Former United States vice president Mr Al Gore will deliver the keynote address at an international conference in Galway next month on the EU constitution.
The conference, on May 27th-28th, is being organised by the Galway Chamber of Commerce under a committee led by businessman Mr Declan Ganley.
The event is being organised in association with Eurochambres (the pan-European chambers of commerce), the Chambers of Commerce of Ireland and two colleges, NUI Galway and Galway Mayo Institute of Technology.
"The European Union Constitution is one of the most significant things to have taken place for the last 50 years, if it is not the most significant event of the last 50 years," Mr Ganley said yesterday.
"It is a very serious, very exciting, very challenging event and there has not been sufficient debate about it. We intend to bring focus to the debate," he said.
He said Mr Gore had a particular interest in the subject. "He is a major intellect. He has had a major interest in Europe for a very long time," Mr Ganley said.
The two-day forum will hear contributions from panels of experts nominated by some 16 leading universities from across Europe and beyond.
Individual sessions will be organised by Cambridge University, Madrid's ICADE University, Leiden University in the Netherlands, London's Imperial College, and Prague's Charles University.
Panellists will include leading figures from the world of business, government and academia from Europe, the United States and other parts of the world, Mr Ganley promised yesterday.
Tickets for the event can be reserved from the Galway Chamber of Commerce, (tel: 091 563536), or by registering on www.euconstitution04.orgs
