- ATD Fourth World

The idea for the colloquium, jointly organized by the Fourth World Movement and Political Science, Paris, was born in Haïti during a time of extreme violence. Academics and grass roots workers were meeting and had the intuition that in face of such violence the thought of Joseph Wresinski could be a great resource both then and for the future.

Several years in preparation in several countries, and as much by researchers as by persons living in poverty, this colloquium made possible a genuine encounter between the university world and the Fourth World, a true merging of knowledge.

Discover the interview of some participants:

« When you have lived in poverty from childhood, you have a long trail of struggles that you want to share. When you are placed in foster care, you live your whole life with a lack of parents. This colloquium is very important. Here people spoke concretely. For me, it was important to be able to express myself in this colloquium. At this point, knowing where I come from, it is amazing. If someone had told me that one day I would speak at the University of Paris . . .! But it is not enough to be able so speak; one must also be understood. I believe that this time I have been heard.” » Marcel Le Hir, Fourth World activist

« There is a growing conviction that the excluded are the first actors in their social and political reintegration into the societies where they are marginalized. » professor of political science, IEP Aix-en-Provence, France)

« With his natural simplicity, Joseph Wresinski came to the United Nations in 1986 or 87 and said to us: ‘If you don’t understand that extreme poverty is a violation of human rights, you don’t understand anything . . .’ He said it without arrogance, but he had put a sword in our hearts. He completely changed our perception of extreme poverty. As I prepared my report to the United Nations, he was my inspiration. Joseph Wresinski’s humanist thought must be at the heart of any reforms contemplated at the IMF and the World Bank, or of a new global economic order to be built out of the present crisis. » Leandro Despouy, Special Rapporteur of the United Nations (Argentina)

« For forty years my work has been animated by this affirmation: ‘Families living in extreme poverty and exclusion have a contribution to bring.’ This colloquium has inspired in me two reflections. First, it is very important for a movement such as the Fourth World to continue to witness and to write about what it does, including relating to the university. Writing what one lives seems to me to be very important. That is what makes Joseph Wresinski’s thought relevant today. Second, it is also important to continue to learn how to learn from the knowledge of persons living in extreme poverty. » Jona Rosenfeld, Myers, Brookdale Institute (Israel)

« During our ‘regional’ seminar in Haïti, held previous to the Paris colloquium, we raised many questions and discovered that our conversation was greatly enriched by the voices of persons living in poverty. In Paris, I realized that whatever the economic or geographical context, in rich countries or poor ones, in the United States, Poland, or Haïti, in North countries or South, the problems are exactly the same, even if they don’t bear the same face: it is only the extent that varies. In Europe, the poor are the “excluded” of society; in Haïti, the rich are a minority. As a university person, this encounter among activists, academics, and persons living in extreme poverty has raised for me the following question: What good is research if it does not lead to concrete responses? As a physician I must conclude that the natural sciences—especially in the domain of health—must not be cut off from the social sciences. I feel myself comfortable and totally engaged in this struggle.  » Jean Hugues HENRYS - Haïti

« What strikes the historian about these various and passionate contributions are the similarities between different historical situations, but also the differences. Is there in extreme poverty an impoverishment specific to women? There is a Manichean double representation of the woman faced with extreme poverty: sometimes she is “Mother Courage” and other times she is incapable, even unworthy of being a mother. This colloquium is very interesting from this point of view. I would add that if history is an essential instrument for understanding our societies, we must also be suspicious of it. . . . The queston of rights reaches way beyond sentiments of compassion that a society may show. In this connection, I think it would be interesting to study the perverse effects of measures introduced to aid persons living in extreme poverty.» Michelle Perrot, historienne, emeritus professor of contemporary history, University of Paris VII

« I met Joseph Wresinski in the 1960s. An originator of a new definition of poverty, he is the first to connect extreme poverty, social exclusion, and human rights. Two philosophers, Thomas Pogge and Paul Ricoeur, share this same analysis. But Joseph Wresinski’s view is different from theirs in that he sees poor persons not only as objects but as themselves actors in the struggle against extreme poverty. His thought is an invitation to go beyond knowledge to engagement. » Charles Courtney, philosopher, Drew University, New Jersey (United States)