The purpose of the prize, which was sponsored by UNIFEM and International Alert, was to recognize leadership that was often neither recognized nor rewarded, yet was essential to holding communities together and to building peace from the community to the negotiating table, Ms. Heyzer explained. While UNIFEM supported women’s leadership in times of peace, it also believed such leadership must be supported in times of crisis and in times of war. The award winners, through their life stories and their commitment, had been at the forefront of peace efforts in their countries, in their communities and worldwide. They had built peace through resistance to violence, and through the creation of space in which dialogue could take place across ethnicities. They were responsible for holding the fabric of society together, and for rebuilding trust across fractured communities. The bronze prize was commissioned from American figurative sculptor Tim Holmes, who has created several such international awards. The sculpture, entitled Anima Mundi, depicts a woman whose facial features combine elements of many races, reaching and striding forward, hand on heart.