Desmond Tutu Centre CEO is Marquette’s 2010 Peacemaker in Residence

Nomfundo Walaza to address role of women in conflict resolution

Nomfundo Walaza, the chief executive officer of the Desmond Tutu Peace Centre, will spend a week at Marquette University as the Center for Peacemaking’s 2009-2010 Peacemaker in Residence. During her visit, Walaza will present “Women Waging Peace: A South African Perspective,” Thursday, April 8, at 7 p.m. in Cudahy Hall, room 001, 1313 W. Wisconsin Ave. The event is free and open to the public.

A clinical psychologist, Walaza has served as the Executive Director of the Trauma Centre for Survivors of Violence and Torture and worked closely with the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission. She has been the CEO at the Tutu center since 2007. She is also active with Psychologists Without Borders, Operation Dove and Women Demanding Dignity.

“The efforts of Nomfundo Walaza and the organizations she represents have made the world a more peaceful place,” said Rev. G. Simon Harak, S.J., director of the Center for Peacemaking. “With her passion for women’s issues, it’s an honor to have Walaza at Marquette during Marquette’s Centennial Celebration of Women.” 

The Center for Peacemaking annually invites an internationally recognized nonviolent theorist/activist to spend a week as the Marquette University Peacemaker in Residence. In addition to the public presentation, the peacemaker in residence will visit with classes, talk with student organizations, spend time with faculty conducting research on nonviolence and meet with university leadership.  

Media wishing to speak with Walaza should contact Andy Brodzeller in the Office of Marketing and Communication at (414) 288-0286 or andrew.brodzeller@marquette.edu.

About the Desmond Tutu Peace Centre
The Desmond Tutu Peace Centre was co-founded by Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Mrs. Leah Tutu in 1998 and plays a unique role in building and leveraging the legacy of Archbishop Tutu to foster peace in the world. The distinctive values and practices that brought a peaceful transition to South Africa, including conciliatory and restorative rather than retributive justice, are the cornerstones of the teachings of Archbishop Tutu, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize and former chairperson of South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

About Marquette University’s Center for Peacemaking 
The Marquette University Center for Peacemaking strives to empower the university and the wider community to explore the necessary skills to become informed, spiritually-centered, nonviolent peacemakers. Grounded in the Jesuit tradition of social justice, the center works to explore the power of nonviolence by engaging peacemaking efforts in local, national and international communities.