This summer Peace Direct has launched a unique global competition to find the best of tomorrow’s peacebuilders and grow their impact. We are inviting small peacebuilding organisations to apply for the Tomorrow’s Peacebuilders awards, which will be judged by an international panel of peacebuilding experts led by Lord Jack McConnell. Four winners will be announced on 21 September, the International Day of Peace.
“Tomorrow’s Peacebuilders will allow Peace Direct to continue our tradition of finding and supporting the most exciting emerging peacebuilding organisations,” says Insight on Conflict Programme Manager Ruairi Nolan. “In the longer-term, we hope the winning entries will be able to grow and have the same sort of massive impact that our established partners, such as CRC in the Congo, have today.”
Convinced that the best way to secure lasting peace is from the ground up, we are always looking for ways to engage with inspiring and effective local peacebuilders. It is these people who will transform their communities from places of violence and conflict to places of peace and possibility. The Tomorrow’s Peacebuilders awards will directly support them. Winners will receive $4,000 to grow their activities, as well as promotion of their work and the opportunity to attend one of our international peacebuilder conferences to connect with likeminded organisations.
The competition has been open for just over a month, and to date we’ve received over 60 entries from local peacebuilding organisations around the world. “We have been very impressed by the quality of applications we have received so far,” says Ruairi. “And we are very pleased by the range of countries represented – we’ve had entries from more than 20 countries, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe. Peace Direct was founded in the belief that in all conflicts, local people will be active in trying to prevent violence and build peace. The range of entries helps prove this to be the case.”
We invite other organisations interested in this opportunity to apply for the Tomorrow’s Peacebuilders competition by 9 August 2013. Full details about the competition can be found on our Insight on Conflict website.
We look forward to announcing the winners on 21 September 2013 – the International Day of Peace – and congratulate all local peacebuilders for their continued efforts at making sustainable peace a reality
