Georgia Southern Honors College fosters international relationships, celebrates first year of Partners in Peace participation
快猫app短视鈥檚 Honors College continues to expand its connections with international institutions of higher learning.
In May, Honors College Dean Steven Engel, Ph.D., and Professor of Geography Amy Potter, Ph.D, attended the first-ever Oslo Peace Congress in Norway and presented information about the Partners in Peace (PiP) Honors colloquium held earlier this year at 快猫app短视, in partnership with the Nobel Peace Center and the National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC). This marks the first year of Georgia Southern鈥檚 participation in the PiP program.
“Attending the Oslo Peace Congress was an excellent opportunity to learn from others who are integrating the Nobel Peace Prize into their honors experiences,鈥� said Engel. 鈥淎t Georgia Southern, our Honors Global Scholars participated in the Partners in Peace colloquium and generated research on the Nobel Peace Prize and presented their work on campus. Sharing that impactful experience with our international partners was rewarding and generated wide interest among fellow participants.”
As for the Oslo Peace Congress, the experience included visits to The Norwegian Nobel Institute, where the committee meets and announces the Peace Prize recipient each October; a reception with the Mayor of Oslo at City Hall, where the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony is held every December 10; and Ut酶ya, an island used for youth camps and the site of the July 22, 2011, terrorist attack.
Potter and Engel also met J酶rgen Watne Frydnes, current chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee and author of 鈥淣o Man Is an Island: Community and Commemoration on Norway鈥檚 Ut酶ya.鈥� He spoke about his work as the former CEO of Ut酶ya and the ongoing challenge of balancing remembrance, education and healing on the island.
鈥淲hat struck me most about Ut酶ya was the commitment to remembrance without allowing tragedy to define the future,鈥� Potter explained. 鈥淭he island serves as a remarkable example of how education can be used to transform loss into action. As educators, experiences like this are incredibly important because they give us powerful examples to share with our students, helping them understand how communities can confront difficult histories while still investing in hope, democracy and the next generation of leaders.鈥�
However, Potter鈥檚 contributions to broadening the University鈥檚 international presence are an ongoing, multinational effort. At the beginning of this year, she was selected as a Fulbright Specialist and participated in a short-term exchange with Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana in Colombia where she collaborated with faculty at the university鈥檚 Monter铆a campus on the project 鈥淐olombia鈥揢.S. Dialogue on Global Water & Sustainability.鈥� In March, she also embarked on a six-week Global Honors Scholars program in County Wexford, Ireland, to cultivate community-led research through Georgia Southern鈥檚 Wexford Learning Center.
Natassia Mason, an Honors Global Scholar and political science major who took part in the Partners in Peace colloquium last year, will travel to Oslo later this year after being selected to participate in the virtual Fall 2026 Partners in Peace course, 鈥淭he Nobel Peace Prize Laureates: Exemplars of Determination, Faith, and Hope in Striving Toward Peace.鈥� The course will be housed at the Oslo New University College and led by Henrik Syse, the immediate past vice-chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee.
After completing the course, Mason, one of 20 students selected nationwide, will travel to Oslo during Nobel Peace Prize Week to attend events surrounding the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony on Dec. 10, 2026.
鈥淚 am incredibly grateful to participate in the Partners in Peace program, which has helped me deepen my understanding of peace and global relations and relate these concepts to related research and development. I look forward to applying what I have learned during the upcoming Oslo program,鈥� Mason said.