Photographer name
Every champion was once a
contender that refused to give up!
At any given day of the year, feel free to look at the world map and press the zoom-in button.
Chances are high that you will find a group of MasterPeacers busy somewhere creating peace
-one step at a time- within their own local communities. You will find true stories of guts, persistence
and ambition. In this booklet, we selected 15 of those stories for you to enjoy and give a big high
five to those champions. We surely hope that their stories will inspire you to team up with us and
use your talent and energy to create peace together.
The MasterPeacer
2
Charline Goud
From Dream to Reality!
Within two years of hard work and 24/7
dedication of all team members, MasterPeace
has reached its current status with a Central
Office in Cairo (Egypt), a European office in
Utrecht (Netherlands), MasterPeace Clubs in 25+
countries, a distinguished board with members
from 4 continents, a campaigning team, 7
Founding Partners, 37 Collaborative Partners
(including Mayors for Peace in over 5,000 cities),
16 media partners and some first donors and
business partners (including KPMG). Are you next
to team up with us? masterpeace.org/About
The Founders - Making Dreams For
Change Reality
2006. Mohamed Helmy (Egypt) and Ilco van der Linde (The Netherlands) stood abreast on their
stage alongside the Pyramids. Thousands of students attended their Dance4Life event as a
reward for their participation in educational programs. Supported by celebrities and Egyptian
TV they reached out to millions and broke the silence on HIV and Aids. This successful EastWest collaboration made them hungry for more so they promised to continue working together
on involving people for social change. Today Dance4Life involves hundreds of thousands young
people globally. At an earlier stage Ilco developed the Liberation Festivals with one million people
attending the largest yearly human rights project of Europe.
2009. This ambitious couple had the dream of creating a global movement of peace-builders.
Within ten years they aim to inspire millions of people using their talent and energy to fuel ‘3D’:
Dialogue, Development, Disarmament. They called their journey MasterPeace. Day by day artists,
social entrepreneurs and companies jump on board and the dream became reality in over 30
countries with grassroots initiatives run by thousands of volunteers.
Mohamed and Ilco: “This dream is not our possession. We truly hope you feel invited to become
the co-owner of MasterPeace!”
The MasterPeacer
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wefilm
Our Focus Areas
So far, we have selected sixteen focus
areas because peace efforts and peace
builders there need additional support
and media attention. We aim to set up
MasterPeace Clubs in those areas and
provide a stage for their top artists to
perform in our 2014 concert. The current
focus areas are: Afghanistan, Armenia/
Azerbaijan, China/Tibet, Colombia, Congo,
India/Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, Israel/Palestine,
Kenya, Kosovo/Serbia, North/South Korea,
Nigeria, Russia/Chechnya, Sudan/South
Sudan, Turkey/Kurdish area. More info on
masterpeace.org/About/FAQ
Music above Fighting
“Find an instrument to strike back with. Not to get even, but to get equal.” With his clear Irish tone
Terry O'Neill from Belfast found a perfect way to express his feelings in the latest MasterPeace
mini-documentary. O'Neill starts the journey of knocking down his own emotional walls playing
his violin and singing John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’ to Jack Forgie, his ‘enemy’ in thirty years of
war. Filmmakers of the company Wefilm followed O’Neill’s journey creating the A quality short
documentary ‘Music above Fighting’ for us.
The touching film tells the story of two musicians ‘from both sides’ in three different conflict areas,
challenging their differences and coming together to sing Imagine next to the (physical) walls
separating them.
The conflict areas featured in the documentary are Belfast in Northern Ireland, the border area
between India and Pakistan, and Jerusalem, border between Israel and Palestine. Areas where
people have been separated from their neighbors by mental and physical walls for decades.
The film demonstrates that where words fail, music speaks: a language that goes beyond
bombs, fighting and differences! You can enjoy the film on our YouTube channel: youtube.com/
masterpeace2014.
The MasterPeacer
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MasterPeace Clubs
Social entrepreneurs, young change
makers and other peace lovers from
all over the world are invited to set up
MasterPeace Clubs within their cities,
regions or countries. Clubs use art,
music, events and dialogue to support
local peace building activities. We
currently have 28 clubs in 25 countries
and probably more by the moment you
are reading this. Active club members
earn an invitation to the MasterPeace
Concert in Cairo. More info on
masterpeace.org/clubs.
