Stephen Lewis at UBC: Very cool.
So one of my favourite moments of all time was when I shared a one to one car ride with Stephen Lewis. He, of the HIV meds advocacy and master of the eloquent word, was one of our very first Terry speakers (check it out here), and having had the chance to chat with him was both inspiring and not a little bit intimidating (principle thought: am I going to say some very very stupid?)
Anyway, suffice to say, in my opinion, he is one of the best speakers you’ll ever get to hear. He’ll make you think about the issue at hand (in this case access to medicines, be it lack of research on neglected diseases or the ethics of health related patent protection), and he’ll do it in a way that will make you realize that you can do more (as well as marvel at how powerful the English language can be).
Why am I telling you this? Well, he’s giving a talk at UBC on October 21st. It looks like it’s free, although the registration page is sufficiently vague enough to preclude that possibility. Still, definitely worth check out. More info can be found here. I’d be quick about this though – once word gets out, I’d imagine these seats will go fast.
(Image from the Walrus – that’s me with Stephen on the subject of sandwiches. Note, this is NOT what we talked about in the car, which is not to say that sandwiches can’t be inspiration – just not necessarily for me).