Jody Williams, 1997 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, spoke Monday evening at the Elam Center as part of the UTM Academic Speaker Series on “The Power of One: An Individuals’ Impact on Social and Political Change.”

Williams won the highly coveted award for her work as an advocate for international peace and human rights. She received worldwide acknowledgement for founding the International Campaign to Ban Landmines. ICBL’s efforts led to the signing of an international treaty to ban antipersonnel landmines in 1997 in Oslo, Norway.

Williams said that oftentimes people become wrapped up in their own affairs that they don’t think about international policy, much less the humanitarian crises that arise after a war is over. “I was at university during the Vietnam War, and it was a very startling experience to me to see unfolding a very different American reality,” Williams said. She added that Vietnam made her more aware of world politics. “A decade (after Vietnam) I saw from my perspective the US embarking on a similar misguided adventure in Central America.” Williams learned about the humanitarian crisis in Central America from a flyer in the Washington subway.

Williams said that she began working to lessen the impact of the war on Nicaragua and El Salvador’s citizens. “The percentage of civilians impacted by war has changed dramatically. Now, 80 percent are affected,” she said. “In Cambodia, fifty percent of the national territory is covered in landmines,” Williams said.

Although an international treaty has been signed, Williams was clear that her work was not yet done. “The very day the treaty was negotiated, we gave them an action plan that laid out point by point to assure the treaty would become law. We’re still working with those nations today,” Williams said.

Williams said that all students could easily get involved in political advocacy. “When I got that pamphlet in the DC subway, it said come learn about the issue concerning Central America. The first step was to go to the speech.” She said after being convinced about the humanitarian crisis in Central America, she began to volunteer. As she became more involved, she made connections to get a full-time job instead of volunteering. The ICBL estimates that up to 20,000 new casualties are caused annually by landmines and unexploded explosives. Most casualties target innocent civilians, and landmines are indiscriminate in their aiming.

Honors Programs, the Freshman Experience, Academic Affairs, Student Affairs, SAC, SGA and the Center cosponsor Williams’s appearance for Global Studies.