Julius Nyerere, the former president of Tanzania

(Photograph) - Signed up: Julius Nyerere, the former president of Tanzania, gives a speech accepting an honorary degree from the University of Ottawa at the opening of the Association of Commonwealth Universities general conference in the Canadian capital this week. The degree was presented by Huguette Labelle, chancellor of Ottawa.

Known to his citizens as Mwalimu (the Kiswahili word for teacher), Mr Nyerere contrasted the association's readiness to accept its affiliated universities' diversity of experience with the efforts of multilateral agencies such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to impose western-derived forms of economic and social management.

Anastasios (Chris) Christodoulou, secretary general of the ACU for 16 years until he retired in 1996, also received an honorary degree from the university, which is the largest bilingual university in Canada. Photograph: Andrew Balsor.