From Victim of War to a Voice of Peace:
MasterPeace Uganda led by a true peace hero
“As a result of all the LRA rebel violence and the terror in Uganda, I felt insecure and lost. I
witnessed the loss of my brother and many other relatives who were either maimed, killed or
abducted, a painful memory that I will live with for the rest of my life. Thanks to MasterPeace I have
now a new lease of life, an avenue to lift the spirits of fellow victims of war,” said Moses Kyamakya,
who didn’t hesitate a second before joining MasterPeace.
Uganda holds a special position for us, as it was the first country to launch a MasterPeace Club
in the world! Moses, leader of MasterPeace Uganda, lost his brother to the Allied Democratic
Forces rebel group in 1996. In an inspiring display of compassion and positivity, Moses has used
this personal experience as a motivation for committing his life to peace building and conflict
prevention.
MasterPeace Uganda focuses on peace education and teaching students and households about
conflict resolution in their daily lives. Together with many schools and other NGOs they have been
collaborating through many contests, competitions and artwork along with a yearly celebration of
the International Day of Peace.
The MasterPeacer
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MasterPeace Journey – The
Alchemist Alive
Inspired by the Brazilian writer Paulo Coelho
and his famous novel ‘The Alchemist’,
MasterPeace is providing an opportunity for
thousands of people around the world to leave
their own comfort zone and travel in a green
and eye-catching manner towards the Pyramids
in Cairo and support local peace building
initiatives on their way. All travelers earn an
invitation for the MasterPeace Concert in Cairo.
More info on masterpeace.org/alchemist
Walking for 4 Years: a story of a man, with an
iPhone and a Guitar
“I believe people are inherently good and willing to help one another. And social media have great
possibilities in terms of connecting people across all divides”. These were the words that Wijnand
Boon, MasterPeace’s first Alchemist Alive traveler, shared on why he is doing his journey for peace.
Wijnand is a brave Dutch man who quit his job and his routine life to start the MasterPeace
journey, walking for 4 years from his hometown Leiden (Netherlands) to Cairo, to celebrate the
MasterPeace concert in 2014. Boon is following the footsteps of the Alchemist novel by Paulo
Coelho, in which the leading character, a shepherd boy, walks all the way from Andalusia (Spain)
to Egyptian Pyramids.
Boon is walking on zero budgets, with only an iPhone to connect with people and media on his
way. He proofs that traveling, social media and music can really bring people together. You can
follow him on www.twalkwithme.eu.
Along with being a great adventurer, Wijnand is also a talented musician using his best friend, his
guitar, to entertain his hosts and also to finance his trip. Guts and entrepreneurship have no limits.
Are you the next MasterPeace traveler?
The MasterPeacer
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MasterPeace Concerts on the
International Day of Peace
On the International Day of Peace, 21st of
September 2014, MasterPeace will organize the
most heart-warming peace concert ever alongside
the Egyptian Pyramids. Popular artists from
both sides of our focus areas will be performing
together to promote our 3D-message of Dialogue,
Development & Disarmament. So far, top artists
like Juanes, Emmanuel Jal, Angelique Kidjo and
Gilberto Gil have expressed their willingness
to be part of it. Tickets are not for sale. You can
earn your ticket by getting actively involved in
MasterPeace! Check masterpeace.org/About/
The2014Dream
MasterPeace Dialogues: bringing opposites
together
“Truth and reconciliation, is that a concept that can be rooted in the hearts and minds of Egyptians
in order to move forward?”, Our hosts Marwah El Ghobashy and Bart Burghgraef asked the
participants of Cairo Conversation, MasterPeace’s first hosted dialogue event in the Sawy Culture
Wheel along the Nile.
Right after the revolution, Egypt was caught off balance; a restless nation, recovering from a
popular movement to throw out the old system, divided between calls of revenge and demands
for justice.
Together with Bart we decided to bring the experience of South Africa during the abolishment of
Apartheid in 1994 to the attention of the Egyptian people.
