November 4, 2016
On November 8, artist and social activist Forest Whitaker will deliver the Centenary Lecture at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London.
During the lecture, Mr. Whitaker will share a conversation with Baroness Valerie Amos, the Director of SOAS and former UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator. The conversation will focus on Mr. Whitaker’s experiences working in conflict zones with his foundation, the Whitaker Peace & Development Initiative (WPDI), as well as his experiences as a UNESCO Special Envoy for Peace and Reconciliation and a member of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals Advocacy Group.
WPDI's efforts are part of a larger international movement to shift humanitarian aid from a model that simply provides services to fragile communities toward a framework that eliminates the need for aid to begin with. Mr. Whitaker and Ms. Amos will discuss how youth in conflict-impacted regions can be trained and equipped to transform their communities from within.
The event will be webcast and can be viewed at: http://www.soas.ac.uk/centenary/centenary-events/08nov2016-centenary-lecture-forest-whitaker-artist-and-social-activist.html