John Prendergast, an author, teacher, and human rights
activist who for 25 years has worked tirelessly for peace in Africa, has been
selected to deliver the 2010 S.T. Lee Lecture. Mr. Prendergast is the Co-Founder of the Enough Project, an
initiative to end genocide and crimes against humanity. The S.T. Lee Lecture was established by
Seng Tee Lee, a businessman and philanthropist located in Singapore, with the
dual objectives of raising public understanding of the complex policy issues
facing the global community today and increasing public support for informed
international cooperation. The
S.T. Lee Distinguished Lecturer is chosen for his or her international
reputation as a leader in international political, economic, social and health
issues, and strategic policy-making concerns.
Previous S.T. Lee Lecturers have included the Honorable
Robert Hormats, Under Secretary of State for Economic, Energy, and Agricultural
Affairs, the Nobel Prize-winning author Orhan Pamuk, Joseph F. Nye, the Dean
emeritus and Sultan of Oman Professor of International Relations, the John F.
Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, and Dr. Paul Farmer,
Professor of Medicine and Medical Anthropology, Harvard University and Medical
Director of the Clinique Bon Sauveur in Cange, Haiti.
BIOGRAPHY OF JOHN PRENDERGAST
John
Prendergast is an author and human rights activist who for over
25 years has worked for peace in Africa. He is Co-Founder of the Enough Project, an initiative to end genocide and crimes against humanity. During the
Clinton administration, Prendergast was involved in a number of peace processes in
Africa while he was Director of African Affairs at the National Security
Council and Special Advisor to Susan Rice at the Department of State. Prendergast has
also worked for two members of Congress, UNICEF, Human Rights Watch, the
International Crisis Group, and the U.S. Institute of Peace. He has also been a youth counselor, a
basketball coach and a Big Brother for over 25 years.
He has authored ten books on Africa,
including Not on Our Watch: The Mission to End Genocide in Darfur and Beyond, a New York Times bestseller and NAACP non-fiction
book of the year that he co-authored with actor Don Cheadle. His most current book, The Enough Moment, also co-authored with Mr. Cheadle and released on September 7, 2010, focuses on building a popular movement against genocide and other
human rights crimes. His other
forthcoming book draws on his many years in the Big Brothers/Big Sisters
program.
Prendergast has worked with a number of television shows
to raise awareness about human rights issues in Africa. He has appeared in four episodes of “60
Minutes,” for which the team won an Emmy Award, and has consulted on two
episodes of “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit,” one focusing on the
recruitment of child soldiers and the other on rape as a war strategy. He has
also traveled to Africa with ABC’s Nightline, PBS’ The Lehrer NewsHour, and
CNN’s Inside Africa.
He has appeared in several documentaries
including: "Sand and Sorrow," "Darfur Now," "3
Points," and "War Child." He also co-produced "Journey
into Sunset," about Northern Uganda, and partnered with Downtown Records
and Mercer Street Records to create the compilation album “Raise Hope for
Congo,” which shines a spotlight on sexual violence against women and girls in
the Congo.
With Tracy McGrady and other NBA stars, John
co-founded the Darfur Dream Team Sister Schools Program to fund schools in Darfurian refugee camps and
create partnerships with schools in the United States. He also helped create
the Raise Hope for Congo Campaign,
highlighting the issue of conflict minerals that fuel the war in Congo. John is a board member and serves as
Strategic Advisor to Not On Our Watch, the organization founded by George
Clooney, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle, and Brad Pitt.
Prendergast’s op-eds have appeared in The New York
Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The Washington
Post, and The International
Herald Tribune, and he has been
profiled in Vanity Fair, Men's Vogue, Time, Entertainment Weekly, GQ Magazine, Oprah Magazine,
Capitol File, Arrive Magazine, Interview Magazine, The Washington Post, The Los
Angeles Times, The
Philadelphia Inquirer, and Kenneth
Cole’s Awearness.
Prendergast has been a visiting professor at the
University of San Diego, Eckerd College, St. Mary’s College, the
University of Maryland, and the American University in Cairo, and will be at
Columbia University and the University of Pittsburgh. He has been awarded six
honorary doctorates.
