Several Italian local Governments have backed the campaign calling for the next Nobel Peace Prize to be awarded to African women. The campaign was launched by the Nobel Peace Prize for African Woman (NOPPAW) Organisation a couple of years ago and has gained momentum in the last few months. It intends to highlight the important role played by African women in promoting good human relations, harmony and peace in their countries. African women support their families and are the backbone of their national economies. They are responsible for seventy percent of agricultural production and produce eighty percent of Africa’s consumer goods,  With the help of microcredit, African women run tens of thousands of small enterprises in sectors ranging from agriculture to trading and cottage industries. African women continue to defend and feed their children, to take care of the weakest and most vulnerable of their communities. During war, African women endure the massacre of their fathers, brothers, husbands and sons and are forced to watch as their children are taken from them and obliged to fight.. “Women are indeed the backbone of Africa in all the areas of life; from homemaking and raising children to the economy, politics, culture, the arts and the environment. Indeed, it is impossible to conceive of any human future in Africa without their essential, active participation. Without their far-reaching contribution today, there can be no Africa of tomorrow,” NOPPAW says. The campaign urges the international community to find a way to make a crucial difference. This includes awarding the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011 to the African Woman so that her daily struggle might be better publicized, appreciated and held as an example to facilitate human growth in Africa and the world. You are encouraged to back the campaign by signing the online petition !