A year in review: The Elders’ 2013 Annual Report
CEO of The Elders Lesley-Anne Knight presents our 2013 Annual Report, a review of our challenges and achievements during a year of transition for the organisation.
The Elders are proud to present their Annual Report for 2013, which was in many ways a year of transition for the organisation. I joined as Chief Executive Officer in January, and later in the year, Archbishop Tutu took on the role of Honorary Elder as Kofi Annan replaced him as Chair.
With so many crises, conflicts and causes in which The Elders could become involved and so many people calling out for their support, there was a need to set some priority goals. A new Strategic Framework 2014-2017 was developed, identifying the key geographic and thematic priority areas on which we would focus our efforts. These included peacebuilding and reconciliation through high-level diplomacy in Côte d’Ivoire, Israel-Palestine, Myanmar and Syria; as well as public campaigning on climate change and equality for girls and women. The achievements, joys and challenges of our work in these areas are captured in this Annual Report, which is a tribute to the Elders themselves as well as an expression of gratitude to our Advisors and many supporters.
Above all, 2013 was a memorable year in the life of our organisation as we joined people all over the world in mourning the death and celebrating the life of our friend and founder Nelson Mandela. When he launched The Elders in 2007, Mandela’s vision was of a “more peaceful, healthy and equitable” planet. His hope was that The Elders would “succeed in bringing light to some of the darkness that afflicts our world”. May we remain faithful to his legacy.
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