Dr. Donald Lee, a retired United Nations economist and advocate of poverty eradication, will be speaking about efforts to end poverty on March 6 at 7 p.m. in the Mary Moody Northen Recital Hall.
Lee’s lecture, “Ending Poverty: The United Nations and Millennium Development Goals,” will discuss global poverty and what the U.N. is doing to end it.
Lee has worked with the U.N. for 20 years and was formerly an economics professor at Deakin University in Australia.
Lee’s background in economics is longstanding. It came about from his interest in liberal markets and led to his concern for global poverty.“There is a huge divide between people who are earning decent wages and those people who are living below the poverty line,” Lee said.
Lee explained while there are people who are living well beyond their means, there is close to one billion people who are living on less than a dollar a day.
“Global poverty is a matter of human rights and social justice,” he said. “It really motivates you to want to help these people get out of that debilitating situation.”
Lee is working to influence change in government policies and creating poverty reduction programs. He says people become locked into poverty and are unable to find a way out.
“It should go beyond handouts, many who are poor don’t want handouts,” Lee said. “The government needs to give assistance where [it’s] needed so they have the opportunities to better themselves and improve their lives.”
As chair-elect of the International Committee for Oct. 17, Lee focuses on global poverty because he feels that poverty needs to be reduced worldwide.
“Poverty exists everywhere and people should think about it,” he said. “Even in countries that are not developing countries, there is always room for improvement.”
In his lecture, he hopes to challenge people by how they see the poverty situation and give new insights.
“Young people, especially college students, are the citizens of the future,” Lee said. “It is their right and responsibility to think about these issues.”
All college students are or will become taxpayers and they will affect how policy is decided, he said.
“I hope to inspire students to take jobs in the United Nations,” Lee said. “People forget that the United States was one of the founding members of the U.N.”
Working with the U.N. gives the opportunity to interact with people of different cultures and influence global politics.
“Students will find that it’s very useful to take part in the dream and to do good,” Lee said.
