The history of the annual World Summits of Nobel Peace Laureates dates back to 1999, the year marking the first Summit held in Rome at the initiative of the Gorbachev Foundation, an international NGO founded by the former leader of the USSR. Since then, the Summits have gained importance as a space for exchanging opinions, and as an event promoting international peace campaigns and initiatives, as well as developing concrete proposals to tackle the planet’s emergencies for a world without violence.

Each year the Summits are attended by Nobel Peace Prize Laureates and prominent global figures, who are active in the social, scientific, political, and cultural areas. Examples of the topics debated during the Summits include: extreme poverty experienced by a portion of the global population, problems with managing water resources, the role of ethics in politics and economic undertakings, and the cross-cultural integration of people.

Each year, during the course of the Summit, the Laureates meet to collaborate on a Final Declaration, which is made available at the close of the Summit. Read past Final Declarations.

South Africa is home to four Nobel Peace Prize Laureates: Chief Albert Luthuli (1960), Archbishop Desmond Tutu (1984), former President Nelson Mandela (1993), and former President FW de Klerk (1993). 

Read more about the Summit and the Permanent Secretariat of the World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates.