World-renowned economists and peace activists will be featured at the 20th Annual Nobel Peace Prize Forum, March 7-8, 2008, at Concordia College, Moorhead, Minn. Speakers and panelists will include Dr. Muhammad Yunus, 2006 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate; Dr. Jeffrey Sachs, professor and director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University and special advisor to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon; Greg Mortenson, co-founder of Central Asia Institute, founder of Pennies for Peace and New York Times best-selling author; and Nicholas Kristof, two-time Pulitzer Prize- winning columnist for The New York Times.

Mortenson, co-author of “Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace,” will deliver the opening session plenary address at 1:30 p.m., Friday, March 7, at Concordia’s Memorial Auditorium. Concordia College President Dr. Pamela Jolicoeur will interview Mortenson about his work promoting community-based education and literacy programs for youth in remote regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan. The session will also include music by The Concordia Choir and The Concordia College Band.

Sachs will be featured in Friday’s second plenary session. He has served as economic advisor to governments in Latin America, Eastern Europe, the former Yugoslavia, the former Soviet Union, Asia and Africa. His work with international agencies on poverty reduction, debt cancellation and disease control is also well known. National Public Radio’s John Ydstie will interview Sachs, who will appear via videoconference. 

Yunus will present his keynote address, “A World Without Poverty,” 9 a.m., Saturday, at Memorial Auditorium. He has earned global acclaim through his work with the Grameen Bank, which has enjoyed remarkable success making small loans to impoverished people considered to be high-risk. The bank currently has a repayment rate of 98 percent, a recovery rate higher than any other banking system, and has been profitable in all but three years of existence.

A question and answer session hosted by Ydstie and featuring Yunus, Kristof and Ole Mjos, chair of the Nobel Peace Prize committee, will conclude the forum at a 1:30 p.m., Saturday session.

Other Peace Prize Forum highlights during the two-day event include the International Peace Fair, featuring displays and exhibits from more than 20 local and national non-profit organizations; the World Café, a series of small group collaborative discussions on the topics of poverty, inequality and development; a concert by folk singer and songwriter Erika Luckett; and an inter-faith worship service.

In cooperation with the Norwegian Nobel Institute, five Mid-western colleges of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America – Concordia, Luther, St. Olaf, Augsburg, and Augustana — sponsor the annual Nobel Peace Prize Forum. The prestigious event is the Norwegian Nobel Institute's only such program or academic affiliation outside Norway.






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Amy Kelly
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Concordia College
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High-Res Photos of Forum Speakers
Dr. Muhammad Yunus
Greg Mortenson
Dr. Jeffrey Sachs

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