The Niwano Peace Foundation will award the 36th Niwano Peace Prize to Dr. John Paul Lederach, Professor Emeritus of International Peacebuilding at the Kroc Institute for Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame and a Distinguished Scholar at Eastern Mennonite University in the United States. An award presentation ceremony will take place in Tokyo on May 8 at 10:30 a.m. In addition to an award certificate, Dr. Lederach will receive a medal and a cash prize of 20 million yen. In many war-torn settings like Colombia, Nepal, Northern Ireland and Somalia, Dr. Lederach has provided accompaniment for local communities most affected by decades of violence. As a practitioner-scholar, his academic work draws on this rich experience in the field as a mediator, negotiator, peacebuilding practitioner, trainer and consultant. In selecting Dr. Lederach as a recipient for 2019, the Niwano Peace Prize Committee said he "has helped support and encourage evolving peace processes, give voice to those on the margins of society and empower ordinary citizens to transform ongoing and emerging conflict in a healthy and positive way." Moreover, his "contribution on conflict transformation through his teaching, training, practicing and his own organizational network has given tremendous inspiration and courage to peace activists and practitioners around the world," it said. Niwano Peace Prize: The Niwano Peace Foundation established the Niwano Peace Prize to honor and encourage individuals and organizations that have contributed significantly to inter-religious cooperation, thereby furthering the cause of world peace, and to make their achievements known as widely as possible. The foundation hopes in this way both to enhance inter-religious understanding and cooperation and to encourage the emergence of still more persons devoted to working for world peace. The prize is named in honor of the founder and first president of the lay Buddhist organization Rissho Kosei-kai, Nikkyo Niwano. Niwano Peace Foundation: The Niwano Peace Foundation was chartered in 1978 to contribute to the realization of world peace and the enhancement of a culture of peace. The foundation promotes research and other activities based on a religious spirit and serves the cause of peace in such fields as education, science, religion and philosophy. Source: Niwano Peace Foundation Contact: (Ms.) Natsuki Kudo Niwano Peace Foundation Tel: +81-3-3226-4371 Fax: +81-3-3226-1835 info@npf.or.jp http://www.npf.or.jp/english/