Celebrated diplomat visits New Zealand

The former UN Under-Secretary General and peace award recipient, Anwarul K Chowdhury, will visit New Zealand from August 9 to 14, 2007 to highlight human security issues and promote the culture of peace. Mr Chowdhury was invited as a guest of Soka Gakkai International of New Zealand (SGINZ).

Mr Chowdhury recently retired as the UN High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries & Small Island Developing States. He will open the exhibition “Creating a Culture of Peace - The Right to Human Security" at Parliament on August 9 at 6.30pm and will also present a series of lectures in Wellington and Auckland. You will already have received an invitation to the parliamentary talk by Mr Chowdhury which will form part of the official opening of the exhibition on International Nagasaki Day.

This exhibition and lecture series is designed to appeal to a broad cross-section of New Zealanders, regardless of political affiliation, religious persuasion or cultural background.

Mr Chowdhury’s fist public lecture is titled ‘Human Security – an Essential Element for Creating a Culture of Peace’ and will be delivered at 12.30 pm Thursday 9 August at Lecture Theatre 1, Rutherford House, Pipitea Campus, Victoria University.

Mr Chowdhury’s visit and lecture series is jointly supported the United Nations Association of NZ, the NZ Institute of International Affairs, the Council for International Development and the SGINZ.

Opened at the University of Hawaii in April 2007, the exhibition is a collaboration between Anwarul Chowdhury and Soka Gakkai International and highlights the threats to human security, in particular the precarious logic of arms based security. The NZ tour of the exhibition includes a section celebrating NZ’s anti-nuclear history. Anti-nuclear pioneers, Alyn Ware and Kate Dewes of the Peace Foundation contributed to the development of this section of the exhibition.

Anwarul Karim Chowdhury is a Bangladeshi diplomat noted for his work in championing a global culture of peace, promoting development in the poorest nations and the rights of women and children. He previously served as Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the UN in New York. During his tenure as Permanent Representative Ambassador Mr Chowdhury also served as President of the Security Council, President of UNICEF Executive Board and Vice-President of the Economic and Social Council of the UN. He is the recipient of the U Thant Peace Award and the UNESCO Gandhi Gold Medal for Culture of Peace.

SGINZ is a non-governmental organization with the UN which promotes peace, culture and education based on long standing tradition of Buddhist humanism.

ENDS

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