May 20, 1998 Contacts: Bryan Phillips, conference coordinator (804) 924-7908 or U.Va. News Services (804) 924-7116 Historic two-day conference unites seven leaders of world peace NOBEL LAUREATES TO SHARE THOUGHTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS An international group of Nobel Peace Prize recipients will convene at the University of Virginia this fall for a two-day forum to discuss their current efforts to promote peace and human rights around the world, University President John T. Casteen III announced today. An extensive educational program of panels and lectures on peace-related issues will lead up to the historic conference. The Nobel Peace Laureates Conference on Human Rights, Conflict and Reconciliation, to be held in Charlottesville Nov. 5 and 6, is co-sponsored by the Washington-based Institute for Asian Democracy. Participants will include His Holiness the Dalai Lama, spiritual and political leader of Tibet and worldwide symbol of non-violent advocacy; former President Oscar Arias Sanchez of Costa Rica, architect of Central American peace initiatives and promoter of arms control; Jose Ramos-Horta of East Timor, recognized for his efforts to resolve the East Timor Indonesian conflict; Rigoberta Menchu Tum of Guatemala, leading advocate of indigenous peoples' rights and ethnic reconciliation; Betty Williams, whose work in Northern Ireland helped forge a "peoples' power" movement; and Jody Williams of the United States, whose grassroots campaign to ban landmines raised awareness worldwide. Bobby Muller, president of the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation who co-founded the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, also will attend. Nobel recipient Aung San Suu Kyi of Burma, whose work to restore democracy to her country, will have someone participate on her behalf as she is unable to leave Burma. Laureate Bishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa, who has worked for reconciliation in post-apartheid South Africa as head of the country's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and laureate and author Elie Wiesel of the United States, who has long fought root causes of social injustice and hate, have also been invited to the conference. Civil rights leader Julian Bond, MORE 2 national chair of the NAACP and a U.Va. civil rights historian, will moderate the discussions. "Bringing together these world leaders will be an extraordinary event. To be able to participate in discussions with those who have made peace their life's work will be a powerful learning experience for our students -- as well as for our entire University community," Casteen said. "We are honored that such distinguished laureates have chosen to attend this historic gathering." The Nobel peace laureates will meet in the University's Old Cabell Hall Auditorium for morning and afternoon discussions both days before an audience of students, faculty and members of the public, said P. Jeffrey Hopkins, professor of religious studies and organizer of the conference. "We want to provide a stimulating setting for these persons of great heart and mind to gather and for others to hear and participate," said Hopkins, a Tibetan studies specialist who has long worked closely with the Dalai Lama as a translator of his writings. "Each laureate will make a presentation on his or her concerns and objectives and then discuss that topic with a panel of the others in an open forum. We are sure to witness some valuable and interesting discussion." In addition to their public forums, the laureates will meet with students who have been studying their work and will be guests at private University functions during their stay. A press conference with the laureates will conclude the two-day event. The idea for the conference originated when Hopkins and Michele Bohana, director of the Institute for Asian Democracy, discussed ways in which Nobel laureates could be brought together to advance international peace initiatives. Hopkins serves as the institute's president. The pre-conference discussions and lectures in the fall will be an important focus of the 1998-99 academic year at the University, said Dean of Arts and Sciences Melvyn P. Leffler, an historian and authority on the origins of the cold war. Leffler, who will be a fellow at the Nobel Peace Institute in Oslo to lecture and conduct research this summer, said U.Va. students will have an opportunity to examine this fall such issues as the causes of war and conflict, international children's rights, social injustice, and the role of women in peacemaking. Conference proceedings will be published by the University Press of Virginia as a book. Free admission tickets for each of the four sessions in the 800-seat auditorium will become available for the University community and public at a date to be announced in the fall. Conference sessions also will be shown live on closed-circuit TV at locations around the U.Va. Grounds. The conference also is expected to be broadcast on U.Va.'s low-power TV station and made available internationally on the World Wide Web. Conference details are regularly updated now on the conference World Wide Web site at http://www.virginia.edu/nobel MORE 3 All of the conferees continue to pursue the broad themes and causes for which they have been recognized by the Norwegian Nobel Committee. Nobel Peace Laureates Conference Participants and Themes His Holiness the Dalai Lama (1989, Tibet) -- The Need for Compassion in Society: The Case of Tibet Rigoberta Menchu Tum (1992, Guatemala) -- The Role of Indigenous People in a Democratic Guatemala Betty Williams (1976-77, Northern Ireland) -- Children's Rights: The Need to Establish Safe Havens for Children of War Former President Oscar Arias Sanchez (1987, Costa Rica) -- International Code of Conduct for Arms Transfers Jose Ramos-Horta (1996, East Timor) -- Democracy and Diplomacy in the Asia Pacific Region Jody Williams (1997, U.S.) -- International Organization in the International Campaign to Ban Landmines Bobby Muller (1997; representative for the ICBL, U.S.) -- The Vietnam Veterans Foundation and the International Campaign to Ban Landmines Aung San Suu Kyi (1991, Burma) -- The U.N. Declaration for Human Rights and Its Impact on Asian Values and Democratic Principles * Bishop Desmond Tutu (1984, South Africa) -- Reconciliation in Post-Apartheid South Africa: Experiences of the Truth Commission *Elie Wiesel (1986, U.S.) -- How Apathy Perpetuates Social Injustice *tentative Moderator: Julian Bond, Department of History, University of Virginia MORE 4 NOBEL PEACE LAUREATES CONFERENCE When: Nov. 5-6, 1998 Where: Old Cabell Hall Auditorium (800+ seats, will be widely televised) What: an historic conference that will give at least seven Nobel Peace Laureates a chance to discuss in-depth with students and each other their ongoing work on peace issues. It will be an educational event, with faculty, students, invited guests and some public participating. An extensive U.Va. series of fall seminars and lectures will lead up to it. Who: see attached news release for names of participants and descriptions of their work. Conference Format: morning and afternoon sessions each day (schedule tba) Cabell Hall Tickets: Some tickets will be available for public. Announcement of ticket details will be made in the fall. Public viewing: All events will be open to public viewing on closed-circuit TV at locations to be announced around Grounds. May also be on U.Va.'s low-power station and local cable and on conference World Wide Web site. Press viewing: Plans call for a large press section in Cabell Hall Auditorium as well as closed circuit TV with radio and TV feeds in a Cabell Hall press room. Press credentials: Media will need to reserve press passes with the University Relations office in advance. To reserve a press pass please contact Penney Catlett at (804) 924-1400 or pdc@virginia.edu. Press conference with Laureates: after last session; about 3:45 p.m. Nov. 6 in Cabell Hall (probably press room) Sponsors: University of Virginia (through Page-Barbour and Richards Lecture Series and President's Office), and the Institute for Asian Democracy Conference organizer: P. Jeffrey Hopkins, U.Va. professor of Tibetan studies and religious studies Conference coordinator and main contact: Bryan Phillips, Tibetan scholar and doctoral candidate, Department of Religious Studies, (804) 924-7908 (conference office) ### Television reporters should contact the TV News Office at (804) 924-7550. U.Va. news online: http://www.virginia.edu/topnews