Mar 23 2011
Jody Williams
Joint Winner of 1997 Nobel Peace Prize for the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), Chairman of the Nobel Women’s Initiative
Jody Williams was instrumental in creating a sweeping international treaty banning antipersonnel landmines. She received the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize jointly with the campaign she worked for, the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL). One broader aspect of her work was her pioneering use of People Power. She continues to serve the ICBL as a campaign ambassador and editor of the organization’s landmine report, and, since 2003, has held a faculty position of distinguished professor of social work and global justice at the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work. In 2006, she was one of the founders of The Nobel Women’s Initiative.
“Jody Williams is a renowned activist & humanitarian”
Jody Williams first trained as a teacher of English as a Second Language (ESL), receiving a BA from the University of Vermont and a Master’s degree in teaching Spanish and ESL from the School for International Training. She received a second M.A. in International Relations from the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University. She was the Head of Mission of the High-Level Mission dispatched by the Human Rights Council to report on the situation of human rights in Darfur and the needs of Sudan in this regard (established at the 4th special session of the Human Rights Council in decision S-4/101). The Mission issued its report in 2007.[/expand]
Jody Williams has overseen the growth of the ICBL to more than 1,300 non-governmental organizations in more than 85 countries and served as the chief strategist and spokesperson for the campaign. She aims to strengthen work being done in support of women’s rights around the world. In her speeches she highlights the largely unrecognized efforts of women around the world in conflict situations to hold family and community together while struggling for peace during armed conflict. She discusses “security” in today’s globalized world, arguing that if the security needs of individuals and communities are disregarded, and all emphasis is put on “national security,” sustainable global peace and security will not be achievable.[/expand]
Named by Forbes Magazine in 2004 as one of the 100 most powerful women in the world in the publication of its first such annual list, Jody Williams is an expert speaker who has presented for The UN and the European Parliament. She’s an outspoken peace activist who struggles to reclaim the real meaning of peace. [/expand]
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