President Juan Manuel Santos at the opening of Hope over Fear in Bogota Thursday. (Photo: Nobel Peace Center)

Sep 29, 2017 14:35 CEST The Peace Prize Exhibition is "home"

One week before the name of the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize laureate is announced in Oslo, Norway, the 2016 prize is being celebrated in Bogotá, Colombia. The Nobel Peace Prize Exhibition, Hope over Fear, about President Santos and the Colombian people, opened at the National Museum of Colombia yesterday.

“I am very happy that we have been able to bring the Nobel Peace Prize exhibition home to Colombia, said Executive Director Liv Tørres of the Nobel Peace Center. “For, as the Norwegian Nobel Committee made clear when the prize was awarded to Santos – it is a prize that belongs to all Colombian people. “

The exhibition is the same as the one currently on display at the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo. It presents a series of photos taken by the renowned Danish photographer Mads Nissen, who travelled through Colombia in the weeks following the announcement of the Nobel Peace Prize.

For the next few weeks, this exhibition will be open to the public, both in Bogotá and Oslo. Nissen’s photos show many aspects of the ongoing peace process in Colombia: FARC-soldiers and deminers in the field, victims of violence and war, as well as life in the Presidential Palace and the slum areas of Bogotá.

The National Museum of Colombia has got free entrance and a lot of school groups visiting every year. Mads Nissen is happy that the exhibition now will be available to a large, Colombian audience.

"It is also about paying tribute to the victims of the conflict, about giving them a voice and bringing them onto a stage they would never have been allowed into", he says.

After opening the exhibition in Oslo last December, President Santos welcomed the exhibition at a time where Colombia still faces challenges following the implementation of the peace agreement:

“This exhibition comes at a very timely, very important moment for Colombia. Without a doubt, this exhibition will help us remember what we suffer, but at the same time it will stimulate us to move forward in the construction of peace.”

Facts about the Nobel Peace Center

• one of Norway's most visited museums with app 250 000 vistors per year • presents the Nobel Peace Prize laureates and their work, in addition to telling the story of Alfred Nobel • is an arena for debate and reflection around topics such as war, peace and conflict resolution • is internationally recognized for its emphasis on documentary photography and interactive technology • presents changing exhibitions, engaging digital solutions, films, seminars and events • Olav Njølstad is chair of the board, Liv Tørres is the Executive Director • is financed by a combination of public and private funds • the main sponsors and collaborating partners are Hydro, Telenor Group and ABB Contacts

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