The Hague, The Netherlands –
Peace Philanthropy Symposium
The two-day symposium entitled Celebrating Peace Philanthropy and Furthering Peace Education – In the Footsteps of Andrew Carnegie took place in the Peace Palace on 2-3 September 2013. Several leading peace philanthropists participated in a review of the nature, variety and extent of peace philanthropy today.
The symposium was organised in cooperation with the Carnegie Foundation, and was held in the Academy Hall of the Peace Palace. It was opened by the honorary president of the Carnegie UK Trust, and great-grandson of Andrew Carnegie, William Thomson. Participants were also welcomed by the mayor of The Hague, Jozias van Aartsen.
Among the invited speakers were several founders, presidents, or senior officers of leading peace foundations and similar organisations such as Steve Killelea (Institute for Economics and Peace, and founder of the Global Peace Index); Federico Mayor (Foundation for a Culture of Peace, and former Director-General of UNESCO); Jennifer Allen Simons (The Simons Foundation, promoting and funding work for nuclear disarmament); Gillian Sorensen (United Nations Foundation); Sakuji Tanaka (President, Rotary International 2012-2013); and Cora Weiss (Hague Appeal for Peace).
20130902 Peace Philanthropy Symposium – programme
Peace Philanthropy Gala
A very special Peace Palace Philanthropy Gala was held in the Ridderzaal in The Hague on Monday 2 September 2013. It was a fantastic evening with inspiring speeches, a wonderful dinner (inspired by the menu of the first Hague Peace Conference in 1899) and special entertainment.
Hague historian and Netherlands-America expert Willem Post presented the evening. Under the central theme of peace and philanthropy, speeches were given by leading international speakers including Gillian Sorensen (United Nations Foundation), William Thomson (Carnegie United Kingdom Trust) and Cora Weiss (Hague Appeal for Peace). 
In between courses, the guests were treated with performences by the world whistling champion Geert Chatrou, piano-player Jan Vayne and the 2013 winner of Dutch talent search ‘The Voice Kids’ Laura van Kwaam. Benthe Tupker from Christie’s hosted a special auction.
The Peace Philanthropy Gala supported the activities of War Child International and the Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR). For pictures of the evening, visit our Flickr photo album.
20130902 Peace Philanthropy Gala – invitation
Peace Philanthropy – Then and Now Exhibition
The pursuit of world peace takes many forms. This is reflected in the various ways in which philanthropy (love of mankind) manifests itself, when focussed on bringing about a world without war.
This exhibition shows past and present examples of charitable giving to promote a peaceful world. While Carnegie’s Peace Palace and Nobel’s Peace Prize are well known, other durable investments in peace-making are little known. Underlying many projects is the need for education – that war is not inevitable, and that peaceful conflict resolution is possible and indeed vital. We can all work for peace and will be more successful if the resources necessary are available.
The exhibition, consisting of 26 panels, was first on display in the large Atrium of The Hague city hall from 15 August until 29 September 2013. It is also available as a traveling exhibition and as an e-book. More information is available from the INMP website.
