Oct. 4, 2010
Contact:
Claire Miller, 404-413-8118
College of Education
Elizabeth Klipp, 404-413-1356
University Relations
ATLANTA - Ela Gandhi, granddaughter of Mahatma Gandhi and a peace activist in South Africa, will speak at the College of Education's 22nd annual Benjamin E. Mays lecture this week about building a better global society through education.
Free and open to the public, Gandhi's lecture starts at 7 p.m. on Oct. 7 in the Student-University Center's Speakers Auditorium, located at 44 Courtland St.
"We are most fortunate to have Ela Gandhi as the Mays lecturer this year," said Joyce E. King, Benjamin E. Mays Endowed Chair for Urban Teaching, Learning and Leadership at Georgia State. "Her life as an activist, her dedication to social justice and her commitment to sustainable development in South Africa are not only relevant to our understanding of global concerns, but also represent a model of the kind of leadership in service to humanity that Dr. Benjamin E. Mays encouraged."
Gandhi has been empowering and educating communities in South Africa for decades. She was elected the vice president of the Natal Indian Congress in the 1970s and served as a Member of Parliament in South Africa from 1994-2004.
During her 15-year career as a social worker, she worked at Verulam Child Welfare and Durban Indian Child and Family Welfare Society. In addition, she participated in support groups assisting people who had gone to prison and worked with the Detainees Support Committee.
The annual Benjamin E. Mays Memorial Lecture Series, which began in 1989, is intended to encourage the discussion of issues facing urban educational leaders through a series of symposia, conferences and lectures. This program not only honors the memory of Dr. Benjamin E. Mays, but also promotes his philosophy of excellence in the education of those typically least well served by the larger society.