Desmond Tutu
ITVS Joins Filmmakers and Partners at the Geneva Forum on Social Change
ITVS and the University of Geneva’s International Organizations MBA Program, in collaboration with the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School and the U.S. Mission to Geneva, recently presented the Geneva Forum on Social Change at the Geneva International Conference Centre in Geneva, Switzerland. More than 1,000 people attended to discuss key issues facing communities around the globe, with a focus on the uses of documentary film as a tool for education and policy making in international public affairs. ITVS Director of Communications Dennis Palmieri attended the event and shares some of the highlights and reflects on its impact.
Nobel Peace Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu giving the keynote address. Photo credit: Violaine Beix
More than 1,000 people attended the Geneva Forum on Social Change, co-presented by ITVS.
The Geneva Forum on Social Change was a whirlwind two-day international event that paired 10 ITVS International documentary and social issue films with six panel discussions, three keynote speakers—including Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and two workshops on the strategic use of film in public affairs and education…and if that sounds like an action-packed couple of days, well you don’t know the half of it!
The event attracted more than 1,000 people––principally from Geneva’s corps of international NGOs and IOs—including United Nation agencies like the World Food Program, IAEA, UNICEF, UNIFEM, UNESCO and others. Students from Geneva University also came out in strong numbers, notably for the films, and even more notably for the Golden Globe winner WALTZ WITH BASHIR. The event drew from beyond Geneva’s close circle to include documentary filmmakers and broadcasters from around Europe and America, and a number of special guests who really made for an amazing two days of engagement, international exchange and excellent movie watching.
Stealing the show was the hour long and clearly extemporaneous keynote address by Nobel Peace Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu, whose message focused on the need for people to be engaged in projects like this one. “You are all wonderful human beings who bring God’s gifts to the world,” he told the audience.
The Geneva Forum on Social Change
ITVS and Geneva University, in collaboration with the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School and the U.S. Mission to Geneva, will present the Geneva Forum on Social Change, June 5 and 6 at the Geneva International Conference Centre in Geneva, Switzerland. The forum aims to explore key issues facing communities around the globe, with a focus on the uses of documentary film as a tool for education and policy making in international public affairs.
The program will include 10 documentary films from ITVS International filmmakers, along with six issue-based panels, two workshops and three keynote speakers––including, from South Africa, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Prize laureate.
The Geneva Forum is an excellent opportunity to connect our award-winning international documentary content with the world’s leading NGOs and other organizations who can use these media tools in powerful and creative ways. Geneva’s unique place in the world of diplomacy and international public affairs makes it the ideal place to build and expand partnerships around the use of documentary film in many issues of global importance.
The Geneva Forum grew out of a collaboration between ITVS and the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School (NPS), where a similar event, “Windows on the World,” was produced on the NPS campus in Monterey, Calif., in October 2008. Windows on the World included a similar mix of ITVS International’s documentary films along with high-level panels and speakers.
The Geneva Forum on Social Change is free and open to the public. Registration will take place on-site beginning at 8 AM both days. Online registration for individual sessions is encouraged.
Upcoming Screenings
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Community Cinema selections are screened in over 50 locations throughout the United States. In March, Community Cinema presents Dirt! The Movie, directed by Bill Benenson and Eugene Rosow.
It’s under our feet and under our fingernails, but what is it? And how did it get there? Inspired by William Bryant Logan’s acclaimed book Dirt: The Ecstatic Skin of the Earth, find out how industrial farming, mining, and urban development have led us toward cataclysmic droughts, starvation, floods, and climate change. Dirt is a part of everything we eat, drink, and breathe. Which is why we should stop treating it like, well … dirt.
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