AREZZO, AUGUST 25 – The Italian non-profit Rondine acquired the Observer status to the UN and has been chosen for the 2021 Paris Peace Forum thanks to the “Mediterraneo Frontiera di Pace” project, among the eighty most promising peace projects of 2021, supported by the Italian Bishops Conference and developed in cooperation with Caritas. The Forum has been promoted by President Macron and will take place from 11 to 13 November 2021.
The double recognition comes three years after the presentation to the United Nations in New York of the global campaign “Leaders for Peace”. Rondine has been granted special advisory status as an Observer by the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), the official body of the UN charged with allowing the access of civil society entities which distinguish themselves for their capacity to promote UN values at local, national and international level, addressing economic, social, cultural, educational and health-related issues.
“The achievement of the status of Observer is a reward for the solidity and trust of international relations that the Association has built in its more than twenty years of activity, and opens the door to a proactive role for Rondine to bring its experience and good practices at the service of the international community” said Franco Vaccari, Founder and President of the Rondine Cittadella della Pace Association.
The important international recognition, which marks a decisive step for Rondine and its twenty-year commitment to the formation of young leaders capable of transforming conflict at every level and building a new society capable of supporting peaceful development, did not come alone.
In its fourth edition, the 2021 Paris Peace Forum will feature heads of state, international non-governmental organizations, and private sector representatives working around the globe, in order to promote innovative solutions to the urgent challenges of our time, related in particular to global stability and the socio-economic effects of the pandemic.
The Mediterraneo Frontiera di Pace project has been selected in the category “Covid-19: mitigating the socio-economic impact of the crisis” for its ability to generate promising impact in the south-eastern area of the Mediterranean: Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Lebanon, Palestine and Syria.
It consists of a two-year programme for 11 young local leaders coming from communities affected by conflicts, tension and lack of socio-economic development divided into four components: learning, training, cohabitation and generation of impact in each community.
Founded in 1998 by Vaccari, Rondine Cittadella della Pace is an organisation striving for the reduction of armed conflicts and for the spread of its own method for creative transformation of conflicts, known as Rondine Method. Through the Studentato Internazionale – World House, the association welcomes every year young people from countries affected by wars and conflicts for two years of formation and coexistence which will allow them to discover “the person in their enemy”, become peace ambassadors in their own countries and contribute to conflicts resolution. Through its formation process, Rondine encourages young people to become leaders of themselves and of their own community, actors of change in civil society and in continuous search for a common good. (@giorgiodelgallo)
