JA Worldwide Nominated for the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize

Author: Katie Desmarais
Community Involvement
Published: Friday, 02 Feb 2024

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Image caption: JA Worldwide Nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for the 3rd time in 3 years.

We’re proud to announce that JA Worldwide has been nominated for the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize, our third nomination in three years. JA of Greater Boston is a member of JA Worldwide.

Nobel Peace Prize nominations may be received from heads of state, certain elected officials and cabinet members, university professors in selected fields, past Nobel laureates, and other notable individuals, as laid out by the Nobel Nominating Committee. A number of eligible nominators approached us about nominating JA Worldwide and, although the identity of each nominee officially remains anonymous for 50 years, we were thrilled to have been given evidence that we were nominated this year.

Founded 105 years ago, JA is one of the largest youth-serving NGOs in the world, delivering over 17 million student learning experiences for employment and entrepreneurship last year. Operating in over 100 countries, JA teaches youth to develop the skillset and mindset to create businesses, find meaningful employment, and build healthy cities and towns. As a result of what they learn through JA, students develop ambitions beyond their own economic reward, understanding that entrepreneurship is not only a means to financial wellbeing for themselves and their families but also a vehicle to foster social stability and inclusive societies. JA students and alumni create and lead companies that offer products and services that fill a consumer need; enable an ecosystem of employees, partners, and suppliers to thrive; and also fundamentally transform the world, or at least their small corner of it.

Starting with our second nomination in 2023 and continuing through today, JA staff members throughout the world have begun working toward a collective goal: living up to the promise of Alfred Nobel’s vision. These nominations are changing us, forcing us to ask, “What is JA doing globally to empower young people to build a more peaceful society?” For over a century, JA has operated in areas of political instability, violence, and war, helping youth build entrepreneurship skills and economic resilience. By creating opportunity, prosperity, and self-belief, our work helps youth develop the skillset and mindset to build thriving communities. And we’re ready to move even further into our peace directive, empowering young people to become global citizens, develop civic-engagement skills, and nurture cross-border friendships from a young age.

Asheesh Advani, CEO of JA Worldwide, was thrilled to hear that JA has been nominated again this year for our work with young people. “A lack of economic agency and a lack of hope lead to instability. Education and economic empowerment lead to prosperity and peace. JA prepares young people to see themselves as future job creators, leaders, and innovators who can actively contribute to the economic prosperity of their communities. This is the path to peace.”

Image caption: Radhames Nova, President and CEO of JA of Greater Boston

Radhames Nova, President and CEO of JA of Greater Boston, was equally delighted by this nomination.

“As the President and CEO of JA of Greater Boston, I am profoundly honored by JA Worldwide’s third Nobel Peace Prize nomination. This recognition reaffirms our unwavering commitment to empowering young minds globally. By instilling essential skills, fostering entrepreneurship, and promoting economic understanding, JA continues to be a catalyst for positive change. Together, we are shaping a generation of leaders who will confidently break barriers and pave the way towards lasting peace and prosperity for all.”

Between 1901 and 2023, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to 141 laureates, including 111 individuals and 30 organizations. Among those 30 organizations is another nonprofit from the annual list of the top ten social-good organizations, Médecins sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders), which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999. UNICEF, another youth-serving NGO, was awarded the prize in 1965, after being nominated for several years.