The discussion was very lively with different opinions among the participants. While some saw
it a promising move toward a better Egypt, others disagreed about how reconciliation could
be applied to contemporary Egypt, or whether it was necessary at all. But we decided to put
dialogue in the core of all our work with the MasterPeace Clubs all over the world and also in
Egypt, where regular Dialogue Saloons bring liberals, Islamists and Salafists together to shape the
future of their country.
The MasterPeacer
7
Getting the Word Out
MasterPeace is about inspiration;
especially when it comes to campaigns
that reach large numbers of people.
Since the start, MasterPeace has
succeeded in creating many catchy and
high quality campaigns with the help of
top creative communication companies
forming our own campaigning team. It
is a dream team including top names
like Ogilvy, Global Tolerance, Wefilm and
Mortier Brigade. Barcelona designer
Marion Dönneweg has developed our
logo expressing that no matter your
color or walk of life, we are all united
through music. More on masterpeace.org/
InspirationCenter
Dancing Alongside the Cradle of the Euro
“I want to invite you to become part of the MasterPeace movement and join our activities in the
Maastricht area. Become a volunteer and start your own initiative related to peace, dialogue and
resolving conflict in society.” Karel van Eechoud (International Business student of Maastricht
University) sent this invitation to all his fellow students, together with his friend Maarten Derksen.
Ten years ago the European Community signed a treaty to create the Euro in the city of Maastricht
(The Netherlands). One currency to stabilize a continent! The young generation in Maastricht feels
that stabilizing isn’t primarily a ‘money job’ but in the hands of real people: “It is up to everyone
to contribute to a peaceful society, and help build on the positive vibe.” They named their
club MasterPeace043 and they have already organized a dozen of upbeat events like musical
performances and funky flash mobs in less than a year. They emphasize one of the goals of all
clubs: bringing in more MasterPeacers in order to get stronger and more effective day after day.
The MasterPeacer
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Cairo, the World’s Peace Capital
“Minds are like parachutes, they work better
if they’re open.” In the week prior to the
MasterPeace Concert in 2014 MasterPeace
will transform Cairo - the biggest city of Africa
- into a global Peace Capital where visitors
will enjoy debates, seminars, music events,
fashion shows, exhibitions, talk shows, fueling
the international exchange of knowledge on
peace building. The first peace capital was
organized in Cairo in September 2010, and has
been growing since then, working towards the
largest peace gathering in 2014. Your idea is
welcome too! [email protected]
Drawing Egypt: graffiti as a colorful
revolutionary tool
Joining 70 artists in drawing one of Cairo’s longest graffiti walls, Hadeer Adel, a 23 years old art
student, expressed her pride by putting her mark on Cairo’s walls for a better future: “I enjoyed
every bit of it, the music, the atmosphere, the people, and most importantly I painted the new
Egypt!”
Hadeer was happy using the same art format that was very popular during the Egyptian revolution
when graffiti became the symbol of freedom adding vibrancy to the eternal stones of Cairo and
transforming it into a new way of inspiration.
Hadeer is one of the cheerful 3000 attendees of MasterPeace street art festival in Cairo. As part
of its Peace Day celebrations the MasterPeace club of Cairo has chosen an exceptional location,
just a few miles away from Tahrir square, where sparks of the Egyptian revolution took place.
Hundreds of artists, painters and musicians teamed up to fuel the festival and work with us for a
better Egypt. Thousands of people attended the event and all participated in painting the huge
wall of the Egyptian Ministry of Agriculture in Cairo. You can still visit it whenever you are in town!
The MasterPeacer
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International Day of Peace
In 2011, MasterPeace celebrated
the international Day of Peace of
September 21st in 15 countries, some
of which never witnessed Peace Day
celebrations before. Between 2012
and 2020, MasterPeace Clubs aim to
feature several hundreds of events
on a local and regional level with
hundreds of thousands participants and
volunteers, in the most cost efficient,
grass roots way possible. Together
we can make this important day more
loved, known and effective. More on
masterpeace.org/About/Movement/
InternationalDayofPeace
Sierra Leone: Ending violence in one night
After losing friends and family during tribes’ fights in Sierra Leone, Charles Boye decided to
dedicate his talents and energy to prevent new violence. “Just give young people a chance and
you will see miracles!” and this is exactly what the MasterPeace Club Sierra Leone put into test,
when they recently succeeded to ease out a very tense situation between young people and
the police. Charles and his MasterPeace team decided to uptake the hard task of negotiating
between the police and an angry crowd of young people that wanted to take revenge after the
shooting of two of their peers.
