(via Dr. Clara Chu, Director and Mortenson Distinguished Professor at Mortenson Center, UIUC Library)
Please join the Mortenson Center at the University of Illinois’s Urbana-Champaign campus and partly online for the 32nd Annual Mortenson Distinguished Lecture on Wednesday, September 21. It will start with a Brown Bag Panel from 12:15 to 1:15 PM CDT (in person only), followed by the lecture itself, “Immortalizing the Voiceless”, from 3:30 to 5:00 PM (both in person and livestreamed). There will also be refreshments from 5:00 to 5:45 PM. Please see below for more details, including the locations of the in-person sessions.
These events celebrate Libraries for Peace (L4P) Day as the world community observes International Day of Peace on Wednesday, September 21. The United Nations General Assembly has declared this as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, both within and among all nations and peoples. The theme in 2022 is “End racism. Build peace”. Join the UN to #FightRacism. These events are also part of Welcoming Week 2022 in Champaign County, a weeklong celebration of immigration that brings together neighbors from all backgrounds to build strong connections and affirm the importance of welcoming inclusive places.
The Brown Bag Panel on “News, Stories and Information in the Peacebuilding Process” will take place from 12:15 to 1:15 PM CDT at 106 Main Library, 1408 W. Gregory Dr., in Urbana. The moderator will be Steve Witt, Director, Center for Global Studies and Head of the International and Area Studies Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Panelists include the following individuals.
- Charles “Stretch” Ledford, Associate Professor of Journalism, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- Jane Ray, Consultant Artistic Director, Whicker’s World Foundation and Documentary Filmmaker
- Mike Thomson, Annual Mortenson Distinguished Lecturer, BBC World Affairs Correspondent, Presenter and Author (please see below for more information)
The 32nd Annual Mortenson Distinguished Lecture itself will take place in person from 3:30 to 5:00 PM CDT at the School of Information Sciences, Room 126, 501 E. Daniel Street, in Champaign. There is also a live-streaming option. Registration is required for both options (see below).
The presenter is Mike Thomson, BBC World Affairs Correspondent and author of the 2019 work Syria’s Secret Library. The moderator is Melita Garza, Associate Professor and Tom and June Netzel Sleeman Scholar in Business Journalism.
Abstract
Enabling those affected by war and tyranny to tell their stories, giving voice to the voiceless, empowers us all. Not only is being heard cathartic for those who have lost so much, it also helps us all to truly engage with their plight, deepening our desire to help in whatever ways we can. We all know that hundreds of thousands of people are near starving in Yemen or being butchered in places like Syria and Ukraine, but knowing is rarely enough. We need to feel, to identify, to realise that this could be us or our loved ones. To be linked to the thread of humanity that connects us all, whatever our country, creed or culture.
Yet until recently people’s heartfelt stories told on the ephemeral media of radio and TV were soon forgotten, their often unretrievable words lost in the past. Now thanks to big advances in digital technology such precious voices live on online and in numerous digitised archives around the globe, helping to inspire as well as inform us. The BBC’s veteran International Correspondent, Mike Thomson trawls through his own expansive news archives, to reveal some extraordinary voices from distant and often troubled places.
About Mike Thomson
Mike Thomson is a multi-award-winning International correspondent for the BBC. Over the last couple of decades his work has taken him to many of the world’s most troubled places. These have included Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, North Korea, Darfur, DR Congo, Sierra Leone, North Sinai, Colombia and the Central African Republic. He has undertaken acclaimed undercover investigative assignments in places such as Libya, Zimbabwe and Myanmar and covered some of the world’s biggest news events. The latter range from the wars in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan and the devastating Haiti earthquake to the election of several US presidents, the fall of Gaddafi and the death of Nelson Mandela.
In-person attendees are welcome to stay from 5:00 to 5:45 PM CDT for refreshments, at the same location.
For more information, including the link to register for the Lecture, please go here or e-mail mortenson@illinois.edu.