NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNER TO SPEAK MARCH 6

Betty Williams, who received the Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to unite the people of Northern Ireland, will speak as the Raoul Wallenberg Humanitarian Lecturer at Old Dominion University Thursday, March 6.

Her talk, "Creating Safe Havens for the World's Children," will take place at 8 p.m. in the Mills Godwin Jr. Life Sciences Building Auditorium. It is free and open to the public.

In 1976, Williams was awarded the Nobel Prize as a co-founder of the Northern Ireland Peace Movement, which was dedicated to ending sectarian violence. Williams started the organization with Mairead Corrigan after three of Corrigan's nieces and nephews were run down by a getaway car carrying Irish Republican Army guerrillas.

For more than 20 years, Williams has traveled the world, working with fellow Nobel laureates to evaluate and come to the aid of areas where the cause of peace, and especially the safety and well-being of children, is at risk.

In 1997, she founded the nonprofit organization World Center of Compassion for Children (WCCC), which works to create safe havens where children will be fed, sheltered, nurtured and encouraged to grow to their fullest potential. With the aid of other organizations, the WCCC enables children to regularly address the United Nations General Assembly and establish a voice within the Court of Human Rights.

The annual Wallenberg Lecture, part of the President's Lecture Series, is sponsored by the Marc and Connie Jacobson Philanthropic Foundation. It honors the memory of one of the legendary figures of World War II.

For more information call 683-3114.