Important Peace Initiatives of Alliance of Civilizations
an article by David Adams

The first forum of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations has launched a series of important global peace initiatives. The forum, held in January in Madrid, announced plans for the following:

* A global youth employment initiative announced by Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser-el-Missned, the first lady of Qatar.

* An Alliance of Civilizations Media fund to support the production and distribution of films that enhance the connections between different societies announced by Queen Noor of Jordan.

* A Youth Solidarity Fund to provide grants to youth-led programs for intercultural and interfaith dialogue

* A Rapid Response Media Mechanism beginning based on an on-line list of global experts in cross-cultural issues

* An Alliance of Civilizations Clearinghouse to catalogue media literacy programs and related government policies beginning with a theme of Media Literacy Education and involving partnerships with 18 universities

CPNN readers will recall that the Youth Solidarity Fund was proposed by the 2006 Youth for Culture of Peace Report and then mentioned in the 2006 high-level report of the Alliance of Civilizations. According to Jo Lofgren, who is now working with the Alliance of Civilizations , there will soon be a youth section on the Alliance website, and we can expect to learn more details about the Youth Solidarity Fund in the coming months.

Leaders from a number of global youth organizations met in advance of the Madrid forum and then took part in the forum itself. Christopher Derige Malano, delegate from the International Movement of Catholic Students, told CPNN, "I was pleased to see the optimism of civil society, religious leaders and private sector representatives, as well as diplomats, and their commitment to build a culture of peace. I felt that our opinions as youth were heard with respect, even if our ideas were not always included in the agenda-setting of the forum. For example, in the future there could be more attention to the kinds of communication used by the majority of youth who are not involved with formal organizations or media, e.g. street art, internet groups and networks, etc. Ultimately, it is comforting to know that our collective contributions at the Forum were a step in the right direction."

AoC forum youth with Ban Ki-moon
Photo by Ben Powless, Youth Delegate from Canada
(click on photo to enlarge)

The official report of the Madrid forum is available on the Alliance website.

DISCUSSION

Question(s) related to this article:

Youth initiatives for a cultue of peace
How can we ensure they get the attention and funding they deserve?

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GLOBAL MOVEMENT FOR A CULTURE OF PEACE

Latest reader comment:

The Youth  for Culture of Peace Report was mentioned in the high-level report of the Alliance of Civilizations that was presented to the United Nations on 13 November 2006,  as its first recommendation of for its activities in relation to   youth.

The Global Youth Solidarity Fund formulated by the report is proposed in the form of a Global Youth Alliance:

"A Global Youth Alliance should be established as a mechanism through which youth can contribute to the implementation of all of the recommendations set forth in this report (not just those under the 'youth' theme)."

"Supported by a Global Youth Solidarity Fund, this initiative could begin with the convening and mobilization of various youth networks and associations to promote dialogue, alliance and a culture of peace. These organizations have already begun working together to organize meetings that would provide the opportunity for young people of diverse backgrounds to set an agenda for action which they can then present to global leaders to win their support and assistance. In addition, a survey has been conducted a survey has been conducted identifying 468 youth organizations from 125 countries that could be engaged as implementing partners."

The high-level report of the Alliance of Civilizations is available on the Internet at http://www.unaoc.org/repository/HLG_Report.pdf.

This report was posted on January 30, 2008. The moderator is CPNN Administrator.

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