The first virtual Global Peace Youth Forum, organized by Global Peace Foundation (GPF), will be held in two segments for Asia and The Americas on July 31 to address the theme, “Strengthening Youth Inclusion and Leadership in Peacebuilding for Sustainable Development.” Global Peace Youth Forum will be held via On24 and Zoom and will be shown through live streaming at Facebook starting at 3 PM Philippine Time for Asia and at 10 AM Eastern Daylight Time for The Americas.
With the United Nations recognizing the importance of young people’s contributions to peacebuilding through the landmark Security Council Resolution 2250 on Youth, Peace, and Security adopted in December 2015, Global Peace Foundation has taken further initiatives to educate young people with its unique, values-based approach to peacebuilding. Global Peace Youth Forum, one of its signature events, will promote the inclusion of youth as leaders and practitioners in finding and innovating viable solutions to sustainable peacebuilding with current global efforts being impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Intergenerational leaders and prominent personalities representing organizations and institutions dedicated to peacebuilding and youth development make up this year’s roster of Global Peace Youth Forum speakers. These include Global Coalition on Youth, Peace, and Security Co-chair Lakshitha Saji Prelis, Federal Government of Brazil’s National Youth Secretary Emilly Coelho, Transformation First Asia Founder Wouter Lincklaen Arriëns, Global Peace and Development Service Alliance President Dr. Markandey Rai, GPF International Senior Programs Specialist Gail Hambleton, US Youth, Peace, and Security Coalition Co-chair Mena Ayazi, GPF Indonesia General Manager Shintya Rahmi Utami, 2030 Youth Force Indonesia Co-chair Rizky Ashar Murdiono, Oleander Initiative Director Ray Matsumiya, GPF Philippines Program Director Leonard Faustino, Fighters for Peace Co-founder Assaad Chaftari, and GPF International President James Flynn.
Global Peace Youth Forum 2021 is a pre-convention program of this year’s Global Peace Convention (GPC), Global Peace Foundation’s biennial flagship convening. GPC 2021 will examine the theme “Moral and Innovative Leadership in Peacebuilding for Our Changing World” through a dynamic series of programs following the youth forum from August 6 to 15. Given the continuing limitations on international travel, GPC 2021 features an entirely virtual schedule, which opens the exciting opportunity for the robust participation of peacebuilding practitioners and civil society leaders from around the world.
This year’s Global Peace Youth Forum will also recognize the Top 6 entries of the #iPEACEBUILDER Video Challenge, a showcase of youth’s global leadership efforts to promote peacebuilding in their communities. The top entry will receive $500 gift card and other five entries will receive $50 gift card each in addition to being featured during the two-hour youth forums. By promoting the videos to a wider online community, GPF aims to increase the awareness on the importance of youth inclusion to peacebuilding and encourage collaboration and participation of like-minded individuals and organizations to strengthen similar youth initiatives.
GPYF 2021 is organized in partnership with Secretaria Nacional da Juventude – Brazil, Fighters for Peace, Initiatives of Change, Oleander Initiative, 2030 Youth Force Indonesia, Search for the Common Ground, Youth, Peace and Security Coalition, Transformation First Asia, Global Peace and Development Service Alliance, ABSCBN News Channel, The Manila Times, and Oxford Business Group.
Interested participants may sign up for this year’s virtual Global Peace Youth Forum through http://bit.ly/GPYF2021. To know more about Global Peace Foundation and Global Peace Youth, you may visit www.globalpeace.org and https://www.facebook.com/globalpeaceyouth. For inquiries, you can email the Global Peace Youth Forum 2021 Secretariat at gpy@globalpeace.org.
About Global Peace Foundation
Global Peace Foundation is an international non-sectarian, non-partisan, nonprofit organization, which promotes an innovative, values-based approach to peace building. GPF programs support social cohesion, empower families, build models of development, and promote moral and innovative leadership. In 2019, Global Peace Foundation received a special consultative status from the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). GPF has also been partnering with the UN’s Department of Public Information (DPI) since 2016, contributing to the development, implementation, and monitoring of agenda items agreed on by UN member nations.
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