“One of the clear highlights of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize Forum will take place on Saturday, March 9, as a special evening is planned featuring presentations and performances by the acclaimed Minneapolis MC Brother Ali [pictured], as well as Syrian-American rapper/activist Omar Offendum,” according to City Pages writer Erik Thompson.

“Ali and Offendum will present TED-style talks on the topic of ‘Hip-Hop and Peace’ and give short performances at Augsburg College’s Kennedy Center,” music reporter Andrea Swensson added.

Swensson, a journalist at Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) station will moderate the hip-hop discussion, and Tom Weber, co-host of MPR’s , will moderate elements of Forum programming on Business Day, March 8; Health and Science Day, March 9; and Global Day, March 10.

The NPPF is a conference that celebrates the importance, consequence, and controversy of Nobel Peace Prize Laureates. Tawakkol Karman—2011 Peace Laureate, Yemeni journalist, and the first Arab woman to win the prize—will speak on Global Day. Karman received the Peace Prize in acknowledgment of her role in promoting peace, democracy, and gender equality.

Register to attend the Nobel Peace Prize Forum

All college/university students, faculty, staff, and members of the community must register to attend the Forum.

Augsburg students, faculty, and staff can register at a discounted price. Student tickets are $10. Augsburg faculty and staff tickets are half price when purchased using the .

Key speakers

The NPPF is a unique learning experience that unites students and community members with civic leaders. Learn more about the event and preview its speakers using the interactive NPPF schedule or build your itinerary using Guidebook, the Forum’s smartphone app. Featured guests include:

– Muhammad Yunus: 2006 Peace Laureate, economist, and proponent of the microcredit movement.

– Dr. Paul Farmer: Co-founder of Partners in Health, leading thinker on health and human rights, and chair of Harvard Medical School’s Department of Global Health and Social Medicine.

– Robin Wright: Journalist, author, and foreign policy analyst.

About the Forum

The NPPF is the only program outside of Norway that is affiliated with the Norwegian Nobel Institute. The program is housed and coordinated by Augsburg College in partnership with the University of Minnesota and five other Norwegian Lutheran colleges. The Forum’s generous corporate sponsors, including major sponsor Land O’Lakes, make the NPPF possible.

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Nationally known hip hop artist Brother Ali and Syrian-American artist Omar Offendum will explore the relationship between hip hop and peace at 8 p.m., March 9, at the 25th Annual in Minneapolis.

The artists will speak about their music, their roles as activists and humanitarians, the social and moral dimensions of their music as a force to unite communities, and whether artists have a special moral responsibility. Each presentation, at Augsburg College’s Kennedy Center, will feature a short music set, followed by a talk that includes audience question and answer.

“Brother Ali and Omar Offendum will show us how music can play an inspiring and everyday role in our work to create a more just society,” said Maureen Reed, executive director of the Nobel Peace Prize Forum. “We are honored to have these inspirational, young leaders join us, and to build upon the message and topics explored last year by Doomtree’s Dessa.”

“Music can be a message from the heart of humanity,” said Robert Stacke, Augsburg College associate professor of music in a 2012 interview about the impact of music on the Arab Spring. “Music can motivate a population in a manner that words alone cannot do. It is a powerful tool that can inspire political action and send its message to the world.”

In March 2012, renowned rapper, singer, and writer Dessa spoke at the Forum. She discussed social and moral dimensions of hip hop as a force for peace with the power to unite communities in her presentation “.” Nearly 800 people attended the event.

The Nobel Peace Prize Forum, March 8-10 in Minneapolis, is a premier international event designed to inspire peacemaking. Now in its 25th year, the Forum celebrates the work of Peace Prize Laureates, and deeply explores questions of peace and conflict. This year’s program addresses issues in business, health and science, and global issues.

Keynote speakers include Peace Prize winners Tawakkol Karman and Muhammad Yunus. Learn more about Karman, Yunus, and how the Forum brings the world to Minneapolis in a January 21 article.

The program is housed and coordinated by in partnership with the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs, and five other Norwegian Lutheran colleges. The Forum’s corporate sponsors include Land O’Lakes. Details and tickets at .

Register to attend the Nobel Peace Prize Forum

All college/university students, faculty, staff, and members of the community must register to attend the Forum; register for one day or multiple days.

Augsburg students, faculty, and staff can attend for a discounted price. Student tickets are $10. Augsburg faculty and staff tickets are half price when purchased using the promo code listed in the January 15 edition of the Daily A-mail.

Artist Bios

Brother Ali is a hip hop artist, speaker and activist from Minneapolis with six critically acclaimed albums and mentorships with hip hop legends Chuck D and Rakim to his name. He’s performed on late night talk shows with Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Fallon, and Craig Ferguson. Ali’s latest album, “Mourning in America and Dreaming in Color,” was issued in 2012 and is his commentary on the political, socioeconomic, and cultural suffering in modern American Life. It also is a declaration of hope and possibility for a brighter future.

Omar Offendum is a Syrian-American hip hop artist, educator, speaker, and activist, who was born in Saudi Arabia, raised in Washington, D.C., and lives in Los Angeles. He has been featured in media including Rolling Stone, PBS, Al Jazeera, Los Angeles Times, and The New York Times. He is an activist who helped raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for humanitarian relief, and who writes and sings about democratic uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa.

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