Tim Shriver Named “Peacemaker” in 2012

Tim Shriver with Wu Lei at 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Shanghai, China.

An op-ed in the 20 December 2012 Boston Globe by Harvard University professor Nicholas Burns named Special Olympics Chairman & CEO Tim Shriver as a “Peacemaker” in 2012!

Burns, a professor of the practice of diplomacy and international politics at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, asked his students to find “champions of peace” amidst a world of turmoil.

As his article states:

Precious few world leaders seem to be using their power boldly and courageously for peace. Instead, we see the Arab world in revolution without an Anwar Sadat to guide it, Congo without the moral leadership of a Desmond Tutu or Nelson Mandela, Israel without a Yitzhak Rabin who had the courage to talk to the enemy.

But, if we look at this year more closely, it is possible to find people, thousands of them, who may not have the power of a state at their disposal but are pushing the cause of peace step by difficult step in every corner of the world. I asked my Harvard Kennedy School students to help me find champions of peace. Here are some whose dedication to peace at the village, national, and global level should inspire us.

He goes on to list eight individuals and the European Union, explaining each along the way.  Third on the list was our very own Tim Shriver.  Here is the excerpt:

Tim Shriver. Continuing in the tradition of his remarkable parents, he is spreading the magic of the Special Olympics to more than 4 million young people with intellectual disabilities in nearly every country of the world. From an extended family that personifies public service, he is building peace in the hearts of kids and adults alike one at a time.

Read the full op-ed on Harvard University’s website.