Kofi Annan Foundation

The Kofi Annan Foundation is an independent not-for-profit organization, established in Switzerland in 2007 by the late former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Our Board comprises prominent personalities from the public and private sectors, and we have a small, agile team based in Geneva, Switzerland.

Inclusion, diversity, gender equality, and sustainability are at the heart of everything we do.

We work to build a fairer and more peaceful world, where no one is left behind, democratic principles and the rule of law are upheld, and divides are bridged through dialogue and international cooperation.

Within our core work areas of peace, youth empowerment, democracy and international cooperation, we:

• bring experts together to address global challenges

• facilitate transitions to peace and promote dialogue and reconciliation to build trust

• put forward recommendations to governments, civil society and business to protect democracy

• create and select initiatives that promote Kofi Annan’s values.

The Kofi Annan Foundation works closely with partners from international and regional organizations, foundations, universities and civil society. We channel expertise, convene all stakeholders around the table and forge coalitions of trusted influence that can make change happen.

We operate globally under four programmatic areas:

Youth + Peace: Empowering youth to build a peaceful and sustainable future

Young people are key to challenging exclusion and injustice and should be at the forefront of global change and innovation. At the Kofi Annan Foundation, we facilitate youth engagement, ensure that their voices are heard and support their efforts towards peace and development. Convinced of young people’s central role in addressing the most pressing challenges of today, the Kofi Annan Foundation facilitates their engagement, ensures that their voices are heard and supports their efforts towards peace and development. We achieve this by working through projects such as the following, this not an exhaustive list of how we engage with and support young people:

• Kofi Annan Changemakers initiative: An Intergenerational Dialogue for Impact: Across a 12-month programme, the chosen young leaders, who have already demonstrated commitment and impact in their respective fields, interact with leaders from the high-level network of Kofi Annan and the Kofi Annan Foundation, searching for ways to build their capacity for positive action.

• Extremely Together: Empowering young people to build peace and prevent extremism: Extremely Together brings together young leaders to foster peace and social cohesion through youth-led initiatives in regions including South and Southeast Asia, East Africa and the Sahel. Launched in 2016 by the Kofi Annan Foundation, the initiative’s global network of 10 founding members and country chapters responds to the increasing threat of recruitment and narratives of violent extremist groups. By using a peer-to-peer approach, the youth-led initiative acts upon the gap in international and national efforts aimed at preventing violent extremism (PVE), where young people are understood as a threat to security rather than enablers of peace. Extremely Together aims to give young people worldwide a sense of identity and purpose and help them work for positive change and peace in their communities. By equipping young people with tools and knowledge as well as reinforcing alternative narratives and positive values of ‘togetherness’, Extremely Together seeks to enable youth to engage and play a leading role in peace and PVE at local, regional, and international fora.

• Bridges to Peace Uganda: Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism and Terrorism in Uganda The Bridges to Peace initiative contributes to our effort to build peace and trust amongst communities most affected by violence. In Uganda, we work closely with our partners, Uganda Muslim Youth Development Forum, to enhance community preparedness and resilience to violent extremism in key affected places. Overall, our ambition is to contribute to the long-term reduction of violence and insecurity in Uganda.

Elections + Democracy: Turning back the tide of democratic erosion

Kofi Annan, a tireless defender of democracy, believed it to be the cornerstone of peace, sustainable development, the rule of law, and the respect for human rights. Inspired by his vision, our programme advises countries on strengthening their elections and democratic processes. We support civil society organizations championing democracy and human rights while nurturing the next generation of influential leaders who will shape a more democratic future. We achieve this by working through projects such as the following, this not an exhaustive list of how we engage to support elections and democracy:

• WYDE Civic Engagement – Accountability Hubs: Strengthening accountability and transparency in governance: WYDE Civic Engagement Accountability Hubs brings together young leaders from across Sub-Saharan Africa in a comprehensive training and networking program to enhance their skills in good governance and democratic leadership, financial and political accountability, project management and advocacy, and to develop their own projects (“pilot actions”) to put their ideas into practice in their countries and communities with dedicated seed grants. Over the project period of 2022-2026, a total of 40 young leaders (between 20 and 35 years) experienced in working on accountability and youth empowerment in Sub-Saharan Africa will be selected for this unique training opportunity through a competitive process.

• Electoral Integrity Initiative: Addressing electoral challenges The Electoral Integrity Initiative is committed to fortifying democratic processes worldwide. Through collaborative efforts with experts and organizations, we aim to ensure transparency, uphold democratic values, and address political challenges hindering fair elections. Launched in 2013, the Electoral Integrity Initiative (EII) is an informal hub for global organizations and individuals addressing electoral challenges. A group of individuals from around the world and from organizations with expertise and experience in improving electoral integrity make up the steering group for the project. Membership of the group is by invitation.

• Leadership Excellence in Politics (LEiP): Rebuilding Trust in Political Leadership Politicians’ actions and decisions impact us all, yet the role of a political leader is often undefined and unsupported. Without attention, training and research, passionate well-meaning political leaders may be set up to fail.The Apolitical Foundation, Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP), Kofi Annan Foundation, and NexusVesting have joined forces to launch an initiative to bridge the gap between what we know about effective and ethical political leadership, citizens’ expectations, and political leaders’ actions. LEiP seeks to understand the gap between what citizens expect from their leaders and what their leaders do, and to find solutions to reduce this gap. Together with our partners, we will run political leadership training, coordinate research and launch advocacy campaigns.

Multilateralism: The Kofi Annan Way

We advocate for a more effective, inclusive and equitable multilateral system.

Our engagements aim to build greater awareness of the strategies, policies, values, and approaches that allowed Kofi Annan to promote multilateral solutions to global problems, and of their relevance to today’s challenges. We do this through special projects and initiatives such as op-eds, lectures, awards, and exhibitions that commemorate Kofi Annan’s life or are named after him, and that convey his values and sustain his influence on contemporary events. We achieve this by working through projects such as the following, this not an exhaustive list of how we engage to support multilateralism:

• The Kofi Annan Commission on Food Security: Reimagining Global Governance Kofi Annan referred to the lack of food security for almost one billion people as an ‘unconscionable moral failing,’ and ‘a major halt on overall socio-economic development. As both the climate and food crises continue to grow, the Kofi Annan Commission on Food Security aims to bring urgent answers in the form of a reenergized global governance structure to the persistent challenge of food insecurity.

• Multilateralism; The Kofi Annan Way We advocate for a more effective, inclusive and equitable multilateral system. Our engagements aim to build greater awareness of the strategies, policies, values, and approaches that allowed Kofi Annan to promote multilateral solutions to global problems, and of their relevance to today’s challenges. We do this through special projects and initiatives such as op-eds, lectures, awards, and exhibitions that commemorate Kofi Annan’s life or are named after him, and that convey his values and sustain his influence on contemporary events.

Safeguarding a Legacy: Kofi Annan Legacy Projects

As was the wish of Kofi Annan and the Annan family, the Kofi Annan Foundation is committed to protecting the legacy of Kofi Annan in addition to honouring and promoting his values. The Foundation holds the rights to the name “Kofi Annan” to ensure that the use of the name is aligned with the values that Kofi Annan stands for.