Divided Cities: Between Hope and Despair
United Nations' Anna Tibaijuka to deliver Homecoming Beatty Lecture
McGill University and the Beatty Memorial Lectures Committee are proud to welcome Anna Tibaijuka, executive director of the United Nations program UN-HABITAT, Saturday, October 20, 2007, to deliver the McGill Beatty Memorial Lecture. Mrs. Tibaijuka, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and highest-ranking African woman in the UN system, will deliver the public lecture Divided Cities: Caught Between Hope and Despair on Saturday, Oct. 20, 2007, at 10:00 a.m. at the Centre Mont-Royal (Auditorium), 2200 Mansfield at Sherbrooke.
"We are now at a very significant turning point in history: the year 2007 will be the year in which, for the first time, half of humanity will be living in towns and cities. It marks the beginning of a new urban era," said Mrs. Tibaijuka. "It is projected that by 2030 that figure will rise to two-thirds. The cities growing fastest are those of the developing world. And the fastest-growing neighbourhoods are the slums."
A Tanzanian by birth, Mrs. Tibaijuka is renowned for her dedication to promoting women's rights, particularly the rights to education, land and inheritance. She has done major research on issues ranging from agriculture and rural development to welfare economics and aid policy. She has published five books and a large number of articles and papers. In June 2005, the UN Secretary General appointed Mrs. Tibaijuka as Special Envoy on Human Settlements Issues to report on the impact of the Zimbabwean government's campaign (known as Operation Murambatsvina) to forcibly clear the country's slums.
The Beatty Memorial Lectures were established at McGill in 1952 to bring outstanding international scholars and speakers to the University and to Montreal. The Beatty Memorial Lecture series honours Sir Edward Beatty, who was a dynamic and forceful chancellor and chair of McGill's Board of Governors from 1920 to 1943. The lecture is organized in conjunction with the McGill Alumni Association and is part of the McGill Homecoming schedule.
The lecture Divided Cities: Caught Between Hope and Despair is free and open to the public. Tickets are required and can be obtained in advance at the McGill Bookstore Special Order Desk, 3420 McTavish Street, 3rd floor (514-398-3657).
