The inaugural lecture, which is named in honor of the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, will take place at the Jack H. Skirball Centre for The Performing Arts at New York University. In excess of 800 people are expected to be in attendance.

Columbia University's Professor Sachs is the author of the best selling book The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time. He is internationally renowned for advising governments in Latin America, Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, Asia and Africa on economic reforms and for his work with international agencies to promote poverty reduction, disease control, and debt reduction of poor countries. He was recently named among the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine.

The lecture will be introduced by musician and political activist, U2's Bono, who also wrote the foreword for Professor Sachs' landmark book. Bono first became involved in issues affecting Africa as part of the Live Aid response to the Ethiopian famine in 1984. He has actively supported Amnesty, Greenpeace and the Jubilee 2000 'Drop the Debt' movement. Bono's intensive lobbying of politicians all over the world recently helped force a promise from wealthy nations to cancel $100 billion worth of poor countries' debt.

The lecture series has been established by Glucksman Ireland House to commemorate the renowned Senator's contribution to political and economic affairs around the world throughout a remarkable and admired political career. The late Senator Moynihan is recognized as has having been one of the foremost political thinkers of his generation and one of the leading influences on political life in the United States during the 20th century.

Loretta Brennan Gluckman, founder and Chairperson of Glucksman Ireland House, said: "Senator Moynihan was an exceptional statesman, scholar and Irish-American and a standard bearer for making a positive difference. His contribution to the academic world and his legacy is an inspiration to all, irrespective of their political beliefs. He was a great man, a great thinker, a man of great principle, a great American and a great Irishman. We are proud to have this opportunity to honor his memory in such an appropriate manner with the generous participation of Bono and Professor Sachs -- two people who in their own right are helping to define the world we live in today and shape the world we will live in tomorrow. "

Tickets for the event will go on sale August 30th by calling or visiting the Shagan Box Office at 566 LaGuardia Place (Washington Square South), +1 212 992-8484, Tue-Sat 12noon-6pm; or Ticket Central at 416 West 42nd Street (Between 9th and 10th Avenue), +1 212 279 4300. Daily 12noon-8pm. Tickets can also be purchased online at www.skirballcenter.nyu.edu. The lecture will take place at the Jack H. Skirball Center for Performing Arts, NYU at 566 LaGuardia Place on the south side of Washington Square Park on October 5th 2005. The program begins at 6pm.

About Professor Jeffrey Sachs

Jeffrey D. Sachs is the Director of The Earth Institute, Quetelet Professor of Sustainable Development, and Professor of Health Policy and Management at Columbia University. He is also Director of the UN Millennium Project and Special Advisor to United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan on the Millennium Development Goals, the internationally agreed goals to reduce extreme poverty, disease, and hunger by the year 2015. He is the author of hundreds of scholarly articles and many books. Sachs was recently elected to the Institute of Medicine and is a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research. Prior to joining Columbia, Sachs spent over twenty years at Harvard University, most recently as Director of the Center for International Development. A native of Detroit, Michigan, Sachs received his B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. degrees at Harvard University.

About Bono

In addition to his other efforts to eradicate world debt and poverty, in 2002, Bono established DATA (Debt, AIDS, Trade, and Africa) and has been campaigning for a greater worldwide response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic devastating Africa. To raise awareness of the AIDS emergency, Bono traveled in Africa with US politicians, and traveled through America with African AIDS activists. Recent promises from the US have resulted in 230,000 Africans receiving life-saving anti-retroviral AIDS treatment. This year, U2 have championed the One Campaign to Make Poverty History, helping to sign up over a million Americans in four months." [Yahoo News]