15th November 2017 – Amman, Jordan: in its first-ever attendance at Geneva Peace Week, Generations For Peace has been honoured by the United Nations, Geneva Peacebuilding Platform, Rotary International, and the Permanent Mission of Jordan to the United Nations in Geneva. Generations For Peace was given the privileged opportunity, jointly with the Jordan Mission, to host a key forum on 9th November at the Palais des Nations entitled: “Our Journey at Generations For Peace: From Passion to Impact! Lessons from the Field” describing ten years’ experience engaging youth in conflict transformation at the grass roots level in communities around the world.
The forum, as part of Geneva Peace Week’s theme for 2017: Prevention Across Sectors and Institutions, shared the journey of Generations For Peace from a pilot project of the Jordanian Olympic Committee, to a top-ranked global peace-building NGO. H.E. Ambassador Ms. Saja Majali, Permanent Representative of Jordan Mission, opened the forum, highlighting the leadership and contribution of Jordan in peacebuilding and peacekeeping efforts
, including especially the journey of UN Security Counciul Resolution 2250 on Youth, Peace an Security.
Mark Clark, CEO of Generations For Peace emphasised the importance of engaging youth using different tools in upstream conflict prevention and working at the grass roots, supporting youth leaders “to convert the burning passion they have to address local issues of conflict and violence in their daily lived experience, into concrete, measurable, sustainable impact”.
In discussing violent extremism, Dr Mohanned Al-Arabiat, President of Generations For Peace, and Ms. Amanda Fazzone, Senior Advisor at the Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund, highlighted the importance of prevention through youth engagement, and the power of positive role models, positive peer groups, and positive narratives for youth.
Providing a powerful example of private sector leadership in peacebuilding and development, and especially leveraging the power of broadcast media for such positive narratives, Mrs Mariam Farag, Group Head of Corporate Social Responsibility at MBC, the middle east broadcasting group, described the MBC Al Amal or MBC “Hope” programme and their Shabab 2030 or “Youth 2030” engaging youth across the Arab world in the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals.
Presenting the research findings of the Institute for Economics and Peace from 20 years of data across diverse conflict contexts, Research Fellow, Ms Talia Haggery, presented the compelling economic case for investing more in peace building, noting that every $1 spent on upstream conflict prevention – such as the work of Generations For Peace – saves $16 on the downstream costs of violent conflict.
On 11th November, in further recognition of Generations For Peace’s experience, Dr. Mohanned Arabiat was invited to deliever the keynote speech during the opening session of The Rotary International Peace Day at the United Nations. Presenting in the grand assembly hall at the Palais des Nations, to an audience of more than 1,400 Rotarians from more than 80 countries, Dr. Mohanned highlighted the roots of Generations For Peace in the peace-building heritage of Jordan, reflected on the “Service Above Self” motto of Rotarians, and summarised the grass-roots, values-driven approach of Generations For Peace, encapsulating it with the words: “Our currency is trust. Our capital is social”.
Generations For Peace was also honoured by a special dinner hosted by H.E. Ambassador Ms. Saja Majali, Permanent Representative of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan to the United Nations in Geneva, attended by Generations For Peace Founder and Chairman, HRH Prince Feisal Al Hussein, and distinguished representatives from Diplomatic Missions and organisations from the Geneva peacebuilding community.
