April 14, 2023 – WPDI’s quest for lasting peace around the world involves long standing partnerships with actors equally committed to peacebuilding and sustainable development in areas that suffer from violence and instability. Since 2017, WPDI has been supported by the Western Union Foundation for promoting resilience and creating economic opportunity for fragile and vulnerable communities in Africa and Mexico. We are delighted to announce the expansion of this partnership in 2023!
In Mexico, an industrialized country where many communities are nevertheless faced with high levels of violence and poverty, the Western Union Foundation will continue to support the development of WPDI’s Youth Peacemaker Network programs in Tijuana and Chiapas, focusing on the Business Bootcamp program. We will provide youths and women with vocational training in Business and Entrepreneurship and ICT, and hold Business Plan Competitions to deliver grants to the most promising projects.
The Foundation is also renewing its support for our programs in the Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement, Uganda, where they have helped us reach more than 100,000 beneficiaries since 2017. Through the foundation’s grant, we will be able to continue developing the deployment of the Youth Peacemaker Network, which includes programs delivered at our Community Learning Center, such as the Business Bootcamp, vocational training programs in ICT, Arts & Crafts, Conflict Resolution Education, community leaders training, sports programs, cinema for peace initiatives, and peace engagement days.
The Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement is the place where our collaboration started, providing the ground for transformative action across the Settlement, most notably our program focused on improving the livelihoods of vulnerable women.This investment help launch and grow 84 cooperative businesses created by women and support the creation of 1,126 jobs. Our CEO and founder, Forest Whitaker, declared that “The partnership with the Western Union Foundation has been a unique opportunity for WPDI both in terms of sustaining our programs and helping us to encourage social innovation in a place where seemingly vulnerable individuals could reveal their potential as entrepreneurs who have been able to make a real difference for their families and their communities.”
In 2018, our partnership with the Western Union Foundation was expanded to Mexico, with grants to support WPDI’s efforts to empower youths and changemakers in their communities through affirmative action. This has helped build the foundations to improve conditions for lasting peace and sustainable development in vulnerable areas of Chiapas and Tijuana. The same year, the partnership was also expanded in Uganda, with the two organizations pledging to work together to provide scholarships to 100s of refugee students per year at the Kiryandongo Settlement. The scholarships have boosted educational opportunities for talented children and youth whose families were affected by conflict and displacement from their homes largely from South Sudan.
“The Western Union Foundation’s mission is to create economic opportunity for underserved youth and people who migrate in search of better opportunities. We’re proud to partner with WPDI to help aspiring women and youth gain access to business training so that they can build a more prosperous future for themselves, their families, and their communities,” said Lauren Bell, Executive Director of the Western Union Foundation.
WDPI would like to wholeheartedly thank the Western Union Foundation for its continued trust and support in our action and commitment to transforming the lives of young people in marginalized communities around the world.
About The Whitaker Peace & Development Initiative
WPDI is a non-governmental organization with an international scope and reach, founded in 2012 by artist and social activist and UNESCO Special Envoy for Peace, Forest Whitaker with the aim of promoting peace, gender equality, sustainability and resilience in countries and places affected by violence, poverty and marginalization. In the geographical areas where we work in Africa, Latin America, Europe and the United States, WPDI has developed an array of programs aimed at training and supporting underprivileged individuals and groups, youths and women in priority, so they can be empowered as mediators, educators, entrepreneurs and leaders. Through so doing, WPDI seeks to bring good men and women together and mobilize them to drive positive transformation in their communities and beyond.
About The Western Union Foundation
The Western Union Foundation’s mission is to create economic opportunity for youth and people who migrate in search of better opportunities. With more than two decades of impact, we continue to deliver on our mission with Opportunity Beyond Borders, a three-year commitment focused on empowering forcibly displaced and marginalized youth with the training and education needed to succeed in today’s global economy. The Foundation also provides funding for humanitarian efforts for communities in crisis and disaster, one key reason for forced migration. To date, we have funded more than $140 million for projects and scholarships. The Western Union Foundation is a separate, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) charitable corporation and receives support from The Western Union Company, its employees, agents and business partners. Contributions to the Foundation are tax-deductible for U.S. income tax purposes. To learn more, visit www.westernunionfoundation.org or follow us on Twitter @TheWUFoundation.
