Hanan Ashrawi, one of the chief advocates for Palestinian independence, will deliver a talk titled "Peace: Current Crisis and Future Prospects," Wednesday, April 11, at 7 p.m. in Bailey Hall, at Cornell University.

The talk, sponsored by the International Students Programming Board (ISPB) and the Arab Club at Cornell, is open to the public. Admission is $3. Tickets can be purchased in advance at the Willard Straight Hall box office, from ISPB members, or at the door. For more information, contact ISPB president Rebecca Abou-Chedid by e-mail at raa10@cornell.edu or Wendy Lombardo at (607) 255-3815 or wml2@cornell.edu .

Ashrawi, a 1995 Henry E. and Nancy Horton Bartels World Affairs fellow at Cornell, is viewed as one of the most articulate and recognized voices for the Palestinian cause. She rose to world prominence when she was selected as the Palestinian delegation's spokesperson at the 1991 Middle East peace conference in Madrid. She continued to serve as a spokesperson for the Palestinians during the 1992 bilateral talks between Israel and Arab delegations in Washington, D.C. On the podium and in the media, she has received praise for her keen intellect and her fierce commitment to human rights.

In 1994, Ashrawi founded the Palestinian Independent Commission for Citizens' Rights. Elected in January 1996 as an independent candidate, she is now one of two Christian members of the Palestinian Legislative Council for Jerusalem. She was minister of higher education in chairman Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority cabinet until her resignation in August of 1998. Ashrawi also recently founded MIFTAH --- an Arabic acronym for the Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy --- and she serves as secretary general of that organization. She is the author of This Side of Peace: A Personal Account .

Co-sponsors at Cornell for Ashrawi's talk include: the Office of the Dean of Students, the Cornell University Program Board, the Student Assembly finance committee, the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies, the Near Eastern studies and government departments, the Robert Purcell Community Center and Cornell United Religious Work, among others.