Tuesday, Nov. 29 | 5:30 p.m.
International Quilt Museum, 1523 N. 33rd St., Lincoln, NE 68583
About the Book
These stories are about light and hope in the midst of unimaginable human suffering in war zones and places of extreme poverty around the world. Important lessons from a childhood in rural western Iowa are woven throughout, as are examples of human strength and resiliency. Each chapter can be read as a complete experience.
Intimate details recorded by the author in journals and on film take the reader on memorable journeys with international human rights and humanitarian organizations. Despite being plunged into war zones, crowded refugee camps, and some of the poorest and most disease-affected places on the planet, we learn the life-saving impact of humanitarian intervention, the healing power of community, the importance of justice, and the truth that one caring person can indeed make a difference.
To be a World Citizen is to embrace and champion the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, knowing that all lives are valuable and equally deserving of protection and support. Learn more about the book at https://www.worldcitizenthebook.com/.
About the Author
Jane OlsonFormer Chairman of the Board, Human Rights Watch
Jane Olson is a 1964 graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Journalism and Mass Communications. Olson has worked many decades as a volunteer promoting international peace and justice and humanitarian work. She chaired the International Board of Trustees of Human Rights Watch, the largest US-based international human rights organization, from 2004 to 2010, having worked on behalf of HRW since 1988. She also chaired the board of Survivor Corps for 12 years since its founding as Landmine Survivors Network. LSN and HRW were among the five organizations to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997for the International Landmine Ban Treaty.
Olson is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Science and a board member of both the National World War II Museum in New Orleans and Direct Relief, based in Santa Barbara, CA. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and Pacific Council on International Policy. She served as co-chair of the Women’s Refugee Commission in New York and continues to support the WRC as a commissioner.
Olson has received numerous awards, including the 2010 inaugural Alison Des Forges Award from Human Rights Watch, and the inaugural Eleanor Roosevelt Award from Feminist Majority in 2005. California Senator Barbara Boxer presented the “Women Making History” Award to Jane in 2010. She received Public Counsel’s Community Achievement Award and the Silver Achievement Award from the Los Angeles YWCA.