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CORVALLIS, Ore. – Nobel Peace Prize laureate Adolfo Pérez Esquivel will visit the Oregon State University campus on Feb. 22-24, where he will call on Pacific Northwest high school students, teachers and OSU students to step forward to create a better world through community service and global action.

He also will present a free public lecture on Friday, Feb. 22, beginning at 8 p.m. in the Memorial Union Ballroom titled “Human Rights and Justice for All.”

His appearance is part of PeaceJam, an international education program that works with Nobel Prize laureates to engage youth in volunteerism and encourages them to work to transform themselves, their local communities and, ultimately, the world.

“This is the fourth year that Oregon State University has had the honor to host PeaceJam, which is an extraordinary opportunity for high school and college students to personally interact with a Nobel Prize recipient,” said Frank Ragulsky, OSU’s student media adviser and a campus coordinator of PeaceJam.

“It is a memorable experience for students and the benefit continues as they return home and become more actively involved in their own communities,” he added.

Esquivel received the 1980 Nobel Peace Prize for his leadership and advocacy for human rights and democracy in Latin America.

More than 200 high school students and teachers from Oregon, Washington and California will attend the two-day PeaceJam conference Feb. 23-24 at OSU. A number of OSU students will serve as mentors during the conference. PeaceJam co-founder, Dawn Engle will kick-off the conference.

The students will work in groups of about a dozen on a variety of community service projects in the Corvallis area, attend workshops, and have the opportunity to present individual or school plans for furthering peace to Esquivel.

This year’s community service projects will focus on the Global Call to Action, a movement inspired by the 12 Nobel Peace laureates, who sit on the PeaceJam International board of directors. They are asking youth to take leadership in eradicating world hunger, preserving the environment and leading us to a time of peace.

For more information, go online to oregonstate.edu/peacejam or www.peacejam.org.