Renowned humanitarian and former South Carolina governor David Beasley will reflect on his tenure with the United Nations World Food Programme during a conversation on Thursday, Nov. 20, at 3 p.m. in the UWM Student Union, Wisconsin Room.
Chia Youyee Vang, UWM vice chancellor for community empowerment and institutional inclusivity and professor of history, will moderate the discussion, which will be followed by a reception at 4:30 p.m.
Beasley served as the executive director of the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) for six years, until 2023. In that role, he led a global push to increase aid to fight hunger and starvation in people living in 80 nations. In December 2020, Beasley accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the WFP for its efforts to combat world hunger.
Before he was appointed to the U.N. position, Beasley served one term as governor of South Carolina.
In the discussion at UWM, Beasley will share insights into pressing issues facing the United States and the global community. During his time as the leader of the WFP, he and his team tackled a staggering increase in the number of people worldwide who were on the brink of starvation.
“The world was making progress,” Beasley said, ahead of his visit to UWM. “Then COVID‐19, supply‐chain shocks and war knocked that progress off its rails. We’re no longer just trying to eliminate hunger — we’re scrambling to keep famine from breaking out in multiple places.”
Food insecurity in the United States has dominated news coverage recently, with disruption of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) due to politics.
“You can’t fix hunger with politics; but you can fix it with people. When Americans show up for one another — being the hands and feet, loving our neighbors — we prove that compassion is stronger than division. That’s how we end hunger here at home,” Beasley said.
“SNAP and food banks matter, but what matters even more is how we care for one another. Every American can be part of the solution — checking on a neighbor, volunteering, sharing what we have,” he added.
The event on Nov. 20 is free and open to the public. Register online for the event. The conversation is sponsored by the UWM Division of Community Empowerment & Institutional Inclusivity and the Institute of World Affairs.
For more information, contact Vice Chancellor Vang at vangcy@uwm.edu.
