Bishop Emeritus Paride Taban

Activist Type

Peace

Bishop Emeritus Paride Taban is a retired bishop of the Roman Catholic Church who co-founded the New Sudan Council of Churches. In 1999, Taban began work to establish the Holy Trinity Peace Village in Kuron. The village, started as a demonstration farm, has become a place where people from different tribes, nations and religions live and work together to foster peace. In 2013, the United Nations awarded Taban the Sergio Vieira de Mello Prize for setting an exceptional example of reconciliation and peace among a community in conflict.

Artwork by

Katie King Rumford

South Sudan is a relatively new country, gaining independence from Sudan in 2011, yet the people have centuries of artistic heritage. Drawing inspiration from the beaded corsets worn by both the men and women of the Dinka people, the brightly colored glass bead and metal wire strands loosely create the shapes of Paride Taban’s portrait. For males, yellow beads were often used to represent status and prestige. The yellow filling the background rather than Paride’s garments represents how he casts aside the status of man in an effort to create peace for all people.

South Sudan

Capital

Juba

Founded

July 9, 2011

Demonym

South Sudanese