WPDI

The Whitaker Peace & Development Initiative is a non-governmental organization with global scope & reach founded by @ForestWhitaker / instagram: Whitaker_Peace

[WPDI @connectWPDI]

"Our mission is to empower dedicated people to give them the tools to make them effective peacemakers and entrepreneurs." - @ForestWhitaker

https://t.co/zheE51IUCx

[WPDI @connectWPDI]

Happy Birthday to our Founder and CEO, @ForestWhitaker! 🎉 Thank you for your vision, your compassion, and your unwavering commitment to empowering young people and building peace. From all of us at WPDI, we wish you a wonderful birthday! 💙

[WPDI @connectWPDI]

"I realized that I was not alone."

Across the Cape Flats, 535 community members came together through WPDI's community healing dialogues to share their experiences, build resilience, and find hope after violence and trauma.

Read more: https://t.co/FAkUMxrUge

[WPDI @connectWPDI]

Today we celebrate South Sudan's 15th Independence Day.

For more than a decade, WPDI has stood alongside South Sudanese communities working to build peace. Read our message as we honor this milestone and the people shaping the country's future.

🔗 https://t.co/IFDWednP85

[WPDI @connectWPDI]

A period should never stand between a girl and her education.

WPDI South Africa reached 5,415 students across 40 schools with sanitary pads and menstrual health education, helping girls stay in school with dignity and confidence.

Read more: https://t.co/o4WPIKCc1k

[WPDI @connectWPDI]

WPDI France is expanding opportunities in Seine-Saint-Denis!

Since opening our CLC in Aubervilliers in 2023, WPDI France has supported young people, women, and entrepreneurs through training, mentorship, and peace education.

Discover our impact: https://t.co/W6O5bMoiwZ

[WPDI @connectWPDI]

From the top of the Empire State Building to communities around the world, one message remains true: peace doesn’t happen by chance. It starts with people.

We believe peace isn’t simply the absence of conflict, it’s something that can be learned, practiced, and strengthened.

[WPDI @connectWPDI]

Peace begins with the skills to navigate conflict. 🕊️

This week in Maridi, South Sudan, 20 teachers are taking part in WPDI's five-day Conflict Resolution Education training, strengthening the skills to foster peaceful classrooms and build more resilient communities.

[WPDI @connectWPDI]

Conflict resolution is a skill. Peacebuilding is a choice. And women are leading the way.

WPDI equips young people across our countries of action with tools of dialogue and nonviolence, because empowering women means empowering entire communities.

[WPDI @connectWPDI]

We're proud to share WPDI Youth Peacemaker Rancenzo De Jager from the Cape Flats, South Africa is heading to Massachusetts, USA 🇿🇦✈️🇺🇸 to serve as a Summer Camp Facilitator, mentoring and supporting young people.

A journey shaped by youth leadership, peacebuilding and impact 🌍

[Forest Whitaker @ForestWhitaker]

Home is more than a place.
This #WorldRefugeeDay, we honor the resilience of millions of people displaced by conflict and violence around the world.
Today, I reflect on belonging, hope, and the urgent work of building peace. Read my op-ed: https://t.co/z8LbrhSwMN

[Forest Whitaker @ForestWhitaker]

This #Juneteenth, I honor the generations who carried the dream of freedom forward, those who endured, resisted, and continued building a more just world. Join me in reflection today as we honor the past, acknowledge the present, and commit to the work still ahead.

[WPDI @connectWPDI]

At 23, Awatif fled Sudan & arrived in Uganda without English and without knowing what came next.

WPDI's team in Kiryandongo was there: language classes, peacebuilding training, entrepreneurship support.

Safety is just the beginning. This #WorldRefugeeDay, hear her story ▶️

[WPDI @connectWPDI]

At WPDI South Africa’s Cinema for Peace event at a secondary school, 128 students explored peacebuilding and conflict resolution through film and dialogue.

The event created a meaningful space for youth to reflect, share perspectives, and build empathy within their communities!

[WPDI @connectWPDI]

From community-led impact to global partnerships, our Spring Newsletter highlights the people and programs shaping futures.

Explore stories from the field, insights from our 2025 Annual Report, and a preview of our Rise as One Gala this September

🔗https://t.co/cQ5HYAlJj3

[WPDI @connectWPDI]

Six months after winning WPDI South Africa's Business Pitching Competition, these Cape Town entrepreneurs are scaling fast, new hires, more inventory, bigger customer bases 📈

Check-in with the women turning training + funding into business growth 👇
https://t.co/U0YmeYU5jA

[WPDI @connectWPDI]

👂 Sometimes peacebuilding begins with something as simple as listening.

Since 2016, WPDI's Domestic Harmonizer Program has been turning conflict into opportunities for learning, connection & growth, one school at a time🕊️

Free tools & resources here:
https://t.co/90TXdweFU2

[WPDI @connectWPDI]

What starts as an idea can become an opportunity for an entire community.

In partnership with @AfricaGemini, 55 entrepreneurs received training, mentorship, and business support. Today, 18 businesses are strengthening local economies in South Sudan.

🔗https://t.co/qT4THsvGel

[WPDI @connectWPDI]

🕊️ Thirty women community leaders in Eerste River joined a WPDI South Africa 🇿🇦 leadership training on inner peace, conflict resolution, and community leadership.

Equipping women with peacebuilding skills helps create generational impact across families and communities!

[WPDI @connectWPDI]

What does it look like when people work together?
At our Community Learning Center in Chiapas, Mexico, young participants reflected on communication, leadership, and collaboration. Through shared problem-solving exercises, they are building skills to strengthen peace each day!🕊️

[WPDI @connectWPDI]

What began as an International Day of Peace activity at a middle school has grown into a thriving Gaming Club where students build empathy and belonging through play.

Now, up to 185 students gather each week through WPDI’s Domestic Harmonizer Program.
https://t.co/N5ds8WFJJJ