Image by Victoria Durgin – The Quill
By Victoria Durgin Co-Editor in Chief
The former president of Ireland spoke about youth activism and climate justice to a near capacity crowd in Degenstein Theater on Monday night.
Mary Robinson, the first female president of Ireland and former High Commissioner for Human Rights at the United Nations (UN), came to campus as the 2020 Shade Lecture Series speaker.
The Shade Lecture is paid for with an endowed gift from Rebecca and Jacques Mignot with additional funds from Exxon-Mobil.
According to Dr. Jeffrey Mann, professor of Religious Studies, the goal of the series is to further the understanding of religion on campus.
After Mann told the audience it was “a distinct honor” to host Robinson the former world leader took to the stage with a joke about her upbringing and its influence on her.
“I was wedged between four brothers and that’s really where I learned my early interests in human rights,” Robinson said.
She then detailed her path through Irish politics which culminated with her being sworn into the presidency in 1990.
As Robinson explained her early political and legal careers were marked by her commitment to human rights and women’s health issues in the strongly Catholic country.
She introduced landmark bills on issues concerning the decriminalization of homosexuality, the removal of a ban on divorce and the legalization of family planning services, among others.
“The law was out of tune with Irish life,” Robinson said of the laws she fought to remove.
After serving in Parliament she retired from politics to focus on law and humanitarian work but was quickly asked to return, this time as a presidential candidate.
She was not a popular candidate and at one point the odds were 100 to 1 against her, according to Robinson.
“Unfortunately, none of us put money on it, which was a great pity,” Robinson said.
She used her time as president to focus on issues involving women, something she said opened her eyes to the reality of Irish communities where women were vital to their communities.
After her time as president she assumed the role of High Commissioner of Human Rights for the United Nations (UN) at the request of then Secretary General Kofi Annan.
Robinson said that role encouraged her to listen to as many people, and their concerns, as possible.
“Even listening can be very important,” Robinson said.
Robinson went on to detail how her time with the UN showed her how climate change was, and is, impacting people around the world. This encouraged her to focus her post-UN work on climate justice initiatives.
“I wanted to promote the rights… we take for granted: access to food, the access to clean water, things like that,” Robinson said.
Robinson also discussed how climate change worsens the opportunities for people in poorer countries to access those rights.
“I was just bowled over by the injustice of climate change,” Robinson said.
Though the Shade lecture series encourages dialogue about religion, Robinson spent much of the lecture not discussing her faith.
At the end of her speech, though, she tied her faith to her humanitarian work.
Robinson said she thinks living “according to the gospel of Jesus Christ” involves treating the planet with respect and love.
After Robinson finished her remarks audience members had the opportunity to ask the world leader and humanitarian their questions.
Questions from students and staff touched on issues concerning accountability for companies, how faith impacts decision-making and what young people in school should be doing about the climate change issue.
Robinson spoke a little more on her faith during this segment.
“I think it is manifested in how you see the other and how you treat the other,” Robinson said about her religious beliefs and how they influence her work.
Robinson closed the lecture by encouraging college-aged students to study and accrue knowledge before entering professions she hopes will make a difference in the world.
