Global Peace Index 2008 Launch Results

We are very pleased to inform you that the 2008 Global Peace Index received even more attention than the Index’s first edition in 2007.  In just a couple of days, in excess of 1500 media articles spanning over 100 countries worldwide were published. It has also been prominently covered on various television networks including CNN, BBC World, MSNBC TV and CNBC.  So our message is being heard loud and clear and we hope this will spur action at many levels.

On May 22, the 2008 GPI was presented at the United Nations Headquarters in New York to both UN staff and representatives of the Permanent Missions.  We were overwhelmed with the level of interest, double the numbers of diplomats and UN staff attended this year in comparison to last year.

We are delighted that a large number of notable individuals have joined our distinguished group of endorsers.  They include Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Muhammad Yunus, founder of the Grameen Bank, Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland and former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ted Turner, Founder of CNN, and, Dr. Gro Harlem Bruntland, Special Envoy on Climate Change for the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, former Prime Minister of Norway & former Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Honorable John Malcolm Fraser, AC, CH, former Prime Minister of Australia.

We are in the final editing stages of our new documentary film that focuses on peace and reconciliation, titled Soldiers of Peace.  We expect to release it in the second half of 2008.

Narrated by UN Messenger of Peace and academy award-winning actor Michael Douglas, the film incorporates stories from 5 continents and 19 countries. Soldiers of Peace showcases the alternatives to conflict, revealing countless inspiring examples to prove that peace can be achieved through greater equity, emancipation, tolerance and understanding. It includes interviews with Sir Bob Geldof, Hans Blix, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and Sir Richard Branson.

The film depicts the reconciliation between IRA bomber Patrick Magee and the daughter of one of his victims; religious fundamentalists in Nigeria who now preach peaceful co-existence; the Colombian musician Cesar Lopez, who makes guitars from AK47 machine guns, and many others who are making a difference. Soldiers of Peace will confront the viewer and help keep peace on the agenda for the 21st century.

This year, we have turned our focus onto the relationship between business, peace and economics.  Our latest initiative, the Institute for Economics and Peace, will bring together leaders in business, academia, government and the broader community to generate new ideas, research and dialogue around the economics of peace, with a view to impact the public agenda.

The notion of peace and its value in the world economy is poorly understood. While business can play a decisive role in creating global peace, we cannot expect companies to act in this area until a clear understanding of the benefits of peace on their markets, costs and profits is developed.

There are many industries that prosper in peace and are adversely affected by escalating levels of violence. Some of them are insurance, retail, financial services, tourism and commercial aviation. These industries could be called the Industries of Peace, simply because they thrive in peace.

The aim of this initiative is to develop economic models that demonstrate how peace expands the size of an industry’s market, reduces its costs and increases its profits.  Our hope is that once conclusions about the economic benefits of peace are drawn, it may be possible to transform the world through business-led initiatives.

We have teamed up with one of the most respected Asian think tanks, the Strategic Foresight Group, to convene an international conference on “Responsibility to the Future: Business, Peace, Sustainability” in Mumbai, India, on 26-28 June 2008.

The President of India, Honourable Smt. Pratibha Patil, will give opening remarks at the event. Co-hosted by the United Nations Global Compact, this result-oriented forum will bring together some of the leading intellectuals and innovators in the world to understand emerging problems facing humanity. It will develop response strategies, approaches to measure economic benefits of peace for companies, and construct mechanisms to engage business leaders in efforts to build sustainable peace.

We expect the conference will launch practical collaborative problem-solving initiatives, identify agenda for policy research and dialogue, and create a network of business leaders for sustainable global peace.

New Website

Finally, we wanted to let you know that our new website www.visionofhumanity.org will bring you stories from around the world, so don’t forget to visit: www.visionofhumanity.org

Best wishes,

Steve Killelea
Founder
Global Peace Index