Nobelist Shimon Peres At
Seton Hall University
Recently, Shimon Peres, former Prime Minister
of Israel and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, received an honorary
degree conferral and addressed the Seton Hall community as
part of the Whitehead School of Diplomacy and International
Relations World Leaders Forum.
Shimon Peres was awarded
the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994 for his efforts to create peace
in the Middle East, having initiated the Oslo Peace Accords.
More recently, Peres founded the Peres Center for Peace,
with the aim of realizing his vision of a “New Middle East” in
which Israelis and Palestinians work together to build peace
through socio-economic cooperation and people-to-people relations.
Seton Hall University’s
Whitehead School of Diplomacy and International Relations
has been preparing an international student body to become
the next generation of global leaders. The School provides students with the knowledge and critical
skills essential for today’s international careers in
public service, business, law and the nonprofit sector. Students
participate in an innovative curriculum led by a distinguished
faculty of scholars and diplomats that bring theory and practice
to the classroom. Through a unique link with the United Nations
students are exposed to today’s leaders and policymakers
while experiencing diplomacy at work.
In 2001, the
Whitehead School of Diplomacy served as the Coordinating
Secretariat for the United Nations Year of Dialogue among
Civilizations. Faculty and students prepared research for
an international group of eminent persons, who produced a
report, Crossing the Divide: Dialogue among Civilizations,
which was presented to the UN General Assembly. The report
discusses how the perception of diversity as a threat can
be overcome through a new paradigm of international relations
focused on participation, discourse, reconciliation and individual
responsibility.
The Whitehead School
continues to promote dialogue on today’s critical global
issues through its World Leaders Forum. The School has brought distinguished
visitors to campus including U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan,
European Union Court of Justice President Gil Carlos Rodriguez
Iglesias, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Mohammed
Khatami, President Glafcos Clerides of Cyprus, His Eminence
Angelo Cardinal Sodano and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate John
Hume of Northern Ireland. Through the Forum, students have
the opportunity to connect with today’s leaders and experience
diplomacy hands-on.#
