University Director of the Institute for Gender and Development Studies, Professor Verene Shepherd, has been invited to be a keynote speaker at a commemorative plenary meeting of the United Nations General Assembly to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination to be held in New York on Friday, March 20, 2015.
 
The meeting will focus on the status of racial discrimination worldwide, and the theme for this year’s event is “Learning from historical tragedies to combat racial discrimination today”. This year’s commemoration also coincides with the commencement of the International Decade for People of African Descent (2015 - 2024).
 
In a letter to Professor Shepherd, President of the General Assembly, Sam K. Kutesa, said that Professor Shepherd’s insight and perspectives would be highly appreciated given her “experience and role as a member of the UN Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent and an eminent personality active in the field of racial discrimination”