He’s been in 120 countries and six continents. And on Thursday night, two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nicholas Kristof visited NU to speak to an audience of about 250 people about his experiences in the developing world and the importance of human rights Wednesday night.
Starting off with an anecdote about a bug that turned out to be the doorbell buzzer to his apartment in China, Kristof drew laughs from the crowd and managed to lighten the mood while speaking about grave issues such as sex trafficking and the Darfur genocide in the opening speech for the fifth annual Northwestern University Conference on Human Rights.
In addition to sharing photographs and anecdotes from his travels to Sudan, Cambodia and China, Kristof encouraged students to find the balance between idealism and pragmatism and to face nuances that prevent initiatives from being successful.
“By and large, people of the public are really not interested in solving large problems, but we do have a real sense of passion for individuals,” Kristof said. “Too often we are at the treetops rather than grass-roots, with too much talking and not much listening. It’s so important to actually spend time at the grassroots and listen to the people there.”
Kristof promoted traveling abroad as a way for students to educate themselves on issues of poverty and human rights before they begin efforts to make change.
“Traveling is an awful lot cheaper than going to college, and is as crucial as going to class,” he said.
Kristof also advised students to remain when trying to tackle human rights issues, explaining that the key component is focusing on the people that actually need help.
“Often the people who are helped the most are the Americans who go out to help people,” Kristof said.
In planning the conference, the group’s executive co-chairwoman, Gauthami Soma was inspired by an article Kristof wrote about student organizations and their efforts in promoting human rights.
“It was exactly what we wanted, in speaking about youth affecting change and attacking issues through the nuances,” said Soma, a Weinberg senior.
Kristof ended his speech with shocking images and video clips of civilians he interviewed in Darfur, but concluded on an uplifting note by sharing a story of a brave woman who sacrificed her own safety by creating a diversion in order to save her sister from the Janjaweed militia.
“At these times, you see the worst in humans, but you also see the best in them,” he said.
Rachel Berkowitz, the director of health partnerships of GlobeMed’s national chapter, said she is interested to see how the conference progresses.
“(He) brought perspective about responsibility here and responsibility there, and connecting it in a sustainable, responsible way,” the Weinberg junior said.
