January 7, 2008 (Washington, DC). – The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) today announced Archbishop Desmond Tutu as the opening Keynote speaker for USGBC’s annual Greenbuild Conference & Expo. Greenbuild will be held November 17-19, 2008, in Boston.
Bishop Tutu, a Nobel Peace Laureate, lead a crusade for social justice and racial conciliation in South Africa as then-General Secretary of the South African Council of Churches. Today, he is revered worldwide as a “moral voice” seeking to end poverty and human rights abuses.
“Bishop Tutu’s life, work, and message demonstrate the power of transformational change,” commented Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO & Founding Chairman of USGBC. “Bishop Tutu’s role in ending Apartheid in South Africa and bringing reconciliation to its people will inspire us towards the transformation of our buildings to a sustainable future, and will give us an extraordinary example of social justice in action.”
Tutu’s many accomplishments include receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984; the Albert Schweitzer Prize for Humanitarianism; and the Magubela prize for liberty in 1986. He is committed to stopping global AIDS and has served as the honorary chairman for the Global AIDS Alliance. In February 2007 he was awarded Gandhi Peace Prize by Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, president of India. USGBC’s annual Greenbuild International Conference & Expo brings thought leaders, great ideas, important innovations, the latest building products and systems, and more than 25,000 green building professionals together to share insights and information. To be held in Boston, Greenbuild’s 2008 programmatic theme is “Revolutionary Green: Innovations for Global Sustainability.” Additional speakers will be announced later this year.
