Queen’s University Belfast is pleased to invite you to attend the 2018 Eaton Lecture. It will take place on Friday 16 February, 9.45-11am, in The South Dining Hall, on the main Queen’s University Lanyon site.  The Guest speaker will be The Honourable Elizabeth Dowdeswell, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, Canada, who will address ‘Sustainability and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals’.

About the speaker:

The Honourable Elizabeth Dowdeswell was invested as Ontario’s 29th Lieutenant Governor on September 23, 2014. Her eclectic public service career has spanned provincial, federal, and international borders, and has transcended disciplinary and sectoral lines.

Ms. Dowdeswell began her professional career as a teacher and university lecturer. After serving as the Deputy Minister of Culture and Youth for the Government of Saskatchewan, she held increasingly senior positions in the Canadian public service, most notably as head of the Atmospheric Environment Service. Throughout this period, she managed several public inquiries and royal commissions.

Her international negotiating experiences prefaced her election in 1992 as Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme and Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations, headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya. Upon returning to Canada in 1998, she established an international consulting practice and became the founding President and CEO of the Nuclear Waste Management Organization. Immediately prior to her appointment as Lieutenant Governor, Ms. Dowdeswell was the President and CEO of the Council of Canadian Academies. She has also served on numerous boards of corporate and non-profit organizations.

Ms. Dowdeswell was born in Northern Ireland and immigrated to rural Saskatchewan with her parents in 1947. She earned a Bachelor of Science in home economics and teaching certificate from the University of Saskatchewan (1966) and a Master of Science in behavioural sciences from Utah State University (1972). An Officer of the Order of Canada, Ms. Dowdeswell holds 11 honorary degrees.

In the 2018 Eaton Lecture Ms Dowdeswell will emphasize the imperative of sustainability and its three interrelated components: inclusive economic prosperity, environmental stewardship, and social cohesion. She is currently focused on drawing attention to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals as a framework for encouraging people to think globally while acting locally.

About the Eaton Lecture Series:

The Eaton Lecture Series at Queen’s was established in 1994 and is intended to cement connections between the University and Canada, by bringing eminent Canadians to Queen’s.  The Eaton Foundation was set up by the family of Timothy Eaton, a native of Ballymena who, upon emigrating to Canada in the nineteenth century, founded the T. Eaton & Co. Limited (Toronto) chain of department stores.

To register to attend please click here.