Naropa University Prepares for Shirin Ebadi, 2003 Nobel Peace Laureate

BOULDER, Colo. (August 28, 2009)–Naropa University will hold the second weekly town hall meeting of the fall 2009 semester on Wednesday, September 2. Students, staff, faculty and community members will gather in the university’s Performing Arts Center in preparation for a visit by Shirin Ebadi, the distinguished Iranian jurist, human rights activist and 2003 Nobel Peace Laureate.
 
Dr. Ebadi will deliver the keynote address, “Human Rights and Women's Rights in Islam,” and participate in the opening panel of the symposium, “Women's Leadership and Activism in the Muslim World,” at Naropa on Oct. 9 and 10 at the Nalanda Events Center, 6287 Arapahoe Avenue, Boulder, CO, 80302. For more information, please contact peacestudies@naropa.edu, 303-245-0988 or go to www.naropa.edu/ebadi.
 
Pantea Beigi, director of communications and spokeswoman for The PeaceJam Foundation, is the featured guest speaker. Pantea is laureate liaison for Dr. Shirin Ebadi in the international community and helped protect Ebadi and her clients during the December 2008 attacks on human rights workers in Iran. Beigi speaks on issues of human rights in Iran and youth movements around the world. She has been interviewed on CNN, MSNBC and BBC.

During the town hall meeting, the film, Shirin Ebadi: A Simple Lawyer, will be screened. The documentary features an in-depth interview with Ebadi conducted in her Tehran office, speeches at numerous international conferences and a visit to the children's center she founded. 
  
The Wednesday at noon community gatherings are a tradition at Naropa. There are no classes on Wednesdays from 12–1:20 so that the community can gather to explore issues of common concern, ranging from diversity issues to campus sustainability initiatives to student presentations on civic engagement projects.

Accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, Naropa University is a private, nonprofit, nonsectarian liberal arts institution dedicated to advancing contemplative education. This approach to learning integrates the best of Eastern and Western educational traditions, helping students know themselves more deeply and engage constructively with others. The university comprises a four-year undergraduate college and graduate programs in the arts, education, environmental leadership, psychology and religious studies.

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