Despite the chief of police’s lack of confidence in the youth’s role, the MasterPeace intervention
team spent the night with the conflicting groups, convincing them to reach an agreement which
was signed the following day in the presence of the president of Sierra Leone who thanked the
MasterPeace Club for the immediate and responsible intervention. This is the core of ‘MasterPeace’:
grassroots, spontaneous and entrepreneurial. By 2014 we aim to have 200 of these fresh, fast and
effective clubs all over the world. Say ‘thanks’ to people like Charles by starting one in your region!
The MasterPeacer
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Peace building is a verb!
Just imagine that you will be at
the pyramids in Egypt joining the
MasterPeace Concert in 2014!
But remember, you can’t buy your
tickets, you have to earn them!
By creating an account on www.
masterpeace.org, you can join one
of the peace building initiatives on
the website and earn an invitation
as you get involved! Write a blog,
participate in an action, start a
MasterPeace Club, travel to the
Pyramids or launch your own
campaign. Just do it!
Inspired by Buddha, Nepal is pushing peace
again!
“I suddenly realized what my true passion is about: to help bring global peace.” This is how
Santosh Bidari from Nepal was introduced to MasterPeace. Nepal is globally recognized as Lord
Buddha’s birthplace, a true symbol of Peace, but the country suffered for several decades. Many
infrastructures were destroyed and lives were harmed. Eventually, in 2010 a peace consensus was
made between Government and Maoists and elections were held to form the new constitution.
Santosh started his work when he founded 'Peace for People' to act as a stakeholder in bringing
peace to Nepal. Santosh and his team are currently dedicating their time and energy to expand
the MasterPeace Nepal Club by conducting various peace programs with the youth in various
schools and colleges. MasterPeace Nepal launched their first project for children under 16 years
old, participating actively in various musical, dance and drama performances for peace. Santosh
aims to create more programs to encourage and motivate the youth to put up their efforts for
peace in their society, community and nation, as an inspiration for the entire world.
The MasterPeacer
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Romeo Shagba
MasterPeace 2.0: Just do it!
Through our own www.masterpeace.org
you will find a cool marketplace for peace
in which you can support initiatives around
the world with your skills and talents. We
ask about your talent and if you are good in
building websites before you know you might
bring your talents to a peace initiative in, for
instance, Ethiopia.
Every time you apply for an action, write a
blog, or start an initiative, your earn points
until you get rewarded with an invitation to
attend the MasterPeace concert.
From Malaysia to the World: Incitement
towards social change
Zikry Kholil and Daniel de Gruijter founded ‘Incitement’ in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, as an inspiring
way to make people stand up for social change. They used the MasterPeace 2.0 platform as a
tool to develop their project by inviting guests to their events, recruiting speakers and connecting
with other MasterPeacers on the website.
With the rapidly growing number of people who have access to the Internet, MasterPeace
recognized the need to utilize the new ‘power of the people’ to fuel peace building. For this
we developed MasterPeace.org into a 2.0 platform that functions as a marketplace for peace
connecting MasterPeacers to grass root peace initiatives around the world.
Zikry stressed on the impact of the MasterPeace website on their work: “Through the website
arrangements were very easily established. We had Mohamed Helmy kicking off the event
and sharing the different projects and initiatives MasterPeace is doing. Our Incitement event
is essentially a movement to encourage individuals to incite positivity through their goals and
MasterPeace actually helped us to cultivate our message and it has been growing immensely
ever since.”
The MasterPeacer
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More sustainable world with
less armed conflicts
Poverty and armed conflict are
interconnected. There is a potentially
vicious cycle with underdevelopment
leading to increased conflicts, which
undermines the economic growth
leading to even more conflicts. And
what is the answer of governments
all over the world? Yearly they spend
more money on buying new weaponry:
411 billion USD in 2010 (SIPRI, 2012).
