Award-winning writer, activist and academic Raj Patel will deliver the keynote speech during the College of Charleston’s Fourth Annual Sustainability Week.

Raj Patel

Raj Patel
Photo Credit: Andrea Ismert

The event, hosted by the Office of Sustainability, takes place at 5:30 p.m. on April 8, 2015, in Sottile Theatre (44 George St.). The event is free and open to the public.

Learn more about the Office of Sustainability.

Patel is an economist and activist who has authored several books critiquing world food systems and the effects of globalization. He holds degrees from University of Oxford, the London School of Economics and Cornell University.

Patel’s speech will be based on his book, “The Value of Nothing: How to Reshape Market Society and Redefine Democracy.”

“His work reveals the hidden effects to both human and environmental systems, and how democracy can play a significant role in developing solutions,” says Brian Fisher, director of the Office of Sustainability.

Sustainability Week (April 6 – April 11, 2015) is centered on building community partnerships, collaboration, and student empowerment around a particular theme. This year’s slate of events includes a kick-off with the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life; a campus waste audit with the student organization Alliance for Planet Earth; a Bee Hotel Building Workshop with the Student Garden at Dixie Plantation and the Center for Civic Engagement and other activities.

More information about Sustainability Week is available on the Office of Sustainability Facebook page.