Annan, Pillay and Wallström to Lund

Three of the world’s leading human rights experts – Kofi Annan, Navi Pillay and Margot Wallström – arrive in Lund in April. The elite of Lund have tried to claim their place at the lectures, but the organisers are adamant that this will be an event for the students.

“This is the major event of our time here in Lund, it’s never happened before that three such prominent people have come to here,” comments organiser and Head of UPF’s Lectures Committee Kristoffer Bengtsson.

The guests are due in Lund to take part in a lecture series designed to honour the centenary of the birth of Swedish humanitarian and diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, who worked to save the lives of tens of thousands of Jews in Budapest during World War II.

“The lectures are about trying to capture the Raoul Wallenberg spirit, honouring his memory and what he did in World War II. So we tried to find people who have worked and are still working for the same principles that Wallenberg strived for,” says organiser Sofie Flodman.

But demand is set to be high for the relatively meagre 400 seats available and with some of those already assigned to prominent guests and academics the competition for places has started:

“At UPF we have been getting lots of calls from people saying they are important and need a ticket, but we want to treat everyone equally and give as many students as possible the chance to come along and experience this,” reveals Kristoffer.

Sofie goes on:

“While we of course wanted prominent guests we are really hoping to reach young people and students, to draw them in and encourage them to learn about Raoul Wallenberg and what he stood for.”