Sept. 4, 2012—Mohamed ElBaradei, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and former director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, will be the keynote speaker at the World Leaders Lecture Forum, sponsored by the University of Utah’s Tanner Humanities Center. ElBaradei’s lecture, titled “The Challenge of Security in Our World,” will be held on Thursday, Sept. 13 at 3:30 p.m. in Kingsbury Hall, 1395 E. Presidents Circle. This event is free and open to the public, but tickets are required and may be obtained through the Kingsbury Hall box office by calling 801-581-7100.

ElBaradei will discuss how global inequity and insecurity challenge efforts for a durable, global peace. Based on his work in Iraq, Iran, and North Korea, he will speak about security in its broadest context, contending that national and international security requires more than large military arsenals. ElBaradei’s talk will consider the role of nuclear weapons in global security and address the possibility of a nuclear weapons free world with a sustainable global security system. He will argue that finding solutions to global conflict, poverty, hunger and disease are essential components of lasting security.

ElBaradei served three terms as director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, an intergovernmental organization that is part of the United Nations system, with a mandate to make nuclear technology available for peaceful purposes and to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons. During his tenure, he pioneered measures to strengthen the non-proliferation regime and was a staunch advocate of nuclear disarmament. ElBaradei also made a priority of promoting the peaceful uses of nuclear power for development to redress inequality and help lift the one third of humanity out of poverty who live on fewer than two dollars a day.

In October 2005, ElBaradei and the IAEA were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize “for their efforts to prevent nuclear energy from being used for military purposes and to ensure that nuclear energy for peaceful purposes is used in the safest possible way.” In its citation, the Norwegian Nobel Committee referred to the IAEA’s work as being of “incalculable importance”, describing Dr. ElBaradei as an “unafraid advocate” of new measures to strengthen the nuclear non-proliferation regime.

Bob Goldberg, professor of history and director of the Tanner Humanities Center, describes ElBaradei as “one of the leading experts on global security in the nuclear age. His work and efforts in Iraq, Iran, and North Korea have had an immense impact by addressing core issues facing worldwide peace and prosperity.”

The Obert C. and Grace A. Tanner Humanities Center was founded in 1988 by the faculty of the College of Humanities at the University of Utah. For over 20 years, the Tanner Center has fostered innovative humanistic inquiry and scholarship. The Center’s programs, which include public lectures and symposia, humanities education for teachers, and fellowships create opportunities for lively dialogue among scholars, students, and citizens on issues ranging from ancient to contemporary and pertaining to the human condition.