Spring Break
Taking peace to next level
This year's PeaceJam weekend will feature 2003 Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr. Shirin Ebadi
Issue date: 4/24/09 Section: News
In its fifth year at Oregon State, PeaceJam Northwest will be bringing Dr. Shirin Ebadi, the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize winner, to its campus to participate in workshops and service projects, and to promote ideas of peace and service to a younger generation of leaders.
Ebadi, the first Iranian and first Muslim woman to receive the award, is a human rights activist, lawyer and founder of Children's Right Support Association in Iran.
Now a lecturer of law at the University of Tehran, Ebadi won the Nobel Peace Prize for her human rights activism and her fight for the rights of women and children. The selection committee praised her as a courageous woman, unafraid to stand up for what she believes in, even if it meant certain danger.
According to Alan Calvert, an AmeriCorps Vista volunteer, PeaceJam is an "international campaign for education to develop peace prize winners as inspiration to become leaders and peacemakers in their communities."
This weekend is essentially a chance for high school students involved with PeaceJam to meet and work with a Nobel Peace Prize winner.
Other than tonight, when Ebadi will be giving a free public lecture in the MU Ballroom at 7:30, these youth participants are the only ones who will get access to her over the course of the weekend.
The groups of students who attend PeaceJam Northwest every year are youth from schools that study Nobel Laureates and do work service projects in their communities with a special emphasis in creating and sustaining peace and human rights.
To get involved, OSU students were able to apply to be mentors to the youth at the conference.
On Saturday afternoon, students, mentors and instructors will be participating in one of 15 different community service projects in the Corvallis area, such as the Jackson St. Youth Shelter, OSU Students Taking Action Now Darfur, Benton Habitat for Humanity and Community Outreach.
Sunday afternoon will feature workshops on peace, organizational skills and service, involving music as activism, special sessions geared specifically toward males or females, and seminars on using online tools and social media to build communities.
"We're taking peace to the next level," Calvert said.
More than 600,000 youth have participated internationally in PeaceJam over the last 12 years, which means more than 1 million service projects have been implemented worldwide.
This weekend, Calvert estimates that more than 600 hours of community service will be put in, thanks to this event.
news@dailybarometer.com, 737-2231
Ebadi, the first Iranian and first Muslim woman to receive the award, is a human rights activist, lawyer and founder of Children's Right Support Association in Iran.
Now a lecturer of law at the University of Tehran, Ebadi won the Nobel Peace Prize for her human rights activism and her fight for the rights of women and children. The selection committee praised her as a courageous woman, unafraid to stand up for what she believes in, even if it meant certain danger.
According to Alan Calvert, an AmeriCorps Vista volunteer, PeaceJam is an "international campaign for education to develop peace prize winners as inspiration to become leaders and peacemakers in their communities."
This weekend is essentially a chance for high school students involved with PeaceJam to meet and work with a Nobel Peace Prize winner.
Other than tonight, when Ebadi will be giving a free public lecture in the MU Ballroom at 7:30, these youth participants are the only ones who will get access to her over the course of the weekend.
The groups of students who attend PeaceJam Northwest every year are youth from schools that study Nobel Laureates and do work service projects in their communities with a special emphasis in creating and sustaining peace and human rights.
To get involved, OSU students were able to apply to be mentors to the youth at the conference.
On Saturday afternoon, students, mentors and instructors will be participating in one of 15 different community service projects in the Corvallis area, such as the Jackson St. Youth Shelter, OSU Students Taking Action Now Darfur, Benton Habitat for Humanity and Community Outreach.
Sunday afternoon will feature workshops on peace, organizational skills and service, involving music as activism, special sessions geared specifically toward males or females, and seminars on using online tools and social media to build communities.
"We're taking peace to the next level," Calvert said.
More than 600,000 youth have participated internationally in PeaceJam over the last 12 years, which means more than 1 million service projects have been implemented worldwide.
This weekend, Calvert estimates that more than 600 hours of community service will be put in, thanks to this event.
news@dailybarometer.com, 737-2231
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