 |
| Forest Steven Whitaker with a South Sudanese youngster [PHOTO: Special Arrangements] |
Stockholm/Juba: Forest Whitaker, Oscar-winning actor and Goodwill Ambassador
of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO), has announced that the PeaceEarth Foundation will launch
the Youth Peacemaker Network in South Sudan in cooperation with UNESCO Juba,
the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport of South Sudan, Zain and Ericsson.
The Youth Peacemaker
Network will nurture a new generation of leaders committed to reconciliation
and conflict prevention. Participating youth from South Sudan's 10 States will
be trained by local and international experts in conflict resolution,
leadership, peace and community building as well as mediation skills. These
youth will forge peaceful, non-violent relationships with their peers as they
work together with their communities, engage with youth nationwide, receive
mentoring and training in business skills to promote attractive learning and
skills-based opportunities. With 72% of the South Sudanese population under the
age of 30, a peaceful future for the country is in the hands of the young.
The program will use the field expertise of its key
partners. UNESCO Juba will facilitate the secure access of youth living in
remote areas. Ericsson will provide mobile broadband connectivity, computers,
and mobile phones from Sony Mobile, alongside basic ICT and social media
training and tools for connecting teachers and students through the global
education initiative Connect To Learn. Ericsson will also provide on-site
project management resources, Wi-Fi coverage, and the Ericsson cloud computing
solution to support the program. In support of its belief that mobile
connectivity is a tool of empowerment to build peace and a positive agent of
change, Zain will provide internet access via 35 mobile broadband dongles with
capacity of 1GB per month, as well as mobile phone SIM cards for program
participants.
PeaceEarth and UNESCO Juba are working together with South
Sudan's Ministry of Youth, Culture and Sport as well as State-level ministries
and Youth Unions to establish computer centers in the State Capitals. Zain will
also support additional cooperation with governmental agencies to support and
develop Sudanese youth.