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Rev. Mark Hanson ’68, Imam Muhammad Ashafa, and Pastor James Movel Wuye [L to R] share a laugh during their panel discussion at the Forum.

Nobel pursuits

2015 Nobel Peace Prize Forum

This spring, the 27th annual Nobel Peace Prize Forum embraced a new, interactive approach in fulfilling its charge to inspire peacemaking.

Even before opening its doors to audiences from March 6-8 at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Minneapolis, the Nobel Peace Prize Forum encouraged Augsburg College community members— and citizens across the globe—to share the ways they promote peace in their daily lives.

In 1989, the Nobel Peace Prize Forum was founded by five Norwegian-American colleges under the auspices of the Norwegian Nobel Institute to inspire peacemaking by exploring the work of Nobel Laureates and international peace builders. According to Gina Torry, executive director of the Nobel Peace Prize Forum, the event also has the power to change the dialogue around peace by uplifting the important roles all people play in fostering a more just, amiable, and nonviolent world.

Using a common theme, #peaceitforward, individuals spanning generations and continents shared in social media how their actions positively shape the present and the future.

The “#peaceitforward [campaign] was not just about the prevention of conflict but the promulgation of good,” Torry said. The campaign uplifted “the idea that you can be an ordinary person and still do something extraordinary, which is a powerful message that the Laureates send.”

This year’s Forum concentrated on the work of 2013 Nobel Laureate The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and also featured former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, the 2002 Nobel Laureate who presented, “A Call to Action: Women, Religion, Violence, and Power.”

The Forum welcomed more than 1,000 attendees, known as delegates, during its three days and invited these individuals to join in the important work of peacemaking—a task that aligns with Augsburg’s own identity and role in educating students to be informed citizens, thoughtful stewards, critical thinkers, and responsible leaders.

More photos (flickr)