The Literary and Debating Society, NUI Galway, will host a public address by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, at 5pm on Sunday, 15 February, in Áras na Mac Léinn, NUI Galway. The Nobel Peace Prize winner will speak about the global legacy of aid, justice and charity.

Originally from the Transvaal region of South Africa, Desmond Tutu was ordained a priest in the Anglican Church in 1961, became Bishop of Lesotho in 1976, and by 1986 was his country's highest Anglican official as Archbishop of Cape Town.

In 1984, Archbishop Tutu was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his anti-apartheid work in South Africa. As part of the struggle against apartheid, he championed economic sanctions throughout the 1970s and 1980s. When the apartheid regime fell in the 1990s, he was appointed as head of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Nelson Mandela's new government. Speaking about Archbishop Tutu, Nelson Mandela has said he is: “Sometimes strident, often tender, never afraid and seldom without humour, Desmond Tutu's voice will always be the voice of the voiceless”.

Dr Vinodh Jaichand, a national of South Africa, is a lecturer with the Irish Centre for Human Rights, NUI Galway: “For South Africans, Archbishop Tutu continues to be the voice of conscience in South Africa, reminding us of things we so easily forget. His stance on controversial topics has always made us think twice”.

Archbishop Tutu will receive the Literary and Debating Society’s President’s Medal, the society’s highest accolade. This award has been accepted in the past by philosopher and linguist Noam Chomsky, US Senator Mike Gravel, Congressman Bruce Morrison, and former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern.

Dan Colley, Auditor of Literary and Debating Society at NUI Galway, says: “Recipients of the President’s Medal are those who we feel have made a significant contribution to the Society’s first principal, freedom of speech; as well as made a significant contribution to wider society. Archbishop Tutu, as one of the world’s foremost human rights activists and a leader who spoke out against totalitarianism, embodies the spirit of the award. We look forward to welcoming him as our honoured guest”.

Tutu retired as archbishop in 1996 but has remained active on the international scene, most recently as part of a group called ‘The Elders’, which comprise high profile public figures drawn from across the globe. The mission of the group is to ‘contribute their wisdom, independent leadership and integrity to tackling some of the world's toughest problems and committed to working on pressing issues confronting society today’.

Other members of The Elders who have previously visited NUI Galway include Mary Robinson and Nelson Mandela.

Priced at €5 each, proceeds from ticket sales for the event will go to a charity of Archbishop Tutu’s choosing. Tickets can be purchased from Monday, 2 February from the Socs Box on campus (Tel: 091 492852), as well as from Zhivago Records on Shop Street, Galway.

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Notes to editors:

As well as the Nobel Peace Prize, Tutu has won the Ghandi Peace Prize (2005) and the Albert Schweitzer Prize for Humanitarianism which has also been won by Jimmy Carter.

More info on The Elders can be found at http://www.theelders.org/