer is the Founder and CEO of PCDN. From 2005 to 2016 he served as a professor for the Conflict Resolution program at Georgetown University before stepping down in June 2016 to work on PCDN full time. Craig has dedicated his life to being an entrepreneur and to creating a more peaceful world. Before creating PCDN, Craig also helped to co-found two NG0s – the Alliance for Conflict Transformation and the TEAM foundation in Hungary. He also spent two years in Hungary as a Fulbright Scholar and was a Boren Fellow in Bosnia.He has led pieces of training, workshops, and consultancies in over 20 countries for organizations including USIP, USAID, CRS, Rotary International and others. Craig is a recognized leader in the social sector field. He has received several awards including George Mason’s School of Conflict Analysis and Resolution Alumni of the Year Award and an Alumni Career Achievement Award from Central European University. He has published widely on peacebuilding, entrepreneurship, and innovation in higher education.
SEKEM
Luxembourg Peace Prize 2018
The Luxembourg Peace Prize recognizes SEKEM as an initiative that was founded with the vision of sustainable development and giving back to the community. It aims to develop the individual, society, and environment through a holistic approach which integrates ecology, economy, societal and cultural life. Today, the vision that brought Dr. Ibrahim Abouleish to dig the first well in the vast desert land still resounds in all of SEKEM’s activities. Like a compass, it’s vision, mission, and values guide it in the everyday work in all SEKEM institutions. Sustainable development towards a future where every human being can unfold his or her individual potential; where mankind is living together in social forms reflecting human dignity; and where all economic activity is conducted in accordance with ecological and ethical principles.CEO Helmy Abouleish was elected to be the fourth international National Adaption Plan Champion in April. This new initiative was initiated by the United Nations Expert Group for Least Developed Countries in order to provide recognition to eminent personalities in the field of climate resilience. The NAP Expo is the largest UN event on climate adaptation held annually and addresses good adaptation practices and international support modalities as experienced by developing countries. The main objective is better awareness of good practices of resilience and support for adaptation action across different spectrums, systems, and sectors.In cooperation with the World Future Council (WFC), Heliopolis University for Sustainable Development (HU) hosted a high-level conference “Solutions for Land, Soil, and Food in Africa.” The April event took place in Cairo and received a huge media attention. International experts and high-profile guests came together and worked on a declaration about the sustainable development of lands, soils, and food production in Africa.
