THE CARTER CENTER: WAGING PEACE, FIGHTING DISEASE, BUILDING HOPE

Every day in countries all over the world, people live under difficult, 
life-threatening conditions caused by war, disease, famine and poverty. 
The Carter Center in Atlanta strives to alleviate this suffering through 
projects that prevent and resolve conflicts, enhance freedom and 
democracy and improve health.

One of Atlanta's premier international institutions, the Center is a 
nongovernmental, nonprofit organization founded in 1982 by former US 
President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn. A part of Emory 
University, the Center's activities are led by resident experts and fellows 
and implemented in cooperation with world leaders, other 
nongovernmental organizations, international agencies and other 
partners.

To date, the Center has helped improve the lives of people in more 
than 65 countries. In addition to high-profile conflict mediations in 
Bosnia, Haiti and North Korea, the Center has monitored some 20 
elections in countries making transition to democracy, helped to 
dramatically increase grain production in more than a dozen African 
countries, provided leadership for an international coalition trying to 
eradicate Guinea worm disease in Africa, worked with countries to 
protect and promote human rights, and marshaled Atlanta neighborhoods 
and corporations to address the social issues associated with poverty.

The President's Message

When President Jimmy Carter left the White House, he wasn't ready to 
abandon his commitment to the issues that were important to him.
"I was fairly young for a former president, one of the youngest to 
survive the White House. I still had a large number of issues that 
interested me that I wanted to pursue as a private citizen. I saw The 
Carter Center as an institution that could address issues related to peace, 
human rights, democracy and the alleviation of suffering.," said Carter. 
"We adhere to some basic principles at The Carter Center. We don't 
duplicate what others are doing; we are strictly nonpartisan; and we are 
involved only in action programs, as opposed to just conducting 
academic analyses."

In the Center's annual report, Carter writes, "Last year, Rosalynn and I 
visited more than three dozen countries on five continents. What strikes 
us are the similarities among peoples. Wherever we go, parents want the 
same things for their children: a decent home, enough to eat, good health 
care, and opportunities to achieve their full potential. 

"When we look into their eyes, we understand that hope brings us 
together. That's why The Carter Center's work is so important - now 
and in the future."

Major initiatives: Health and Peace Worldwide

The Carter Center has improved the lives of millions in Africa, Latin 
America and in the US through its health initiatives, which include the 
following:

* Leading a worldwide campaign that has achieved more than 95 percent 
eradication of Guinea worm disease in Africa and parts of Asia. It will be 
only the second disease after smallpox to be eradicated.

* Fighting river blindness in Africa and Latin America through a global 
coalition to distribute medicine to control the disease. Since 1996, Carter 
Center-assisted programs have provided nearly 9 million drug treatments 
to people in both regions.

 * Working to erase the stigma of mental illness and to improve access to 
and quality of care for the 50 million Americans who experience mental 
disorders every year.

* Promoting preventative health care in communities through a network 
of faith groups in US cities.

* Improving health by helping farmers in Africa double, triple or 
quadruple their yields of maize, wheat and other grains. For example, 
Ghana doubled maize (corn) production during a 10 year period, while 
Sudan raised wheat production by 400 percent over a period of 5 years.

The Carter Center has also helped countries transition to democracy, 
assisted in non-violent solutions to conflict and advocated for human 
rights worldwide. The Center has provided the following action 
initiatives for peace and human rights:

* Monitoring multiparty elections in more than a dozen countries to 
promote democracy.

* Seeking peaceful solutions to civil conflicts in places such as Sudan, 
Haiti, Nicaragua, the Korean Peninsula, and the Great Lakes region of 
Central Africa.

* Promoting democracy and economic cooperation in the Western 
Hemisphere.

* Preventing human rights violations worldwide.

* Strengthening human rights and economic development in emerging 
democracies.

* Helping inner-city families and children with quality of life issues such 
as jobs, early education, after-school programs and health care.

Facilities, Funding and Staff

On October 1, 1986, The Carter Center moved from the Emory 
University campus to its current site on 35 wooded acres overlooking 
downtown Atlanta. Four circular, interconnected buildings house offices 
for Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter and most of the Center's 180-member 
staff. The Ivan Allen III Pavilion, which includes the Cecil B. Day 
Chapel, opened in 1993.

Resident experts and fellows, some of whom teach at Emory 
University, direct the Center's programs. More than 100 undergraduate 
and graduate students annually work with Center programs for academic 
credit or practical experience. The Center is governed by a 22-member 
Board of Trustees, with President Carter as chair and Mrs. Carter as vice 
chair. 

Private donations from individuals, foundations and corporation 
financed construction of The Carter Center's facilities. These and other 
donors continue to support the current annual budget with contributions 
of cash and materials totaling approximately $49 million.

Adjoining the Center is The Jimmy Carter Library and Museum, a 
repository for Carter administration records, operated by the National 
Archives and Records Administration of the federal government. The 
Museum provides a glimpse of the American presidency, from life in the 
White House to complex decisions made in the Oval Office.

Working for The Carter Center

There are a broad range of career opportunities offered at the Carter 
Center, according to the Center's Human Resources Director Mike 
Turner. 

"We have positions in fundraising, program coordinators for peace and 
health projects, various administrative and technical specialists, and other 
jobs typical of work in a nongovernmental organization," he said.
Working at The Carter Center, whether it is in the field with those that 
the Center seeks to help or through administrative or program support in 
the Atlanta headquarters, allows people to be part of the Center's overall 
goal of facilitating peace and freedom throughout the world.

"Each employee is committed to the mission statement of The Carter 
Center - it relates to all of our operating areas, whether or not you are 
directly associated with a program," said Turner. "We all feel a part of 
President Carter's mission of waging peace, fighting disease and building 
hope. Our employees are really interested because of the nature of the 
work and that is what is important to them."