Southridge School is hosting Canadian politician, diplomat and international humanitarian envoy Stephen Lewis to mark its 15th anniversary.

The South Surrey independent school, which prides itself on stressing community involvement among its student body, has invited Lewis to speak at the Bell Performing Arts Centre Nov. 20.

Lewis, currently a professor in global health in the faculty of social sciences at McMaster University, will be speaking on the importance of community and relationships in both a national and international context - a topic organizers say fits well with the school's guiding principles.

"We thought it was a good connection," said Debbie MacDougall, director of community relations at Southridge.

"We believe relationships are really important, the relationships the kids have with each other, that they have with their teachers and that they have with people outside of the walls of our school in our community and around the world."

Since 2003, students at Southridge have been involved in fundraising projects that helped build and equip a school in Kenya, and MacDougall said organizers looking for a speaker to mark the school's 15th anniversary felt a connection with Lewis because of his work in Africa

Lewis was the UN secretary-general's special envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa from 2001 to 2006 and now chairs the Stephen Lewis Foundation, which is dedicated to stemming the tide of HIV/AIDS on that continent.

MacDougall said the school was also drawn to Lewis because they felt his life of public service embodies the school's stated mission of turning out graduates "who will make a difference in the world."

Lewis began public life in 1963 after being elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario at age 26, and spent 15 years in provincial politics, including an eight-year stint as leader of the Ontario NDP, before stepping down in 1978.

He began his diplomatic career in 1984 after being appointed Canadian ambassador to the UN.

Since then he has been widely recognized for his international service. He holds 30 honorary degrees from Canadian universities and won the Pearson Peace Medal in 2004.

He is a Companion of the Order of Canada, and in 2007, the Kingdom of Lesotho, a small country in southern Africa, invested him as Knight Commander of the Most Dignified Order of Moshoeshoe, that country's highest honour.

Lewis is also the author of the best-selling book, Race Against Time about the international community's response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Africa.His talk at the Bell Centre in November will touch on accountability, health and education in both Canada and the world.

For more information about this event, call 604-535-5056 or visit www.southridge.bc.ca