MEDIA ADVISORY

Ethicist Peter Singer and World Vision President Richard Stearns discuss what ethics, morality and God expect of us in an age of hunger, AIDS and extreme poverty

WHO:
Join author and professor Peter Singer and World Vision president Richard Stearns at Harvard University for a conversation about the fight against global poverty. Singer is an atheist; Stearns is a Christian. Yet, from two very different perspectives, both authors issue compelling – and surprisingly similar – calls to action. They challenge Americans of all faiths to examine decisions they make and reflect on their responsibility to address one of the greatest moral and the ethical issues of our time: global poverty.

WHAT:
The seminar, co-hosted by the Harvard Bookstore and the University’s Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations, will explore the reasons and motivations for people to take action against poverty. This event is free and open to the public.

WHEN: Thursday, October 22, 2009, 4 - 5:30 p.m.

WHERE: First Parish Church, Harvard Square, 3 Church Street, Cambridge, Mass.

NOTE: Space is available for journalists and members of the public who RSVP in advance. Please contact Laura Blank at lblank@worldvision.org.

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For more information or to schedule an interview with Mr. Stearns, please contact Dean R. Owen at (253) 906-8645, or dowen@worldvision.org. To schedule an interview with Professor Peter Singer, please call (609) 258-2202 or email singerp@gmail.com.

About Peter Singer
Peter Singer is the Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University and laureate professor at the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics at the University of Melbourne. Peter Singer’s most recent book, “ The Life You Can Save,” argues that it is a clear-cut moral imperative for citizens of developed countries to give more to charitable causes that help the poor. Singer reasons that, when one is already living comfortably, a further purchase to increase comfort is equivalent to refusing to save another person's life.

About Richard Stearns
Richard Stearns is the president of World Vision United States, one of the largest relief and development organizations in the world. After a quarter-century business career, including serving as president and CEO of Lenox and president and CEO of Parker Brothers Games, Stearns joined World Vision in 1998, guiding the organization to unprecedented growth and calling on the American church to respond to the global AIDS pandemic. In his new book, “The Hole in Our Gospel,”


World Vision is a Christian relief and development organization dedicated to helping children and their communities worldwide reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty. We serve the world’s poor --regardless of a person’s religion, race, ethnicity, or gender. For more information, please visit www.worldvision.org/press.