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3.03.06 - The Watson Institute announces the establishment of a new undergraduate fellowship named for the late Marla Ruzicka, a human rights activist who died in April 2005 during a suicide bombing in Baghdad, Iraq. This award has been made possible through the generosity of Lucinda B. Watson, a member of the Watson Institute Board of Overseers and the daughter of the late Thomas J. Watson, Jr. ’37, the namesake of the Institute.
Lucinda Watson had met Ruzicka in New York in the spring of 2004, and after an evening of conversation was deeply inspired by her passion and commitment to international public service. The Marla Ruzicka International Public Service Fellowship will be awarded annually to support one Brown undergraduate whose summer plans reflect the characteristics of compassion, determination, and selflessness in the pursuit of international human rights, which Ruzicka exemplified. It offers support of up to $3,000 to the fellow.
Ruzicka, who was 28 years old when she died, was the founder of the Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict (CIVIC). She traveled to Afghanistan shortly after the fall of the Taliban in 2002 to record the effects of conflict on civilian communities, and she lobbied diligently to seek compensation for families whose homes had been destroyed in the conflict. From Afghanistan, Marla went to Iraq, where she, along with a team of over 160 volunteers, conducted door-to-door interviews to gain first-hand knowledge of Iraqi civilian casualties. Subsequently, Ruzicka took her first CIVIC report to Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), who sponsored legislation to provide U.S. aid to innocent Iraqis harmed in military operations. Her worked continued through April 2005 when she was tragically killed.
Upon hearing of Ruzicka’s death and seeing how quickly the media seemed to forget her story, Watson, the author of How They Achieved Success: Stories of Personal Achievement and Business Success, wanted to keep the spirit of Ruzicka’s life and work alive through others and to make sure that she was remembered and respected. Knowing this was something that her father would have supported, Lucinda Watson decided to establish this fellowship through the Institute, which her father, the former U.S. ambassador to Moscow, helped to found. This endowed gift will provide another resource for a new generation to continue work on human rights, postconflict rehabilitation, and international public service. As Watson said in making her gift, “I think it is so important for Marla’s devotion to victims of war to be publicized so that others are inspired to act in the same way. We don't have enough people in our world who actually believe they can make a difference.”
For application details and requirements, please see this posting for the Marla Ruzicka International Public Service Fellowship.
More information about this story
3.03.06 - The Watson Institute announces the establishment of a new undergraduate fellowship named for the late Marla Ruzicka, a human rights activist who died in April 2005 during a suicide bombing in Baghdad, Iraq. This award has been made possible through the generosity of Lucinda B. Watson, a member of the Watson Institute Board of Overseers and the daughter of the late Thomas J. Watson, Jr. ’37, the namesake of the Institute.
Lucinda Watson had met Ruzicka in New York in the spring of 2004, and after an evening of conversation was deeply inspired by her passion and commitment to international public service. The Marla Ruzicka International Public Service Fellowship will be awarded annually to support one Brown undergraduate whose summer plans reflect the characteristics of compassion, determination, and selflessness in the pursuit of international human rights, which Ruzicka exemplified. It offers support of up to $3,000 to the fellow.
Ruzicka, who was 28 years old when she died, was the founder of the Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict (CIVIC). She traveled to Afghanistan shortly after the fall of the Taliban in 2002 to record the effects of conflict on civilian communities, and she lobbied diligently to seek compensation for families whose homes had been destroyed in the conflict. From Afghanistan, Marla went to Iraq, where she, along with a team of over 160 volunteers, conducted door-to-door interviews to gain first-hand knowledge of Iraqi civilian casualties. Subsequently, Ruzicka took her first CIVIC report to Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), who sponsored legislation to provide U.S. aid to innocent Iraqis harmed in military operations. Her worked continued through April 2005 when she was tragically killed.
Upon hearing of Ruzicka’s death and seeing how quickly the media seemed to forget her story, Watson, the author of How They Achieved Success: Stories of Personal Achievement and Business Success, wanted to keep the spirit of Ruzicka’s life and work alive through others and to make sure that she was remembered and respected. Knowing this was something that her father would have supported, Lucinda Watson decided to establish this fellowship through the Institute, which her father, the former U.S. ambassador to Moscow, helped to found. This endowed gift will provide another resource for a new generation to continue work on human rights, postconflict rehabilitation, and international public service. As Watson said in making her gift, “I think it is so important for Marla’s devotion to victims of war to be publicized so that others are inspired to act in the same way. We don't have enough people in our world who actually believe they can make a difference.”
For application details and requirements, please see this posting for the Marla Ruzicka International Public Service Fellowship.
