Doha, Qatar (Press Release) - Education Above All (EAA) Foundation through their legal advocacy program, Protecting Education in Insecurity and Conflict

(PEIC), has partnered with the Whitaker Peace & Development Initiative (WPDI) to bring together young people from South Sudan and Uganda at a workshop run by PEIC.
The workshop participants shared experiences and received training on international human rights and humanitarian norms in keeping with the EAA/WPDI partnership’s joint aspiration: to create a better future for Uganda and South Sudan by developing the knowledge and skills of the next generation of leaders. The workshop, which was held in Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar (GU-Q), at Education City, marked the first event for the partnership following the signing of an agreement between EAA and WPDI on September 23rd 2016 during the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Education Above All issued this statement regarding the partnership:
“We are delighted to be enabling young people from across South Sudan and Uganda to share their knowledge and equip others with the skills they need to rebuild communities jeopardized by war, poverty and conflict. Education is the driver of human development and it is through sharing knowledge that we can overcome a legacy of war and violence.
“Only by equipping children and young people with the knowledge they need to build a better future for themselves – and for their country – can we start to rebuild and reconstruct communities. We want to see a brighter future for the children of East Africa, and this workshop is an important building block to support us to achieve that aim.”
For his part, Forest Whitaker said,
“With PEIC and WPDI joining forces, we are helping young people from Uganda and South Sudan become a force for peace in their communities and their countries. What we want is for these young women and men to become our partners in the dissemination of the message that education is a gateway to peace and should always be a priority in peacebuilding.”
Both organizations seek to strengthen youth advocacy for peace, development, and adherence to international human rights, humanitarian norms and the rule of law. The aim is not simply to offer an education to more children in East Africa, but to promote civic leadership, the rule of law and the right to education as three key drivers that will enable a more peaceful and just society, and advance economic empowerment in South Sudan’s Eastern Equatorial region, and in Northern Uganda.
The workshop took place in Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar (GU-Q), at Education City, 24-26 October