Nobel Peace Laureate, Former President of Costa Rica, Dr. Oscar Arias, to Deliver Inaugural Baptista Lecture At York U. On Moral Challenge of Globalization

TORONTO, April 6, 1999 -- Nobel Peace Laureate and former President of Costa Rica Dr. Oscar Arias will deliver the inaugural Michael Baptista Lecture, entitled The Moral Challenge of Globalization: Principles for Human Development, at York University, Thursday, April 8, 1999, 5 p.m. - 7 p.m. The series was established to honour the memory and work of Michael Baptista, a Royal Bank Executive and York University Schulich School of Business MBA graduate student who died in 1995.

A leading advocate for human development, democracy and demilitarization, Arias will advance the argument that globalization must take into account the primacy of global peace and human security.

Born in Heredia, Costa Rica in 1940, Arias studied law and economics at the University of Costa Rica and later received a PhD in political science from the University of Essex, England, in 1974. After serving as a Political Science professor at the University of Costa Rica, Arias was appointed Costa Rican Minister of Planning and Economic Policy. He won a seat in the Costa Rican Congress in 1978, and was elected secretary-general of the National Liberation Party in 1981.

Arias became President of Costa Rica in 1986, a tumultuous period in Central American politics with civil wars raging in neighbouring Nicaragua and Guatemala. For his initiative in brokering a regional peace agreement, known as the Esquipulas II Accords in 1987, Arias was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize later that same year.

Arias used the monetary award from the Peace Prize to establish the Arias Foundation for Peace and Human Progress. His foundation has established programs to promote equal opportunities for women, strengthen the participation and action of people throughout Central America, and work for demilitarization and conflict resolution in the developing world.

Arias has been a leading advocate of the Year 2000 Campaign to redirect world military spending to human development, an international campaign which calls upon the United Nations to send special envoys to different sites of potential international conflict.

"Dr. Arias' contribution to peace and conflict resolution is well known," said Ricardo Grinspun, director of York University's Centre for Research on Latin America and the Caribbean (CERLAC). "He has set a standard which international leaders, especially those in war-torn regions, such as the Balkans today, should follow."

Two Michael Baptista Essay Prizes, each valued at $500, will be awarded at the lecture, one to a York University undergraduate student and one to a graduate student. The prizes are awarded for an essay that shows a high standard of scholarship relevant to Latin American and Caribbean studies, from the humanities, social science, business or legal perspective. These prizes are particularly relevant given the importance of Baptista's Guyanese/Caribbean roots, his dedication to and outstanding achievement at the Royal Bank of Canada, and his unqualified drive and love of learning.

Sponsored by York University's Centre for Research on Latin America and the Caribbean (CERLAC) and York International, the Baptista Lecture Series profiles prominent speakers in the field of Caribbean and Latin American Studies. Admission is free.

WHO:
Nobel Peace Laureate, former President of Costa Rica Oscar Arias

WHAT:
Inaugural Michael Baptista Lecture: The Moral Challenge of Globalization: Principles for Human Development

WHEN:
Thursday, April 8, 1999, 5 p.m. - 7 p.m.

WHERE:
Osgoode Hall Law School, Moot Court (ground floor)
York University, 4700 Keele Street

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For more information, please call:

Rosemarie Nielsen
York International
York University
(416) 736-5177

Sine MacKinnon
Senior Advisor, Media Relations
York University
(416) 736-2100, ext. 22087

Ken Turriff
Media Relations Officer
York University
(416) 736-2100, ext. 22086
YU/034/99