Lecture Series Debuts with Dupree

AUAF kicked off its Spring 2008 Lecture Series with guest lecturer Nancy Hatch Dupree, who spoke about the importance of the free flow of information to successful nation-building.

Nancy Hatch Dupree first came to Afghanistan in 1962 and has lived for extended periods in Kabul and in villages near the archaeological sites excavated by her husband, the late Louis Dupree. She has been active in the fields of cultural heritage preservation, education, and women's issues, and has published extensively on a wide variety of subjects focused on Afghanistan. Currently, she directs the Afghanistan Centre at Kabul University (ACKU), which houses a collection of some 38,000 documents involving Afghanistan. 

Her lecture, titled Nation Building Needs Informed Citizens, touched on the challenges that Afghanistan is facing in terms of creating an informed populace who can contribute to strengthening the institutions of democratic governance.  

“I believe the lecture was a thoughtful one and brought up productive questions,” said Dr. Askar Mousavi, who is leading the organization of the lecture series.

Mrs. Dupree’s lecture was part of AUAF’s program to stimulate academic discussion and debate regarding critical issues in Afghan scholarship.

AUAF’s lecture series will continue to feature prominent national and international scholars, politicians, and businesspersons who will deliver lectures on topics of their expertise, followed by a discussion.

Lectures are announced on a weekly basis. Individuals interested in attending should contact the Communications Department for more information.