Mali's prime minister to visit VCU

By Leila Ugincius

The prime minister of Mali, His Excellency Ousmane Issoufi Maiga, plans to visit VCU on Friday, Nov. 11. He will give a speech on "Mali and the Heritage of Timbuktu" at 4 p.m. in the Commonwealth Ballroom of the student commons. Timbuktu, the capital of northern Mali, is one of the holy cities of Islam, known for its scholarship and written traditions.

While in Richmond, Maiga will meet with Gov. Mark R. Warner, Virginia's Secretary of State for Education Peter Blake and Richmond Mayor L. Douglas Wilder. The Malian prime minister will also visit area elementary school children who are studying his west African country.

Maiga will be accompanied by Abdoulaye Diop, Mali's ambassador to the United States, and Robin Poulton, president of The Virginia Institute for Peace and Islamic Studies, which is sponsoring the speech.

The Virginia Commonwealth University Student Government Association and the Muslim Students Association are co-sponsoring the event. For more information, visit http://www.vipis.org.