On Wednesday, Jan. 30 the AU Center for Nonviolence hosted a Keynote Speech by Naomi Tutu, daughter of Nobel Peace Prize Winner Desmond Tutu.

The Center for Nonviolence is celebrating its twentieth anniversary as an organization this year and invited Tutu to speak because of her powerful message.  

“Desmond Tutu was a great peacemaker, and we came across his daughter Naomi, who is also a human rights activist and we are excited to have her here,.” Elizabeth Buttil, assistant director of the Center for Nonviolence said. “[I hope attendees have] something to reflect on during the season of nonviolence. Hopefully, they can learn from her [ Tutu’s] life experience.”

In her speech, Tutu talked about her experience living under apartheid in South Africa. She talked about how we often have ideas in our minds of ourselves and others that lead to prejudice, and we need to realize this to change for the better.  

“We have to be willing to acknowledge the tapes that play in our minds about ourselves and others [if we want justice].,” she said. “If we are those who say we strive for justice, then we must say we want to strive to learn about the world.”  

She further said, expressing her point that in order for us to move forward as humanity, we must recognize and celebrate our differences, while also seeing the humanity of everyone. “If we are going to get through the many crises we have as a planet, we need as many of God’s children involved as we can.” she said.  

Tutu’s speech was one of many events the Center for Nonviolence has planned for this semester for its attendees, who are “dedicated to raising awareness, thinking and acting creatively and encouraging open discussion on issues of peace and social well-being.” as the organization’s Engage page said. “We have lots of upcoming events this semester. Join us!” Elizabeth Buttil said.