January 21 is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

December 10 is recognized throughout the world as International Human Rights Day. On January 22-25, Cascadia Community College will host a series of events to reflect on these important events. This year, the theme for our events is “Technology, Sustainability and Human Rights.”





The Global Human Rights Alliance at Cascadia Community College has taken a leading role in planning for these deliberations. The yearly event is intended to facilitate learning and dialogue around global and national human rights issues. The goal of this particular program is to foster critical thinking about the connections between technology, questions about sustainability, and how these impact the human rights of people at the local, national and global levels. It also aims to encourage reflection on the linkage between international trends and developments at home in the areas of human rights and civil rights. Participants are drawn from a wide array of professional and discipline backgrounds. Here is a brief schedule of the events:





Title of presentation: “Public Policy, Human Rights, and the Environment”

Time: Tuesday January 22, 3:30 pm – 5:00 pm

Location: UW2-005

Andrew Light (Ph.D. University of California, Riverside, 1996), is Associate Professor of Philosophy and Public Affairs, and Adjunct Professor of Geography and Public Health Genetics, at the University of Washington, Seattle. He is also a Research Fellow at the Institute for Philosophy & Public Policy at Lancaster University (U.K.), a Faculty Fellow at the Center for Sustainable Development in the School of Architecture at the University of Texas at Austin, an Affiliate Faculty member of the Bard Center for Environmental Policy at Bard College, New York, and a Studio Fellow at the Studio for Creative Inquiry in the College of Fine Arts at Carnegie Mellon University. His primary areas of interest are environmental ethics and policy, philosophy of technology, moral and political philosophy, and aesthetics.
Light is the author of over seventy articles and book chapters on these topics, and is editor or co-editor of sixteen books, including The Aesthetics of Everyday Life(Columbia, 2005), Animal Pragmatism: Rethinking Human-Nonhuman Relationships (Indiana, 2004), Moral and Political Reasoning in Environmental Practice (MIT, 2003), Environmental Ethics: An Anthology (Blackwell, 2003), Beneath the Surface: Critical Essays on the Philosophy of Deep Ecology (MIT, 2000), Technology and the Good Life? (Chicago, 2000), Philosophies of Place (Rowman and Littlefield, 1999), Social Ecology After Bookchin (Guilford, 1998) and Environmental Pragmatism (Routledge, 1996). He is also the author of a book on philosophy and film, Reel Arguments: Film, Philosophy, and Social Criticism (Westview, 2003).





Time: Wednesday January 23-Thursday January 24, 10 am-7 pm

Location: North Creek Events Center

Mohandas K. Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr. and Daisaku Ikeda, three men from three different cultures and continents, have followed a common path of profound dedication and achievement in improving the lives of all people. The exhibit panels feature colorful photographs, inspiring quotes and factual information about these world figures. The exhibit is divided into sections that present their lives as they relate to key themes: · FORGING DESTINY imparts the importance of mentors and the key influences upon each person’s life. · HUMANITY AT THE HEART explores their common belief in the innate dignity of humanity. · PRINCIPLES INTO ACTION illustrates how each man was able to translate his principles into dynamic action. · NONVIOLENCE explores the principles of nonviolent action as a way of life and a means to bring about positive change in society. · ADVERSITY AND RESISTANCE shows each man’s ability not only to triumph over adversity, but to utilize it to further their growth as humanists. “Gandhi, King, Ikeda: A Legacy of Building Peace” is a human rights exhibit which was created with the hope that by examining the lives of these great figures, viewers will find these lofty ideas and principles within the grasp of their own daily existence. Soka Gakkai International (SGI-USA) is an American Buddhist lay organization that promotes world peace based on the teachings of the Nichiren school of Mahayana Buddhism. Members reflect a cross section of our diverse American society representing a broad range of ethnic and social backgrounds. For further information, visit their website at http://www.sgi-usa.org/. To learn more about the history of the Gandhi,King,Ikeda photo exhibit, visit http://www.morehouse.edu/about/chapel/peace_exhibit/exhibit/index.html Through this exhibit, SGI-USA will offer great insight into the lives and global impact of these world figures. The exhibit is a perfect introduction for our communities and students to the histories of African American, Indian, Japanese cultures and to the principles of nonviolence, peace, value creation through action, and cooperative dialogue. Educators, students, community, and friends of the college are warmly invited to experience the exhibit.




Title of presentation: "What Does Electronic Waste Have to Do with Environmental Justice and Human Rights?"

Time: Friday January 25, 930 am-1130 am

Location: CC1-110

Sarah Westervelt is e-Waste Project Coordinator for BAN. The Basel Action Network (BAN) is a Seattle-based environmental group that works globally to prevent the dumping of toxic waste on developing countries. Currently focused on electronic waste and ship breaking, BAN’s work is based on the principle of environmental justice and existing international law created to prevent free trade in toxic wastes. BAN is best known for its exposés showing some of the impacts of dumping toxic e-waste, with two films and reports called “Exporting Harm: The High-Tech Trashing of Asia”, and “Digital Dump: Exporting Reuse and Abuse to Africa”. The first film from Guiyu, China, depicts very toxic “recycling” of electronics from the US and other developed countries, while the Nigerian film depicts how equipment supposedly exported for “reuse” is another form of dumping. In addition to exposés, BAN identifies globally responsible e-recyclers (“e-Stewards), and works with governments, businesses, coalitions, and the public to shift current practices away from dumping toxins in developing countries, prisons, landfills and incinerators, and instead responsibly managing this problematic waste stream. Sarah Westervelt is the e-Waste Project Coordinator at BAN, and has a Master’s Degree in Organizational Systems Renewal from Antioch University.