News Archives - 2001

WHO: More than 1,000 students in grades K-12 from schools across Minnesota

WHAT: The sixth annual Nobel Peace Prize Festival

WHEN: Sunday, March 11, 2001, 1-3:30 p.m.

WHERE: Augsburg College, Si Melby Hall (gymnasium), 715 23rd Ave. S. Minneapolis

WHY: The Peace Prize Festival focuses on youth and is a celebration of their growing understanding about peace and their personal commitment to peace making. At the beginning of the school year, students participate in an Adopt-A-Laureate program that gives them the opportunity to learn about a Nobel Peace Prize laureate. At the Festival, the students present what they have learned through music, dance, skits and exhibits.

This year's Peace Prize Forum theme: "Striving for Peace: Crossing Borders Challenging Boundaries" honors the 1999 laureate, Medecins Sans Frontieres, Doctors Without Borders (MSF). The Forum will be held at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. At the Festival, Dr. Morten Rostrup, international president of Medecins Sans Frontieres, will address the gathering. MSF delivers emergency medical aid to victims of armed conflict, epidemics and natural and man-made disasters, and to others who lack health care due to social or geographic marginalization.

The Peace Prize Festival works to counteract the culture of violence by giving students an opportunity to learn about and celebrate individuals who have dedicated their lives to peace and justice. The Festival also seeks to develop a personal commitment to peace in the next generation of leader and offers youth both language and tactics for resolving issues before they become conflicts.

The Festival is held in cooperation with the Norwegian Nobel Institute; Sons of Norway; World Citizen, Inc; and the Peace Prize Forum, which is sponsored annually by Augsburg College, Augustana College (SD), Concordia College in Moorhead, Luther College and St. Olaf College.

This family-oriented event is free and open to the public.