The Canadian Social Economy Hub is pleased to announce the confirmation of Gar Alperovitz as a speaker at the First International CIRIEC Research Conference on the Social Economy, which will take place from the 22nd to the 25th of October, 2007, in Victoria, BC, Canada. Currently the Lionel R. Bauman Professor of Political Economy at the University of Maryland, Gar Alperovitz has been variously described as a historian, a political economist, an activist, and a writer. His books on the topic of atomic diplomacy have received critical acclaim, and he has contributed articles to publications such as the New York Times and the Atlantic, as well as academic journals. Alperovitz has also been involved in issues surrounding worker-owned industry, and is the president of the National Center for Economic and Security Alternatives.