The Global Peace Initiative of Women (GPIW) was founded in 2002 as an international, multi-faith network of women leaders who come together to stimulate healing and reconciliation efforts in areas of conflict and post-conflict and enhance the opportunities of women and young people in developing nations. Though under the leadership of senior women from each the world’s major faith traditions, GPIW is a partnership of women and men who work to highlight humanity’s shared values and realize the importance of transmitting such values to the next generation.
The Global Peace Initiative of Women has extensive experience working with women and young people with an emphasis on developing programs in regions of conflict and post-conflict. GPIW has designed and implemented global programs such as, the Women’s Partnership for Peace in the Middle East, the Iraqi-US Women’s Summit, and has worked for the past three years to organize four major United Nations Youth Leadership Summits in Senegal, Japan, Brazil Morocco and at UN headquarters in New York City. The purpose of the youth summits was to identify, train and support our next generation of leaders by bringing them together to dialogue with experts on the critical issues in their regions. As a result of this work, several successful projects have emerged as well as the Young Leaders Peace Council, a network of young people committed to peace building supported by GPIW. In March 2007, GPIW organized the first program of the Young Leaders Peace Council, a Sudan Youth Dialogue. The meeting demonstrated the power of face-to-face dialogue in bridging divides and strengthening relationships that lead to action on the local, regional and international level.
GPIW has gained experience and skill in the organization of such gatherings and the Summit in Cambodia would be structured and organized in a similar manner based on lessons learned at these prior Summits. By offering young people the opportunity to convene and meet in a setting that is inspiring and conducive to deeper discussions, formal and informal, we have witnessed great transformations and shifts in attitudes and motivations take place in individuals. GPIW has been able to build a global network of young leaders that remain in close contact and one aim of this gathering will be to now include Cambodian youth in this network. The collective and individual achievements of this Young Leaders International Peace Council are impressive and many of them attribute their accomplishments to the opportunities, experiences, mentors and networks they have been able to build through this series of Youth Summits.
The Global Peace Initiative of Women is a 501 (c) (3) not-for-profit organization with headquarters in New York City.
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