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Sheri Liao, China's most prominent environmental activist and journalist, and the president and founder of the Global Village of Beijing, will speak at ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ÊÓƵÎÞÏÞÖƹۿ´ on Wednesday, Oct. 10 at 8 p.m., in the Kelley Theater of the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts. As part of the program, she will receive an honorary doctor of laws degree from the University. The event is free and the public is welcome.

The Global Village of Beijing is an internationally recognized non-profit and non-governmental organization dedicated to environmental education, public participation and community services. A principal focus of Liao's work has been promoting a sense of individual responsibility and empowerment in relation to environmental issues in China. She has called for a "Citizen Forum on Environmental Protection," and launched grassroots environmental campaigns including "Green Olympics and Green Life" and "Earth Day - China."

In addition, Liao independently produced "Time for Environment," an environmental program that was broadcast weekly by China Central Television (CCTV) for five years. She also filmed large-scale TV series including, "Environmental Protection in Our Life" and "Global Environmental View." Through various media and presentations all over the world, she has advocated the idea of Green Life and integrated environmental protection.

Among the many honors Liao has received for her work have been the 2000 Sophie Prize in Norway, established to inspire people working towards a sustainable future, and the 2001 Banksia International Award in Australia, which recognizes environmental excellence. In 2002, she was named one of the "Ten Outstanding Women in China" by the magazine "Chinese Women," and in 2005, Liao received the "Annual Economic Figure Social Commonweal Award" from China Central Television (CCTV). She has been named an environmental advisor of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad.

After obtaining her master's degree in philosophy from Sun Yat-Sen University in 1986, Sheri Liao worked as a researcher with the China Academy of Social Science for five years, before becoming a visiting scholar on International Environmental Politics at the University of North Carolina. Committed to developing environmental education in China, she returned to Beijing to found the Global Village of Beijing in 1996.

Posted On: 10-03-2007 10:10 AM

Volume: 40 Number: 66