Western Nebraska Community College is hosting a lecture sponsored by the University
of Nebraska-Lincoln E.N. Thompson Forum on World Issues focusing on Women's Rights
titled "Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide," presented
by Sheryl WuDunn. This free lecture is open to the public and can be viewed live online
at the John N. Harms Advanced Technology Center in Room A111 at 6 p.m. on Tuesday,
February 23. Participants are welcome to stay for refreshments and a general discussion
following the lecture.
The first Asian-American reporter to win a Pulitzer Prize, Sheryl WuDunn has journeyed
through several industries, from banking to journalism and book writing. Her latest
book, "A Path Appears," is about spreading opportunity and making a difference in
the world. Her previous book, the best-selling "Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into
Opportunity for Women Worldwide," (co-written with her husband, Nicholas Kristof,)
had an immense impact on exposing the plight of oppressed peoples around the globe,
sparking activism and a new sense of awareness worldwide. Thanks to the book's popularity
and global impact, it soon grew into a multi-platform digital media effort that now
includes a highly popular documentary series on PBS, mobile games and an online social
media game on Facebook.
A former vice president at Goldman Sachs, WuDunn possesses an adept understanding of macro and micro economic trends. Selected as one of Newsweek's "150 Women Who Shake the World," she has co-taught on China as part of a global affairs course at Yale University. She frequently discusses economics on major television and radio programs, including Bloomberg TV, Fox Business News and National Public Radio.
Lecture Summary:
The greatest unexploited resource in the world today isn't oil or gold or wind. It's
women.
While there is no simple economic formula for overcoming global poverty, there is
growing evidence that one of the simplest and most effective ways is to educate girls,
empower them with knowledge and the ability to make their own decisions, and then
help them develop financial independence. That way, they are integrated into their
local economy, and potentially, the larger economy of the world.
WuDunn will share stories that serve as reminders of a fundamental truth about gender
injustices around the world: girls aren't just the problem or the victim; they're
also the solution, and their ingenuity and courage is beginning to spread with many
helping hands from the West. There is a growing realization that when you educate
a girl, you educate a village. And there are a growing number of ways to tap into
this increasingly globalized network of empowering women around the world.
E.N. Thompson Forum On World Issues
Over the past two decades, the E.N. Thompson Forum on World Issues has established
itself as one of the preeminent speakers series in higher education. Past Thompson
Forum events have featured, among many others: Mikhail Gorbachev, former president
of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics; Holocaust survivor and peace activist
Elie Wiesel; Camelia Sadat, the daughter of Anwar Sadat and founder of the Sadat Peace
Institute; Maki Mandela, daughter of the former South African president; the Rev.
Peter Gomes, Plummer Professor of Christian Morals at Harvard University; Hedrick
Smith, journalist and expert on the former Soviet Union; Kennedy Administration Secretary
of Defense Robert MacNamara; and Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
For more information, call 308.635.6080 or email communications@wncc.edu.