Campus 2006
The fourth annual Campus seminar took place between 28 August and 1 September 2006 at the international centre of the International Movement ATD Fourth World in Pierrelaye, near Paris. More than 110 participants from five continents took part during the week.
“How can we fight extreme poverty?” This was the question that Campus set out to answer. Starting from meetings between academics and people active at the grass-roots level, the seminar created openings and possibilities for people to move towards others from different walks of life with the aim of allowing everyone to gain a better understanding of deep poverty and those living in such a situation.
The presentations, debates and exchanges were based around three main themes:
- Extreme poverty and development
- The thinking of Joseph Wresinski and its continuing relevance
- The ethical and methodological questions posed by research into extreme poverty and social exclusion.
Seydou Daffe - a participant’s point of view:
“All the subjects were dealt with internationally, from Iran to Guatemala via Europe, Africa, Brazil, Canada, the Philippines and the Unites States… The choice of subjects was varied, from the impact of the environment on poverty in Brazil to a philosophy workshop in a prison in France; from “Recognising the expertise from the everyday life of the poorest in order to construct a new model of long-lasting development” (Edith Heurgon), through “When poverty is replaced by destitution” (Majid Rahnema) to Philip Tabarly’s film “The Water Cutter”. All were opportunities to really think about what we understand of extreme poverty and the means to eradicate it. The different monographs which were presented during Campus allowed us all to put our fingers on some of the most terrible and unacceptable aspects of living in extreme poverty. In the end, Campus 2006 kept its promises to be a space where people could make the links between the different dimensions of extreme poverty, so breaking down the walls which separate those actors all engaged in the same combat. It was a voyage that was made both outside of oneself and inside, and one which changes the way you see things.”
Campus 2007 will follow in the same tradition and the same sense of openness. If you are interested in the seminar, please contact Floriane Caravatta at campus@atd-quartmonde.org or telephone 01 34 30 46 12.
