Media Advisory: Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to speak at UB

The University at Buffalo will kick off its 2009-10 Distinguished Speakers Series with a lecture by former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan to be held at 8 p.m. today (Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2009) in Alumni Arena on the UB North (Amherst) Campus.

Annan, the 2009 Undergraduate Student Choice Speaker, has had a distinguished career since leaving the UN post in 2007. He chairs the committee for the Mo Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership; leads the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa; is a member of the Global Elders, the international assemblage of elder statesmen, peace activists and human rights advocates; is president of the Global Humanitarian Forum in Geneva, and received the MacArthur Foundation Award for International Justice.

In 2008 Annan was named chancellor of the University of Ghana, and this year joined the Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs Global Fellows Program, which brings students together with global practitioners to share firsthand knowledge of experiences in the lives of international or public figures.

During his presentation, audio and/or visual photography, as well as still photography, will be limited to the first five minutes of the lecture.

Working media may reserve tickets for the program by contacting Christine Vidal in Office of University Communications at 645-4607 or vidal@buffalo.edu no later than noon on Wednesday, Sept. 16. Reserved tickets may be picked up at the will-call window in Alumni Arena prior to the lecture.