Our movement will inspire political
leaders to choose this positive path as
we envision resources are increasingly
used for the development of people
(education, health, food).
MasterPeace Warrior Walks From Village to
Village in Masai Land
A story of persistence, hope and determination, that is the story of Ezekiel Katato from the peaceful
Masai land in Kenya. Despite all the hardships Ezekiel had to face living in a poor community, a
pure smile and wise tone have always accompanied this calm man.
As Ezekiel states it: “The MasterPeace mission has always been very relevant to me. All my life I
have worked to promote peace inside my homeland and bring its culture to the world.” This brave
peace warrior turned into a role model in his community, building up the MasterPeace Club in
the Masai land. He prepares the biggest walk of peace across all 8 clusters in Kajiado County
in Kenya bridging the gap between rural tribes. All walkers will be gifted the famous Masai land
peace necklace which has brought peace in the past and still will do. Ezekiel told us about the
peace necklace at the first boot camp, a story of Naserian, a girl who saved the community from
a dreadful war. “I decided that this is going to be part of my vision for MasterPeace; to distribute
these symbols of peace to about one million people all over the world in five years.”
The MasterPeacer
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Charline Goud
The MasterPeace ‘2014for
2014’ Action
MasterPeace is an independent grass
root movement and we are inviting
companies, restaurants, sports
teams, student clubs and bands to
support us in this mission. Via the
MasterPeace.org/2014for2014 initiative,
you are invited to organize your
own MasterPeace event (music, art,
seminar, training, other), engage your
public in peace building and raise at
least 2014 Euros (or the equivalent in
your currency) and get rewarded by 4
invitations to attend the MasterPeace
Concert in 2014.
MasterPeace ‘2014 for 2014’: Fundraising Can’t
Be More Fun
The involvement in building peace is the best possible answer to indifference. People can grow,
inspire and learn by doing. That’s why we often call MasterPeace the ‘Just do it’-campaign
for peace. Students of the Dutch Inholland University understood this very well and adopted
MasterPeace as theme for their yearly music contest.
Student and singer Shelton Telesford (22) produced the single ‘All of us’. “I wanted to compose
a song for MasterPeace in order to contribute to peace. With this song I hope to inspire others
to help people in war zones and get active for peace,” says Shelton, who was inspired by the
MasterPeace slogan ‘Creating Peace. Together’. He also managed to inspire other artists to work
with him on the song including talented jazz singer Karsu Dönmez. All revenues of the music
contest and the song go to the MasterPeace ‘2014for2014’ campaign, which implies raising 2014
Euros to realize the MasterPeace concert in Egypt and thus support its goal to promote dialogue,
development and disarmament. ‘All of us’ is available for download via iTunes.
The MasterPeacer
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Innovation is Key!
MasterPeace was awarded the
‘Most Innovative Idea of 2011’ by
1,000 CEOs at the Big Improvement
Day, one of the most prestigious
business events in Europe. With
events, cartoons, virals, songs,
clubs, social media and more we
strive to inspire you to donate
your talent and energy for building
peace. Moreover an innovative
mindset helps us find creative
solutions to problems and do a lot
with very little resources.
The Philippines: Uniting 7,107 Islands under the
Banner of Peace
“Some of the youth now are becoming passive because they are more concerned about their idols
in television, facebook and twitter. With this in mind I realized that there is a need for an inspiration
to arise.” said Razul Arboneda, leader of MasterPeace Club of the Philippines, expressing the
need of an ‘eye-opener’ to increase the level of participation of the youth in their communities.
Razul started the MasterPeace Club of Tagoloan, the first peace advocate Club in the entire
region. Razul and her team started by celebrating the International Day of Peace 2011 with the
innovative idea of ‘ReciPeace’ – a competition in which students prepared creative international
recipes to promote the dual concept of peace and nutrition. After this the active Club conducted
a memorable ‘Culture of Peace’ seminar where young people learned about the approaches to
peacemaking and the different challenges in conflict transformation.
