January 9, 2006
Shulamith Koenig, 2003 recipient of the UN Human Rights Prize, will pay tribute to Eleanor Roosevelt at the fifth and final program in the Women of Courage Lecture Series, cosponsored by the Wellesley Centers for Women (WCW) and the Boston Research Center for the 21st Century (BRC) on February 1, 2006. The Eleanor Roosevelt Lecture on Global Vision, "In Our Hands Human Rights Is a Way of Life," will be held from 6:00-8:30 p.m. at the BRC, 396 Harvard Street, Cambridge, MA.
The Women of Courage lecture series celebrates women who have taken brave stands on issues such as economic justice, nonviolence, environmental ethics, and human rights. Eleanor Roosevelt chaired the UN Commission that drafted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights – work that she considered her greatest achievement. Ms. Roosevelt was praised for bringing her intellect, compassion, and common sense to the process, and once the document was completed, she urged people to bring it to life, saying, "The destiny of human rights is in the hands of all our citizens in all our communities."
Shulamith Koenig was the driving force behind a campaign advocating for worldwide human rights education which sparked the UN Decade for Human Rights Education (1995-2004). As Executive Director of the Peoples Movement for Human Rights Education (PDHRE), she conducted consultations and workshops with educators and community leaders in more than 60 countries. Under her leadership, PDHRE established "human rights cities" on every continent.
The February 1 program will open with a brief performance, "Eleanor Roosevelt and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights," with historical interpretation from the perspective of the former First Lady by actress Elena Dodd, with direction by Josephine Lane.
The inaugural Women of Courage lecture in 2002 honored Fannie Lou Hamer, a civil rights activist, with a lecture by social activist Linda Stout. In January of 2003, organizers honored Jeannette Rankin, a suffragist and pacifist, with a lecture by Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA). The third lecture in February 2004 honored Rachel Carson, writer, scientist, and ecologist, with a lecture by environmental author Janine Benyus. In January 2005 Reverend Gloria E. White-Hammond, M.D., spoke at the Harriet Tubman Lecture on Human Rights.
For more than 30 years, the Wellesley Centers for Women (WCW) has been a driving force — both behind the scenes and in the spotlight — promoting positive change for women and men, girls and boys. The world’s largest women's research center, WCW brings together an interdisciplinary community of scholars engaged in research, training, analysis, and action.
The Boston Research Center for the 21st Century (BRC) is an international peace institute that envisions a worldwide network of global citizens developing cultures of peace through dialogue and understanding. The Center's mission is to cultivate an inclusive sense of community, locally and globally. Its current programs focus on women's leadership for peace, global citizenship education, and the philosophy and practice of community building.
The February 1 program is free and open to the public; seating is limited.
