World Peace Festival Conference highlights innovative peace building strategies
International leaders of peace building and conflict prevention meet at World Peace Festival Conference to discuss the importance of peace in a globalised world
Berlin, 26/08/2011 | From 20 to 27 August 2011 the World Peace Festival in Berlin is bringing together leading international peace builders to focus on the importance of peace in the world, and its impact on the global economy. Today, the World Peace Festival Conference started in the heart of the reunified and symbolic city with a two day programme that explores current peace building strategies and presents new approaches for conflict prevention.
The peace conference is the highlight of the World Peace Festival week bringing together experienced peace builders and leading decision-makers from the spheres of politics, business and civil society. The first conference day on 26 August 2011 started with the theme “Peace is your business!”, putting the focus on the economic impacts of building peace – an unprecedented approach for an international peace conference. In the opening sessions, successful global players, such as Steve Killelea (Institute for Economics and Peace), Jean Oelwang (Virgin Unite) and Mansoor Ijaz (Crescent Investment Management) outlined their visions, strategies and experiences about the role of corporates in furthering peace. Several speakers emphasised our responsibility as an international community in a globalized world – a world that is growing together more than ever before because of global connectivity and instant information exchange.
“We are thankful and excited that global players from the UN, politics, business and civil society as well as peace activists and Nobel Peace Prize Laureates gather today and engage in a multistakeholder dialogue to produce sustainable and holistic solutions for peace building”, said Tom Oliver, Founder and CEO of World Peace Festival.
Jordan Ryan, UNDP Assistant Administrator and Director of UNDP’s Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery said: “The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is delighted to participate in the World Peace Festival Conference 2011. This event is a unique opportunity for leaders from a variety of sectors and countries to discuss innovative solutions for conflict prevention. We look forward to sharing UNDP’s own experiences in supporting national and local efforts to develop capacities for dialogue, mediation, and conflict resolution in more than 40 countries. These capacities have helped to resolve recurring conflicts over land, natural resources and governance – contributed to build more resilient societies.”
On the second day of the conference, the Global Peace Building Strategy (GPBS) will be presented to the public for the first time, before the results of the whole conference will be officially presented to the United Nations General Assembly by UN Ambassadors attending the festival.
World Peace Partnership
World Peace Festival Berlin will serve as the medial launch for the World Peace Partnership. World Peace Partnership e.V. is a non-profit, non-partisan, internationally operating organization that aims to systematically initiate and foster processes for global peace building. With the support of the United Nations Office for Partnerships and the United Nations Department of Public Information, World Peace Partnership combines its own unique and holistic peace-building strategy with initiatives and the long-standing practical knowledge of renowned peace-building experts. The goal of World Peace Partnership is to generate global movements that will serve to inspire systemic policy changes for peace and help prevent and reduce conflicts between people, countries and creeds.
Tom Oliver, founder and CEO of World Peace Festival and World Peace Partnership, says: “World peace is only possible if all stakeholders are actively involved in the process. The festival aims to inspire each and every one of us to take up this cause – because peace starts with us as individuals.”
For more information on the World Peace Festival and World Peace Partnership e.V. please visit www.worldpeacefestival.org