Nobels Fredssenter

Photo: Nobel Peace Center

“We need better leaders and better leadership” said Kofi Annan when he last visited us. This was during my first days in my position at the Nobel Peace Center and I was star struck. Yet, Annan quickly made me feel at ease with his soft-spoken style, cool manner and natural unpretentiousness. This was not his first visit. In fact, Annan had previously popped by both announced and unannounced. It is said that the first time he came by, he just walked by with his wife, Nane, and asked at the entry whether there were special ticket prices for Nobel Peace Prize laureates.

Photo: The Nobel Foundation

Born in a small village located on the banks of the Mbashe River, South Africa. Today, 100 years later, his birth is celebrated around the world. Nelson Mandela became a legend, a Messiah for millions of people. Humble, yet principled. Stubborn, yet eager to listen. A leader, but still a man of the people. In the northern hemisphere, Mandela is often seen as a man of forgiveness, as he spoke of reconciliation with whites after apartheid. In the southern hemisphere, however, he is seen as a representative of the African values of pride, humanism, democracy, and leadership.

In April, South African union members protested against a proposed minimum wage. Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo: REUTERS/Sumaya Hisham)

The minimum wage has received considerable attention over the past months in South Africa. And rightly so.  Half the population is living in poverty and about 20 per cent of those employed are living on wages below the minimum living level. Yet, while higher minimum wages are needed for the poor to regain trust in the future, there is also a high need for maximum wages for development to turn in the right direction. Some, including President Cyril Ramaphosa, are hoping for a social dialogue to provide a path forward to rebuild the economy and the nation. But it will never succeed without these two issues seen in relation to each other: lowest wages need to increase and top wages decrease.

Leymah Gbowee signing the guest book at the Nobel Peace Center last week, with Liv Tørres watching. Photo: Nobel Peace Center.

I have always been a do-er. I would rather have ten women protesting outside a building than fifty academics sitting inside of it writing papers. – Leymah Gbowee, Nobel Peace Prize laureate 2011.  

She is back in Oslo for a couple of intense days for the annual Business for Peace Summit, setting time aside for us to talk. Back here, where she received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011. She is tired and jetlagged. And no wonder. She had more than 300 travelling days last year. Since becoming part of the small exclusive group of female Nobel Peace Prize laureates, her life has consisted of travels, speeches, public appearances and loads of attention. She is building up a new programme for women, peace and security at Columbia University in the US. And at the same time, contributing to the struggles of building the headquarter for the women´s peace movement in Monrovia. Her life didn´t start like this. 

1. mai er er en dag for fest og fellesskap. Vi har mye å feire. I hvert fall her hjemme. Men kun noen få timers flyreise unna kjemper folk med livet som innsats for noe vi her hjemme tar som den største selvfølge: Kampen for demokrati, rettferdighet og likeverd, og  for retten til å organisere seg. Vår velferd her hjemme er også helt avhengig av at de vinner den kampen.