Note to editors: All photography and recording will be prohibited during this event. A book signing, but no press interviews, will follow Beah's talk.
Ishmael Beah, author of "A Long Way Gone," will speak at the University of Colorado at Boulder Feb. 5 about his experiences as a boy soldier in Sierra Leone, West Africa.
Beah will speak at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday at Macky Auditorium. Doors will open at 6:45 p.m. CU-Boulder's Distinguished Speakers Board and Cultural Events Board are sponsoring his talk.
CU-Boulder students can purchase tickets for $1 at the UMC Connection, located on the first floor of the University Memorial Center. The public can purchase tickets for $5 through the Internet at , in person at any Denver-area King Soopers and selected City Market stores, or by calling TicketsWest at (866) 464-2626.
All photography and recording will be prohibited during the event. A book signing will follow Beah's talk.
"Beah brings a unique perspective to the CU-Boulder campus. It is a rare opportunity for students to mix the ideals of activism with a glimpse of the harsh realities of the world," said Brittany E. Gibson, the board's secretary.
Beah was born in Sierra Leone in 1980 and lived there the first 18 years of his life. In 1998, he moved to New York where he completed high school. After graduating from Oberlin College in 2004, he became an activist for child soldiers around the world, collaborating with UNICEF.
According to his autobiography, Beah witnessed civil war atrocities and became an unwilling participant while growing up in Sierra Leone. At age 13, he was captured and brainwashed by the government army and absorbed as part of their military forces, he wrote.
Beah now works with organizations such as Human Rights Watch to end the use of child soldiers in armed conflict. He has delivered his message to the U.S. Council on Foreign Relations and the United Nations, event organizers said.
For more information about the Cultural Events Board and the Distinguished Speakers Series, visit /.