More information about this story
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Re: The Watson Institute Announces Fellowship to Honor Human Rights Activist Marla Ruzicka
Fri, April 14, 2006 - 1:51 PMwww.civicworldwide.org/dia/or...nup.jsp
2006 Bridge of Peace Awards Honors Five Courageous Peacemakers
Global Village Foundation proudly presents the 2006 Bridge of Peace Awards Saturday, March 25th at the Sheraton Gateway Hotel in Los Angeles. The annual Bridge of Peace Awards honor outstanding peacemakers, humanitarians and advocates of reconciliation and compassionate action to heal the wounds of war, and is used to educate the public and raise funds for GVF efforts in Vietnam and South Asia.
The 2006 Awards Gala is co-hosted by Academy Award winning director Oliver Stone and GVF founder Le Ly Hayslip, with special guest Martin Sheen, star of The West Wing. The 2006 gala event will be highlighted with the showing of a new documentary film depicting the 20-year journey of Ms. Hayslip and Global Village Foundation’s accomplishments.
Funds raised at the Awards gala go to support Global Village Foundation's ongoing programs, focusing this year on the “Mobile Libraries Educational Project.”, and aid to tsunami struck areas of South Asia.
2006 Bridge of Peace Honorees
Thich Nhat Hanh — Bridge of Peace Award
Internationally reknowned Vietnamese Buddhist monk, poet, and author nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Thay, as he is affectionately known, has spent his life teaching "mindfulness" and tools of practice for personal and global healing and transformation. Through his books, public talks, and practice centers at Plum Village in France, and Deer Park and Maple Forest Monasteries in the U.S., Thay reaches millions of people each year with his message of nonviolent social and personal change.
This award will be presented by Claude Anshin Thomas, Vietnam vet, Soto Zen Buddhist priest and author of At Hell's Gate: A Soldier's Journey from War to Peace; and received by the monks and nuns of Deer Park Monastery.
Marla Ruzicka (posthumously) and CIVIC Worldwide (Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict) — Global Peace and Justice Award
Marla was killed last year while working with civilian casualties in Iraq. Her efforts to win recognition and compensation for civilian victims of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq led to the authorization by Congress of a $25 million fund, which now bears her name, for those victims of U.S. and Coalition forces.
This award will be presented by Martin Sheen and received by Nancy Ruzicka and Sarah Holewinski of CIVIC Worldwide.
Ambassador Pete Peterson – Humanitarian Service Award
Vietnam vet, former POW, and first U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam post–war. Ambassador Peterson's efforts as Ambassador opened the doors to renewed relations and deepening friendship between the two former enemies, earning him the respect of Vietnamese and U.S. citizens alike. This award will be presented by Academy Award winning film director (Platoon, Born on the Fourth of July, Heaven and Earth) Oliver Stone.
Marshall Rosenberg, Ph.D — Nonviolence Award
Founder of the Center for Nonviolent Communication and author of Nonviolent Communication: A Language for Life, Marshall Rosenberg has spent a lifetime mediating conflict and promoting peaceful and compassionate communication in classrooms, boardrooms, war zones and kitchens around the world.
This award will be presented by Michael Nagler, founder of the Peace and Conflict Studies Center at University of California, Berkeley, and author of Is There No Other Way? The Search for a Nonviolent Future.
Dr. Waqar Al–Kubaisy — Courage Award
Professor of Epidemiology and Vice President of the Iraqi Community and Public Health Society, Dr. Al–Kubaisy was the first woman recipient of the International Arab Medical Prize and the Algerian Order of Merit. She is an internationally recognized specialist in women's and children's public health issues in the Middle East and Iraq. Currently teaching abroad, Dr. Al2Kubaisy returns to Iraq later this year with 100 hospital beds donated by PeaceBoat of Japan.
For more information on our 2006 Bridge of Peace Award honorees, you may download a printable pdf document. Click Here
The 2006 Bridge of Peace Awards Gala includes a VIP reception with co-hosts Oliver Stone and Le Ly Hayslip, our honorees, and our many distinguished presenters and guests, including Martin Sheen, Claude Anshin Thomas, Michael Nagler, representatives of PeaceBoat — Japan.
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Re: The Watson Institute Announces Fellowship to Honor Human Rights Activist Marla Ruzicka
Fri, April 14, 2006 - 1:59 PMSorry, this is the post
www.globalvillagefoundation.org/ne...tml
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Re: The Watson Institute Announces Fellowship to Honor Human Rights Activist Marla Ruzicka
Fri, April 14, 2006 - 1:54 PMThis is REALLY awesome, and I know something that Marla would have loved. As I raise my stepdaughter, I am always wishing I could ask Marla's advice about how to convey social justice issues to her, because Marla was so good at working with kids to help them understand.
www.civicworldwide.org/dia/or...ent.jsp -
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Re: The Watson Institute Announces Fellowship to Honor Human Rights Activist Marla Ruzicka
Fri, April 14, 2006 - 1:58 PM
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Re: The Watson Institute Announces Fellowship to Honor Human Rights Activist Marla Ruzicka
Sun, April 16, 2006 - 5:01 AMThanks, Christine.
