The Perry World House released a list of 25 new fellows for the 2022-2023 academic year, including former Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea Chung Sye-kyun, who will serve as the center's Distinguished Global Leader.
The Perry World House serves as a hub for global engagement and policy research on Penn’s campus. It hosts events about pressing global issues and invites speakers from around the world to contribute to its research and events. The center's incoming fellows have expertise on topics including human rights, climate change, and war ethics.
In addition to being PWH’s distinguished global leader, Chung will be the Moon Family Distinguished Lecturer at the James Joo-Jin Kim Center for Korean Studies. He served as the 46th prime minister of the Republic of Korea from January 2020 to April 2021. He notably oversaw the country’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Chung also was a member of the National Assembly for six terms and the speaker of the Assembly from 2016 to 2018. He is currently an executive advisor to the Democratic Party of Korea.
This year’s Inaugural Thakore Family Global Justice and Human Rights Visiting Fellow is Kenneth Roth, the former executive director of Human Rights Watch. The fellowship is the result of a gift from Hemal N. Mirani and Paritosh V. Thakore who graduated from Wharton in 1997 and 1986, respectively. This fellowship hopes to advance research in global justice and human rights.
Roth served as the director of Human Rights Watch for 29 years. Prior to this position, he was a federal prosecutor in New York and in Washington for the Iran-Contra investigation.
“We’re delighted to welcome our latest cohort of visitors to Perry World House and to Penn,” Senior Executive Director at Perry World House LaShawn R. Jefferson wrote in an emailed statement sent to The Daily Pennsylvanian. “Our strong partnerships, both with other organizations on campus and with our donors, have brought in outstanding experts who can help us explore new areas of global affairs and tackle pressing global policy concerns.”
The 23 other fellows include a Hong Kong activist currently in exile, the mayor of Sierra Leone's capital city, a clergyman from Zimbabwe who who has faced imprisonment for his efforts to challenge corruption, injustice, and poverty, and the executive director of sustainable cities at a multibillion-dollar climate investment firm.
Nathan Law, the activist from Hong Kong, was elected to be a part of Hong Kong’s Legislative Council where he was the youngest member to ever serve. He was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2018 after participating in the pro-democracy Umbrella Movement. He has since fled and is currently based in London.
Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr became mayor of Freetown, Sierra Leone in May 2018. Her focus was on using a data-driven approach to address the city’s challenges. Her “Transform Freetown” plan details solutions for issues including environmental management, urban planning, developing skills for residents, improving sanitation, and creating jobs in the tourism industry.
Evan Mawarire is a Baptist pastor from Zimbabwe. He is best known for founding the #ThisFlag citizens’ movement, which protests injustice, poverty, and corruption. He was imprisoned and tortured in 2016, 2017, and 2019 and charged with treason. He now is the director of the Renew Democracy Initiative, which focuses on defending democracy.
Lolita K. Jackson serves as the executive director of sustainable cities at Sustainable Development Capital LLP. She is an alumna of Penn’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, where she studied applied science with a concentration in chemical engineering. Prior to serving in her current position, she worked for the New York's Mayor’s Office and was the climate diplomat for the city.
Distinguished Global Leaders in past years include former prime minister of Sweden Carl Bildt, former president of the Republic of Liberia Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, former president of Mexico Felipe Calderón, and former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, who has since become a professor at Penn.
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