Discussion and Film to Focus on Uganda's Child Soldiers and War

EVANSTON, Ill. --- A program titled "Public Health and Performance in Uganda" Feb. 18 at Northwestern University will include a lecture by the author of a new book about child soldiers and the 20-year war in northern Uganda; remarks by a celebrated musician from Uganda; a screening of a 2007 Academy Award-nominated documentary film about the little known war in Uganda; and a moderated panel.

The program, which is free and open to the public, will take place in McCormick Tribune Center Forum, 1870 Campus Drive. It begins at 4 p.m. with a lecture by Peter Eichstaedt, author of "First Kill Your Family: Child Soldiers of Uganda and the Lord's Resistance Army" and Africa editor for the Institute for War and Peace Reporting.

At 5 p.m., a book signing will take place and light refreshments will be served in the lobby of McCormick Tribune Center. At 5:30 p.m., Ugandan musician and educator Centurio Balikoowa will introduce "War/Dance," a surprisingly upbeat, Academy Award-nominated documentary about Ugandan children living in a refugee camp and their preparations to compete in a prestigious annual music and dance competition.

Following the film, Eichstaedt and Balikoowa will participate in a half-hour discussion at 7:30 p.m. about "War/Dance" and the situation in Uganda. Kearsley Stewart, senior lecturer in Northwestern's anthropology department, will moderate.

The program is sponsored by the Medill School of Journalism's Crain Lecture Series and the Global Health Study Abroad Program. For further information, call (847) 491-5401 or visit the Medill Web site at http://www.medill.northwestern.edu.