Pulitzer Prize Winners Sheryl WuDunn and Nicholas Kristof headline inaugural Bluma Lecture on March 7, 2013
TORONTO (January 30, 2013) – A transformational gift of $1 million from the Bluma Appel Community Trust to the Toronto Public Library Foundation will enable the launch of a new annual Lecture at Toronto Public Library dedicated to the discussion of important issues by some of the world’s most thoughtful opinion-leaders.
“We are honoured to continue the celebration of Bluma Appel’s life and legacy through this wonderful gift,” said Heather Rumball, President,Toronto Public Library Foundation. “With the new Bluma Lecture, not only will we be celebrating Bluma's legacy of making the world a fairer, more inclusive place, we’ll be reminding people of the importance of Toronto Public Library as an institution that upholds the principle of Intellectual Freedom and as the ideal place for these defining conversations to take place.”
This $1 million gift represents a second from the Bluma Appel Community Trust; in 2009, a $3 million gift in support of the Foundation’s re:vitalize – Toronto Reference Library Campaign led to the naming of the new Bram & Bluma Appel Salon at the Toronto Reference Library. Since opening in September 2009, the Salon has been host to an on-going series of high profile cultural programs. The combined $4 million gift from the Bluma Appel Community Trust represents the largest gift ever received by the Toronto Public Library Foundation.
“We are enormously grateful for this exceptional gift and the belief in the role of Toronto Public Library as a place for discourse, discussion and debate,” said Jane Pyper, City Librarian. “The Bluma Lecture is a wonderful addition to The Bram & Bluma Appel Salon season.”
The inaugural Bluma Lecture will debut on March 7, 2013 at 7:00 pm and feature Pulitzer Prize winners Sheryl WuDunn and Nicholas Kristof speaking about what they call: “our era’s most pervasive human rights violation: the oppression of women and girls in the developing world,” and how it is apparent, through the stories they portray in their documentary series Half the Sky now airing on PBS, “that the key to economic progress lies in unleashing women’s potential.” This discussion on a topic of global significance will be available worldwide through a live stream of the event.
Information on the Bluma Lecture is available at www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/Bluma. A backgrounder on Bram & Bluma Appel is available at https://tpl.ca/programs-and-classes/appel-salon/about.jsp.
The Toronto Public Library Foundation believes in the social benefits of a strong and healthy public library system. As a registered charity, the Foundation fosters relationships with people of vision to provide Toronto's Library with improved and expanded collections, enhanced programs and services, and revitalized community spaces.
Media Contact:
Ana-Maria Critchley, 416-393-7212 amcritchley@torontopubliclibrary.ca