Pat Gaffney jointly nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

Pat Gaffney, General Secretary of the British Section of Pax Christi is among 1000 women from more than 150 countries jointly nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize 2005. The announcement, made in Bern, Switzerland on 29th June, is an initiative of Gaby Vermot-Mangold, a member of the Swiss parliament. 1000 women for peace and is supported in 20 regions of the world. The project began in 2003 with the conviction that the commitment of women working for peace would finally be acknowledged and made more widely known. Pat Gaffney is among 10 British nominees who include Kathy Galloway leader of the Iona Community and Jo Wilding who has been involved in peace visits to Iraq. Pat has been involved in peace and justice work for more than 25 years. Initially a teacher Pat worked in the development education department of CAFOD for 10 years helping to establish the schools and youth education programme before moving on to Pax Christi in 1990. Pat's peace work involves her in a wide range of networks and activities. As a communicator and advocate, Pat has offered presentations, workshops and seminars on peace and non-violence in schools, Universities, with religious orders, in dioceses both in the UK and overseas. She has made solidarity visits to Russia, East Timor and Palestine - drawing on these experiences to develop education and campaigning projects in the UK. She has actively resisted UK government policy in relation to the arms trade and nuclear weapons - taking part in acts of protest and Christian witness which have led to arrest on eleven occasions and imprisonment on three. Speaking of the award Pat said: "To be nominated with this wonderful group of women is an honour. The project captures what peacemaking is about, the arduous and tough daily struggle to offer different values and visions of the world. Peacemaking is also about creating networks and communities. we can do nothing on our own. Working for a movement like Pax Christi is a reminder of this. Here we have a global network of people, many of whom are women, living and working in areas of violence and oppression, reaching out to one another for support and encouragement. We can never underestimate the value of solidarity, of opening doors and creating space where voices for peace can be heard in a world that sometimes seems bent on destroying the human spirit". The 1000 Women for Peace project plans to develop a travelling exhibit with texts and pictures on the 1000 women and a book in order to make better known the life stories and work of women for peace. Full details of the project and the names of all of the women can be found on the website www.1000peacewomen.org