PATRONS

President Mwai Kibaki has been named the Patron of the 2010 Global Peace Convention to be held in Nairobi in Novmber.

At the same time Prime Minister Odinga was named the Patron of the 2010 Global Peace Festival (GPF).

The naming of Nairobi as host city for the November 17-20 Convention and Festival was made last month during meetings with President Kibaki, Global Peace Festival chairman Dr. Hyun Jin Moon, and convention co-chairs Dr. Manu Chandaria and Anglican Church of Kenya Archbishop Eliud Wabukala.

Sir James Manchem, the founding President of Seychelles, was named as a third Convention Co-Chairman.

The major events will include the Convention and International Young Leaders Summit at the Kenyatta International Conference Center and the Global Peace Festival at Kasarani Stadium.

Some 24 GPF initiatives in six continents have attracted more than a million youth and civil society leaders 'dedicated to peace building and service'.

As part of the 2008 Kenya GPF, a major ongoing social impact initiative was launched to clean one of Kenya's important waterways, the endangered Nairobi River.

With six major volunteer mobilizations, the restoration project will take another giant step forward on April 17 when volunteers will plant 10,000 trees along the Nairobi River.

The government's support of the project will be spearheaded by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports in partnership with the ministries of Environment, Forestry, Foreign Affairs, and Education.

GPF partners have also inaugurated a range of peace building initiatives in Nairobi, the Rift Valley, and Mombasa, including character education, sports for peace and mini-grants for youth service projects to combat malaria.