Keynote speakers for Congress 2008 announced
Toronto, Canada - WACC is pleased to announce the keynote speakers for its upcoming international communications conference, Congress 2008. These include Dr. Noeleen Heyzer, the former Director of UNIFEM, Ruth Ojiambo Ochieng, a women’s rights advocate from Uganda, Doreen Spence, an indigenous woman from the Cree Nation in northern Canada and Fr. Marcelo Rezende Guimarães, a Brazilian priest and a member of the Amnesty International.
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Dr. Noeleen Heyzer will address issues of media and gender justice. Heyzer, from Singapore, has received several awards for her leadership in promoting gender equality including the Woman of Distinction Award from the UN-NGO Committee on the Status of Women and the Dag Hammarksjold medal. In July 2007, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed her Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) in Bangkok with the rank of Under-Secretary-General.
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Ruth Ochieng will address the theme “ Power, conflict, and peace: Telling the story.” Ochieng is an internationally-recognized advocate for women’s rights, known for her extensive research on communication rights and women in armed conflict situations in the global south.
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will address the theme “ Communication Rights” in examining the role of the media in building peaceful, viable communities. She serves as a human rights advocate for indigenous peoples worldwide through her work with international organizations such as the United Nations and the Permanent Forum for Indigenous Peoples.
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Marcelo Rezende Guimarães, a Brazilian priest, will address the theme of “New communication and information technologies”.The author of A New World Is Possible, published by WACC, serves as an adviser to peace projects and is a member of Amnesty International.