UMass Lowell to Honor Farah Pandith for Exemplary Public Service
06/03/2013
Contacts: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944 or Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu, Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209 or Christine_Gillette@uml.edu
* Media Advisory *
Tuesday, June 4
6 p.m.
What: Farah Pandith, the U.S. State Department’s first special representative to Muslim communities will meet with dozens of international leaders during the Women in Public Service Project Conference to discuss the roles of women in politics and diplomacy.
Pandith has traveled to more than 80 countries, engaging with Muslims and Muslim organizations and launching youth-focused social-media and other global initiatives that build understanding and peace. She will give the keynote address during the Celebration of Women Dinner, when she will receive UMass Lowell’s first-ever Public Service Award for her outstanding contributions to the field.
With UMass Lowell leading the effort, this year’s conference is the first to involve a consortium of public universities throughout the United States that bring their resources and expertise to bear in cultivating women leaders around the world.
Beyond Pandith’s talk, the conference will explore how economic development and innovation can foster peace in Afghanistan, Liberia, Northern Ireland and Turkey, with a focus on how gender affects economic policies, the link between peace and financial security and women’s contributions toward advancing peace.
The Women in Public Service Project envisions that by 2050, 50 percent of the world’s leaders will be women. The project was founded in 2011 and now involves private and public colleges and universities and other partner institutions. UMass Lowell serves as the hub for public-university involvement.
Where: UMass Lowell Inn & Conference Center, 50 Warren St., Lowell. Note: Media interested in covering Pandith’s speech must contact UMass Lowell media relations no later than Monday, June 3.