HM King Abdullah of Jordan Opens Generations for Peace Institute and Headquarters

Amman, Jordan, 4 May 2011: HM King Abdullah II of Jordan officially inaugurated the new purpose-built premises of the ground-breaking Generations For Peace Institute and Generations For Peace headquarters at a ceremony in Amman, on the same day that the global peace through sport organisation announced a new partnership with the University of Oxford.

International Olympic Committee (IOC) President, Jacques Rogge, headed the list of high-profile attendees, which included many members of the Jordanian Royal Family and Jordanian Government and influential guests from the IOC, the United Nations, the University of Oxford, and Georgetown University. A number of Generations For Peace Pioneers met HM King Abdullah at the event, which was also attended by more than one hundred local schoolchildren representing the organisation’s key demographic – the next generation of young people whose futures are being shaped by the peace makers of today.

Addressing HM King Abdullah and the assembled guests, Founder and Chairman of Generations For Peace, IOC member HRH Prince Feisal Al Hussein, stressed the historic importance of the occasion, not just for Generations For Peace, but for the entire sport for peace and development movement worldwide:

"I am humbled and honoured by your presence here today to share what is a very special moment for Generations For Peace and especially for the Generations For Peace Institute."

Established last year as the research arm of the organisation, the Generations For Peace Institute serves the wider sport for peace and development community by attracting new actors and investors to the field, investing in cutting-edge interdisciplinary research and innovation, providing a central platform for sharing knowledge and best practices, delivering training, and supporting education programmes in other institutions.

HRH Prince Feisal underscored his vision and the importance of the new partnership with the University of Oxford:

"As we work towards our vision of being the world’s leading institute dedicated to sport for peace and development, we are building a community of practice that links the best academic minds in the world across different disciplines with each other and with practitioners working in the field, so that they are better equipped to make a real difference to people’s lives. This is what makes our new partnership with the University of Oxford so important".

Initially, the new partnership will comprise the King Abdullah II of Jordan Generations For Peace Scholarship and a Research Grants Programme for Oxford graduate students supporting field research programmes on the ground, to develop better practices in programme design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, so that sport for peace and development programmes can have greater sustainable impact.

Professor Andrew Hamilton, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford said, "The Generations For Peace Institute is the world’s first institute dedicated to sport for peace and development and we are delighted to work with them through a partnership centred on scholarship. The Institute fills a gap and responds to a growing need across the world. The University of Oxford is a globally-important institution, famous for its research; we share the vision of Generations For Peace in helping that research to inform practice and to make a real impact in communities facing a diverse range of very complex conflict situations."

The partnership with the University of Oxford builds upon the Institute’s excellent collaboration established last year with the world-renowned Conflict Resolution Programme at Georgetown University in Washington DC. Georgetown’s first King Abdullah II of Jordan Generations For Peace Research Fellow, Dr Sarah Hillyer, also attended the inauguration.

Generations For Peace President, HRH Princess Sarah Al-Feisal, highlighted the work of three such change makers who were present at the inauguration. Nigerian Pioneer Safiya Ibn Garba is the founder and programme director of an organisation working to empower women in the volatile north of the country. Successfully applying and cascading her Generations For Peace training, Safiya is also the first pioneer to become a Generations For Peace Facilitator. Somali Pioneer Farrah Duran has overcome incredible challenges to pass on Generations For Peace values and skills through programmes in Mogadishu and Puntland. Jordanian Pioneer Mohammed Eideh is one of a group of passionate young Jordanians leading a major new five-year Generations For Peace programme for schools in the Kingdom.

Paying tribute to these change makers, HRH Princess Sarah also emphasised how the Institute and the new partnership with the University of Oxford will benefit them and other sport for peace and development practitioners in the field:

"Generations For Peace Pioneers are ordinary young men and women doing extraordinary things to overcome conflict and make a real difference in their communities. The Institute’s new partnership with the University of Oxford strengthens our ability to promote learning and exchanges across a community of practice which enables these inspirational change makers to achieve and demonstrate even greater impact and sustainability."

Additional background information:

Generations For Peace is the international non-governmental organisation founded by HRH Prince Feisal Al Hussein of Jordan in 2007 and dedicated to the innovative and sustainable use of sport for peace building and development. It has grown rapidly and now supports delegates and certified Generations For Peace Pioneers in communities facing a variety of forms of conflict in 46 countries and territories.

526 delegates have been trained through the Generations For Peace Pioneer Certification Programme, at seven intensive 10-day camps in Amman, Abu Dhabi and Sochi.

Cascading their learning and experience on to over 4,200 second-generation pioneers and delegates, their Generations For Peace programmes have now touched the lives of 62,000 children. Recently the first ever third-generation delegates embarked on their journey towards becoming certified Generations For Peace Pioneers.

Generations For Peace is one of only two peace through sport organisations officially recognised by the International Olympic Committee: the other is Right To Play.

For more information, contact: clare@jtassocs.com.

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