Yale Divinity School Hosts Forum on Poverty at Church Center for the UN

As UN personnel, diplomats, and representatives of NGOs gather in New York next week for the summit on the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) for addressing compelling world issues from poverty to clean water, Yale Divinity School (YDS) will host a smaller-scale, but no less engaged, discussion of the same issues on September 22 at the Church Center for the United Nations, 777 UN Plaza, at the corner of First Avenue and 44th Street. The discussion begins at 6 p.m. followed by a reception ending at 8 p.m.

Scheduled to participate in the Yale panel, among others, are renowned philosopher Peter Singer, the De Camp Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University’s Center for Human Values; David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World and a participant in the MDG Summit; Melinda St. Louis, deputy director of Jubilee USA; Arthur Keys, president and CEO of International Relief and Development (IRD); and Thomas Pogge, the Leitner Professor of Philosophy and International Affairs at Yale University.

The panel discussion falls on the heels of a report by the U.S. Census Bureau that 44 million people in the United States, or one in seven residents, lived in poverty in 2009, an increase of 4 million from the year before.

Panelists will explore several questions pertinent to the MDG process, including what the UN most needs to do to meet MDG goals, and whether the most urgent messages about poverty are getting public attention.

Invitees to the Church Center gathering include UN officials and diplomats, representatives of the press, NGOs, and alumni/friends of Yale, as well as a number of prominent thinkers and practitioners who contributed to the fall, 2010 issue of Yale Divinity School’s magazine Reflections, devoted to the topic “No More Excuses: Confronting Poverty.”

Attendees must register in advance by contacting Gus Spohn, director of communications and publications at YDS, gus.spohn@yale.edu, and will need to present a photo ID on site.

Yale Divinity School is an interdenominational school of theological education affiliated with Yale University. The school draws faculty from the major Christian traditions, preparing students for service in lay and ordained ministries, other professions, and academic careers.