"Environmentalism and Modern Democracy: Lessons on Local and Global Governance": A conversation with Shalini Gupta and Cecilia Martinez September 27, 2007

The event will discuss the challenges raised by modern society for a democratic solution to environmental destruction. From the local Not In My Backyard neighborhood concerns to the global problem of climate change, the focus on democratically-based solutions are becoming virtually obsolete in the policy discourse. Democratic engagement of environmental problems on a global scale requires rejuvenation of the guiding political ethic of self-governance and self-determmination. Lessons from a local groundbreaking collaboration between Ananya Dance Theatre Company, the Environmental Justice Education and Advocacy Collaborative of the Women's Environmental Institute, and the Center for Energy and Environmental Policy will be presented. Speakers will discuss how the collaboration has created an iterative creative process using art, applied research and citizen participation toward a vision for inclusive social change.

Shalini Gupta is Senior Energy Associate at the Izaak Walton League and serves on the Board of Directors for Environmental Justice Advocates of Minnesota and Headwaters Foundation for Justice. Cecilia Martinez is a Senior Policy Fellow with the Center for Energy and Environmental Policy at the University of Delaware and principle investigator for the Environmental Justice Education and Advocacy Collaboration sponsored by the Women's Environmental Institute.

Sponsored by the Institute for Advanced Study and the Performance and Social Justice Collaborative. Part of the Thursdays at Four series, free and open to the public.

Official Website: http://events.tc.umn.edu/event.xml?occurrence=402771