“Young people have always been key actors in effecting change in society. MasterPeace Philippines
is a living testimony on how youth can easily feel the need to work on something meaningful,
worth their time and energy!” Razul said proudly. From now on, Razul, you are our very own Peace
Idol and we will keep on following you!
The MasterPeacer
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Desmond Tutu supports
MasterPeace!
We are honored to have the endorsement of
South African archbishop Desmond Tutu. “I
believe in MasterPeace. World leaders cannot
push back armed conflict alone. We need the
whole world to make this happen.” Tutu has
agreed to support the MasterPeace WorldBand
where prominent world leaders team up with
world-class artist to perform together on the
stage of the MasterPeace 2014 Concert. More
info on masterpeace.org/About/The2014Dream
Visiting the Nile Basin: A Motorcycle Peace
Journey
‘Gift of the Nile’, that is how Greek Historian Herodotus described Egypt and that is indeed very
true since around 96% of the Egyptians depend on the Nile in all their life activities. However there
is an ever-rising tension between Egypt and its Nile Basin neighbors about this gift.
“Even before I joined MasterPeace and became an Alchemist Alive traveler, a friend of mine
used to called me an ‘Alchemist’, so I believe it was an omen.” Omar explains how he joined the
movement few months ago. “Whenever I pass a mountain I want to climb it, whenever I pass a
river I want to cross it. I just want to connect with each and everyone on my journey, and learn
more about life.”
In November 2012, Omar is planning to follow the longest river on earth till its sources. From the
heart of Egypt in Rosetta, Omar starts his journey for peace crossing the 10 Nile basin countries on
his motorcycle. He will spread the MasterPeace message, carrying along gifts from the children of
Egypt to the children of the Nile Basin and highlighting how sharing water actually means sharing
a future.
The MasterPeacer
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Charline Goud
Juanes & MasterPeace!
The Colombian superstar Juanes,
with 17 Latin Gammy Awards,
millions of records sold, saw
the MasterPeace infomercial
on the Peace and Collaborative
Development Network, and then he
decided that MasterPeace was the
movement for him to join.
Due to the match with his own
message of peace through art
and music, Juanes has decided
that he wants to join MasterPeace
performing at the foot of the
pyramids in 2014!
Brave Hearts, Great Minds
“MasterPeace is one of the most innovative peace building projects I have seen over the last 20
years.” Craig Zelizer (Professor on Conflict Resolution at the Georgetown University, USA) is well
known in the peace building community for his important contributions: conducting capacity
building trainings in addition to applying research, facilitations, and interventions in over 15
countries for over 2,000 individuals. He also managed to get the world of peace activists closely
connected through a huge network of more than 26,000 peace workers through his own Peace
and Collaborative Development Network.
Craig Zelizer is part of the professional and highly dedicated MasterPeace board with members
from four different continents. In the board you will find renowned names such as our Chair
Yolanda Eijgenstein, awarded the Business Woman of the Year 1997, former diplomat and winner
of Women in Media Award 2011 Petra Stienen, former CEO of auditing company KPMG Wessel
Ganzevoort, Gema Moreno Vega of Deloitte & Touche Mexico, along with the Director of Corporate
Affairs at Microsoft, Egyptian Heba Ramzy, environmentalist Jan Paul van Soest as well as founder
& director of Studio Zeitgeist and awarded Trendwatcher of the Year 2012 Farid Tabarki.
The MasterPeacer
17
The founding partners
of MasterPeace are
And a big thank you to all our partners,
friends, staff and volunteers
MUSIC
ABOVE
DIALOGUE
BREAD
ABOVE
ABOVE
CREATION
FIGHTING.
JUDGMENT.
BOMBS.
ABOVE
DESTRUCTION.
THAT’S MASTERPEACE.
Join
the
movement!
www.masterpeace.org
www.facebook.com/MasterPeace2014
www.twitter.com/MasterPeace2014
MASTERPEACE CENTRAL OFFICE
MASTERPEACE EUROPEAN OFFICE
Suite 131, 9 Osman Buildings
Hoog Catherijne - P.O. Box 19289
Maadi Corniche. Cairo. Egypt
3501 DG Utrecht, The Netherlands
T : +20 2 25257540
T : +31 (0)30 2340500
M: [email protected]
M: [email protected]