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PeaceJam is no piece of cake

Thousands of details go into gathering of Peace Prize winners, kids

Jean Torkelson, Rocky Mountain News

Published September 14, 2006 at midnight

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Let's see . . . steak and potatoes for the Dalai Lama. Enough pasta and pizza for 3,000 kids. And somebody better break it to the Nobel laureate from Guatemala that the visas fell through so it looks like she'll be joined by only one youth and one chaperon.

Got that so far?

This weekend, peace is on the agenda but success will be in the details - literally thousands of details - as 10 Nobel laureates and teenagers from 31 countries descend on Denver for the most ambitious PeaceJam ever.

The international education program aims to create "a new generation of peacemakers" by helping youths learn from the example of Nobel Peace Prize winners. This year's event will be held at the University of Denver.

Behind the scenes, countless invisible hands are making the business of putting on a peace show look easy.

At the heart of the operation are 60 volunteers busy with a myriad of hospitality details, including meals, living arrangements and security for the largest gathering of Nobel laureates ever in the U.S. Three of them are also heads of state.

There are 28 host families taking in five or six youths apiece. The rest will be put up in hotels. All come with chaperons.

Then there are the Nobel laureates, the main reason why there are five levels of security, including Denver police, DU security and neighborhood volunteers.

In addition, the Secret Service will watch over Jose Ramos Horta, the head of East Timor, and Oscar Arias Sanchez, the president of Costa Rica.

The State Department will protect the Dalai Lama. Now in exile, he is both the spiritual and political head of troubled Tibet, which is ruled forcibly by China.

On a more prosaic level, even menu planning looms as a huge challenge.

Many youth have cultural or religious dietary restrictions, so the decision was made to go meatless, said Kate Cumbo, program director at PeaceJam. The most universal foods - pizza and pasta.

Wild Oats and Horizon Organic are providing breakfasts and lunches for the teens. Host families are organizing neighborhood barbecues and pizza parties.

The Rock Bottom brewery is feeding the 10 Nobels, as the laureates are informally called by PeaceJam organizers.

Even that straightforward task has its challenges. Shirin Ebadi, a Muslim Nobel laureate, doesn't touch alcohol-laced food or drink. So, the brewery had to make sure none of its recipes included any essences from its handcrafted beers.

That means "No beer bread," Cumbo said.

And though it may seem counterintuitive, the world's most famous Buddhist, the Dalai Lama, isn't a strict vegetarian (nor are many other Buddhists). Especially when he's traveling and on a strength-sapping schedule, he likes steak and potatoes at his big, midday meal. By 7 p.m., he's in bed, because he gets up at 4 a.m. to meditate.

Consideration is being given to South African Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, who is in fragile health and yet has insisted on leading the opening night festivities Friday, as well as closing the event Sunday morning.

Then, there's handling the sensitivities of people who want to interact with the laureates.

"We do get some interesting people calling up," said Cumbo, including one who wanted the Dalai Lama to bless their cat.

As for gifts, it's not in the Buddhist tradition to accept gifts, Cumbo said, "so we say, basically, thank you very much, but . . . "

Sometimes hospitality requires extra research. When you're hosting Nobel laureates who hail from Africa to Central America to the Middle East, "The most stressful part about this job," said one harried PeaceJam staffer, "is learning how to pronounce their names."

PeaceJam by the numbers

• 1 billion: The number of acts of peace that PeaceJam hopes to develop this weekend as its "global action plan" over the next 10 years

• 250,000: How many teenagers have taken part in PeaceJam in the past 10 years

• 12,000: The number of breakfasts and lunches that will be prepared for teenagers this Saturday and Sunday. (At night, and other days, host families will provide meals.)

• 93 percent: How many PeaceJam participants agree with the statement, "One person can make a difference."

• 60: The number of volunteers this weekend

• 10: The number of Nobel laureates in Denver, the largest gathering of laureates ever in the U.S.

If you go

• Dalai Lama and Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu event: "Global Call to Action" address by 10 Nobel laureates begins 4 p.m. Saturday at Magness Arena at the University of Denver. Tickets ($25, $50, $75 and $100) available at all Ticketmaster outlets and through or at the Magness Arena box office. To charge tickets by phone, call 303-830-TIXS or 719-520-9090. More info:

• Dalai Lama public talk at the Pepsi Center: 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Sold out.

• Songs and dances of Tibet: Traditional Tibetan dancers. 7 p.m. Saturday at Sturm Hall, Davis Auditorium, University of Denver; 7 p.m. Sunday at Boulder High School, 1604 Arapahoe Ave., Boulder. Tickets $25; information or 303-402-0140.

• Tibetan Children's Villages: to donate,

• Tibetan Association of Colorado: to donate,