The 12th Annual Desmond Tutu International Peace Lecture — A Vision for Hope and Healing

5 September 2022 – Cape Town - The 12th Annual Desmond Tutu International Peace Lecture returns on 7 October 2022, marking the first Lecture since Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu’s passing at the end of 2021. The event is being held on Archbishop Tutu’s birthday and will honour his extraordinary life while reflecting his legacy into the future.

The heart of the Peace Lecture is rooted in the Foundation’s work to transform our collective consciousness through the courageous pursuit of healing, inspired by the legacy that Archbishop Tutu left for us. In the last few years, we all witnessed the devastating impact of a global pandemic, climate change and conflict. The Arch, as he was fondly known, held a lifelong conviction that one can only get through hard times by holding on to hope. As he put it, “Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.”

In line with this, the 12th International Peace Lecture theme is: A Vision for Hope and Healing.

Chairperson of the Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation, Niclas Kjellström-Matseke noted, “We are excited to bring to Cape Town the voices of two powerful and globally influential individuals to deliver this year’s lecture.”

The two speakers are Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations Ms. Amina J. Mohammed, who will appear with best-selling author Doug Abrams. Kjellström-Matseke went on to say, “Amina Mohammed, through her extraordinary work as a global leader can share an inspiring vision for global development. This is well-paired with Doug Abrams’ intimate portraits and ability to draw out the wisdom of many of the elders of our times. I am confident that this will be a powerful moment for us to reimagine the possibilities of a bold future, shaped by collective healing and humanity.”

Deputy Secretary-General Mohammed is credited as being one of the key architects of the Sustainable Development Goals, setting an agenda for how we can develop flourishing societies and planet. She is a globally recognised leader in action to prevent climate change, having served as the Minister of Environment of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Abrams is best-known for his collaborative work with Archbishop Tutu and the Dalai Lama to co-author The Book of Joy. He has worked with other Nobel Laureates including Nelson Mandela, Jody Williams, and Elizabeth Blackburn, as well as many visionary scientists. His latest collaboration was the Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times with Jane Goodall, published in 2021.

CEO of the Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation, Janet Jobson, noted that, “A conversation that calls on us to project towards a hopeful future is incomplete without the perspective of the youth. We are thus including elements in the overall event for young people and children’s voices to be powerfully heard.”

One way this will be achieved is through a children’s art exhibition at the Cape Town City Hall on the evening of the event. We are inviting young people under the age of eighteen to submit artworks depicting their own visions for hope and healing. Interested participants can post their artworks on social media and tag us, email, or send their submissions to us using the details below:

Email address: public@tutu.org.za

Physical address: The Old Granary, 11 Buitenkant St, Cape Town, 8001

We invite everyone to join us for this powerful dialogue at the Cape Town City Hall, 7 October 2022; 19h00-21h00.

Book your free tickets  for The 12th Annual Desmond Tutu International Peace Lecture (quicket.co.za) or stream the lecture on tutu.org.za.

For media queries and interviews contact: Ntombenhle@tutu.org.za

*Note to Editors

About the Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation (DLTLF)

Founded in 2013, the Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation (DLTLF) strives to take the example of its founders into the future, in part by growing and facilitating powerful and timely voices of moral courage on some of the most pressing issues of our time. Visit tutu.org.za for more information.