Assam : Guwahati-Based Peacebuilder Wins Prestigious ‘Youth Carnegie Peace Prize, 2021’, Aiding To De-Escalate Tensions In South Sudan

(Peace Palace/Vredespaleis)

The Guwahati-based peacemaker Rhea Mahanta has been conferred with the prestigious ‘Youth Carnegie Peace Prize, 2021’.

Daughter of Saurav Mahanta and Dr Neelakshi Mahanta, Rhea has been awarded with the coveted prize for “The Peace Building Project”.

Hosted by the International Court of Justice, in the Hague, Netherlands, “Peacebuilding Project” provides a wide range of practical assistance and support in conflict regions.

The Carnegie Foundation – Peace Palace and the Youth Peace Initiative (YPI) award this biennial prizes to young peacebuilders for giving recognition to their work done especially in post-war conditions, thereby motivating & encouraging youth to commence peacebuilding processes.

The news has been confirmed by Peace Palace – Vredespaleis, through their official Twitter handle. “We are proud to announce the winner of the 2021 Youth Carnegie Peace Prize! The Peacebuilding Project by Rhea Mahanta! Congratulations” – tweeted the Peace Palace.

Rhea will now serve as a Carnegie Foundation, Peace Palace Youth Ambassador for the subsequent two years.

She will work with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan as a United Nations Volunteer Civil Affairs Officer (UNMISS).

According to Rhea, one of the major challenges in working for peace deals with quantifying the impact of concerned efforts, because a war avoided is generally unrecorded.

“But has seen how the attempts at peace and reconciliation have aided in the slow transformation of relationships over time.” – the award winner further stated.

While talking about how local peace efforts have aided de-escalating tensions, Rhea asserted, “Our support for local peace efforts has aided in the de-escalation of tensions and the building of reconciliation between clans and communities on multiple occasions.”

“More importantly, capacity-building activities for local actors have aided in the development of national ownership of peace processes and enabled local communities to peacefully manage and resolve their conflicts, which is critical for South Sudan’s long-term peace.” – she further added.

Peace Palace commenced in 2017 as research at the University of Chicago, which has now grown into a successful international organization.

The Carnegie Foundation has been named after Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919), a Scottish-American philanthropist who generously funded the construction of the Peace Palace.

Set-up for the purpose of establishing and maintaining in perpetuity a “Temple of Peace”, Carnegie Foundation is committed to promote the issues of war and peace, human rights, international law and international cooperation from the platform of Peace Palace.