There are amazing people capable of changing the world--yes.

Nelson Mandela, Malala, Martin Luther King Jr.: nearly superhuman in their strength, vision and empathy.

But most of the time the world changes in the right direction because a variety of voices merge, the din of the crowd finds the right pitch. People exchange ideas, learn from one another, practice patience and find common ground.

The slow, hard process of democracy seems exceedingly difficult in parts of the world, but when it’s genuinely committed to, things nobody thought possible can happen.

That’s the basis of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, awarded to a quartet of Tunisian organizations that stuck together in the turmoil of revolution and emerged with a democratic nation.

The Arab Spring began in Tunisia at the end of 2010, when a man set himself on fire in blazing protest, setting in motion uprisings across the Middle East that toppled governments and set loose vicious ideologies that proclaim: only one perspective can exist.

Democracy did not come easy for Tunisia. Foes were everywhere. An Islamist party that sought to put an end to gender equality gained power in 2012. Opposition leaders were assassinated in 2013. And violence regularly marred day-to-day life.

But four organizations persevered and championed democracy.

These are organizations founded for the common good, founded to elevate each person through collective action, founded on the principle of equality.

Throughout the transition, they encouraged dialogue and fostered a moderate party committed to equality that eventually took power from ideologues.

Peace is by no means guaranteed. Violence has threatened the stability of the new government. Terrorists have slaughtered hundreds of people this year alone.

But the Nobel Peace Prize acts as a spotlight and a spur. It directs the world’s attention to brave men and women who humbly pursue peace in circumstances that seem impossible.

It bolsters a fledgling government that needs all the support it can get. And it probably inspires this quartet as they struggle to maintain democracy, reminding them that the world is on their side.

Tunisia reminds us that democracy is possible. That democracy works. That in a region of increasing turmoil, lights of hope can emerge and remain lit, stoked by the hopes and voices of a thousand, a million, keepers of peace.

You can help make sure these Nobel Peace Prize winners achieve the peace they have worked so hard for by going to TAKE ACTION NOW and calling on world leaders to support Global Goal 16: Peace and Justice everywhere.