Betty Williams

Betty Williams never fully anticipated the impact and the result of being thrust into the international spotlight when she won a Nobel Peace Prize in 1976. Her tireless efforts to unite the people of Northern Ireland and commit them to peace, was just the beginning of what has become a lifelong commitment to working for a more civil, just and compassionate world.

For more than 20 years, in the true spirit of an international citizen, Williams has traveled the world, working with fellow Nobel Laureates to evaluate and come to the aid of areas where the cause of peace, and especially the safety and well-being of children, is at risk.

In 1997, she founded the nonprofit organization, World Centers of Compassion for Children, seeking to translate her vision into a reality. The WCCC works to save the world’s children by creating safe havens where they will be fed, sheltered, nurtured and encouraged to grow to their fullest potential. The WCCC, with the aid of other organizations, takes the necessary steps to enable children to regularly address the United Nations General Assembly and establish a voice within the Court of Human Rights.

Charming, persuasive, brutally honest and firmly focused, Williams is a rising force throughout the world. Her efforts not only seek to mend what has gone wrong, but ultimately, to make the world a better place for those who will be responsible for its future.

"I've traveled the world on behalf of children, and I can only tell you that a child's blood is the same all over the world: that they smile in all languages and they die in all politics." - Betty Williams