Click here to view Aung San Suu Kyi’s video address at the 2012 Forum

Click to read about/listen to Aung San Suu Kyi’s parliamentary oath

DAY THREE – GLOBAL STUDIES (MARCH 2)

After reading my post on Day Two, a friend asked a perfectly reasonable question: “What is the takeway for you each year you attend this Forum?”

My answer: exhausted as I am, back home after the third and final full day of the Forum: I feel, as I’ve heard said in another context, “touched, moved and inspired” – an energized exhaustion. I’m ready to go another round, and when the next Forum convenes at Augsburg (March 7-9, 2013), I’ll be there, Lord willing.

I’ll likely do a fourth post in the next few days, attempting to summarize the many takeaways from this years Forum. These takeaways will all be simple: in short, I came to conclude, as I was driving home an hour or two ago, that the Forum’s official theme: “The Price of Peace”, is essentially an identical twin of the occasional play on the phrase that I heard the last three days: “The Prize of Peace”. They are tied to each other. [READ MORE]

DAY ONE – BUSINESS AND ARTS & MUSIC DAY (MARCH 1)

There is no adequate way to condense six jam-packed hours into 600 words or less. Here’s an attempt.

The first day was fully subscribed.

In the general sessions, Alf Bjorseth, chairman of Scatec As, gave a highly informative talk on “Renewable Energy:The Business of Renewing Peace & Stability”; Republic of South Africa Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool, discussed the role of business in stabilizing the wider world and local communities as well; at the close, South African Sakumzi “Saki” Macozoma, five year veteran of infamous Robben Island Prison, talked about Business and the Price of Peace in Post-Apartheid South Africa. (click on photos to enlarge.) [READ THE REST]

DAY TWO – EDUCATION DAY (MARCH 2)

Tonight on return from a long day at Forum events, I opened an e-mail from my retired friend and colleague John Borgen. In the e-mail was a link to this songsung by a young person with a spectacular voice, Jackie Evancho. Somehow, it fits like a glove the earlier part of the day, and transcends individual sectarian beliefs with a universal message from young people to us all.

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The first part of today’s agenda was the traditional Nobel Peace Prize Festival for K-12 students, now folded into the new format of the Forum.

Kennedy Center at Augsburg College was crowded with school kids at 11 a.m. I had found a chair in the second row in front of the podium. To my left First Graders from Burroughs Elementary in Minneapolis were beginning their welcoming song. On the opposite side of the gym this years honoree, 1993 co-(with Nelson Mandela) Nobel Laureate F. W. de Klerk of South Africa, had arrived with no fanfare in a darkened auditorium.

The song had just begun and Mr. de Klerk walked briskly and inobtrusively toward the center of the room, and sat down directly in front of me, gazing intently at the children to his left. I couldn’t resist taking this photograph which, to me, speaks the proverbial thousand words (click to enlarge). [READ THE REST]

I would like to thank Mr. Mark Tiedemann for having me engaged with this event, Mr. Jeff Rowdon for making this innovative discussion possible with your hard work, and Dr. Maureen Reed for giving me a chance to participate in the event!

Last but not least, if you are interested in Mr. Tiedemann’s workshop tomorrow (Saturday), it is happening in Foss Center 20B in Augsburg College. The title of the workshop is “Post-War Japan: The Creation of a New Identity from Ground Zero Up,” and you can read the details here: http://nobelpeaceprizeforum.org/global-studies-day-march-3/ (NOTE: GLOBAL STUDIES DAY HAS SOLD OUT).

- Yuusuke Takenokuchi

Also, we will be fielding questions via Twitter (use #peaceprizeforum hash tag) and the Livestream chat feed, so be sure to post your own questions during the Q&A portion of the program.