Extending Paul Ré's decades of work promoting harmony in the world, the bi-annual Paul Bartlett Ré Peace Prize (see also Paul Ré) has been established at the University of New Mexico. http://www.paulre.org/peace.html http://www.paulre.org Managed by the UNM Foundation, the bi-annual prize awards that UNM student, faculty, staff person, retiree or alumnus who has demonstrated notable achievements in promoting world peace and understanding.
The recipient of the award may be an artist but may also be an individual in any field who has pursued peace and harmony with creativity and dedication. Emphasis is on promoting both internal and external peace and fostering discussion of what really constitutes peace. Possible projects may be environmental, involve individual or social healing, integrative medicine, sustainable energy or green architectural design, art creation or preservation, human population control and family planning or any positive endeavor. Included is Conflict Resolution, but Conflict Prevention is to be particularly strongly emphasized.
The 2007 awardee was Stephen Littlejohn, faculty at UNM in communication and journalism. Alternate awardee was Arti Prasad, internal medicine professor at UNM. Honorable mentions were given to William Gross, professor emeritus, engineering, and Hakim Bellamy, graduate student in communications and journalism. In 2012, Bellamy became Albuquerque's first Poet Laureate [1].
In 2010 the awardees were Arti Prasad, founder of the UNM Center for Life [2] and Peace Talks Radio [3], cited for its efforts in communications. http://www.goodradioshows.org/peaceprize.htm
The 2012 awardees were William Brown for his environmental work including with the Climate Reality Project [4], and Peace Talks Radio for its more than 140 archived programs on a diversity of peace issues.
The winner of the 2014 Peace Prize in the general category was Peter Nardini for his work with Green World Health Net, a malaria prevention project which uses a solar powered fan to cool malaria nets so one can sleep under them; it also addresses climate change and poverty. Three lifetime achievement awardees were also named. The husband-wife musical team, Lynne Jackson and Mike Palter [5], who reside in Manchester by the Sea, Massachusetts (near Boston), are perhaps best known for their peace anthem, "We Dream a Brighter Day." The anthem was commissioned by the United Nations for the 40th anniversary of UNICEF. This, "The Peace Song" and their other compositions have been sung in churches, synagogues, events, and concert halls around the world. They are also known for their work with the “Jazz is a Rainbow” Program which bridges students from divergent backgrounds.
A Lifetime Achievement Award was also presented to Rudolfo Anaya Rudolfo Anaya, widely known as the Godfather of Chicano literature. The author of dozens of beloved works from Bless Me, Ultima to The Essays, he has long emphasized a deep respect for the environment and our sacred relationship with the earth. Albuquerque resident Anaya holds three degrees from UNM. He is a Professor Emeritus in the Department of English Language and Literature at UNM and has received numerous honors ranging from the Premio Quinto Sol Literary Award to the 2001 National Medal of the Arts. Anaya states, “Love never ends. We must renew our purpose daily. We must bless all of life.” For more on the 2014 awardees, please see [6].
Dr. David R. Muñoz is the winner of the 2016 Ré Peace Prize in the general category for his efforts in humanitarian engineering including water and sanitation projects in Honduras and other countries. He integrates local art and culture into the implementation of his projects and makes the development of understanding and harmony the focus of his work. Muñoz helped establish the Humanitarian Engineering minor at Colorado School of Mines, currently serves as a member of the Fetzer Institute Advisory Committee for Engineering Professionals, and co-founded Village Science, a non-profit working to enhance science education.
Three 2016 lifetime achievement awardees were also be named. William M. Brown III, a resident of Arroyo Hondo, N.M., was acknowledged for his environmental conservation and sustainability work. He is one of the primary presenters and mentors for The Climate Reality Project. Denise Elia Chávez (Denise Chavez) is an author, actor, and teacher who focuses her writing and advocacy on the border corridor of southern New Mexico, West Texas and northern Mexico. Chávez co-founded the internationally renowned Border Book Festival which brings public attention to books and art and their power to heal and transform the world. Chávez is now archiving and preserving the history of the region through the development of the Museum of the People, an arts residency center, library, and venue for multi-cultural literary, musical and art events. Vincent Barrett Price (V.B. Price) also received a Lifetime Achievement Award for his work as a distinguished poet, human rights and environmental columnist, author, and teacher. Perhaps his best known volume is The Orphaned Land which chronicles the successes and failures of efforts to preserve New Mexico’s environment.
Additionally, in 2016, the Emerging Promoter of Peace Award was presented to Carolina Belmares-Ortega. Ortega has been involved with the Center for Academic Program Support, University Advisement Center, Center for Development and Disability and the Agora Crisis Center. She is the Scholar Support Coordinator for the Simon Charitable Foundation.
The UNM Foundation article about the 2016 Ré Peace Prize Awardees can be found at https://www.unmfund.org/donor-story/2016-paul-re-peace-prize/.