Founder, Nobel Women’s Initiative
Jody Williams served as the founding coordinator of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines until February 1998. Beginning in early 1992 with two non-governmental organisations and a staff of one – Jody Williams – she oversaw its growth to over 1,300 organisations in 95 countries working to eliminate antipersonnel landmines. In an unprecedented cooperative effort with governments, UN bodies and the International Committee of the Red Cross, the organisation dramatically achieved its goal of an international treaty banning antipersonnel landmines during a diplomatic conference held in Oslo in 1997. Three weeks later, Jody Williams and the ICBL were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. In 2006, along with sister Laureate Shirin Ebadi, Jody Williams established the “Nobel Women’s Initiative,” which uses the prestige and access afforded by the Nobel Prize to promote the efforts of women’s rights activists, researchers and organisations working to advance peace, justice and equality for women.
