The human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Tawakkol Karman has been invited to take part at the 2017 International Speaker Series hosted by the World Affairs Council of Oregon. 

According to the council’s official webpage, Mrs. Tawakkol Karman is going to deliver a lecture under the title “Freedom & Democracy in the Middle East" on Thursday, April 6 at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall in Portland, Oregon.  

Under the theme of “NOW/NEXT”, this year’s event explores the horizon of major global ideas and issues alongside some of the most vibrant thinkers, writers, and doers of today, states the organizer.    

In a related context, Rick Steves, popular public television host and best-selling author gave a lecture entitled “Travel as a Political Act” within the council’s 2017 International Speaker Series on 1 March.  

On next May, the World Affairs Council of Oregon will also New York Daily News journalist Shaun King to discuss "The New Civil Rights and Global Justice." King is one of the rising go-to voices for crucial conversations around social justice, race, and inequality.

Journalists and authors Deborah and James Fallows will jointly speak on the topic of "Understanding China" on next June. 

The International Speaker Series began in 2000 in celebration of the World Affairs Council of Oregon’s 50th anniversary. Speakers have included Hillary Rodham Clinton, Mikhail Gorbachev, Condoleezza Rice, Vicente Fox, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Madeleine Albright, Desmond Tutu, Sandra Day O’Connor, Bono, and Bill Moyers, among many others. 

Over the past 17 years, the Series has become the nation’s premier speaker series presenting the people, ideas, and issues shaping our global future.