Annual Lecture 2011

Prof. Ismail Serageldin

Ismail Serageldin, Director of the Library of Alexandria (BA) in Egypt, presented the Ninth Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture on July 23, 2011 at Johannesburg’s Linder Auditorium. The lecture focused on the themes of diversity, cohesion and social justice.

Serageldin chairs the Boards of Directors for each of the BA’s affiliated research institutes and museums. He is Professor of the International Chair Savoirs contre pauvreté (Knowledge Against Poverty) at Collège de France, Paris and serves as Chair and Member of a number of advisory committees for academic, research, scientific and international institutions and civil society efforts.

He has published over 60 books and monographs and over 200 papers on a variety of topics including biotechnology, rural development, sustainability, and the value of science to society. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering from Cairo University and Master’s degree and a PhD from Harvard University. He has received 29 honorary doctorates.