Gina Torry, executive director of the Augsburg-hosted Nobel Peace Prize Forum, is the author of the United Nation’s “Guidance for Mediators: Addressing Conflict-Related Sexual Violence in Ceasefire and Peace Agreements,” which has been used to end conflict-related sexual violence against women and children.

She is available to address with media:

• Why an end to sexual violence as a weapon is critical to ceasefire in Syria
• Methods and tactics of conflict
• Conflict-related sexual violence waged against civilians
• How to identify when sexual violence is conflict related
• Examples where ceasefire has included agreement to end use of sexual violence in conflict zones

“If left unaddressed, sexual violence can be used as a means to continue acts of war outside the purview of agreements and monitoring teams, which can trigger cycles of vengeance and vigilantism, and risk undermining confidence in agreements and possibly the mediation process itself,” Torry said.

Torry has worked closely with the UN, its member states, regional organizations, women’s civil society groups, and networks worldwide. She most recently served as executive director of the Peace Research Endowment, the North American presence of the Peace Research Institute Oslo. Prior to that, Torry worked for several years with the UN Department of Political Affairs Policy and Mediation Division.

To arrange an interview, contact Stephanie Weiss, news and media services director, at 612.330.1476 or by email at weisss@augsburg.edu.

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The 2012 Nobel Peace Prize Forum, which explores issues related to peacemaking and causes of conflict and war, includes tracks related to business, arts and music, education, and global studies. A special 50th anniversary presentation of Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem will be performed as part of the event.

The forum is organized by Augsburg College, in partnership with the Humphrey School of Public Affairs, and with ongoing sponsorship from the original college partners. The Nobel Peace Prize Forum is the only affiliation of the Nobel Institute outside Norway. It was founded during 1989 through a unique partnership between the Norwegian Nobel Institute and five private colleges—Augsburg, Augustana, Concordia (Moorhead), Luther, and St. Olaf.

Registration is $40 per track for adults, $20 per track for students. Separate tickets are required for the performance of the War Requiem, and for the presentation by Dessa. For a complete schedule, to learn more, and to register, visit . Specific room locations for each presenter will be available soon, and will be posted on the website. To learn more about the host and coordinator of the event, Augsburg College, visit .

Confirmed keynote and distinguished concurrent session events include:

Nobel Peace Prize Laureate F.W. de Klerk, former president of South Africa. (9:15-10:15 a.m., March 3)

Alf Bjorseth, chairman of SCATEC AS, will address the role of sustainable energy technologies to renew peace and foster stability. (9:30-10:30 a.m., March 1)

Adam Hochschild, journalist, teacher, and author, will speak about the moral issues of World War I and those who tried to prevent the carnage that occurred. (1-2:10 p.m., March 1)

Saki Macozoma business leader, former member of South Africa’s parliament, and a prisoner on Robben Island during apartheid, will talk about business and the price of peace in post-apartheid South Africa. (4-5 p.m., March 1)

Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem, Ted Mann Concert Hall, University of Minnesota. (7:30-10 p.m., March 1)

Joe Cavanaugh, Youth Frontiers founder, talks of building respectful school communities. (1:45-2:45 p.m., March 2)

Andrew Slack, founder of the Harry Potter Alliance, will address how to use the morals and lessons of Harry Potter to fight the dark arts in the real world. (4:30-5:30 p.m., March 2)

Dessa, nationally known hip-hop artist, will talk about ethics, hip-hop, and present a mini-set. (8-10:30 p.m., March 2)

Nobel Laureate Peter Agre, 2003 Nobel Prize in Chemistry and Augsburg College alumnus, will address the role of science in behind-the-scenes efforts to foster humanitarian objectives that are not possible for politicians and government leaders. (12:30-1:45 p.m., March 3)

Geir Lundestad, Norwegian Nobel Institute, will talk about controversial Nobel Peace Prizes, and whether the awards were successes or failures. (12:30-1:45 p.m., March 3)

