Guwahati Girl Rhea Mahanta Bags Prestigious Carnegie Youth Peace Prize

GUWAHATI: Rhea Mahanta, a Guwahati native, has been awarded the coveted Youth Carnegie Peace Prize for 2021. Rhea Mahanta, the daughter of Saurav and Dr. Neelakshi Mahanta, has earned the award for the Peace Building Project.

The International Court of Justice, Peace Palace, The Hague, Netherlands, hosted the award ceremony. "We are delighted to announce the recipient of the Carnegie Youth Peace Prize for 2021!" Rhea Mahanta's Peacebuilding Project! Congratulations.

The Carnegie Youth Peace Prize recognises the work of young peacemakers in (post-) conflict circumstances, with the purpose of inspiring and motivating others to start their own initiatives. The award winner will serve as a Carnegie Foundation – Peace Palace Youth Ambassador for the following two years.

Rhea Mahanta works with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan as a UN Volunteer Civil Affairs Officer (UNMISS). On the International Day of Peace, Rhea discusses her efforts in South Sudan in quest of peace.

One of the challenges in working for peace, according to Rhea, is quantifying the impact of our efforts, because a war avoided is generally unrecorded. But I've seen how our attempts at peace and reconciliation have aided in the slow transformation of relationships over time.

"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," she added. "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."

Confidence-building tactics have contributed to the formation of trust between adversarial parties. Communities that used to be at odds with one another can now work together to prevent violence between them. South Sudan is making progress toward peace, although slowly. 

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