For 30 years, the Nobel Peace Prize Forum Minneapolis provided an important, highly visible international platform that celebrated the accomplishments of Nobel Peace Prize winners. The annual forum created opportunities to learn from the work of the laureates and provided opportunities to support the ongoing work of reducing violence and fostering peace while highlighting the work of the laureates. The event was a collaboration with and rotated between our sister sites in the Upper Midwest including Augustana University, Concordia College, Luther College, (Pacific Lutheran University) and St. Olaf College, and was since 2012 hosted permanently at Augsburg University.
The first forum honored Minnesota’s own Norman Borlaug, who spoke that year about the challenge of feeding the world. Since then, the forum grew to become a dynamic global event that brought thousands of professionals, citizens and students together with Nobel Peace Prize winners such as Kailash Satyarthi, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, President Jimmy Carter, Wangari Maathai, Muhammad Yunus, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Elie Wiesel, Oscar Arias Sanchez, and Tawakkol Karman.
We encourage you to visit our Archive Page to see the richness of the forum’s history.
Beginning in 2019, the next iteration—the Human Rights Forum at Augsburg University—will bring students, global changemakers, and local activists together to explore innovative ways to take constructive action in our ongoing pursuit of Human Rights, both globally and domestically. The event seeks to educate, inspire, and empower young leaders by weaving together multiple themes and perspectives that are reflective of our team of partner institutions and community. The forum reflects, and seeks to strengthen, the rich history and innovative educational work being done in the Upper Midwest as a center of progressive internationalism and the promotion of Human Rights.