International Women’s Rights Advocate to Speak at Day Without Violence
03/31/2016
Contacts: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944 or Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu and Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209 or Christine_Gillette@uml.edu
* Media Advisory *
Tuesday, April 5, 12:30 p.m.
What: Sanam Naraghi-Anderlini, an internationally respected women’s rights advocate and UMass Lowell’s 2016 Greeley Scholar for Peace Studies, will discuss how dangerous extremism around the world can be countered by promoting inclusion during the university’s annual Day Without Violence, a free event for the campus and public.
Observed annually on college campuses across the country, the Day Without Violence was launched in 1996 by the Peace Studies Association – of which UMass Lowell is a founding member – and pays homage to the legacy and work of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Previous Day Without Violence speakers at UMass Lowell include 2011 Nobel Peace Prize winner Leymah Gbowee, South African anti-apartheid leader Albie Sachs and humanitarian John Prendergast, all of whom were also Greeley Scholars.
Naraghi-Anderlini is the co-author of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325, a groundbreaking mandate that requires warring factions to prevent gender-based violence against women and girls, uphold their rights and include them in peace-building efforts. She serves as the director of the International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN), a nonprofit organization in Washington, D.C., that she founded in 2006 to promote peace in countries with closed political systems that are experiencing conflict.
The theme of her Day Without Violence talk is “Extremism in the Mainstream: Preventing Escalation of Violence by Promoting Rights, Peace and Pluralism.” In addition to members of the UMass Lowell community, students from schools including Greater Lowell Technical High School are scheduled to attend the program, which is open to the public.
As UMass Lowell’s 2016 Greeley Scholar for Peace, Naraghi-Anderlini will guest-lecture in courses about human rights through the university’s Peace and Conflict Studies Program in April and will lead other programs in the community.
Where: O’Leary Library Learning Commons, Room 222, South Campus, 61 Wilder St. Lowell. Contact UMass Lowell media relations for directions and parking information.