Scilla Elworthy (born 3 June 1943 in Galashiels, Scotland) is the founder of the Oxford Research Group, a non-governmental organisation which seeks to develop effective dialogue between nuclear weapons policy-makers worldwide and their critics. She served as its executive director from 1982 until 2003, when she left that role in order to set up Peace Direct, a charity supporting local peace-builders in conflict areas. From 2005 she was adviser to Peter Gabriel, Desmond Tutu and Richard Branson in setting up The Elders.[1] She is a member of the World Future Council and the International Task Force on Preventive Diplomacy. She is also the author of several books[2] and the Director of Programmes for the World Peace Festival to be held in Berlin August 2011.[3]
She has been nominated three times for the Nobel Peace Prize,[1] and in 2003 she was awarded the Niwano Peace Prize for her work with the Oxford Research Group.[4]
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She attended Berkhamsted School for Girls on a Herts County Scholarship before moving to Ireland in 1962 to study social sciences at Trinity College, Dublin. During her vacations, she worked in refugee camps in France and Algiers. After graduating, she travelled round West Africa to South Africa and between 1966 and 1969 became involved in marketing for various boutiques, most notably introducing the Mary Quant range. In 1993, she gained her PhD in political science from Bradford University.
In 1970, she married Murray McLean, a South African entrepreneur. She has one daughter, Polly Jess.
From 1970-1976 she chaired Kupugani, a South African nutrition education organisation, where she set up an initiative which involved the sale of nutritious Christmas hampers to industrial employees thereby providing annual self-financing for the charity of R6million.[5]
In 1976 she helped organise the building and launch of the Market Theatre, South Africa’s first multiracial theatre. Then in 1977 she established the Minority Rights Group in France and in 1978 she researched and delivered their report on female genital mutilation,[6] leading to the World Health Organisation campaign to eradicate the practice. From 1979-81 she became a consultant on women’s issues to UNESCO [7] and it was during this time she researched and wrote UNESCO’s contribution to the 1980 United Nations Mid-decade Conference on Women: "The role of women in peace research, peace education and the improvement of relations between nations".
In 1982 she founded the Oxford Research Group (ORG), an NGO which independently researches decision-making on security in the five major nuclear nations and brings together policy-makers, academics, the military and civil society to engage in dialogue. Elworthy has been nominated three times for the Nobel Peace Prize for her work with ORG[1] and in 2003 she was awarded the Niwano Peace Prize.[8] She remained the executive director of ORG until 2003 and continues to be on their board of trustees.
In 2003 Elworthy stepped down as executive director of ORG in order to found a new charity, Peace Direct, which supports local peace-builders in conflict areas. Peace Direct was named "Best New Charity" at the London Charity Awards2005 and, although she is not involved in the day to day running, Elworthy remains on the board of trustees.
In 2002 she launched a production at the Royal Opera House theatre in London entitled Transforming September 11th. In 2004 she provided the basic material for Max Stafford Clark's production of Talking to Terrorists at the Royal Court Theatre in London; and in 2007 her case study on the siege of Fallujah in Iraq was used as the basis for Jonathan Holmes' production of Fallujah at the Old Truman Brewery in Brick Lane.
Although she has lectured extensively around the world and appeared on television and radio throughout the last 20 years, her work has been less in the public eye recently as she has been advising Richard Branson, Desmond Tutu and Peter Gabriel on the creation of The Elders, "an independent group of eminent global leaders, brought together by Nelson Mandela, who offer their collective influence and experience to support peace building, help address major causes of human suffering and promote the shared interests of humanity."[1][9]
Elworthy lives in England and is a Councillor on the World Future Council, an independent international organisation, launched in 2004 and focussing on the key challenges facing global society today. They have a broad mandate and look to all the issues currently facing humanity and promote successful policies for a sustainable future.
In autumn 2007 she joined the EastWest Institute's International Task Force on Preventive Diplomacy. In 2009 joined the project "Soldiers of Peace", a movie against all wars and for a global peace.
Her work for the World Peace Festival in 2011 includes building seven achievable goals for the Global Peace Building Strategy, adopted by the World Peace Partnership. She and colleagues have produced ‘Tools for Peace’ - a seven step process anyone can use to resolve conflict in the family, workplace or community. Dr Elworthy is designing parts of the Festival programme, including a morning of workshops entitled “Self Knowledge and Global Responsibility” and a day conference on all programmes of the Global Peace Building Strategy, adopted by the World Peace Partnership.
Elworthy is also working on a course in consciousness and conflict transformation for mid career professionals, to be directed in association with Thomas Hübl, in Berlin, starting in late autumn 2011.
Elworthy has written, edited and contributed to myriad reports, articles and books including:
The reports produced by the Oxford Research Group are available from their website or, for the older reports, by contacting them directly.
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