This week I talk about my experience as a videographer covering IMDEC at a National Dam Conference, and I included a few photos. I also discuss an impromptu tour of the Río Santiago on a day when there was nothing but white foam covering the expanse of the river. You’ll see Flip camera footage by a friend, Rodrigo, who brought me on the tour.
Deep Water: The Epic Struggle Over Dams, Displaced People, and the Environmentby Jacques Leslie captures the dam politics from many angles. Leslie focuses on three people embroiled in the debate: Medha Patkar, a prominent Indian antidam activist; Thayer Scudder, an American anthropologist and expert of displacement politics in southern Africa (Zambia, Botswana, South Africa, and Lesotho); and Don Blackmore, an Australian water manager of one of the most managed rivers in the world, the Murray River.
I am deeply impressed by the simplicity and potency of the phrase “We All Live Downstream.” It’s also the title of a visually stunning slideshow of dams, river and people on the International Rivers website. International Rivers is an incredible internationally networked organization that supports grassroots organizations in more than 60 countries to achieve their overall mission “to protect rivers and defend the rights of communities that depend on them.”
My first project related meetings began last week, proving to be both incredibly exciting and equally nerve wracking. I conducted research projects in the past, but not one of this magnitude and personal importance. I’m finding that the whole process is a learning experience, and I must walk an important line between knowing what I am talking about and being humble about my inexperience in certain areas. Building my own alliances and crafting my own way is liberating and empowering, but it sometimes feels like a foreign endeavor.
Logistics | steve | 
16 February 2010 23:29 | 
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