Frederick Hubulla and Taylor Reed: Why Tutu is coming should be news, too

The controversy over where his speech will take place has eclipsed its purpose.

By Frederick Hubulla and Taylor Reed

Last update: October 22, 2007 - 6:13 PM

There has been a lot of confusion and some controversy over where Archbishop Desmond Tutu is going to be speaking when he comes next April. But where Archbishop Tutu is speaking was actually resolved months ago. After being turned down by the University of St. Thomas, youthrive approached Metropolitan State University to serve as the new host university site -- and Metropolitan State University agreed wholeheartedly to become the new site for youthrive's PeaceJam event and ongoing youthrive partner.

While the "where" has been a source of discussion, we believe the "why" he is coming to Minnesota deserves equal attention.

Tutu is coming to Minnesota to work with young people on peace-building in their local communities. He is one of 12 Nobel Peace Prize Laureates who are actively involved with the Colorado-based PeaceJam Foundation. We are on the board of directors of youthrive, the Upper Midwest affiliate of PeaceJam.

The goal of PeaceJam is to inspire a new generation of leaders who understand the importance of being peacemakers and who are encouraged to take actions that transform our local communities, ourselves, and the world. youthrive and PeaceJam provide us with the opportunity to work for peaceful, positive change in our neighborhoods and schools through local service learning projects.

Much of what we do is inspired by the Nobel Peace Prize laureates of the PeaceJam Foundation. Through them we learn that no matter who we are or what our position is in the community, each one of us has the ability and the responsibility to be a source for positive change.

In April, Tutu will come to the Twin Cities to share his message, "Making Friends Out of Our Enemies," and to interact with us about our local projects. Tutu will also discuss the broader global call to action with the youth of the world that has been launched by the Nobel laureates working with PeaceJam. Thousands of young people are joining together with the Nobel laureates to work over the next 10 years addressing 10 core problems that cause much of the suffering in the world.

While he is here, Archbishop Tutu will also address youth attending the National Service-Learning Conference hosted by the National Youth Leadership Council (NYLC).

As young people who are striving to learn about critical thinking, ethical leadership, social justice and community issues, watching the controversy unfold over the "where" of Archbishop Tutu's visit has been disappointing. However, we will be focusing our efforts on why he is coming -- and learning about his life, his values and his messages of reconciliation, justice and peace. We encourage youth and adults to learn more about this at youthrive.net.

As today's young leaders, we know that change starts with us. We are grateful to those who choose to do this important work with us.

Frederick Hubulla is a junior at Brooklyn Center High School; Taylor Reed is a sophomore at the Blake School.

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