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Angelina Jolie Pitt is heading to London to take up a new role as a Professor in Practice at the London School of Economics’ Centre for Women, Peace and Security.
This is not Ms. Jolie Pitt’s first foray into academia. She previously worked alongside fellow visiting professor and former British Foreign Secretary Lord William Hague to launch the LSE’s Centre in 2015.
The collaboration came after the pair jointly set up the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative (PSVI) in 2012. According to the school, the campaign was designed to “raise awareness, rally global action, to increase the number of perpetrators held to account and to ensure better support for survivors.”
“It is vital we broaden the discussion on how to advance women’s rights and end impunity for crimes that disproportionately affect women, such as sexual violence in conflict,” the Academy Award winner said in a statement released on May 23. “I am looking forward to teaching and learning from the students, as well as to sharing my own experiences of working alongside governments and the United Nations.”
Jolie Pitt, 40, was first named as a UN Goodwill Ambassador in 2001 and has since been appointed to the role of Special Envoy of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
Between 2001 and 2012 she made over 50 visits to field missions in her role as a Goodwill Ambassador. As a Special Envoy she travelled to war-torn Iraq in 2015 saying, “Nothing can prepare you for the horrific stories of these survivors of kidnap, abuse and exploitation and to see how they cannot all get the urgent help they need and deserve.”
Lord Hague has expressed his delight at working with Ms. Jolie again:
“This course will help underpin our work in preventing sexual violence in conflict and develop expertise and research to assist us in tackling the culture of impunity.”
Angelina Jolie Pitt was awarded the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George (DCMGG) by Queen Elizabeth II in 2014 for her humanitarian work.
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