Dr. Richard (Rick) Hardiman will speak on "China: a country to be feared or to be praised​"

Dr. Hardiman will choose topics relating to environment (water, air, forests), politics, village life, agriculture, global impact, religion (Buddhism, Christianity, Jews in China, atheism), education, Tibet, minorites etc., depending on audience interest.

Rick is originally from England, and came to Israel in 1972 for six months to study irrigation and agriculture, with the intention of working in developing countries to "turn the desert green." 11 years and a Ph.D later, he continued eastwards to work in India for three years. In 1985, he looked across the ocean towards China, and decided to go there to work since it "seemed like a country that was going somewhere."

He lived in China for 22 years, working with various donor and government agencies on development programs, both in rural villages, Beijng and Tibet. He assisted the central government to set up an institute for agricultural development, and was with the European Commission in Beijing, where he was in charge of designing environmental projects to help the Chinese government combat air and water pollution and to conserve forests. In 2008, he returned to Israel together with his family. He is now a free-lance consultant, and teaches subjects at the Hebrew University relating to China and the environment, specializing in water and energy.

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