Global head of Oxfam to visit University

Tue May 30 2017 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)

Global head of Oxfam to visit University

30 May 2017

The global head of Oxfam International, Winnie Byanyima, will be a special guest of the University of Auckland’s Faculty of Arts on Monday 12 June.

Born in Uganda, Ms Byanyima is renowned as a grassroots activist, human rights advocate, senior international public servant and world-recognised expert on women's rights.

Ms Byanyima will take part in a public conversation with invited academics at the University’s Fale Pasifika.

“This is a rare opportunity to hear a global leader who has special insight into some of the more troubling issues of our time such as the growth of global inequality, the struggles for democratic governance, the challenges of peace-keeping and the tragedy of gender inequality,” says Associate Professor of Development Studies, Yvonne Underhill-Sem.

Associate Professor Underhill-Sem, who is co-chair of Oxfam New Zealand’s Governance Board, says Ms Byanyima has the ability and vision to lead new initiatives and new thinking and action on a global level.

“She is highly regarded in the global development, peacekeeping and gender arena because of her insights and analysis but also because of the courage of her leadership.”

Ms Byanyima has served as a member of the Ugandan Parliament; been on the African Union Commission and was the Director of Gender and Development at the United Nations Development Programme. She took on her five-year role at Oxfam in May 2013.   

“We must seize every opportunity to support poor people to claim their rights, and to finally escape poverty, hunger and injustice,” she says. “I believe the world needs a strong civil society now more than ever before.”

Ms. Byanyima holds a Masters in Mechanical Engineering in Energy Conservation and the Environment from the University of Cranfield.

Ends

Ms Byanyima will speak at the University of Auckland’s Fale Pasifika from 10–12.30pm on Monday, 12 June.

For more information contact Associate Professor Yvonne Underhill-Sem on 021 045 3020.

Media Contact

Tess Redgrave| Media Relations Advisor

Faculty of Arts

Email: t.redgrave@auckland.ac.nz  

Tel: +64 9 373 7599 ext 87383

Tel: +64 9 923 7383

Mobile: +64 (027 5625868)

**Editor’s notes
**
Ms Byanyima  was a signatory to her country’s 1985 peace agreement and has helped to broker and support women’s participation in peace processes in Rwanda, South Africa, Burundi, Sudan and other countries emerging from conflict.

She co-founded a 60-member Global Gender and Climate Alliance of civil society, bilateral and multilateral organizations and chaired a UN-wide task force on gender aspects of the Millennium Development Goals, and on climate change.

She has served on numerous global boards and commissions including the African Capacity Building Foundation and the International Centre for Research on Women. In 2015 she co-chaired the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos.