The Wahid Foundation Introduces the Peace Village Program at the Paris Peace Forum

Wahid Foundation participated in an international event, the Paris Peace Forum, held between November 11-13, 2018 at La Grande Halle de La Villette, Paris. Wahid Foundation, one of 120 selected organizations from Asia, had the opportunity to share experiences and ideas about peace.

Additionally, Yenny Wahid, Wahid Foundation Director, became one of the 19 Steering Committee members in this forum. Even the second daughter of former Indonesian president, Gus Dur, also became a speaker and moderator in several discussions in the Paris Peace Forum.

The involvement of Wahid Foundation in this forum succeeded in introducing the Wahid’s Peace Village program to its booth visitors at the Paris Peace Forum. More than 100 people visited Wahid Foundation’s booth and gained information about the Peace Village program, which uses three main approaches namely peacebuilding, women's participation and economic empowerment.

Some visitors, such as Dubai Police Community, said that they were interested in the Peace Village program and planned to invite Wahid Foundation to their countries to share experiences. On the same occasion, Visna Vulovik, as Assistant Director of Wahid Foundation, presented the Women for Inclusive Society (WISE) program to around 10 participants from various countries.

In the open discussion, Visna explained in detail the Peace Village program, its achievements, and that it had received support from UN Women. Currently, Wahid Foundation is focusing on nine villages, including Pengasinan Village in Depok, Tajur Halang Village in Bogor, Gemblegan Village and Nglinggi Village in Klaten, Candirenggo Village in Malang, Sidomulyo Village in Batu, and Guluk-Guluk Village, Payudan Dundang Village and Prancak Village in Sumenep.

The Paris Peace Forum brings together leaders of global governments, international organizations, NGOs, foundations, journalists, trade unions, religious groups and citizens that take part in debates that present solutions to international peace. This forum is the inaugural event, which is planned to be held annually.