Who We Are
The Nobel Women's
Initiative was established in 2006 by sister Nobel
Peace Laureates Jody Williams, Shirin Ebadi, Wangari Maathai,
Rigoberta Menchú Tum and Betty Williams. We five women --
representing North and South America, Europe, the Middle East and
Africa -- have decided to bring together our extraordinary
experiences in a united effort for peace with justice and equality.
Only 12 women in its more than 100 year history have been
recognized with the Nobel Peace Prize. The Nobel Peace Prize is a
great honor, but it is
also a great responsiblity. It is this
sense of responsibility that has compelled us to create the Nobel
Women’s Initiative to help strengthen work being done in support of
women's rights around the world - work often carried out in the
shadows with little recognition.
We believe that peace is much
more than the absence of armed conflict. Peace is the commitment to
equality and justice; a democratic world free of physical, economic,
cultural, political, religious, sexual and environmental violence
and the constant threat of these forms of violence against women –
indeed against all of humanity.
It is the heartfelt mission of the Nobel Women’s Initiative to address
and work to prevent the root causes of violence by spotlighting and
promoting the efforts of women’s rights activists, researchers and
organizations working to advance peace, justice and equality. By
sharing a platform with these women, the NWI will spotlight their
tireless work to prevent violence against women. By helping to
advance the cause of women, we believe we advance all of humanity.
United by our
desire to combat all forms of violence against women in all
circumstances, we also recognize that specific issues for women vary
around the world. One element of our work will be to sponsor
international meetings of women every two years -- in a different
region of the world -- to highlight issues of concern to women
there. The objective of these meetings is to underscore our
commonalities and differences by providing inclusive and energizing
forums that ensure meaningful dialogue and networking by women’s
rights activists around the world -- but with a view to action.
It is our commitment to action that
brings us together. Therefore, our meetings will be linked with
concrete work in the target region leading up to the conference,
along with post-conference plans of action to address the issues
addressed at the conference. In this way, the Nobel Women’s
Initiative will support meaningful work on the ground.
We
believe profoundly in the sharing of information and
ideas. By networking and working
together rather than in competition, we enhance the work of all. The
Nobel Women’s Initiative is committed to supplementing and enhancing
existing work and is determined to avoid duplicating the work of
others. We want to open new ground for discussion, debate and
change.
We hope you share our excitement about the potential
of the Nobel Women’s Initiative to meaningfully contribute to
building peace with justice and equality by working together with
women around the world.
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