Portsmouth Peace Treaty Forum Presents President Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speech – Uncut and Unedited -- on December 12

Portsmouth, New Hampshire (November 24, 2009) – The Portsmouth Peace Treaty Forum is pleased to announce that the 2009 annual commemoration of the awarding of President Theodore Roosevelt’s Nobel Peace Prize will include a full-length rebroadcast of the Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony with an unedited presentation of President Barack Obama’s Nobel Prize acceptance speech. The Portsmouth Peace Treaty Forum takes place on Saturday, December 12 at 1:30 pm at Wentworth By the Sea Hotel – just two days after the actual Prize ceremony and speech in Oslo City Hall.

Since 1901, the Nobel Prizes have been presented to the Laureates at ceremonies on December 10th, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death. The Nobel Peace Prize is presented in Oslo, Norway by the Chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee in the presence of Their Majesties the King and Queen of Norway, the Government, Storting representatives and an invited audience.

Each year the Portsmouth Peace Treaty Forum celebrates the awarding of the 1906 Nobel Peace Prize to President Theodore Roosevelt for his diplomatic skill and the pivotal part the local community played in the negotiations in Portsmouth that ended the Russo-Japanese War. The Forum is  held in the Wentworth ballroom where the Japanese delegation held an appreciation banquet for the Russian delegation and their New Hampshire hosts on September 4, 1905, the eve of the signing of the Treaty.

In announcing the program, Portsmouth Peace Treaty Forum chairman Charles B. Doleac said, “Past Forums have brought scholars and diplomats such as Dennis Ross and Samantha Power to Portsmouth to explore international diplomatic themes ‘in the spirit of the Portsmouth Peace Treaty.’ In that tradition, the Forum will present an uncut video of the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize ceremony and President Obama’s complete acceptance speech so Forum participants  can fully consider this important event in US diplomatic history and not be limited to just the few daily news soundbites  normally selected by the media. It appears that we may be the only ones celebrating this event.”

The Portsmouth Peace Treaty Forum is requesting a $10 donation to attend the screening to help defray the technical costs of making the video available. Space is limited. To reserve tickets in advance call Portsmouth Peace Treaty Forum Director of Public Affairs, Stephanie Seacord at 603-772-1835 or email sseacord@lemd.com

For more information on the Portsmouth Peace Treaty and annual Forum events, NH Humanities Council lectures, exhibits and other special programs, visit www.PortsmouthPeaceTreaty.org