#519 – Dick Bernard: The 2012 Nobel Peace Prize Forum at Augsburg College, Minneapolis

Tuesday I was privileged to attend a preview of the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize Forum at Augsburg College, Minneapolis MN.
All I can say is “be there”. And if you plan to be there, enroll now. I will be surprised if there is room for walk-ins the days of the Conference, March 1-3. All details are here. This will be an extraordinarily rich world-class conference. Those of us who attended the preview received a 12-page summary of a jam-packed agenda. It would be folly to try to choose a high-light, any day. You need to visit the site to get an idea of the wealth of options available.
There will be ‘tracks’, by day:
Business Day is Thursday, March 1; also on March 1 is a specific Arts and Music Day track.
Friday, March 2 is Education Day, the first portion called by its previous name “The Nobel Peace Prize Festival”, This years Festival is the 17th annual at Augsburg. (The history of both Festival and Forum are here.)
Global Studies Day is Saturday, March 3.
If there is a specific ‘theme’, this years seems to be South Africa, which plays a prominent role each day.
South African F. W. de Klerk, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate with Nelson Mandela in 1993, is this years honored Laureate. Naomi Tutu, daughter of Desmond Tutu, will give the closing Call to Action address. Saki Macozoma, who spent five years in South Africa’s Robben Island prison for anti-apartheid activities, will keynote Business Day.
de Klerk, Mandela, Tutu, Macozoma, Robben Island: perhaps an infamous history, but the perfect illustration of the Forums theme: “The Price of Peace”.
A major workshop on Global Studies Day might sum up this years Forum: Dr. Geir Lundestad, Director of the Norwegian Nobel Institute and secretary of the Nobel Peace Prize Committee, will speak on “Controversial Nobel Peace Prizes: Successes or Failures.”
Run, don’t walk, to register. All information is here.
A Personal Aside: now available on demand or through DVD is a new documentary film we were privileged to see last May. It is titled I Am, the Documentary, and my post about it can be found here. It would be great preparation for this years Forum….
If you believe that the idea of achieving Peace is naive and unattainable, visit a website that highlights the work of two individuals who set out to make a difference, and have…. It is here.