His Majesty King Abdullah officially inaugurated the new purpose-built premises of the Generations for Peace Institute and headquarters on Wednesday, the same day that the global peace through sport organisation announced a new partnership with the University of Oxford.
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.
A number of Generations for Peace Pioneers met King Abdullah at the event, attended by International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacques Rogge, Royal family members, government officials and guests from the IOC, the UN, the University of Oxford, and Georgetown University.
More than 100 local schoolchildren, also attended the ceremony, representing the organisation’s key demographic – the next generation of young people whose futures are being shaped by the peacemakers of today.
In his address at the inauguration ceremony, His Royal Highness Prince Feisal, founder and chairman of Generations for Peace, stressed the historic importance of the occasion, not just for the organisation, but for the entire sport for peace and development movement worldwide.
He 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 which 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,” said the Prince, who is also a member of the IOC.
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.
“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,” Professor Andrew Hamilton, vice chancellor of the University of Oxford, said.
“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,” he added.
The partnership with the University of Oxford builds upon the institute’s collaboration, established last year, with the Conflict Resolution Programme at Georgetown University in Washington, DC.
Georgetown’s first King Abdullah II of Jordan Generations for Peace Research Fellow Sarah Hillyer also attended the inauguration.
Generations for Peace President, Her Royal Highness 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, she 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, Princess Sarah also emphasised that 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,” she said.
“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,” the Princess noted.
Founded by Prince Feisal in 2007, Generations for Peace is an international NGO dedicated to the innovative and sustainable use of sport for peace building and development.
It now supports delegates and certified Generations for Peace pioneers in communities facing a variety of forms of conflict in 46 countries and territories.