Local League obtains national grant to discuss U.S. incentives to end global poverty and build partnerships for international development.

South Bend - The League of Women Voters of the South Bend Area and the American Democracy Project of Indiana University South Bend will team up to host a conversation about foreign policy on Thursday, October 5. The goal of The People Speak is to bring thoughtful discussion and debate about foreign policy to hundreds of thousands of Americans and foreign citizens in their schools, churches, clubs, universities, homes, and civic organizations.

The People Speak event will from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, October 5, in Room 225 of IU South Bend’s Student Activities Center.

The League of Women Voters of the South Bend Area is one of 12 local leagues nationwide to receive a People Speak grant to host a community forum. This year’s discussion will focus on what is perhaps the United States most important foreign policy question, “Achieving the Millennium Development Goals, What’s In It for the U.S.?”

Eight panelists will discuss individually, in the area of their expertise, the Millennium Development Goals to:

1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger

2. Ensure that all boys and girls complete primary school

3. Promote gender equality and empower women

4. Reduce by 2/3 the mortality rate among children under five

5. Reduce by ¾ the ratio of women dying in childbirth

6. Halt and begin to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS and incidence of malaria and other major diseases

7. Ensure environmental sustainability

8. Develop a global partnership for development

Anthropologists, political scientists, biologists, psychologists, economists, and other researchers will lead an open discussion of these international development goals.

The People Speak is the first in a series of Millennium Campaign events to be hosted by the League of Women Voters and the American Democracy Project. The South Bend League received a second grant to conduct a series of follow-up events discussing each of the Millennium Goals. Both the People Speak and the Millennium Campaign events are made possible through funding from the League of Women Voters Education Fund. The American Democracy Project of IU South Bend, with the generous support of the Student Government Association, will co-sponsor these events throughout the academic year. All events are free and open to the public. Community members of all ages and citizenships are encouraged to attend.

Contact: Elizabeth A. Bennion (574)520-4128