Join us for the launch of the Studio Center of Santa Fe’s (formerly Warehouse 21) Inspiring Speaker Series. We will screen the film, Merci Congo, about the conflict minerals trade in East Congo and the amazing activists who are working to change the situation there. Q & A will be facilitated by Natalie Longmire-Kulis, a senior at Desert Academy. This event is in partnership with Hero Women Rising, Cultural Survival, and the Studio Center of Santa Fe.
January 26, 2018
6-8:30 pm, doors open at 5:30
The Studio Center of Santa Fe
1614 Paseo de Peralta
Santa Fe, NM
Neema Namadamu, one of the activists featured in the film, will speak about her work empowering women in the region and changing the paradigm there through grassroots organizing. This event is free and open to the public, donations welcome. We highly encourage the entire youth community to attend. RSVP requested to admin@studiocentersf.org.
More about Neema's work: http://www.herowomenrising.org/
Neema Namadamu is originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo and is the founder and executive director of Hero Women Rising and Synergy of Congolese Women’s Associations (SAFECO). She is a visionary game-changer who was named as 1 of 14 Fierce Women’s Rights Advocates to Watch in 2014. She has been compared to Nobel laureates Leymah Gbowee and Mairead Maguire. She is a polio survivor who was the first woman with a disability from her ethnic group to earn a university degree, serving in Parliament for her province and then Chief Advisor to DRC’s Minister of Gender and Family. She is dedicated to keeping girls in school and empowering women in her community to create a path to economic success on their own terms.
More about the film: https://www.mercicongo.com/
Merci Congo, 90 minutes, 2016
Directed by Paul Freedman
“The ongoing conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been called the "deadliest in the world since World War Two." More than five million Congolese have died as the result of two decades of war. Millions more have been displaced. Merci Congo is an independently produced documentary film that highlights the efforts of a handful of activists, in the Congo and in the U.S., who are devoted to bringing peace to this beleaguered nation. Shot on location in eastern Congo, Belgium, the United Kingdom and the United States.”
About Cultural Survival: www.culturalsurvival.org
Cultural Survival advocates for Indigenous Peoples' rights and supports Indigenous communities’ self-determination, cultures and political resilience, since 1972. We envision a future that respects and honors Indigenous Peoples' inherent rights and dynamic cultures, deeply and richly interwoven in lands, languages, spiritual traditions, and artistic expression, rooted in self-determination and self-governance. It is no coincidence that, due to careful stewardship, 80 percent of the earth’s biodiversity is found on Indigenous lands. Indigenous Peoples and their lands and territories are increasingly under assault from extractive industries such as mining, oil exploration, logging, and agro-industrial projects.
Headquartered in Cambridge, MA, Cultural Survival has satellite offices in Guatemala and New Mexico, as well as staff in Canada, Nicaragua, Nepal, and South Africa. Our work includes advocacy efforts to stop environmental destruction and abuses of Indigenous Peoples’ rights, always at the community’s invitation. Our financial and technical support of Indigenous community radio promotes freedom of expression and access to information. Our award-winning quarterly publication Cultural Survival Quarterly raises awareness about contemporary issues impacting Indigenous Peoples around the globe. Cultural Survival holds consultative status with the United Nations Economic Social and Cultural Council.
