The Faculty of Law and Political Science (FLPS) at Notre Dame University-Louaize (NDU) joined forces with the Department of Political Science at Rider University (Rider U) in the U.S. and the Deputy Leader of the Norwegian Nobel Prize Committee, Asle Toje, to set up the first Model Nobel Peace Prize (MNPP) competition in the spring semester of 2021.
Due to Covid-19 lockdown, faculty members from FLPS and Rider U organized an asynchronous online learning experience making it possible for NDUers and Global Studies Program students at Rider U in New Jersey to compete throughout the semester and choose a candidate to be nominated in the 2022 Peace Prize awards competition taking place in Oslo, Norway.
58 students from both universities drafted initial MNPP nominations under the guidance of Global Studies Professor Roberta Fiske-Rusciano and Frank Rusciano, Director of the Global Studies Program at Rider University, Eugene Sensenig, Professor at the FLPS, Rouba El-Helou, Instructor at the FLPS, and Asle Toje in Oslo.
Throughout the semester, students debated the strengths and weaknesses of the candidates, built coalitions, and invited guest speakers from the U.S., U.K., Venezuela, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Lebanon, including the director of the ABAAD Resource Center for Gender Equality in Beirut, Ghida Anani. Original nominations were short-listed to eight candidates, a group of quarterfinalists, and semifinalists, and ultimately a competition between two top contenders. The US and Lebanese MNPP participants attempted to use the same vetting process normally carried out by the Norwegian Nobel Committee. The candidate selected by the FLPS and Rider U students will be officially submitted to the 2022 Peace Prize awards competition based on the Nobel nominations criteria. Further details are confidential because the statutes of the Nobel Foundation. Details about the nomination and selection of Peace Prize Laureates are available at this link.
FLPS and the Global Studies Program at Rider U intend to carry out the competition again in spring 2022 for the Nobel Peace Prize awards in 2023.