Special Event

Conference Keynote and Ford Family Notre Dame Award: Oby Ezekwesili

Obiageli “Oby” Ezekwesili
Thu
Mar
17
The Ford Family Notre Dame Award for International Human Development and Solidarity recognizes substantial contributions to human development through research, practice, public service, or philanthropy. Recipients are honored for standing in solidarity with those in deepest need. The award is named in honor of University Trustee Emeritus Doug Ford ’66 and his wife Kathy, whose generosity helped establish the Ford Program.

This year, the Ford Family Notre Dame Award will be bestowed on Obiageli “Oby” Ezekwesili, an economic policy expert and social advocate who has led groundbreaking initiatives challenging extremism, corruption, and gender-based violence. For more information on Ezekwesili and the award, click here.

The award will be given after she presents a keynote address, titled “‘One Complex Crisis’: Towards a Just and Sustainable Future,” as part of the Dignity and Development Forum, organized by the Keough School of Global Affairs.

‘One Complex Crisis’: Towards a Just and Sustainable Future

Obiageli “Oby” Ezekwesili
Founder-Chairperson of the Board
School of Politics, Policy, and Governance (Abuja, Nigeria)

In Laudato Si, Pope Francis calls us to restore human dignity and the dignity of the natural world using comprehensive approaches to the challenges we face. We do not face separate social or ecological, economic or political or technological challenges, he writes, “but rather one complex crisis” with links running through all these domains. Oby Ezekwesili – a leader across global, national, and local scales, and across the realms of economics, governance, and politics – will reflect upon ethical and effective responses in the face of complex and interconnected problems.

Register