Celebrate the Nobel Peace Prize with us

ON THE 27th November – the day I’m writing this letter – and 122 years ago, Alfred Bernhard Nobel signed his will. He had made a vast fortune from weapons and, wanting to make reparation, he left most of his money to found five annual Prizes.

One of them is for “the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between the nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies, and for the holding and promotion of peace conferences”.

This – the Nobel Peace Prize – consists of a large sum of money (about £750,000 this year), and, of course, a great deal of world-wide publicity, with the emphasis on enabling even more creative work in the future.

Sometimes it has been awarded to well-known figures (Martin Luther King, Mother Theresa, Barack Obama) and sometimes it has seemed to be wasted in the power struggles that

swamp a lot of world politics; but this year it has been awarded to people like ourselves, all over the world, who really care about making the world a better and safer place.

Liz Grey reported in her letter (“Nuclear Weapons do not give us peace” Loughborough Echo 1st November) that Elizabeth Minor from ICAN spoke in October at a Conference here in Loughborough.

ICAN (International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons) have been actively promoting a United Nations Nuclear Ban Treaty, and the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to them for their work.

The prize-giving is in Oslo on Sunday 10th December, and at 12noon (our time) in Frederick Street United Reformed Church Loughborough Peace Group will be hosting a celebration party.

We shall be watching the – live-streamed – Oslo ceremony and listening to the acceptance speeches by Beatrice Fihn (ICAN Executive Director) and Setsuko Thurlow (who survived the bomb on her city Hiroshima in 1945).

There will be refreshments and fun suitable for such an important occasion. Do please come and join us. David Paterson