Thursday, 12-03-2009

YPIN: The WTO in Seattle 10 years later: An in-depth analysis of democracy and globalization then and now

Join YPIN, MOHAI, and the Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies of the University of Washington for a unique showing of This is What Democracy Looks Like, by filmmaker Jill Freidberg, as she leads us through “a week that changed the world.”

10 years later, how are the protests perceived by the public? How does the media continue to influence democracy in action in the United States and around the world? What role does the WTO continue to play today?

The screening will be followed by a panel discussion moderated by KUOW’s Deborah Wang, with Filmmaker Jill Freidberg, Professor Matthew Sparke of the University of Washington, and local activist, Verlene Jones, and Deputy Mayor of Seattle during the WTO meetings, Maud Daudon.

Don’t miss out on the intimate pre-event reception where our guest speakers and moderator will join us for more in depth conversation. Light appetizers and wine will be served.

Do you have a story from the ’99 protests? If so, come early to share your memories of the event with PepperSpray Productions, an independent video activists collective.

Jill Freidberg is a Seattle-based documentary filmmaker and community radio activist. She has produced three feature-length, award-winning documentaries including This is What Democracy Looks Like and Granito de Arena. Freidberg was a founding member of the Seattle Independent Media Center and has collaborated with independent media collectives and community radio stations, in the U.S. and Mexico, for over ten years.

Matthew Sparke is associate professor of geography and international studies at the University of Washington. Since 2000, most of his scholarship has focused on globalization. He teaches a large introductory course on the topic, and is currently writing a textbook entitled Introduction to Globalization.

Verlene Jones has been an activist in the labor movement for the past 30 years. Currently, she works as the lead organizer of the Martin Luther King County Labor Council's Union Cities Program. In this position, Verlene played a central role in labor's mobilization for the 1999 WTO protests. Verlene is the first woman, or person of color to work in a leadership role in MLK County Council's history.

Maud Daudon was Deputy Mayor of the City during the WTO meetings in 1999. She currently is President and CEO of Seattle Northwest Securities, a private company in Seattle that finances public works projects throughout the Northwest.

Deborah Wang is a news and feature reporter for local NPR station, KUOW 94.9FM. Deborah joined the KUOW staff in the fall of 2005, and is an award–winning radio and television journalist whose career spans more than two decades. A long–time network foreign correspondent, Deborah has reported from close to two dozen countries, including China, Vietnam, Cambodia, India, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Rwanda, Kuwait, and Iraq. In 1993, she went to work for ABC News as a television correspondent, and covered, among other things, WTO protests in Seattle in 1999.


www.thisisdemocracy.org