PUBLIC LECTURE: The 2005 Grace Vaughan Memorial Lecture: The Medical Implications of the Nuclear Age

Abstract:

The single most articulate and passionate advocate of citizen action to remedy the nuclear and environmental crises, Dr Helen Caldicott has devoted the last 35 years to an international campaign to educate the public about the medical hazards of the nuclear age and the necessary changes in human behaviour to stop environmental destruction.

This public lecture addresses the New Nuclear Danger. Helen Caldicott outlines how we arrived at a more dangerous place after the end of the Cold War, and why the New Nuclear Danger is the single greatest threat to the world’s public health, namely the profound medical, environmental, political and moral consequences of perpetuating nuclear weapons, power and waste.

Biographical Note:

Helen Caldicott is the founder of Physicians for Social Responsibility and a nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize. Both the Smithsonian Institute and Ladies’ Home Journal named her one of the Most Influential Women of the Twentieth Century, and she has honorary degrees from nineteen universities. She has written for numerous publications and has authored five books: Nuclear Madness, Missile Envy, If You Love This Planet: A Plan to Heal the Earth, A Passionate Life and, most recently, The New Nuclear Danger: George Bush’s Military Industrial Complex. She also has been the subject of several films, including Eight Minutes to Midnight, If You Love This Planet and Helen’s War: portrait of a dissident.

The annual Grace Vaughan Memorial Lecture (GVML) is a partnership arrangement between Australian Association of Social Workers, The University of Western Australia and the Government of Western Australia, through the Office for Women’s Policy, to present a public lecture by a speaker who will address Grace Vaughan’s philosophy on social justice issues and women’s interests. The Grace Vaughan Memorial Lecture is held annually to commemorate the life and achievements of Grace Vaughan who died in 1984. She was a social activist and parliamentarian who was dedicated to the improvement of life at all levels and had a deep commitment to Australia's participation in the Asian region and to ensuring women's full participation in society.

ALL WELCOME

*Wheelchair accessible venue. The nearest carpark is P3 Hackett Drive Entrance No. 1 refer to map at www.universityclub.uwa.eud.au/uniclub/the_club/location