Kumi Naidoo will deliver this year's International Human Rights Lecture at the Mary Robinson Centre, Ballina. Photo: Amnesty International

Global social justice leader Kumi Naidoo to deliver Mary Robinson Centre lecture

South African Kumi Naidoo will shortly become the fifth guest speaker to deliver the prestigious International Human Rights Lecture series at the Mary Robinson Centre, Ballina.

Following in the footsteps of Elders Professor Muhammad Yunus, Graça Machel and Hina Jilani, and US Senator George Mitchell, Mr. Naidoo’s lecture builds on the excellent profile of this lecture series, both for Ballina and for the Mary Robinson Centre.

Kumi Naidoo’s lifelong work as a social justice campaigner was sparked by his experiences as a young man of South Africa’s notorious apartheid regime. Deeply embedded in activism in his local community, his anti-apartheid activities led to multiple arrests and his ultimate exile in England, where he was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University, earning a PhD in political sociology.

Inspired in his work by the great Nelson Mandela, Mr. Naidoo himself has inspired many as a leader, an activist and a voice for change in education, development and social justice – most notably during his time at Greenpeace International, with Africans Rising and Amnesty International.

Kumi travels to Ballina to deliver his lecture at Ballina Arts Centre on March 6 at 2 p.m. The lecture will be followed by a discussion between Mr. Naidoo and Mary Robinson, facilitated by journalist Olivia O’Leary.

The lecture is free of charge and open to the public. For more information or to reserve a seat, visit www.maryrobinsoncentre.ie/events or call the Mary Robinson Centre on (086) 8093965.