So many of our friends and supporters have been asking us about the December 2016 Oslo Nobel Peace Prize (NPP) award ceremony and debate forum: Why was it so valuable for us to go? What did we do there? And what ideas are we bringing back to help fulfil PTC’s mission?

Why was it so valuable for us to go?
Gina Torry, one of the organizers of the Oslo NPP Forum, asked us to come to Norway so that we could meet with the Nobel Peace Prize award committee members and the forum sponsors. (Gina is actually the person who originally invited us to make our Matrix of Peace presentation at the June 2016 Nobel Peace Prize Forum in Minneapolis.)

What did we do there?
Each of the two main events in Oslo, the award ceremony and the debate forum, were inspiring and enlightening. But we got to make our most important connections with NPP committee members, international peacebuilders, and sponsors in the hours before and after each event — in the hallways of the Grand Hotel, and late into the night at the restaurant tucked inside the beautiful Oslo Opera House.

It was lovely to reconnect with Professor Olav Njølstad of the NPP Committee, Per Leif Saxegaard of the Business for Peace Foundation, Jeff Sparrows of InCircl, and Ed Martin and Jim Van Eerden of GoodXChange.

 

We are also still smiling about getting to meet, talk, and laugh with the amazing NPP committee members, like Berit Reiss-Andersen and Henrik Syse, for the first time.

What ideas are we bringing back to help fulfil PTC’s mission?
In terms of what we are taking home with us in our learning, the Debate Forum really stands out. This was the first ever NPP Debate Forum in Oslo, and its topic was “US and World Peace after the Presidential Election.” It engaged us in a conversation and contemplation of who the United States is today on the world stage, and what role US-based peacemaking organizations like PTC can play in the coming years.

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To see our photos, and some gorgeous shots by Alex Widmer of GoodXChange, check out the albums on our Facebook page.

To learn more about the peacebuilding initiatives of this year’s award recipient, Juan Manuel Santos, and the deep ideas in the debate forum, please head to our Nobel Peace Prize Forum Oslo Links post for videos.

Blessings,
Phyllis, Joyce, and the PTC team