Here’s the press release from UNC Asheville:
Amber Munger, a human rights activist living in Haiti, will compare and contrast the work of Haitian grassroots organizations with that of international development agencies in a talk, “Nothing About Us Without Us.”
The event, free and open to the public, takes place at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 15 in UNC Asheville’s Highsmith University Union, room 104.
“Progressive Haitian intellectuals consider ‘development,’ as coined by the United Nations, to be the modern version of colonialism,” says Munger, who asserts that international development organizations are not improving the standard of living and quality of life for ordinary Haitians. “Almost invisible to the international press, Haiti’s grassroots groups continue to resist and work towards the construction of a society that serves the poor majority.”
Munger’s experience in Haiti dates to 1996 and she has lived in Port-au-Prince since 2008. She currently serves there as country consultant for the American Jewish World Service, where she manages partnerships with more than 47 organizations working in Haiti. She has worked closely with organizations to strengthen Haiti’s social movement, with special focus on food sovereignty, protections for human rights defenders, social justice, LGBTI and sex worker rights, sexual and gender based-violence, community radio, and extractive industries.
Munger graduated from UNC Asheville in 2000 with a degree in environmental studies and she also earned law degree from the University of Oregon.
This lecture is sponsored by the Belk Distinguished Professor at UNC Asheville and the Department of Environmental Studies. For more information, contact Mark Gibney at 828.250.3870 or mgibney@unca.edu.
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