Sculpture in the home of our host, Photographer Anne de Henning
Student Tea Shop Window
Jeff Koons Exhibit in Versailles
December 10th, 2008 will be the actual 60th anniversary of the ratification of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Under Eleanor Roosevelt’s thoughtful guidance this document was fashioned by the Drafting Commission consisting of 17 disparate members. As the driving force behind the Commission’s accomplishment, she brought together people of vastly different political systems, religious codes and cultural attitudes. After two years of intensive work by this Drafting Committee, with her exceptional leadership, the Declaration was passed without a single dissenting vote.
All the member nations of the UN, along with all the NGO’s (Non Governmental Organizations, from civil society, of which we, the WCA, are one), endorse and support the Declaration of Human Rights. Obviously the Articles of the Declaration are aspirational in nature, but have proved to be an enduring goal. An important discussion at the recent conference arose around the RESPONSIBILITIES that go along with these rights. In fact, some folks believe there should be an amendment to the original articles that speaks to those responsibilities (although many questioned the possibility of consensus in that discussion, given the divisions in today’s world).
We, as an organization, have a wonderful opportunity in our Chapters to inform our membership about the Declaration and our international involvement. That involvement has already started to take shape in terms of a possible international panel of Artists presenting at the 2009 DPI-NGO Conference, as well as a collaboration with another NGO for an art show on Climate Change and the International Commission on Justice for Bhopal (ICJP), in the Fall of 2009. That show will coincide with the 350 Degree Conference and the 25th Anniversary of the world’s largest industrial disaster, Union Carbide’s infamous gas leak that killed thousands in Bhopal, India in 1983, which continues to claim victims, and has generated a response that has set the world’s standard for activism around corporate accountability. We expect to include an existing exhibition of art works specifically related to Bhopal, along with ‘Climate Change / ECO ART” by our national membership. There is currently a large internationally coordinated effort to bring a great deal of attention to the 25th Anniversary, so we expect it to be a high profile event linked to a huge publicity push.
It was an extraordinary pleasure to share the experience of the Conference and time in Paris with my Co- Delegate, Priscilla Otani, and I look forward to working together on expanding the scope of the International Committee of WCA.
I am posting some photos from our time in Paris- for your possible interest, although they are not necessarily directly related to the NGO Conference.
