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Ambassador Lectures

Ambassador Lecture by Jay Shetty

Ambassador Lectures is a high-profile project of Maastricht University that is run by students for students with the endorsement of the Executive Board.

The initiative aims to foster challenging and intellectually stimulating events, giving students a platform to experience different perspectives by 'Ambassadors' of all walks of life, consistent with the international and inclusive outlook of Maastricht University. Since 2013 many interesting speakers were hosted by the Ambassador Lecture's team. 

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Jay Shetty

"Your passions are not random, they are your calling and your purpose isn't idealistic, it's real. If you want to live a fulfilling life that makes a difference in the lives of others you need to come to, build a life, not a resume" 

Jay Shetty - Motivational & lifestyle vlogger, presenter and former monk. International speaker with a viewership of over 100 million

 

Donovan Livingston's lecture

Donovan Livingston

Harvard graduate Donovan Livingston was in Maastricht to speak about the transformative power of education in the Ambassador Lectures. He reached a global audience of 13 million people with his powerful and original speech. Watch a video impression of the event.

Past events

In the persuit of its mission, the Ambassador Lectures has hosted a number of exceptional events at Maastricht University:

  • In 2019: Michael Pawlyn, Dutch Ambassador to the Netherlands, Jan Waltmans, French Ambassador to the Netherlands, Luis Vassy and the German Ambassador to the Netherlands, Dirk Brengelmann, Prof Jeffrey D Sachs, Sara Mardini, Former President of Georgia, Mikheil Saaakashvilli
  • In 2018: Alberto Alemanno, Amanda Nguyen, Dr Aziza Khabush, Christina Myers and Dr Alaa Murabit, Jaha Dukureh, Helen Clark
  • In 2017: Donovan Livingston, Larry Siedentop and Patrick Bijsmans, Tomislav Perko, Jay Shetty, Lilianne Ploumen and Bert Koenders
  • In 2016: Oscar Morales, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, Ajmal Masroor, Nicole Benyahia and Karolina Dam, Erin Schrode, Tomislav Perko, Prof Mariana Mazzucato, H.E. Haim Divon, Ambassador of Israel to the Netherlands, and H.E. Dr. Nabil Abuznaid, Head of the Palestinian Mission to the Netherlands
  • 2015: Ellen t’ Hoen, Illac Diaz, Sander Dekker, Patrick Magee, Jimmy Wales
  • 2014: Prof. Dr. Gerhard Weiss, Prof Dr. Tsjalling Swierstra, Prof Dr Luc de Witte, Robin Seiger, Peter Potman, the Consul General of the Netherlands to Shanghai
  • 2013: Prof Mark Post, László Andor

We hightlighted some of the events

  • Jeffrey Sachs

    Prof Jeffrey D Sachs: The Future of Developmental Economics

    Jeffrey Sachs’s academic work revolves around tackling the challenges of globalization, such as the resource curse, public health, climate change and the end of poverty. He has been considered the leading academic scholar in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and his work as chairman of the WHO Commission on Macroeconomics has been invaluable to the scaling up of the financing of health care and disease control in low-income countries.

      Read more about this lecture

  • Sarah Mardini

    106 Days: Sara Mardini, the Imprisoned Humanitarian

    Sara Mardini and her sister Yusra fled the Syrian civil war in 2015 to seek asylum in Europe. The perilous journey of Sara and Yusra made international headlines as they pulled a sinking boat of refugees to safety on the Greek island of Lesbos. After their heroic act Sara volunteered as a spotter and rescuer for the Greek Emergency Response Centre International (ERCI), which provides emergency response and humanitarian aid to refugees in high risk situations. In August 2018, Sara was arrested for illegally aiding migrants and spent 106 days in pre-trial detention in a maximum-security prison before eventually being released on bail in December 2018. 

      Read more about this lecture

  • Amanda Nguyen

    Amanda Nguyen: Securing Human Rights for Sexual Violence Survivors

    Amanda Nguyen is the CEO and founder of Rise, a US civil rights nonprofit. She penned her own civil rights into existence and unanimously passed the US Sexual Assault Survivors’ Bill of Rights after having to navigate the broken criminal justice system after her own rape. 19 bills protecting sexual violence survivors have been created modelled off of her federal law. The federal law was the 21st bill in modern US history to pass unanimously on the record.

    She graduated from Harvard, was a 2019 Nobel Peace Prize nominee and has been named a Forbes 30 Under 30, by Foreign Policy as a Top 100 Leading Global Thinker.
     
     Read more about this lecture 

  • Helen Clark

    The UN and the Future We Want: A Conversation with Helen Clark

    Helen Clark, former Prime Minister of New Zealand and Administrator of the United Nations Development Programm discussed the end game of the 2030 Agenda, that is to create a better world for everyone: ending poverty and hunger, improving education and healthcare, while taking action on climate, peace and justice. With 17 goals, 169 targets, and over 230 indicators, it is one of the UN’s most ambitious initiatives. 

     Read more about this discussion

  • Ambassadors' roadmap

    The Ambassadors' Roadmap to Peace for Israel & Palestine

    H.E. Haim Divon, Ambassador of Israel to the Netherlands, and H.E. Dr. Nabil Abuznaid, Head of the Palestinian Mission to the Netherlands discussed the past and present aspects of the conflict between the countries, with a main focus on possible solutions. The Ambassadors shared their vision on how they see a possible roadmap to peace.

      Read more about the discussion 
     

  • Patrick Magee

    Patrick Magee: the Brighton Bomber Turns Tragedy into Hope

    Former IRA member Patrick Magee visited Maastricht University and talked about how his involvement in the Brighton bombing changed his life! He planted a bomb in a hotel missing his target PM Thatcher, but killing 5 others. After 14 years in prison, he was released in 1999 under the Good Friday Agreement. Reflecting on the bombings he strongly regrets that people were hurt, but asks: 'Did the Tory ruling class expect to remain immune from what their frontline troops were doing to us?' While in prison Magee completed a PhD BA. 

      Read more about this lecture 

Core Ambassador Lectures team

Aleksandra Adach

European Law School Student
 

Annabel Ashworth

UCM Student
 

Lucrezia Astore

UCM Student
 

Noa Zogo Ayissi

UCM Student
 

Parthabi Kanungo

European Law School Student
 

A photo gallery

Christina Myers and Dr Alaa Murabit
Ajmal Masroor, N. B. and Karolina Dam
Tomislav Perko

Michael Palwyn 
Sustainability is Dead, Long live Regenerative Design
4 March 2020

Dutch Ambassador to the Netherlands in Libanon, Jan Waltmans
Working for a Better Future: Dutch Priorities in Lebanon
15 November 2019

French Ambassador to the Netherlands, Luis Vassy and the German Ambassador to the Netherlands, Dirk Brengelmann
Brexit and a new European Order: The Security Perspective
12 November 2019

Former President of Georgia, Mikheil Saaakashvilli
Capture of State by Oligarchs in Post-Soviet Countries
28 March 2019

Dr Aziza Khabush, Christina Myers and Dr Alaa Murabit
Amplifying Leadership: From Local Action to Global Impact
28 May 2018

Jara Dukureh
A Survivor’s Journey to Ending FGM and Child Marriage
24 May 2018

Ajmal Masroor (British Imam, Broadcaster and Politician), N. B. (Founder of Families For Life) and Karolina Dam (Founder of Sons and Daughters of the World)
An Honest Conversation about Islam, Terrorism and Extremism
23 November 2016

Tomislav Perko
How to travel the world with almost no money?
17 May 2017

Jimmy Wales
Understanding failure as a route to success
16 January 2015