World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates

The World Summit of Nobel Peace Prize laureates is an annual meeting of Nobel laureates organized in 1999 by then Mayor of Rome Walter Veltroni and President Mikhail Gorbachev.In 2004 Mary Wald was brought on to coordinate the nomination and selection process, and international public relations for what was then named the Man of Peace Award, an award to recognize individuals from culture and entertainment who have made strides for peace and human rights. 

The first recipient to receive the Man of Peace award under Mary's organization was Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens). The award was presented only months after an immigration debacle during which Islam -- who was ans is a pacifist and humanitarian -- was wrongly deported from the US based on vague intelligence received from unnamed sources pinning him as a "terrorist sympathizer." The award received international media attention, including being featured on the nightly news stations in the U.S. Charges against Islam were later dropped and the case reversed.

In subsequent years, under Mary's coordination, the Man of Peace Award was presented to Peter Gabriel, George Clooney and Don Cheadle, growing each year in popularity and exposure and exponentially increasing media exposure for the Summit. When George Clooney and Don Cheadle received the award, Mary coordinated with the UN Secretary General's office and the artists and their publicists on message for the evening. After the post-award press conference, where both focused on the needs for peacekeeping in Sudan, within one hour there were more than 6000 articles on the award internationally, and coverage on all major electronic entertainment media in the US.

a small sampling of the press received for the award:

USA Today: Singer Cat Stevens gets peace prize in Rome

Associated Press: Group honors Gabriel as ‘Man of Peace’

USA Today: Peter Gabriel receives peace award

CBS News Photo Gallery: Man of Peace (Peter Gabriel)

BBC News: Bob Geldof receives peace award

AP: Bob Geldof to receive Man of Peace award

USA Today: Peter Gabriel Receives Peace Award
People Magazine: Clooney and Cheadle Honored by Nobel Prize Winners

Access Hollywood: George Clooney and Don Cheadle Honored by Nobel Prize Recipients