SA academic works with actor Whitaker to help bring peace
A SOUTH African poet and intellectual has been working with Hollywood A-lister Forest Whitaker to bring peace to some of the most violent countries on the planet.
Brian Williams‚ a former chairman of the University of the Western Cape’s council and president of the convocation‚ has been facilitating peace training for child soldiers and youth who were affected by the civil war in Uganda and South Sudan.
Williams has been contracted by Whitaker’s peace foundation, the Whitaker Peace and Development Initiative.
“The focus is on the youth,” Williams – who is the visiting professor in peace‚ conflict transformation and mediation and labour relations at two African universities – said.
“In South Sudan‚ everyone in the programme was affected by the ongoing civil war.
“The training is directed at getting young people to attain inner peace and to do different things to bring peace in the lives of others.”
In Uganda‚ the same transformative peace training programme had been offered to youngsters from the Kiryandongo Refugee Camp and youth from the Acholi region, Williams said.
According to Human Rights Watch, thousands have been murdered in South Sudan’s ongoing conflict.
About three million people have had to flee their homes and half a million have been forced to live in United Nations compounds.
And in Uganda, Human Rights Watch has expressed concerns about freedom of association‚ assembly and expression.
Whitaker is a member of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Advocacy Group and‚ according to his organisation’s website‚ believes that “to attain peace and prosperity‚ com- munities and nations must heed the voices of their diverse and vibrant youth”.
Williams said Whitaker also played an active role in the peace-training programmes.
“He is the vision bearer and facilitates the funding to make the projects possible.”
Another visionary working with Williams and Whitaker is former child soldier and acclaimed Ugandan artist Sam Okello, who started Hope North to help orphans‚ former child soldiers and victims of the Ugandan civil war.
To date‚ the organisation has assisted more than 3 500 young people.
Okello said he had met Whitaker when he was filming The Last King of Scotland in which the actor portrayed Idi Amin. Together, they started working on facilitating peace processes in that country. Okello said Williams was a valued member of the team.
“One thing we value about Brian is how he brings academia into the programme to empower youth, his methodology of educating young people to promote peace.
“He teaches them to analyse issues to have a peaceful society which will help Africa to develop.”