Fourteen Nobel Peace Prize winners including the Dalai Lama will visit the University of Denver as part of PeaceJam events this spring and next fall.
The AUSA Senate discussed these events and the appearance of PeaceJam on May 17-18 at its meeting last week.
PeaceJam’s visit in September marks the 10th anniversary celebration of PeaceJam at DU.
In May, PeaceJam will bring together over 300 high school students with 2003 Nobel Peace laureate Shirin Ebadi.
The event aims to encourage students to commit to work for positive social change in not only schools and communities, but also the world.
Ebadi, a human rights activist and Iranian lawyer, is the first Iranian and Muslim woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
PeaceJam is looking for 30-50 DU college mentors to facilitate small groups of high school students at the conference in May.
“Being a mentor is also a great opportunity for college students to pick the brains of Nobel laureates,” said Carl Johnson, advisor to the AUSA Senate.
Mentor candidates will have to attend two training sessions and will be subject to a background check.
At the event last year, DU students had the opportunity to interact with Peace laureate Jose Ramos-Horta of East Timor.
The PeaceJam event is usually held on weekends, but due to the schedule of Ebadi, the conference will be held during the week.
Thirteen Nobel Peace laureates, including the Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso and Desmond Tutu, will help celebrate PeaceJam’s anniversary in September at DU.
Tutu is a professor of theology and a leader of civil rights in South Africa. The Dalai Lama is the spiritual leader of the Tibetan people and the Buddhist religion.
Some 3,000 high school students are expected to attend the September event and PeaceJam is looking for 400 college student mentors.
Priority will go to students who have mentored for the PeaceJam before.
Johnson stressed the importance and honor of hosting such an event on campus, as it “is an incredible opportunity for high school students to meet with an impressive group of people.”
