NOBEL LAUREATE, HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS CONVERGE
ON UH TO GIVE PEACE A CHANCE
International ‘PeaceJam’ Conference with Adolfo Perez
Esquivel a First for Houston
HOUSTON, October 26, 2005—More than 200 area high school
students will converge on the University of Houston to hear Nobel
Peace Prize Laureate Adolfo Perez Esquivel discuss peace and social
justice during “PeaceJam,” a two-day conference to discuss
ways of promoting peace.
PeaceJam is scheduled for Nov. 12 and 13 in the University Center
and is sponsored by the UH Graduate School of Social Work (GSSW).
“These young people are exploring issues related to violence
while learning to become peacemakers,” Brian Trachte, Greater
Texas PeaceJam coordinator and a GSSW student, said. “They
are taking advantage of a tremendous opportunity to learn from those
who have truly made a difference in the world.”
Esquivel won the 1980 Nobel Peace Prize for his human rights work
through his organization Servicio Paz y Justicia in Argentina. He
will deliver his speech, “Human Rights and Justice for All,”
and lead a question and answer session with students. During the
conference, students will break out into small groups and discuss
their peace and social justice experiences, community needs and
their role in resolving those needs. The group will also participate
in service projects on campus and around Houston. In closing ceremonies,
the students will present Esquivel with copies of community service
projects they plan to implement in their communities.
“It is important that we create the space for young people
to discuss peace, and empower them to put their ideas into action,”
Trachte said. “PeaceJam gives young people a blueprint, a
plan, to create avenues of peace for their community through discussion
and service.”
UH is no stranger to Nobel Laureates. Jody Williams, who won a Nobel
Peace Prize in 1997 for her campaign to clear and ban anti-personnel
landmines, is a distinguished professor in the GSSW.
PeaceJam began in 1996 in Denver as a way to cultivate attitudes
about peace and non-violence among young people. The Dali Lama suggested
that Nobel Laureates share their teachings and ideas to high school
students as a way to meet community challenges.
Since the inception of PeaceJam, more than 40,000 teenagers worldwide
have participated and created more than 100,000 new service projects
to further the cause of peace. These programs include self-sustainable
greenhouses to grow food for the poor, town hall meetings to discuss
neighborhood violence, and round table discussions to suggest policy
for free trade.
For more information on the UH Graduate School of Social Work,
please visit www.sw.uh.edu/.
For more information on PeaceJam, visit www.peacejam.org.
About the University of Houston
The University of Houston, Texas’ premier metropolitan research
and teaching institution, is home to more than 40 research centers
and institutes and sponsors more than 300 partnerships with corporate,
civic and governmental entities. UH, the most diverse research university
in the country, stands at the forefront of education, research and
service with more than 35,000 students.
For more information about UH visit the universitys Newsroom at www.uh.edu/admin/media/newsroom.
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