CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Aruna Roy, a community activist and campaigner for freedom of information in India, will lecture on “Speaking Truth to Power” on March 13 at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Roy’s lecture will begin at 7:30 p.m. in Illini Room C at the Illini Union, 1401 W. Green St., Urbana.
The lecture, free and open to the public, is the 15th Annual Daniel S. Sanders Peace and Social Justice Lecture, sponsored by the university’s School of Social Work. Sanders was a dean of the school and known internationally for his peace, human rights and social justice work.
The lecture also is the last of several events being held March 10-13 to celebrate the school’s 60th anniversary.
Roy is known for her efforts to improve living standards for India’s millions of villagers, especially by exposing corruption and inefficiency among local officials. She has played a significant role in persuading the legislatures of eight Indian states to implement Right to Information Acts, modeled in part on the Freedom of Information Act in the U.S. She also has sought to implement similar legislation nationwide.
