Nobel Peace Laureate Wangari Maathai to speak in Houston  

HOUSTON, TX—April 17, 2009  Nobel Peace Laureate Wangari Maathai will speak on Friday, April 17for the World Affairs Council of Houston. Wangari will discuss her vision for Africa, formed by three decades as an environmental activist and campaigner for democracy.

Through her Green Belt Movement, Wangari and networks of rural women have planted over 30 million trees across Kenya.  Program partner Trees For Houston will celebrate Wangari’s visit by planting a tree in her honor with Texas Southern University students attending the luncheon. The planting is scheduled for Friday morning at 9:30 a.m. on the TSU campus.

In her new book, The Challenge for Africa, Maathai analyzes the bottlenecks to development at the national and international level, identifying what Africans can and must do for themselves to succeed.  She sees a complex and rapidly changing continent with enormous potential. 

Wangari Maathai is the founder of the Green Belt Movement, an environmentalist, a civil society and women's rights activist, and former member of the Kenyan Parliament. For her work she was awarded the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize. Maathai has received degrees from Mount St. Scholastica College, University of Pittsburgh, and a Ph.D. from the University of Nairobi.  She is the first woman in East and Central Africa to earn a doctorate degree and currently lives in Nairobi.

Wangari’s visit coincides with Earth Day on April 22^nd and the World Affairs Council’s Teach Africa Youth Forum on May 11^th.

PBS will air a documentary about Wangari—Taking Root: The Vision of Wangari Maathai—Tuesday evening, April 14^th.

Event Details: Friday, April 17^th Westin Galleria, 5060 West Alabama

Luncheon: Monarch Room, 24^th Floor, Program: 11:30 am - 1:30 p.m.

Members: $50 Non-members: $60 – Price includes a signed copy of The Challenge for Africa
Evening Lecture: Plaza Ballroom, 3^rd Floor Program: 6:00 – 7:30 pm

Free and open to the public

Media Contact: Kirsten Davis media@wachouston.org (713) 316-4467

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The World Affairs Council presents all sides of current global issues, promotes better understanding of international relations and contributes to national and international policy debates. Membership is open to the public. Go to www.wachouston.org for more information.