Why do lawyers help the poor? Anti-Poverty Week@UNSW

18 October 2006

As part of Anti-Poverty Week (15–21 October) UNSW is hosting a public lecture on the role that pro bono legal services play in the justice system.

The lecture, entitled Why do lawyers help the poor?, will be delivered this Friday 20 October by Director of the National Pro Bono Resource Centre, John Corker. The Centre is affiliated with the University’s Faculty of Law.

Anti-Poverty Week at UNSW is coordinated by the Social Justice Project as part of a national initiative and incorporates a range of events across campus. On Thursday 19 October speakers from World Vision, Red Cross and Uniting Care will talk about what their organisations do to alleviate poverty and how students can get involved.

“Anti-Poverty Week is about raising awareness of both the consequences and causes of poverty,” says coordinator Sneha Balakrishnan from the Social Justice Project.

“UNSW has celebrated Anti-Poverty Week since 2002. It’s a great opportunity to alert students to the ways they can volunteer and make a contribution to alleviating poverty.”

Other activities during the week have included a debate on homelessness, a seminar on two projects being undertaken by the Social Policy Research Centre and a volunteering session with Australian Youth Ambassadors and Australian Volunteers International.

What: Public lecture: Why lawyers help the poor? John Corker, Director of the National Pro Bono Resource Centre
When: 1-2pm, Friday 20 October
Where: G23, Ground floor, Law building, Kensington campus, UNSW

For a full program of activities see the website or contact the Social Justice Project.