STEPHEN LEWIS - Special invited Plenary Speaker

Stephen Lewis is one of Canada's most influential commentators on social affairs, international development and human rights. He researches his speeches with obsessive care, enlivens them with personal anecdotes, and is never ashamed to be both passionate and emotional. Most compelling perhaps, is the way in which Stephen engages, moves and motivates his audience so that they emerge challenged and energized.

BIOGRAPHY

Veteran Canadian Diplomat Stephen Lewis is Co-Director of AIDS-Free World (www.aids-freeworld.org), a new international AIDS advocacy organization, based in the United States. He is Chair of the board of the Stephen Lewis Foundation in Canada (www.stephenlewisfoundation.org) and he is a Professor in Global Health in the Faculty of Social Sciences at McMaster University. Stephen Lewis’ work with the United Nations spanned more than two decades. He was the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa from June 2001 until the end of 2006. From 1995 to 1999, Mr. Lewis was Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF at the organization’s global headquarters in New York. From 1984 through 1988, Stephen Lewis was Canada’s Ambassador to the United Nations. Mr. Lewis was an elected member of the Ontario Legislative Assembly from 1963 to 1978. In 1970, he became leader of the Ontario New Democratic Party, during which time he became leader of the Official Opposition. Mr. Lewis is co-chair of the Leadership Programme Committee for the XVII International AIDS Conference, which will be held in Mexico City in August 2008. He also serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative.

Mr. Lewis is the author of the best-selling book, Race Against Time. He holds 28 honorary degrees from Canadian universities and is a Companion of the Order of Canada, Canada’s highest honour for lifetime achievement. He was awarded the Pearson Peace Medal in 2004 by the United Nations Association in Canada; the award celebrates outstanding achievement in the field of international service and understanding. In 2007, the Kingdom of Lesotho (a small mountainous country in Southern Africa) invested Mr. Lewis as Knight Commander of the Most Dignified Order of Moshoeshoe. The order is named for the founder of Lesotho; the knighthood is the country’s highest honour.

For more information, please visit: http://speakers.ca/lewis_stephen.aspx