The Yucatecan capital will host the 17th World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates. The Summit is one of the most relevant and renowned events related to the construction of peace and the search for tools to end warfare, foster disarmament, and promote world reconciliation. It is a meeting point for social, enterprise, and political leaders, as well as all members of civil society who want to be involved in the peacebuilding process.
In the past years, the World Summits of Nobel Peace Laureates have been honored with the participation of numerous Nobel Peace Laureates and Nobel Peace Organizations, including: President Mikhail Gorbachev, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, President Shimon Peres, President Lech Walesa, President Jimmy Carter, President José Ramos-Horta, Dr. Shirin Ebadi, Lord David Trimble, Professor John Hume, President Kim Dae Yung, President Juan Manuel Santos and other globally recognized leaders. Previous host landmark cities included Rome, Paris, Berlin, Hiroshima, Warsaw, Chicago, Bogotá and Barcelona.
From 19 to 22 September 2019, Yucatan will receive 11 individuals and 14 organizations who have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize who have so far confirmed their attendance at Mayan lands to participate in the Summit which will be held for the first time in Mexico.
In this first part, we present five of the laureates who will participate in this outstanding event:
FREDERIK WILLEM DE KLERK, FORMER PRESIDENT OF SOUTH AFRICA, NOBEL PEACE LAUREATE 1993
President De Klerk received the Prize together with Nelson Mandela “for their work for the peaceful termination of the apartheid regime, and for laying the foundations for a new democratic South Africa”. He was called “South African Gorbachev”, he caused the end of the apartheid system in the country, opening up to democracy through free choice. In 1990 South Africa’s President Frederik Willem de Klerk released Nelson Mandela, who had been in prison since 1963. The two politicians worked together to bring an end to the policy of racial segregation.
RIGOBERTA MENCHU TUM, GUATEMALA, NOBEL PEACE LAUREATE 1992
Received the Prize “in recognition of her work for social justice and ethno-cultural reconciliation based on respect for the rights of indigenous peoples”. She has dedicated her life to publicizing the rights of Guatemala’s indigenous feminists during and after the Guatemalan Civil War, and to promoting indigenous rights in the country.
LORD DAVID TRIMBLE, NORTHERN IRELAND, UK, NOBEL PEACE LAUREATE 1998
The First Minister of Northern Ireland to receive the Prize together with John Hume “for their efforts to find a peaceful solution to the conflict in Northern Ireland”. Lord Trimble was one of the key architects of a peace agreement which is commonly known as the 1998 Good Friday agreement. After receiving the Peace Prize Lord Trimble took over as the First Minister in Northern Ireland’s coalition government in November 1999.
KAILASH SATYARTHI, INDIA, NOBEL PEACE LAUREATE 2014
Received the Prize together with Malala Yousafzai “for their struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education”. Kailash Satyarthi is a human rights activist from India who has been organizing a global movement to end child slavery and exploitation since 1980. Mr. Satyarthi and the movement helped to liberate more than 83,000 children from exploitation. He has launched the Global March Against Child Labour and his efforts led to the adoption of ILO Convention 182 on worst forms of child labour in 1999.
LECH WALESA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF POLAND, NOBEL PEACE LAUREATE 1983
Lech Wałęsa was the leader of the 1980 strike in Gdańsk, which led to the establishment of Solidarity – the first independent trade union in the Soviet bloc. He remains one of the symbols of the fall of Communism in Central and Eastern Europe. Two years later, Lech Wałęsa was awarded the 1983 Nobel Peace Prize. In 1990 Lech Wałęsa became the first democratically elected President of Poland.
The 17th World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates in Yucatan is titled #LeaveYourMarkForPeace (#MiHuellaPorLaPaz). This year, the program will focus both on the Mexican legacy and on the participation of the nation in the process of consolidating world peace. The program will involve civil society and young people around the world by providing them with the tools and strategies necessary to achieve peace at a local and global level.
