The World Youth Peace Summit
Young leaders from more than 100 countries · 2003 onward
The religious leaders who gathered at the United Nations in 2000 knew that peace would not be finished in their lifetimes. If the commitments of the Millennium World Peace Summit were to last, a new generation would have to carry them.
The World Youth Peace Summit was created to do exactly that. Chaired by H.E. Bawa Jain, with Prince Cedza Dlamini of South Africa as co-chair for Africa, it brought together young leaders from over 100 countries to explore new, youth driven ways of meeting global challenges, working alongside the World Council of Religious Leaders.
Who Took Part
Delegates did not need to be peacemakers already. What mattered was a sincere desire to work for peace and a willingness to commit to it after returning home. Youth Ambassadors represented the Summit in Thailand, Cambodia, India, Pakistan, Israel, Japan, Bosnia and Herzegovina and South Africa.
A Regional Path
Rather than one single event, the Summit grew through a series of regional and national gatherings, each rooted in the needs of its own region.
April 2003 · Kyoto, Japan
Planning session that shaped the Summit's program and regional approach.
December 2003 · Bangalore, India
WYPS India, the first national gathering of youth delegates.
February 2004 · Bangkok, Thailand
Asia-Pacific Regional Summit.
May 2004 · Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
European Regional Summit, held in a city still healing from war.
July 2004 · Taipei
WYPS Taipei national gathering.
August 2004 · Tokyo, Japan
WYPS Japan national gathering.
October 2004 · Worldwide
World Youth Peace Vigil, a global moment of prayer and reflection.
May 2005 · Dead Sea, Jordan
Youth leaders take part in the World Economic Forum.
September 2005 · Bangkok, Thailand
Young Voices for Change at the United Nations.
April 2010 · Malacca, Malaysia
No East, No West: an Asia-Europe intercultural dialogue for young people, co-organized with UNESCO.
Peace in Practice
Serving communities
Young delegates turned dialogue into service: the Summit's secretariat adopted a school in rural Thailand, and Youth Ambassadors supported community projects such as Carpets for Communities in Cambodia.
A voice at global tables
Youth leaders were invited into rooms usually reserved for their elders, from the United Nations in Bangkok to the World Economic Forum at the Dead Sea.
The Legacy
The Summit's conviction, that young people from different traditions should cross boundaries together, lives on in the Council's work today. It is one of the actions in Setting the Table: help young people cross a boundary.