A Prize for Sharing Kofi’s Vision! A Message from Nane Annan

Dear friends,

Last year was a year of grief when our beloved Kofi passed away. The family and I found solace in the outpouring of love and support we received through the deeply felt messages from around the globe, paying tribute to him as a peacemaker and visionary who boldly pursued his dream of a better world.

He lived life to the fullest, his last mission being to South Africa and Zimbabwe ahead of elections there in July, the month before he died. He was in mid-step on the road to peace, and we have a responsibility to continue down that road to ensure that his hope for a fairer and more peaceful world is pursued.

In his honour I joined the Board of the Kofi Annan Foundation. Whenever I meet with the dedicated team at the Foundation, I tell them how proud and impressed I am of how they have charged ahead to advance Kofi’s vision and to honour his wish that the Foundation go on.

Today I am writing to you to share my excitement at having had the privilege to represent the Kofi Annan Foundation at the 4th Geneva Engage Awards. We are proud to have received the 2nd prize for the Foundation’s social media engagement around the issues that were so dear to Kofi: building lasting peace through safeguarding our elections, helping countries in conflict transition to peace and supporting young people in their struggle against violent extremism.

The staff who made this possible and all of us on the Board dedicate this award to Kofi and what he stood for: dialogue, tolerance and a deep conviction that there is more that unites us than there is that divides us.

Nane Annan