Peace Initiative Launched in Mexico with Forest Whitaker, Ericsson, UNESCO, Postcode Lottery and Partners
From Reuters
"The Whitaker Peace and Development Initiative (WPDI) launches "Harmonizer" program in Tijuana, Mexico.
(The) Harmonizer program encourages youth to instill and disseminate values, attitudes and behaviors of peace in conflict-affected areas
Ericsson (will) to enable collaboration among youth by providing internet access via mobile broadband, tablets and mobile phones as well as ICT
training
Forest Whitaker, Oscar-winning actor, humanist and Goodwill Ambassador for Peace and Reconciliation of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization (UNESCO) announced today that his foundation, WPDI, will launch the Harmonizer Program in Mexico in cooperation with Ericsson
(ERIC), Swedish Postcode Lottery, the Universidad Autonoma de Baja California (UABC) and UNESCO.
The Harmonizer Program in Mexico encourages social change and transformation in urban areas affected by violence and conflict. With the support of
on-the-ground partners, WPDI will train vulnerable youth experiencing the aftermath of violence and conflict in Mexico. Training will include
conflict resolution, community building, life coaching, and information and communication technologies (ICTs), among other skills. The program will
run for three years and will support participants in the development and deployment of positive leadership and constructive change in their own
communities.
This project is part of the Youth Peacemaker Network (YPN), a program that has been already established by WPDI in South Sudan and Uganda, where
Ericsson is also a partner. The YPN is a global initiative that seeks to nurture a new generation of leaders committed to reconciliation and conflict
prevention.
Whitaker said: "Peace and prosperity can only be attained by communities and nations heeding the voices of our diverse and vibrant youth. That`s why
it is so important to work in partnership with youth. Youth are not only the builders of our future, they are among the architects of change today.
They are positioned, in our fast and connected world, to promote the significance of education, personal empowerment and leadership and to build
peaceful and resilient communities."
Ericsson will provide to the program internet access via mobile broadband, tablets, and mobile phones alongside basic ICT and social media training
and tools for connecting students through the global education initiative Connect To Learn, which has the goal to scale up access to quality education
globally.
Elaine Weidman Grunewald, Ericsson Vice President for Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility said: "We hope that technology can empower the
participants in the program to collaborate with eachother, and the broader Youth Peacemarker Network, and also to help them explore their ideas and
dreams. We see this launch as the start of something truly transformational, made possible in part by the Networked Society."
The Harmonizer program in Mexico will begin its initial roll-out by holding its first training for 34 youth including young women and men from the
different communities of the City of Tijuana. The training took place in Tecate from 7 to 12 January 2014 and covered such fields as conflict
resolution, leadership, peace- and community-building, ICTs and wellness and life skills. This first phase will benefit from the strong and continuous
support of the Office of the Governor of Baja California, as well as the Office ot the Mayor of the City of Tijuana, who all took part in the closing
ceremony of the event in Tecate.
Over the next three years, the program will expand to other parts of Mexico, and it plans to produce a long-term capacity development, mentoring and
business skills program to promote ground-breaking alternative models of learning and skills-based opportunities for Mexican youth.
The program is made possible with support from the Swedish Postcode Lottery, which provided seed financing to the WPDI to establish the initative."
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow mindedness.”
—Mark Twain
\"La vida es dura, el corazon es puro, y cantamos hasta la madrugada.” (Life is hard, the heart is pure and we sing until dawn.)
—Kirsty MacColl, Mambo de la Luna
\"Alea iacta est.\"
—Julius Caesar
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