Fairfield University's International Studies program and UNIFEM/CT present lecture by Ruth Engo, U.N. senior economic affairs officer

Fairfield University's International Studies program and UNIFEM/CT present lecture by Ruth Engo, U.N. senior economic affairs officer

Image: Ruth Engo Ruth Engo, Ph.D., a native of Cameroon, West Africa, and a senior economics affairs officer at the United Nations, delivers a lecture titled "African Action on AIDs: A Strategy for Social Change," Monday, April 8 at 7:30 p.m. in Fairfield University's DiMenna-Nyselius Library. Engo's visit is sponsored by a number of organizations, most notably the university's International Studies program and UNIFEM/CT, the Connecticut chapter of the United Nations Development Fund for Women. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Founded in 1976, UNIFEM supports projects throughout the developing world that promote the political, economic and social empowerment of women. Engo held positions with UNIFEM from 1985 to 1990, responding to issues of gender equality and economic recovery in Africa and other developing nations. Currently, she is Senior Economic Affairs Officer for the Department of Economic and Social Affairs at the United Nations. She co-founded Advocates for African Food Security in 1986, and in 1991 founded African Action on AIDS. The organization, of which she is president, has locations in 18 African countries.

Engo is also a founding member and past president of the United Nations African Mothers' Association. She is an expert in the area of women's issues, particularly as they relate to Africa, food security and AIDS. She has been a participant in a number of world conferences, including the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995, and has served on the boards of many international organizations, including Oxfam, the Forum for African Voluntary Development Organizations and the World Sustainable Agriculture Association.

Engo received her doctorate in social sciences from Paris University in 1971 and was director of labor in the Republic of Cameroon from 1980 to 1984. She is a mother who enjoys writing poetry and collecting special African textiles and memorabilia of traditional African women.

Other organizations sponsoring the lecture are: Bahai/CT chapter, American Association of University Women/CT chapter, 50 50 by 20 20, and UNA/USA/CT, as well as several on-campus organizations. They are the School of Nursing and the Women's Studies and African Studies programs.

No reservations are required. For additional information, contact Deborah Sommers, Director of Programming for the Quick Center, at (203) 254-4242.

Posted On: 03-06-2002 09:03 AM

Volume: 34 Number: 186