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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. An annual campus event focused on the European Union will feature a former Canadian political leader turned academic speaking about threats to intellectual freedom in Europe.

History professor Michael Ignatieff, a rector emeritus of Central European University, Budapest, Hungary, and the author of On Consolation: Finding Solace in Hard Times, will deliver the keynote address at this years European Union Day at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

History professor Michael Ignatieff, a rector emeritus of Central European University, Budapest, Hungary.

Photo courtesy the European Union Center

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The 20th annual EU Day keynote, titled Academic Freedom in Europe: Threats Within and Without, will be presented via Zoom on Thursday, Nov. 18 at noon.

EU Day is free and open to the public, but registration is required. Register here: https://go.illinois.edu/EUDayKeynote.

Ignatieffs talk will explore how university autonomy and freedom of thought are under attack in Eastern Europe, and how authoritarian resurgence has affected universities in Western Europe. Ignatieff also will discuss the lessons those trends portend for intellectual freedom in the U.S.

Ignatieff, whos had a long and varied career as a writer, historian, professor and politician, served as a member of the Canadian Parliament from 2006-11, and then as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and leader of the Official Opposition.

Ignatieff was a faculty member at the Harvard Kelly School of Government, where he also directed the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy. In 2016, he was named a Member of the Order of Canada.

EU Day is an annual event to provide an opportunity to learn about the EU, its relationship with the U.S. and its role in promoting international relations.

More information is available on the EU Day webpage.

EU Day is sponsored by the European Union Center at Illinois.

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Canadian historian, writer Michael Ignatieff to speak Nov. 18 as part of EU Day at Illinois | Illinois - University of Illinois News