Farrow Receives Wallenberg Humanitarian Award

Mia Farrow, recipient of the Marc and Connie Jacobson Raoul Wallenberg Humanitarian award, listens intently to guests at a dinner in her honor last night. Following the dinner, Farrow delivered a lecture, "With Knowledge Comes Responsibility: The Darfur Crisis," as part of the President's Lecture Series, to over 400 attendees in ODU's Webb Center.

The award, named in honor of the memory of Raoul Wallenberg, a Swedish businessman and diplomat who dared to defy the perpetrators of the Holocaust during World War II and is credited with saving the lives of thousands of Jews, is given to recognize the recipient for their humanitarian efforts - those who are "making the world a better place" by their actions.

Farrow has been a high-profile advocate for children's rights, working to raise funds and awareness for children in conflict-affected regions, predominantly Africa. She is a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and has worked extensively to draw attention to the fight to eradicate polio, which she survived as a child.

Her latest humanitarian effort raises awareness of the genocide occurring in Darfur, Chad and Central African Republic. At the podium, Farrow shared photos and first-hand accounts from her trips to Darfur in 2004, 2006 and 2007, bearing witness to the desperation of the people of the region and encouraging action by all those who listened.