May 2, 2003
Contact: Sarah Ray
802-443-5794
sray@middlebury.edu
Posted: April 28,
2003
MIDDLEBURY,
VT - Vermont Rep. Bernie Sanders will speak on “Fighting
AIDS from Capital Hill” as part of a forum on AIDS at Middlebury
College May 2-4. Sanders’ talk, the first event of the forum, will
take place on Friday, May 2, at 7 p.m. in Dana Auditorium in Sunderland
Language Center on College Street (Route 125). Organized by the Middlebury
College chapter of the Student Global AIDS Campaign, the forum will include
a theatrical performance, a discussion by a student and faculty panel,
and a documentary film followed by remarks by Dr. Nils Daulaire of the
Global Health Council. All events are free and open to the public.
Student
organizer and Middlebury College senior Simon Isaacs said, “HIV/AIDS
is the most important issue facing our generation. Over 40 million people
around the world are living with the disease. Fifteen thousand new infections
occur daily. The disease has orphaned 15 million children. In some countries,
such as Botswana, over 35 percent of the population is infected. The cultural,
economic, political and social impact of this disease is undeniable. AIDS
may shape the economic and political world order in ways that no single
war has ever done.”
“We
hope the AIDS forum will spur awareness, organization and action regarding
the pandemic,” added Isaacs.
After
Sanders’ talk, the forum will continue on Saturday, May 3, at 5
p.m. with “Voices from the Frontlines,” theatrical accounts
of South Africans with HIV. According to Isaacs, “Voices from the
Frontlines” uses the intimate forum of theatre to portray moving
first-person accounts of South Africans with HIV, and those taking significant
action to fight AIDS. Isaacs said, “‘Voices’ will provide
audience members not only with information and inspiration, but also with
tangible direction on how to get actively involved both locally and internationally.”
Student
bands Audio Ergo Sum and Penelope will perform afterwards. Both “Voices
from the Frontlines” and the musical performances will take place
outside Proctor Hall on Hepburn Road off College Street (Route 125).
On
Sunday, May 4, at 2 p.m. a panel discussion titled “Pandemic, Student
and Faculty Perspectives” will take place in the conference room
of the Robert A. Jones House on Hepburn Road off College Street (Route
125). A panel of Middlebury College professors and students will discuss
a variety of issues associated with AIDS, from the impact of AIDS on economics,
social networks, and agricultural systems in Africa to the threat of AIDS
to national security. Following the talk, there will be a question-and-answer
session with the panel members.
At
8 p.m., there will be a showing of a documentary, “A Closer Walk,”
that focuses on the global AIDS pandemic, followed by a talk with Daulaire,
who is president and chief executive officer of the Vermont and Washington,
D.C.-based Global Health Council. Both the screening and the talk will
take place in Room 220 of Bicentennial Hall on Bicentennial Way off College
Street (Route 125). According to Daulaire, “A Closer Walk”
is the first film to depict humankind’s confrontation with the global
AIDS epidemic. Glen Close and Will Smith narrate the film, which includes
interviews with world leaders, such as the Dahlia Lama and Kofi Annan.
The film’s director and producer, Robert Bilheimer, is a 1989 Academy
Award nominee for his film “Cry of Reason,” a profile of the
South African anti-apartheid leader Beyers Naude.
Prior
to assuming his position as president of the Global Health Council, Daulaire
was the senior health advisor at USAID. Earlier, he worked for 15 years
in primary health programs in Asia, Africa and Latin America, and conducted
field research on child survival.
For
more information, contact student organizer Simon Isaacs at sisaacs@middlebury.edu
or 802-443-3957.
To follow are events calendar listings:
Middlebury
College AIDS Forum May 2-4
Friday,
May 2
7 p.m.
Lecture: “Fighting AIDS from Capital Hill”
by Vermont Rep. Bernie Sanders
Dana Auditorium in Sunderland Language Center on College Street (Route
125)
Free and open to the public
Saturday,
May 3
5 p.m.
Theatrical Performance and Student Bands: “Voices
from the Frontlines” is a series of moving first-person theatrical
accounts of South Africans with HIV, and those taking significant action
to fight AIDS. Student bands Audio Ergo Sum and Penelope will perform
afterwards. Outside Proctor Hall on Hepburn Road off College Street (Route
125)
Free and open to the public
Sunday,
May 4
2 p.m.
Panel discussion: “Pandemic, Student and Faculty
Perspectives” is the title of a panel discussion by Middlebury College
professors and students, who will discuss a variety of issues associated
with the AIDS pandemic, from the impact of AIDS on economics, social networks
and agricultural systems in Africa to the threat of AIDS to national security.
Following the talk, there will be a question-and-answer session with the
panel members.
Conference room, Robert A. Jones House on Hepburn Road off College Street
(Route 125)
Free and open to the public
Sunday,
May 4
8 p.m.
Film “A Closer Walk:” Documentary that focuses
on the global AIDS pandemic, followed by a talk with Dr. Nils Daulaire,
president and chief executive officer of the Vermont and Washington, D.C.-based
Global Health Council. Glen Close and Will Smith narrate the film, which
includes interviews with world leaders, such as the Dahlia Lama and Kofi
Annan. The film’s director and producer, Robert Bilheimer, is a
1989 Academy Award nominee for his film “Cry of Reason,” a
profile of the South African anti-apartheid leader Beyers Naude.
Room 220, Bicentennial Hall on Bicentennial Way off College Street (Route
125)
Free and open to the public
For
more information, contact student organizer Simon Isaacs at sisaacs@middlebury.edu
or 802-443-3957.