The Women's Center will launch its first speaker of a semester-long series tonight at 7 p.m. Taking place in Ruffner Hall's main auditorium, the series, titled "Virginia 2020: Women Engaged in the World,"will present six speakers throughout this semester.
Tonight's lecture will feature Diane Johnston, a news consultant for Radio Free Asia.
The Women's Center chose Johnston to begin the series because of her dedication to human rights through RFA. A private corporation that began in 1996 with funding from the U.S. Congress, RFA relays news from Asian countries worldwide.
Johnston, a University alumnus, will be discussing how media, in this case RFA, can be a tool for promoting human rights in general--and women's rights in particular.
Third-year College student Kristin Tracz, an intern at the Women's Center this semester, said she is curious to hear about Johnston's experiences abroad.
"I think it will be interesting to hear Diane's perspective as an American," Tracz said. "Her conception of universal rights and how they apply to an Asian society--and where the compromise between traditional Asian values and traditional Western values will lie for universal rights."
The 2020 series will present a wide variety of women from different backgrounds who unite under a common mission: to improve human rights and the conditions of women at home and abroad.
"We have a variety of speakers throughout the entire semester focusing on different parts of the world," Tracz said. Topics will include both women's and human rights.
Each speaker in the series has had experience in different aspects of the social structure, Tracz said.
"The series is aimed to examine how women are transforming the existing power structures through their work in legal, judicial and international arenas," she said.
Because she is a human rights major in the Political and Social Thoughts program, Tracz said she is especially appreciative of the chance to learn from the women speakers visiting this semester.
"It's wonderful," she said. "This is exactly what I study, exactly what I enjoy. It is a fabulous opportunity to broadcast to the U.Va. community issues that affect us all"
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