You reached this page through the archive. Click here to return to the archive.

Note: This article is over a year old and information contained in it may no longer be accurate. Please use the contact information in the lower-left corner to verify any information in this article.

President and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Jimmy Carter to attend Forum at St. Olaf College

By Amy Gage
September 21, 2003

Jimmy Carter
Carter
The Honorable Jimmy Carter, 39th president of the United States and the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, will visit St. Olaf College on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2004, for the 16th annual Nobel Peace Prize Forum.

Carter will address the thousand or more students, faculty and distinguished guests who will assemble for the two-day event, which begins Friday, Feb. 20.

Each year, the Nobel Peace Prize Forum bases its theme on the accomplishments of the laureate. The theme for next year's conference, "Striving for Peace: Roots of Change," emerged from Carter's frequent references to the root causes of violence around the world, especially the economic disparity between rich and poor.

The author of 17 books -- including Talking Peace: A Vision for the Next Generation -- and University Distinguished Professor at Emory University in Atlanta, Ga., Carter founded The Carter Center in partnership with Emory in 1982. The Atlanta-based organization seeks to alleviate human suffering, prevent and resolve conflicts, enhance freedom and democracy, and improve health.

"We are absolutely delighted that President Carter has accepted our invitation to participate in the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize Forum," said St. Olaf College President Christopher M. Thomforde. "President Carter's life exemplifies the theme of the conference, Striving for Peace: Roots of Change. He has shown that an individual can bring constructive change in the world through his work as a military officer, a public official and a private citizen."

In winning the Nobel Peace Prize, Carter joined the ranks of peacemakers such as Martin Luther King, Jr. (1964), Desmond Tutu (1984) and Betty Williams (1976), founder of the Northern Ireland Peace Movement. Carter earned the prize "for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development."

The February 2004 event will mark the 16th year of collaboration between the Nobel Peace Prize Forum and the Norwegian Nobel Institute in Oslo. The Forum series offers an opportunity for Nobel Peace Prize laureates, diplomats, scholars and the general public to take part in a conversation that examines the underlying causes and manifestations of conflict and war in modern society, as well as the dynamics of peacemaking.

The two-day event typically is a mix of plenary sessions and small-group seminars. This year, St. Olaf organizers will add peace-skills workshops to the agenda.

The Nobel Peace Prize Forum is hosted on a rotating basis by five colleges of Norwegian heritage and affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in the Upper Midwest: Augsburg (Minneapolis), Augustana (Sioux Falls, S.D.), Concordia (Moorhead, Minn.), Luther (Decorah, Iowa) and St. Olaf (Northfield).

Registration information for the general public will be available in December.

St. Olaf College is a liberal arts institution that fosters the development of mind, body and spirit. It is a residential college in Northfield, Minn., and affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The college provides personalized instruction and diverse learning environments, with nearly two-thirds of its students participating in international studies.

Contact David Gonnerman at 507-786-3315 or gonnermd@stolaf.edu.