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]

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

[WPDI @connectWPDI]

Community leaders in Yambio recently completed a five-day peacebuilding & conflict resolution training organized by WPDI South Sudan, strengthening local efforts to promote dialogue, mediation, and peaceful coexistence across communities.

[WPDI @connectWPDI]

At WPDI, we know that lasting peace grows from opportunity. Through digital literacy, entrepreneurship, and conflict resolution training in Aubervilliers, France, participants are building the skills, confidence, and connections needed to shape stronger futures together ✨

[WPDI @connectWPDI]

In Uganda, where WPDI’s mission first began, conflict resolution training continues to plant the seeds of peace.

Today, those lessons have grown far beyond borders, equipping communities around the world with the tools to lead through dialogue, empathy, and understanding.

[WPDI @connectWPDI]

Peace begins with how we choose to live alongside one another. 🕊️

On the International Day of Living Together in Peace, we honor the young people, communities, and peacebuilders creating spaces rooted in dialogue, dignity, understanding, and opportunity across the world.

[WPDI @connectWPDI]

We’re thrilled to see our Founder & CEO, @ForestWhitaker, participating in the @OneYoungWorld Summit 2026 in South Africa 🇿🇦

Forest will join WPDI peacemakers from the Cape Flats for conversations on youth leadership, peacebuilding, and opportunity. Looking forward to Cape Town!

[One Young World @OneYoungWorld]

He's transforming the world on- and off-screen 🎬

From becoming on-screen characters to supporting young people in shaping their own futures.

We’re excited to announce that @ForestWhitaker is joining us in Cape Town this November! 🎉

Forest built a career on transformation. Deep immersion. Full commitment. Becoming entirely part of the worlds he portrayed — through research, discipline, and lived detail.

Similarly, his own life evolved and transformed.

An injury changed his direction early on. Sport became opera training. Opera became acting. Forest became globally recognised and award-winning, including an Oscar and a BAFTA.

As his career evolved, so did his purpose.

Through his organisation @connectWPDI, he now works with young people in communities affected by conflict — including in South Africa — supporting skills, opportunity, and leadership pathways that last beyond a single moment on stage.

We are honoured to welcome him as a Counsellor at the One Young World Summit Cape Town, 2026. 🇿🇦

🔔 Stay tuned for more iconic Counsellor announcements!

#OneYoungWorld #OYW26 #ForestWhitaker #CapeTown #Peacebuilding #Leadership

[WPDI @connectWPDI]

@OneYoungWorld @ForestWhitaker We’re thrilled to see our Founder & CEO, @ForestWhitaker, participating in the @OneYoungWorld Summit 2026 in South Africa 🇿🇦

Forest will join WPDI peacemakers from the Cape Flats for conversations on youth leadership, peacebuilding, and opportunity. Looking forward to Cape Town!

[WPDI @connectWPDI]

🌟 30 women from the Cape Flats joined WPDI’s CRE Training, learning conflict resolution, communication, peacebuilding & leadership.

💬 “This training has taught me better techniques instead of violence. I am grateful to WPDI for this opportunity.” – Tania Nelani, Nyanga

[WPDI @connectWPDI]

In Chiapas, Mexico, WPDI is equipping youth and women with digital and entrepreneurial skills to build lasting opportunity.

From ICT training to women-led business development, skills are becoming pathways to resilience.

Read the webstory: https://t.co/Ev0iZ1TCY2

[WPDI @connectWPDI]

WPDI France joins CONNECT, a EU initiative supporting migrant entrepreneurs across North-West Europe.

With 13 partners, CONNECT strengthens ecosystems, improves access to finance and mentorship, and tackles structural barriers to help businesses thrive⭐️
https://t.co/1hUKTw7Yne

[WPDI @connectWPDI]

There is no lasting peace without a sustainable future.
We integrate climate and environmental resilience across our programs, supporting communities to adapt to change and strengthen long-term stability.
This #EarthDay, join us in building a sustainable and peaceful future🌍

[WPDI @connectWPDI]

WPDI stands with the #ProveItMatters campaign in South Sudan, where children impacted by conflict learn their rights and share their voices through creative expression.

🕊️100+ children reached in South Sudan so far, with a goal of engaging 700 across 3 countries @childreninwar

[WPDI @connectWPDI]

We're grateful to @SES_Satellites for the additional contribution through the Orbits of Impact initiative at Mobile World Congress, and for delivering internet connectivity to our Community Learning Centers in South Sudan & Uganda, creating a more connected and peaceful future🕊️

[WPDI @connectWPDI]

“Peer mediation training helped me in my personal life, it helped me view things in a healthier way.”
WPDI’s Domestic Harmonizer Program (DHP), students are learning to listen actively, manage emotions, and guide their peers through conflict with empathy
🔗https://t.co/qpvA5oXrhK

[WPDI @connectWPDI]

Community care often begins unseen.
In South Africa, a psychosocial training helped women understand trauma, build coping skills, and begin their own healing, then take those lessons back to support others.
“I now feel more confident to listen and guide.”
https://t.co/Q7ubqLkjal

[WPDI @connectWPDI]

Sport is a universal language⚽
At the Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement, it’s also a pathway to healing.

Hear from a WPDI youth soccer player and program coordinator. Through sport, young people move beyond trauma, connect, and rebuild trust. This is peace in action. #SportsDay

[WPDI @connectWPDI]

On #WorldHealthDay, we recognize that there cannot be peace without health 🕊️

Through trauma healing and health education, WPDI helps individuals rebuild, restore dignity, and strengthen communities because healing within makes lasting peace possible 🌍