David R. Woollcombe is the founder and President of Peace Child International (PCI), a charity he established in 1981 to empower young people to address global challenges. He first organized US and Soviet youth exchanges during the Cold War, including a 1986 tour of his musical play Peace Child performed by Soviet and American casts across both countries. After the Cold War he refocused PCI on environmental sustainability and Education for Sustainable Development, producing a youth led edition of the Rio Earth Summit’s Agenda 21 titled Rescue Mission: Planet Earth, which was translated into more than 20 languages and sold over half a million copies. Woollcombe went on to convene a series of World Youth Congresses, drawing participants from more than 100 countries, and a Young People’s Earth Summit, before turning PCI’s attention to youth employment and job creation programs. He is the author of Youth led Development, a practitioner guide that carries an introduction by former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. A consistent advocate for youth participation and for reform of the United Nations, he stepped down as PCI’s chief executive in 2014 and has continued to serve the organization as President and chair of its trustees. His Mondial article on the UN’s liquidity crisis reflects his long standing interest in strengthening and financing the multilateral system so that it can serve current and future generations.
