Tutu to launch Peace Foundation's leadership academy program

SEATTLE - Organizers of a foundation named for Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu hope to immerse students in the South African archbishop&#39;s philosophy of peace and reconciliation. <br> <br> By creating ``leadership academies,&#39;&#39; they hope to develop new generations of humane leaders. <br> <br> Tutu, a leader in South Africa&#39;s struggle against apartheid, will be here next week to announce the Desmond Tutu Peace Foundation&#39;s development of the leadership academies. The first one will be in Seattle, with others planned in Boston, Atlanta and the Midwest, as well as in Africa. <br> <br> The academies will be affiliated with area universities and developed in partnership with community schools. The Seattle-based foundation, a nonprofit organization funded by public and private donations, is currently working on criteria for the schools. <br> <br> ``Wouldn&#39;t it be magnificent if one or two Desmond Tutus emerged as a result of these leadership academies?&#39;&#39; asked Robert Taylor, foundation president and dean of St. Mark&#39;s Episcopal Cathedral in Seattle. <br> <br> When Taylor lived in South Africa, Tutu helped him avoid imprisonment in 1980 for refusing to participate in mandatory military service that would have involved enforcing apartheid, said foundation spokeswoman Leslie Cohan. The two have remained close friends. <br> <br> Taylor said Tutu serves as a reminder to everyone, especially since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, of people&#39;s common humanity. <br> <br> ``It&#39;s inspiring to have young leaders meet with him and have a sense of what is possible,&#39;&#39; Taylor said. <br> <br> Tutu, 70, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 in recognition of his nonviolent campaign to end apartheid in South Africa. Following that country&#39;s first democratic election in 1994, then-President Nelson Mandela appointed Tutu to chair a commission that probed apartheid-era abuses and gave amnesty to those who confessed their involvement. <br> <br> The goal of the academies will be to create a network of local, national and international leaders who emphasize community relationships as a way to resolve conflicts, said Constance Rice, the foundation&#39;s executive director. <br> <br> The foundation hopes to establish the Seattle leadership academy by September, Rice said. The academies will be designed to attract university students worldwide. <br> <br> Tutu&#39;s Seattle visit has been sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. He will speak Tuesday at a forum on world health and children at the University of Washington, which is also awarding him an honorary doctorate of humane letters. <br> <br> The archbishop is now a visiting professor at the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Mass. <br> <br> Established in September 2001, the Tutu Peace Foundation also raises money for the Desmond Tutu Peace Centre in Cape Town, South Africa, where a museum and archives are planned.

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