Office of External Communications

Houston, TX 77204-5017 Fax: 713.743.8199

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 26, 2005

Contact: Marisa Ramirez
713.743.8152 (office)
713.204.9798 (cell)
mrcannon@uh.edu

HOUSTON, October 26, 2005—More than 200 area high school students will converge on the University of Houston to hear Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Adolfo Perez Esquivel discuss peace and social justice during “PeaceJam,” a two-day conference to discuss ways of promoting peace.

PeaceJam is scheduled for Nov. 12 and 13 in the University Center and is sponsored by the UH Graduate School of Social Work (GSSW).

“These young people are exploring issues related to violence while learning to become peacemakers,” Brian Trachte, Greater Texas PeaceJam coordinator and a GSSW student, said. “They are taking advantage of a tremendous opportunity to learn from those who have truly made a difference in the world.”

Esquivel won the 1980 Nobel Peace Prize for his human rights work through his organization Servicio Paz y Justicia in Argentina. He will deliver his speech, “Human Rights and Justice for All,” and lead a question and answer session with students. During the conference, students will break out into small groups and discuss their peace and social justice experiences, community needs and their role in resolving those needs. The group will also participate in service projects on campus and around Houston. In closing ceremonies, the students will present Esquivel with copies of community service projects they plan to implement in their communities.

“It is important that we create the space for young people to discuss peace, and empower them to put their ideas into action,” Trachte said. “PeaceJam gives young people a blueprint, a plan, to create avenues of peace for their community through discussion and service.”

UH is no stranger to Nobel Laureates. Jody Williams, who won a Nobel Peace Prize in 1997 for her campaign to clear and ban anti-personnel landmines, is a distinguished professor in the GSSW.

PeaceJam began in 1996 in Denver as a way to cultivate attitudes about peace and non-violence among young people. The Dali Lama suggested that Nobel Laureates share their teachings and ideas to high school students as a way to meet community challenges.

Since the inception of PeaceJam, more than 40,000 teenagers worldwide have participated and created more than 100,000 new service projects to further the cause of peace. These programs include self-sustainable greenhouses to grow food for the poor, town hall meetings to discuss neighborhood violence, and round table discussions to suggest policy for free trade.

For more information on the UH Graduate School of Social Work, please visit www.sw.uh.edu/.

For more information on PeaceJam, visit www.peacejam.org.

About the University of Houston

The University of Houston, Texas’ premier metropolitan research and teaching institution, is home to more than 40 research centers and institutes and sponsors more than 300 partnerships with corporate, civic and governmental entities. UH, the most diverse research university in the country, stands at the forefront of education, research and service with more than 35,000 students.

For more information about UH visit the university’s ‘Newsroom’ at www.uh.edu/admin/media/newsroom.