The 17thWorld Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates kicks off on 19 September 2019 in Mérida, Yucatan.
From 19 – 22 September, the world’s most inspiring advocates of social, political, community, international, and personal peace will take centre stage. 30 Laureates, prize-awarded organisations, and Peace Laureates Foundations have confirmed their attendance. They will debate and discuss present challenges faced across the world, working together to come up with inspirational and practical solutions.
This year’s Summit is themed “Leave Your Mark For Peace” and will address various important issues including: social and economic development, indigenous peoples’ cultures and regional peace, global demographics, global media responsibility in peacebuilding, nuclear disarmament, rule of law and international cooperation, and peace education.
Nobel Prize Winners attending this Summit include: former Presidents Frederik Willem de Klerk from South Africa; Juan Manuel Santos from Colombia, Lech Walesa from Poland; Lord David Trimble, First Minister of Northern Ireland; Shirin Ebadi, first female jurist in Iran; Leymah Gbowee, a peace activist from Liberia who helped to end a civil war; Tawakkol Karman, Yemeni human rights activist and founder of Women Journalists Without Chains; Rigoberta Menchu Túm, known for dedicating her life to promoting the rights of indigenous people; Kailash Satyarthi, children’s rights activist from India who has released 85 000+ children slaves; and Jody Williams, American activist known for her work to ban anti-personnel landmines.
Among the participants of the Summit are also representatives of the prize-awarded organisations and Peace Laureates Foundations such as Institute of International Law, American Friends Service Committee, Albert Schweitzer Institute, The King Center, International Labour Organization, Amnesty International, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, Nelson Mandela Foundation, Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs, International Campaign to Ban Landmines, Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet, International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, Yunus Centre,Grameen Creative Lab, Desmond Tutu Peace Foundation, International Committee of the Red Cross,International Peace Bureau,and the UN.
This year, the Summit also boasts the highest number of youth delegates participatingin theLeading by Example Programme, with over1 000 youth delegates attending.
Ekaterina Zagladina, President of the Permanent Secretariat of the World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates, issued a call for action: “We are here for four days … but most important is not only the Summit itself, but what stays after these joyful and inspirational days. And it depends on you. Start taking actions, find inner peace, spread peace around and leave your mark for peace.”
The event will also feature the high-profile announcement of both the Peace Summit Award and Medal for the Social Activism. Past recipients include Sharon Stone, Sean Penn, Roberto Baggio, Annie Lennox, Bono, George Clooney, Bernardo Bertolucci and others.
