A long-time political activist, Esther Coopersmith has undertaken several initiatives to promote the rapprochement of cultures in the Middle East, the former Soviet Union, Thailand and India. In 2009, she was appointed a UNESCO goodwill ambassador for intercultural dialogue.

She was chosen to be the president’s observer to UNESCO in 1999 and 2000. In 1985 she was a delegate to the World Conference of the United Nations Decade for Women in Nairobi, Kenya. Between 1981 and 1993, she was an advisor to the U.S. delegation to the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women in Vienna, Austria. She was a U.S. representative to the U.N. in 1979 and 1980.

Mrs. Coopersmith is the recipient of several awards, including the U.N. Peace Prize in 1984, an award that went first to Eleanor Roosevelt. The Center for International Development and Conflict Management at the University of Maryland presented her its Peace Award in 1987. Her humanitarian work has led to awards from the governments of Armenia, Thailand and Russia.