January 26, 2015
The Whitaker Peace & Development Initiative is delighted to announce our partnership with the IKEA Foundation in building the Youth Peacemaker Network (YPN) in South Sudan, an initiative that helps young people promote peace and development in their communities.
Over the next five years, WPDI will offer 338 young people in three states of South Sudan training in entrepreneurship, computer and life skills, leadership, and peacebuilding. We will support and mentor these youths as they design and implement grassroots community-building projects that will reach hundreds of thousands of people throughout their states.
Thanks to the IKEA Foundation’s generosity—and with the logistical support of our other partners including Ericsson, Zain, and UNESCO—WPDI will create a network of 25 Community Learning Centers in these three states, where individuals throughout the region will be able to access the Internet and participate in computer and literacy classes.
The IKEA Foundation believes all children and young people deserve a quality education and should have a safe place to call home, so they are joining forces with WPDI to empower young people in South Sudan to build stronger and safer communities.
WPDI is grateful for the IKEA Foundation’s support, and for the support of all our partners—including the MasterCard Foundation—without whom we would not be able to deliver the trainings and resources that our youth peacemakers rely on to advocate for peace and work together for change in their communities.