Striving for Peace – 15 Years of the Nobel Peace Prize Forum
In cooperation with the Norwegian Nobel Institute, five Midwestern colleges of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America sponsor the annual Nobel Peace Prize Forum. This prestigious event is the Norwegian Nobel Institute’s only such program or academic affiliation outside Norway.

The colleges, all founded by Norwegian immigrants, sponsor the forum to give recognition to Norway’s international peace efforts and to offer opportunities for Nobel Peace Prize laureates, diplomats, scholars, students and the general public to engage in dialogue on the dynamics of peacemaking and the underlying causes of conflict and war.

Begun in 1989 with generous annual support from Lutheran Brotherhood (now Thrivent Financial for Lutherans), the Nobel Peace Prize Forum’s stimulating array of programs has involved more than 21,000 participants and reached a much broader audience through national and regional media coverage.
Among the many who are inspired by the forums, students receive perhaps the greatest impact. Exposure to world leaders who work tirelessly for peace can be lifechanging as young people learn that peacemaking is both possible and honorable. When students and other forum participants see and hear the likes of Elie Wiesel, Oscar Arias Sanchez, Jody Williams and David Trimble, the messages of peace and peacekeeping become even more personal and powerful. In fact, the colleges note a connection between the Nobel Peace Prize Forum and the increasing number of their students who study abroad or pursue volunteer service at home or overseas upon graduation.

With the invaluable assistance of Dr. Geir Lundestad, executive director of the Norwegian Nobel Institute, the forums have benefited from the participation of a host of Nobel laureates and other thought-provoking speakers. The sponsoring colleges are indebted to Dr. Lundestad, Thrivent and members of the executive committee for 15 years of support. The Nobel Peace Prize Forum is a unique, transformative learning opportunity for U.S. citizens; it provides an unparalleled opportunity to inspire future generations to become full participants in peacemaking efforts round the world.

1989 Striving for Peace: Past, Present, Future – St. Olaf College
· Norman Borlaug, 1970 laureate - United Nations Peace-Keeping Operations, 1988 laureate (group) represented by Marrack Goulding, Under-Secretary-General for special political affairs

1990 Striving for Peace: Human Rights in the Global Village – Augsburg College
· Dr. Andrei Sakharov, 1975 laureate, represented by widow Dr. Yelena Bonner · Amnesty International, 1977 laureate (group) represented by Peter Duffy, AI Executive Committee chair
· Additional Speaker: President Jimmy Carter

1991 Striving for Peace: Leadership in Peacemaking – Luther College
· Oscar Arias Sanchez, 1987 laureate · Betty Williams, 1976 laureate
· Additional Speakers: Vice President Walter Mondale and Luigi Einaudi, U.S. Permanent Representative to the Organization of American States

1992 Striving for Peace: Resolving Cultural Conflicts – Augustana College
· Elie Wiesel, 1986 laureate · Mairead Corrigan Maguire, 1976 laureate
· Additional Speakers: Camelia Sadat, president, Sadat Peace Institute, and Cheryl Crazy Bull, vice president, Sinte Gleska University

1993 Striving for Peace: The United Nations in a New World – Concordia College
· UNICEF, 1965 laureate (group), represented by James P. Grant, under-secretary-general of the U.N. · Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, 1954 and 1981 laureate (group), represented by Sadako Ogata · U.N. Peace-Keeping Forces, 1988 laureate (group), represented by Hisako Shimura
· Additional Speakers: Vladimir Petrovsky, Undersecretary-General for Political Affairs for U.N. and Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali

1994 Striving for Peace: Sowing the Seeds of Global Justice – St. Olaf College
· Rigoberta Menchu, 1992 laureate
· Additional Speakers: Rev. Bernice King, orator and co-founder of AMEN; Edgar Stoesz, Chair, Habitat for Humanity International; Senator Paul Wellstone

1995 Striving for Peace: Searching for Common Ground – Augsburg College
· Speakers: The Hon. R.F. "Pik" Botha, South African Minister of Mineral and Energy Affairs, representing Nobel laureate Frederik deKlerk; the Hon. Franklin Sonn, South African Ambassador to the United States, representing Nobel laureate Nelson Mandela, and Naomi Tutu, economist, daughter of Desmond Tutu

1996 Striving for Peace: From National to Common Security – Luther College
· Speakers: The Honorable Yehuda Avner, personal consultant to Nobel laureate Shimon Peres; Dr. Al-Kidwa, representing Nobel laureate Yassir Arafat; and the Hon. Samuel Lewis, former U.S. Ambassador to Israel and past president of the U.S. Institute of Peace

1997 Striving for Peace: Science and Ethics in International Affairs – Augustana College
· Dr. Joseph Rotblat, 1995 laureate · The Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs, 1995 laureate (group), represented by Dr. Francesco Calogero, general secretary
· Additional Speaker: Terry Waite, former envoy to the Archbishop of Canterbury and hostage negotiator

1998 Striving for Peace: Visions of Authentic Development – Concordia College
· Jose Ramos-Horta, 1996 laureate from East Timor
· Additional Speakers: Nien Cheng, author and human rights activist, and Dr. Ishmael Noko, General Secretary of Lutheran World Federation

1999 Striving for Peace: The Morality and Machinery of Modern Conflict – Augsburg College
· Jody Williams, 1997 laureate · International Campaign to Ban Landmines, 1997 laureate (group), represented by Steve Goose
· Additional speakers: John Hamre, deputy secretary for the U.S. Department of Defense, and Larry Rasmussen, the Reinhold Niebuhr chair of Christian Ethics, Union Theological Seminary

2000 Striving for Peace: Risk and Reconciliation – St. Olaf College
· David Trimble, 1998 co-laureate · Denis Haughey, representing Northern Ireland political leader John Hume, 1998 co-laureate
· Additional Speakers: J. Bryan Hehir, Harvard Divinity School, and Sissela Bok, Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies

2001 Striving for Peace: Crossing Borders/Challenging Boundaries – Luther College
· Médicins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders, 1999 laureate (group), represented by Dr. Morten Rostrup, International President
· Additional Speakers: Kerry Kennedy Cuomo, human rights activist, J. Brian Atwood, former head of U.S. Agency for International Development

2002 Striving for Peace: Who is Responsible? – Augustana College
· Sung Chul Yang, South Korean Ambassador to the United States, representing 2000 laureate Kim Dae Jung, President of South Korea
· Additional Speaker: Craig Kielburger, Free the Children founder and children’s rights spokesperson

2003 Striving for Peace: A World Without Borders – Concordia College
· U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, 2001 laureate (invited)
· Additional Speakers: Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, Dr. Geir Lundestad, and Vice President Walter Mondale