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Rwanda's President, Saudi Minister To Speak At FSU

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The Associated Press

Published: February 11, 2008

Updated: 02/10/2008 11:45 pm

TALLAHASSEE - The president of Rwanda and the Saudi Arabian minister of state will speak at Florida State University today as the school aims to play a part in international politics.

FSU is the leading U.S. college in the United Nations' new Alliance of Civilizations, which is an attempt to bridge religious and cultural divides around the world.

Saudi Arabian Minister of State Abdullah Alireza and Rwandan President Paul Kagame will attend a forum hosted by the FSU Claude Pepper Center for Intercultural Dialogue.

Aside from launching the alliance of colleges, it is also the first step in the construction of a school in Rwanda to be paid for with money raised by FSU students.

"We're talking about bridges, and the bridge to development is education," Pepper Center director Monsignor William A. Kerr said. "Universities, being learning environments, have a unique ability to expose the commonalities between these different groups. Things are not going to get better, we're not going to have a climate of dialogue, unless universities are involved."

FSU and the Pepper Center will serve as a think tank for policy development and research to help the U.N.'s peace-building alliance, Kerr said.

The alliance was created by Turkish and Spanish prime ministers after the March 2004 train bombings in Madrid. It officially kicked off in Madrid last month.

Alireza is scheduled to speak about U.S.-Saudi relations, and Kagame will discuss the importance of education in helping Rwanda rebound politically and economically from war.

Later this week, Kagame is set to receive an honorary FSU degree and a commitment from FSU students to begin work on a technical school in his country.

A group of 17 students will use more than $40,000 raised through a student campaign called "True Seminoles" to build the school.

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