Abdul Aziz Said, professor of American University, on the value to peace of ecological balance, dignity, political pluralism, and cultural diversity. (12:30-1:45 p.m., March 3)

“Reunion: 10 Years After the War,” special showing of this Amanda Award-winning documentary that shows the meeting between Albanian and Serb students 10 years after the bombings of Kosovo. (Multiple showings March 3)

Jonathan Mann, CNN international correspondent, will discuss the character and qualities of Laureates, a perspective gathered during 16 years of interviewing Laureates as they received their awards in Oslo. Mann also will moderate question and answer sessions following keynote presentations. (Speaks 4-4:30 p.m., March 3)

Naomi Tutu, international human rights advocate and daughter of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, will present a closing call to action. (4:30-5 p.m., March 3)

Major support is provided by The El-Hibri Charitable Foundation, Land O’ Lakes, and Thrivent Financial for Lutherans.

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During the January “winterim” break, several Augsburg students traveled with Religion professor Bev Stratton to Central America for REL 480: Vocation and the Christian Faith: El Salvador. First-year Katelyn Danelski reflects below on the group’s experiences.

We met with several speakers and visited different places, such as churches, a university, and a rural community, in hopes of learning more about their culture, history, and people. We primarily learned about their civil war (1979-1992) and about the roles faith and identity play in the midst of social injustice, oppression, and conflict.

Upon arriving in the country, we settled in at a guesthouse owned by a woman who fought as a guerrilla during the war. The next day we visited a church where Archbishop Oscar Romero was assassinated in 1980. Romero was made Archbishop in 1977 in hopes that he wouldn’t do much; the Catholic Church at the time didn’t want involvement with war or with the people, and Romero was the perfect man for their agenda.

Though he was what the Church wanted at first, he became increasingly involved with the people and underwent a personal transformation, becoming a leader and a voice for the people. He once said, “If they kill me I will arise in the Salvadoran people.” And arise he has. Junior Katie Gessell remarked, “For me, this experience finally brought me back to my faith…Seeing how little the Salvadoran people have along with everything they have been through, and then seeing how much faith they still had in God was incredible.”

In addition to learning about Romero, we also heard from speakers who experienced the civil war. One day we visited Suchitoto and took boats to an area where a massacre had taken place. A man who had endured the massacre spoke to us about his experiences as a child during the war, losing his family at age 9 in the massacre; he recalled memories with startling clarity.

Afterward, a woman who had also shared her experiences asked us to stand in a circle. She prayed and then told us to hug one another and say, “No more war.” She began to tear up and the whole experience was profoundly moving. Though there can be no justification for the atrocity these people went through, some redemption may be found in the impact their stories have on others. Junior Hayley Thomas responded, “Their stories were extremely powerful and the passion they had for their country and their work really inspired me to make a difference with my own life.”

Outside of hearing intense personal stories, we also visited places of national interest, such as the U.S. Embassy and the National Assembly building. We heard from deputies from the ARENA and FMLN political parities. It was shocking to learn that the U.S. supplied the corrupt Salvadoran government with $1.5 million per day for 12 years during their civil war, leading to a longer war and many more civilian deaths.

Senior Adam Jacobsen commented on how remarkable it was that the people were so open to us, as Americans, in spite of this. He said, “They really understood that our government’s decisions at the time were not our own.” Most of the people we met were compassionately able to make a distinction between the American government and the American people.

On one of our last nights in the country, in the rural area of Nueva Esperanza (New Hope), a group of young people who call themselves “Mercy” came and performed traditional Central American folk songs. Everyone’s faces lit up with joy, and some children from the community came over to listen, as well as another American group that was visiting the country. The next evening we brought piñatas to the kids and played with them. Music and play brought people together.

These experiences serve as a testimony to what all of us hopefully learned from this trip; people are people, and no matter creed, religion, or race, we are all united by a common thread of humanity. As the Salvadoran poet Roque Dalton once wrote, “…my veins don’t end in me.”

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