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Sep 28, 2007

"Wisdom alone is true ambition's aim, wisdom the source of virtue, and of fame, obtained with labour, for mankind employed, and then, when most you share it, best enjoyed." --Alfred Whitehead

Promoting Peace Through Employment

For Ron Bruder, the tragedy of 9/11 served as a pivot point into active philanthropy. A real estate developer from NY, he was particularly interested in tackling the social conditions that potentially lead to violence -- specifically, the lack of jobs. The time he had spent doing business in Northern Ireland confirmed Bruder's notion that the path to peace and democracy lay not in military intervention or political overhaul but in gainful employment for the people. So he formulated a deceptively simple-sounding plan: his Education for Employment Foundation would get regional companies to guarantee jobs, then train candidates for the specific tasks needed. Founded in 2002, the group has launched programs in Gaza, Jordan and Morocco over the past year and has placed about 85% of its 160 graduates thus far in full-time posts.