Dr. James Smith CBE

AEGIS PEACE FUND FOUNDER CEO

James graduated as a medical doctor in 1993. While practicing, he co-founded the National Holocaust Centre in 1995 with his brother Stephen and his Mother, Mrs Marina Smith MBE. They donated their family home in North Nottinghamshire for this purpose and it became the UK’s first memorial to the Holocaust with a meaning of ‘home’ to many who had survived the Holocaust and an education centre for thousands.

In 1999, in response to the crisis in Kosovo, James initiated the East Midlands Kosovo Appeal, sending over 300 tons of relief aid to the region. He volunteered with the International Medical Corps in Albania and saw first-hand, refugees fleeing from the violence of ethnic cleansing. Many had had their bags packed for months; it was predictable - but the international response to prevent it, was too late.

It was a catalyst for James to found Aegis in 2000 with a mission to work towards the prediction, prevention of genocide. Applying the public health approach to the prevention of diseases, he adapted the thinking to violence and mass atrocities and worked with survivors of genocide to pioneer some of the world’s most unique, yet practical solutions to humanity’s darkest challenges.

In 2002, he was invited by the Government of Rwanda to work in partnership with the Kigali City Council and with survivors of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi to establish the Genocide Memorial in Rwanda’s capital. It is the base from which the Aegis Trust’s Peace Education Programme was developed. Using a story telling methodology, the education programme rebuilds trust in communities by enabling young people to develop critical thinking, empathy, and individual social responsibility. It was incorporated into Rwanda’s National Curriculum in 2016.

Its effectiveness has been recognised by other countries with ongoing conflict such as the Central African Republic where Aegis has worked since 2014 with Rwandan educators training teachers and community leaders to deliver the workshops. An evaluation of the programme has found that it has significant mental health and trauma healing benefits, reducing anxiety, depression and post traumatic stress.

Since 2009, James has also pioneered social enterprises both in Rwanda and the UK to sustain the work of Aegis financially. They have provided sustainable livelihoods and training to hundreds of young people. In early 2021, during an escalation of conflict in the Central African Republic, social enterprise activities protected communities with whom Aegis had been working by preventing food insecurity.  It here that James observed that a lack of economic wellbeing can undermine peace-building, and the important role social enterprises play to enable sustainable livelihoods and build resilience.

To respond to this need, James founded the Aegis Peace Fund in 2022 to invest in enterprises that can strengthen community resiliency and contribute to sustainable peace.