#834 – Dick Bernard: The March 1 & 7-9, 2014 Nobel Peace Prize Forum, Augsburg College, Minneapolis MN "Crossing Boundaries to Create Common Ground"

(click to enlarge photos)

This year is the 26th annual Nobel Peace Prize Forum, now permanently sited at Augsburg College in Minneapolis. Link to enroll, and all of the promotional material for the Forum can be viewed here*. (This years Forum is sited at three different venues: Augsburg, the University of Minnesota, and the Minneapolis Convention Center (March 1, Dalai Lama),. The place of each event is noted within the program. Augsburg and UofM facilities are just a short walk apart.)
This morning, along with 15 others from the long-standing group, People of Faith Peacemakers (POFP), I was privileged to hear Forum Director Maureen Reed take us through this years Forum agenda, which includes four Nobel Peace Prize Laureates who will be in attendance. Together we spent a rich hour of discussion about the Peace Prize. The handout from Dr. Reed is here: Nobel Forum 2014001
The African Development Center near Augsburg and the University of Minnesota hosts POFP.

The Nobel Peace Prize Forum and allied Youth Festival have a very long and rich history in the Midwest and especially at Augsburg College. Here are links to the histories of the Forum and the Festival, which is now part of the Forum.
The Forum at Augsburg College is the only event outside of Norway which is allowed to use the Nobel Peace Prize name.
Originally, the Forum was rotated between the five Norwegian Lutheran Colleges in the upper Midwest: Augsburg, Concordia College in Moorhead, Augustana College in Sioux Falls, Luther College in Decorah IA, and St. Olaf College in Northfield. Three years ago the decision was made to concentrate efforts in a single location, and to partner with other institutions and businesses. Judging from the first three years, the change in structure was a benefit to all, and through in-person attendance and live stream video the Forum now reaches tens of thousands of people around the world.
This years Forum includes as guests and presentors Laureates His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet (1989), Dr. William Foege of Medecins Sans Frontieres (1999), and Leyma Gbowee of Liberia (2011). The 2013 winner, Organisation for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) will present two workshops at this years Forum.
Registration is open, and $46 per day, with lower fees for students. The tuition cost covers less than half of the actual cost of the Forum.
As one who has been to a number of years of the Forum/Festival, I can attest that participants will get far more than their moneys worth.
Act now.
Spaces fill very quickly, and enrollment is limited. The daily calendar as known at this moment is here.
* – The Youth Festival is not open to the public and is specifically for middle and high school students. Spaces are filled by application from schools.