The challenges of growing up as black and female in apartheid South Africa has led Naomi Tutu to her present as an activist for human rights. Those experiences taught her how much we all lose when any of us is judged purely on physical attributes. In her speeches she blends the passion for human dignity with humor and personal stories.
Naomi is the third child of Archbishop Desmond and Nomalizo Leah Tutu. She was born in South Africa and has also lived in Lesotho, the UK and the United States. She was educated in Swaziland, the US and England, and has divided her adult life between South Africa and the US. Growing up the ‘daughter of Archbishop Tutu has offered Naomi many opportunities and challenges in her life. She has taken up the challenge and channeled the opportunities that she has been given to raise her voice as a champion for the dignity of all.
Her professional experience ranges from being a development consultant in West Africa, to being program coordinator for programs on race and gender and gender-based violence in Education at the African Gender Institute at the University of Cape Town. In addition she has taught at the Universities of Hartford and Connecticut and Brevard College in North Carolina.
Naomi has become a sought after speaker to groups as varied as business associations, professional conferences, elected officials, church and civic organisations. Naomi has also led Truth and Reconciliation Workshops for groups dealing with different types of conflict. Together with Rose Bator she presents a workshop titled Building Bridges dealing with issues of race and racism.
Naomi is also a consultant to two organisations which reflect the breadth of her involvement in issues of human rights. The organisations are the Spiritual Alliance to Stop Intimate Violence (SAIV), founded by renowned author Riane Eisler and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Betty Williams, and the Foundation for Hospices in Sub-Saharan Africa (FHSSA).
