The event stemmed from an initiative led by Wolfgang Wagner who, as a Professor of International Security, is entitled to make a nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize. For the past number of years, he has shared the responsibility of selecting a nominee with fellow staff and students through a committee that reflects on the meaning of the prize and different understandings of peace as part of their deliberations. This year, the committee was made up of staff members Marije Luitjens and John Hogan, along with students Fran Walsh, Anna Michel, Jip Aukes, Arina Matvieieva and Dominique Massyn.
Following their initial deliberations, the Nobel Prize committee drew up a shortlist of potential nominees, each of which was interviewed by the group about their peacebuilding activities and what the prize would mean to them. After much debate, the committee decided upon a joint nomination this year shared between three different organisations, Women of the Sun, Women Wage Peace and Guerrieres de la Paix.
Following the official nomination ceremony, in which certificates were given to the recipients, the event featured discussion with the attending representatives of the three organisations, Reem Al-Hajajreh (Women of the Sun), Yael Braudo-Bahat (Women Wage Peace) and Hanna Assouline (Guerrieres de la Paix). In addition, the event featured a screening of the documentary movie ‘Resister pour la paix’, directed by Hanna Assouline and Sonia Terrab of Guerrieres de la Paix about the work of Women of the Sun and Women Wage Peace.
