NOBEL PEACE LAUREATE BETTY WILLIAMS TO HOST FSU´S FIRST PEACEJAM
Education Desk
March 16, 2009
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Nobel Peace Prize winner Betty Williams will visit Florida State University March 20-22 to deliver a free, public lecture and host 300 middle- and high-school students from Florida, Georgia and North Carolina who will gather for the university´s first PeaceJam conference.
Williams, 65, received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1976 along with Mairead Corrigan Maguire for co-founding Community of Peace People, an organization dedicated to promoting a peaceful resolution to the problems in Northern Ireland. She will speak at 6 p.m. Friday, March 20, at the Florida State Alumni Center, located at 1030 W. Tennessee St. A reception will follow her talk, which is likely to focus on a non-violent approach to the threat of terrorism and the resurgence of sectarian violence in Northern Ireland during recent weeks.
Williams will be available to meet with members of the media at 1 p.m. Saturday in the Micco Room of Oglesby Union. To arrange an interview, please contact Rody Thompson at (850) 645-8782 or (901) 230-0473.
On Saturday and Sunday, Williams will meet with the middle- and high-school students participating in the PeaceJam Southeast conference at Florida State´s Oglesby Union and Moore Auditorium. PeaceJam is an international education program built around Nobel Peace laureates, including Williams, the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who work personally with youth to pass on the spirit, skills and wisdom they embody. Florida State is the new headquarters for PeaceJam´s southeast region.
"The goal of PeaceJam is to create a new generation of leaders who will transform themselves, their communities and the world," said Rody Thompson, director of PeaceJam Southeast. "We´re excited to bring young people together at Florida State University for the first time for what we expect will become an annual event."
About 45 Florida State students will serve as conference mentors, facilitating small group discussion and leading the high-school students in service and workshop activities. The participants have spent the school year preparing for this conference by studying Williams´ life and the PeaceJam curriculum and engaging in service related to the 10 core issues of injustice and suffering outlined in PeaceJam´s Global Call to Action.
Among the issues identified by PeaceJam founders and participating Nobel Peace Laureates in the Global Call to Action are eliminating extreme poverty, ending racism and hate, restoring the Earth´s environment, halting the spread of global disease and promoting social justice and human rights for all. Through Global Call to Action projects, PeaceJam is striving toward 1 billion acts of peace over the next 10 years, Thompson said. For more information, visit www.globalcalltoaction.org.
Saturday´s activities include a 2:50 p.m. march and 3:30 p.m. rally on the Union Green with Williams to raise awareness of the issues the students have been studying and will conclude with a dinner and Irish dancing at 6:30 p.m. The students will present their projects to Williams at 10:50 a.m. on Sunday. For the complete schedule of events, visit http://thecenter.fsu.edu.
"Spending an entire weekend with Betty Williams, an extraordinary role model and voice for the rights of women and children worldwide, will inspire the students to continue their efforts with renewed vigor," Thompson said. "I feel certain they will never forget the hugs and wisdom they receive from this warm, caring and passionate Nobel laureate."
Williams heads the Global Children´s Foundation and is president of the World Centers of Compassion for Children International, whose mission is to provide a strong political voice for children in areas affected by war, hunger, and social and economic upheaval.
PeaceJam Southeast is a program of Florida State University´s Center for Leadership and Civic Education.
Williams, 65, received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1976 along with Mairead Corrigan Maguire for co-founding Community of Peace People, an organization dedicated to promoting a peaceful resolution to the problems in Northern Ireland. She will speak at 6 p.m. Friday, March 20, at the Florida State Alumni Center, located at 1030 W. Tennessee St. A reception will follow her talk, which is likely to focus on a non-violent approach to the threat of terrorism and the resurgence of sectarian violence in Northern Ireland during recent weeks.
Williams will be available to meet with members of the media at 1 p.m. Saturday in the Micco Room of Oglesby Union. To arrange an interview, please contact Rody Thompson at (850) 645-8782 or (901) 230-0473.
On Saturday and Sunday, Williams will meet with the middle- and high-school students participating in the PeaceJam Southeast conference at Florida State´s Oglesby Union and Moore Auditorium. PeaceJam is an international education program built around Nobel Peace laureates, including Williams, the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who work personally with youth to pass on the spirit, skills and wisdom they embody. Florida State is the new headquarters for PeaceJam´s southeast region.
"The goal of PeaceJam is to create a new generation of leaders who will transform themselves, their communities and the world," said Rody Thompson, director of PeaceJam Southeast. "We´re excited to bring young people together at Florida State University for the first time for what we expect will become an annual event."
About 45 Florida State students will serve as conference mentors, facilitating small group discussion and leading the high-school students in service and workshop activities. The participants have spent the school year preparing for this conference by studying Williams´ life and the PeaceJam curriculum and engaging in service related to the 10 core issues of injustice and suffering outlined in PeaceJam´s Global Call to Action.
Among the issues identified by PeaceJam founders and participating Nobel Peace Laureates in the Global Call to Action are eliminating extreme poverty, ending racism and hate, restoring the Earth´s environment, halting the spread of global disease and promoting social justice and human rights for all. Through Global Call to Action projects, PeaceJam is striving toward 1 billion acts of peace over the next 10 years, Thompson said. For more information, visit www.globalcalltoaction.org.
Saturday´s activities include a 2:50 p.m. march and 3:30 p.m. rally on the Union Green with Williams to raise awareness of the issues the students have been studying and will conclude with a dinner and Irish dancing at 6:30 p.m. The students will present their projects to Williams at 10:50 a.m. on Sunday. For the complete schedule of events, visit http://thecenter.fsu.edu.
"Spending an entire weekend with Betty Williams, an extraordinary role model and voice for the rights of women and children worldwide, will inspire the students to continue their efforts with renewed vigor," Thompson said. "I feel certain they will never forget the hugs and wisdom they receive from this warm, caring and passionate Nobel laureate."
Williams heads the Global Children´s Foundation and is president of the World Centers of Compassion for Children International, whose mission is to provide a strong political voice for children in areas affected by war, hunger, and social and economic upheaval.
PeaceJam Southeast is a program of Florida State University´s Center for Leadership and Civic Education.
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