Nobel Peace Prize-winning journalist Maria Ressa to speak at Asia Leadership Forum
Maria Ressa, a Filipino and American journalist who won the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize for reporting on abuses of power and fake news, will be the distinguished speaker for the Asia Leadership Forum at the University of Notre Dame on March 21. Sponsored by the Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies, the free event starts at 4:30 p.m. in the Patricia George Decio Theatre at the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center.
Notre Dame Law Professor Diane Desierto, a Liu Institute faculty fellow and international human rights attorney, will moderate a discussion after the lecture, which is co-sponsored by Notre Dame International.
Tickets are available at the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center website. Backpacks and large bags will not be permitted at this event.
Additionally, a public discussion of Ressa’s recently released memoir, “How to Stand Up to A Dictator: The Fight for Our Future,” will be held on March 7. Details will follow.
“Maria Ressa’s bravery in speaking truth to power is profound,” said Michel Hockx, director of the Liu Institute. “Her commitment to democracy, especially revealed by her tireless work to expose and fight against fake news, is equally inspiring.”
A former CNN correspondent and bureau chief in Jakarta and Manila, Ressa co-founded the Philippines-based news site Rappler in 2012 with three other women. Rappler earned acclaim for combating fake news in addition to exposing human rights abuses by the regime of former Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte.
In awarding Ressa the 2021 Peace Prize, the Nobel committee wrote, “As an investigative journalist, she has distinguished herself as a fearless defender of freedom of expression and has exposed the abuse of power, use of violence and increasing authoritarianism of the regime of President Rodrigo Duterte. In particular, Ms. Ressa has focused critical attention on President Duterte’s controversial, murderous anti-drug campaign. She and Rappler have also documented how social media are being used to spread fake news, harass opponents and manipulate public discourse.”
In her Nobel acceptance speech, Ressa spoke of the last journalist to win the peace prize, Carl von Ossietzky in 1935, who couldn’t accept the prize because he was being held in a Nazi concentration camp. “By giving the honor to me and Dmitry Muratov of Russia, the Norwegian Nobel committee signaled that the world was at a similar historical moment, another existential point for democracy,” she said.
Born in Manila in 1963, Ressa moved to the United States at age 9 with her family. After studying at Princeton University, she returned to live in the Philippines and launched her journalism career. Among her many awards, her work combating fake news earned Ressa the cover of Time magazine as its 2018 Person of the Year representing journalists fighting disinformation.
The Asia Leadership Forum invites leaders from Asia to discuss topics within a global context. Past speakers are former Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (2015), former Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou (2016) and former United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (2018).
The Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies, part of the Keough School of Global Affairs, promotes awareness, understanding and knowledge of Asia through administering a supplementary major and minor in Asian studies, supporting student and faculty scholarship, organizing public events, and facilitating interaction and exchanges with partners in Asia. The institute was established by a gift from the RM Liu Foundation that supports the philanthropic activities of Robert and Mimi Liu and their children, Emily and Justin, both Notre Dame graduates.
For more information about Ressa’s lecture and the book discussion, sign up for the Liu Institute newsletter or check the institute website at asia.nd.edu/ressa.
Photo source: “Maria” (2010) by Paul Papadimitriou on Wikimedia Commons and Flickr. Modified under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic.
Originally published by the at asia.nd.edu on Feb. 7.
Latest International
- Notre Dame’s Kellogg Institute partners with Vanderbilt University to launch 2025-26 democracy surveyThe University of Notre Dame’s Kellogg Institute for International Studies and Vanderbilt University’s Center for Global Democracy are partnering to advance one of the world’s leading surveys on attitudes toward democracy. Starting in October, the Center for Global Democracy, with support from the Kellogg Institute, will conduct the 2025-26 round of the AmericasBarometer, which tracks public opinion on democracy in 20 countries across the Americas.
- University of Notre Dame joins the Global Coalition of Ukrainian StudiesThe University of Notre Dame has joined the Global Coalition of Ukrainian Studies after signing a memorandum of cooperation, formalized Sept. 24, at the Ukrainian Institute of America in New York City. Notre Dame joined four other American institutions that were also publicly welcomed to the coalition at this event: Arizona State University, Columbia University, Manor College and the Shevchenko Scientific Society.
- Statement from University President Rev. Robert A. Dowd, C.S.C., on the anniversary of the atomic bombing of HiroshimaToday, on the anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima, Father Dowd offered remarks at the Elisabeth University of Music as a guest of its president, Yuji Kawano, and Bishop Alexis Mitsuru Shirahama of Hiroshima. Father Dowd focused on the role that universities can play in addressing the current nuclear predicament and the wider challenges of peace in today’s world.
- Vatican honors Martin and Carmel Naughton with papal awardThe late Pope Francis, in one of his last acts, conferred the honour of the Order of Saint Gregory the Great upon Carmel and Martin Naughton, Trustee Emeritus of the University of Notre Dame. The papal honor is in recognition of the Naughtons’ outstanding philanthropy in the areas of education and the arts, particularly in the provision of philanthropic support and scholarships to Catholic education at the University of Notre Dame and Kylemore Abbey, and in their transformative contributions to higher education in Ireland.
- Prioritizing prenatal care may decrease low birth weight outcomes in The Gambia, Notre Dame research findsA new study co-authored by University of Notre Dame researchers highlights the importance of prenatal care for improving the health of mothers and newborns, providing evidence that can inform policy.
- Navigating the waters of peace: Researchers address challenges, opportunities in implementation of Colombia's Peace AgreementNearly half of the commitments outlined in Colombia's historic peace accord face significant challenges and may not happen in time unless policymakers make several key interventions, warns a new report from Notre Dame's Peace Accords Matrix. The report offers a blueprint to salvage an accord that has lagged behind its implementation deadlines, putting its legacy at risk. It highlights timely fixes that can strengthen the agreement.
.jpg){kind=link}