Celebrating 200 Years of Charles Dickens
Tuesday 7th February 2012: There have been global celebrations marking the 200th anniversary of Charles Dicken’s birth. Prince Charles laid a wreath on the author’s grave in Poet’s Corner, at a service at Westminister Abbey.
There was also a ceremony in Portsmouth, where Dickens was born. with readings by actor and biographer Simon Callow and actress Sheila Hancock.
A 24-hour readathon, organised by the British Council is taking place from Albania to Zimbabwe, reaching the UK at 9pm on the evening of Tuesday 7th with readings by author David Nicholls from Great Expectations, at the British Film Institute.
The Dickens Anniversary was also celebrated by the charity NewstrAid – a charity which was founded n 1854 to help men and women from the newspaper industry who were in need, and of which Charles Dickens was President from 1854 until his death in 1870
Google celebrated the day with one of its Google Doodles, and the artist Mike Dutton points out some details about the work on the Google Doodle site.
Dutton says: “We have quite a number of characters who showed up today to help celebrate Charles Dickens’ 200th birthday. Twelve recognizable ones at least. This naturally made for a pretty busy doodle, and while we managed to squeeze in a few extra pixels to make the logo slightly larger than usual, we thought it’d be kind of nice to show you a couple close-ups here. ”
“Of course, arriving at the final image was a slight technical challenge (as crowd scenes depicted at 500 pixels wide tend to be). So I worked a bit at making the overall shapes and gestures of each character recognizable even at small sizes.
For example, Scrooge’s back is drawn exaggeratedly hunched over. Tiny Tim looks even smaller compared to the ghostly apparitions in the sky behind him. Pip’s arm is tucked behind him, and he looks meek compared to Estella, who towers over him.”
Read MoreThe Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Year Launches
2012 is a year of celebration for the UK – not only is it the first time the Olympic Games will be held here since 1948, but Queen 
Elizabeth celebrates her Diamond Jubilee this year.
The Official Jubilee Emblem design (left) for The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee is based on an original illustration drawn by Katherine Dewar.
It was selected from 35,000 entries submitted by children aged 6 to 14 years from all over the UK in response to a Blue Peter competition.
The official launch of the Diamond Jubilee Year is the 6th of February 2012, celebrating the day she came to the throne on 6th February 1953. The only other British monarch to celebrate a Diamond Jubilee was Queen Victoria in 1897
This special year is being celebrated in many different ways with many events, ceremonies and entertainment for all to enjoy, as well as with many charitable and long-term projects such as the Jubilee Woods Project, launched in February 2011 which aims to plant six million trees across the UK, creating hundreds of new woodlands, including 60 “Diamond Woods” of at least 60 acres each to mark each year of Queen Elizabeth’s reign.
Some of the events and activities to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee are:
MAY
Diamond Jubilee Pageant at Windsor Castle
“Around the World in 60 Years and 90 minutes”
Dancers, musicians, military and equestrian displays from around the world will come together for three nights in the private grounds of Windsor Castle on 10, 11 and 13 May
In a show consisting of seven acts, visiors will be treated to a spectacular journey around the world, reflecting The Queen’s State and Commonwealth visits during the course of Her Reign. Starting from London the journey goes West visiting The Americas, Australasia, Asia, The Middle East, Africa, Europe and finally Great Britain.
The Diamond Jubilee Pageant is a not for profit event with all surplus going to selected charities to help the disadvantaged and disabled.
JUNE
The Big Jubilee Lunch
Sunday 3rd June 2012
This will be the fourth annual Big Lunch and is part of the main progrmme of events over the Diamond Jubilee celebrations over the special 4-day bank holiday.
The Big Lunch is a very simple idea from the Eden Project that aimd to get as many people together as possible across the UK to have luch with their neighbours in a simple act of community, friendship and fun.
Jubilee Beacons
Monday the 4th of June, 2012 will see thousands of beacons lit across the world to celebrate Queen Elizabeths 60 year reign over the UK, and as head of the Commonwealth.
4th June
Concert at Buckingham Palace
Also on the 4th June is a concert at Buckingham Palace, organised by the BBC with tickets are available to UK residents by public ballot.
JULY
Thames River Pageant
The Thames River Pageant on the afternoon of Sunday 3rd July 2012 will be one of the largest flotillas ever assembled on the river.
Left: The Royal Barge at Tower Bridge, by Joseph Bennett.
The armed forces, fire, police, rescue and other services are all afloat and there are an exuberance of historic boats, wooden launches, steam vessels and other boats of note.
In addition to this, the center of the river will have up to thirty thousand flag-waving members of the public on passenger boats, moored mid-river for an eye-level view of the pageant.
There will be music barges, boats spouting geysers and pyrotechnic barges spitting smoke and daytime fireworksas well as specially constructed elements like a floating belfry, with its chiming bells answered by those from riverbank churches.
The Official Emblem for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee
The Official Emblem for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee is by 10-year old Katherine Dewar, from Chester, and is the winning design in a national competition for children between 6 and 14.
Great Laws of Nature: Rediscovering Health
The United Nations has declared 2012 the “Year of the Co-operative”
to celebrate and encourage the successful work being done
across the globe by co-operatives of all kinds.
One very inspiring story of co-operation comes from the heart of Canada via a video which explores the work being done through a Co-operative in Saskatchewan by a group of First Nations People who are reconnecting with Nature, learning and observing her natural laws, and getting back on the road to self-reliance.
Out of Nothing, the Creator made Rock, Water, Fire and Wind.
From these four substances He created the physical world of the Sun ..Stars, moon and earth. Then He made the plant species.
“What we have to do is we have to study Nature. Nature is the greatest teacher if you take time, and listen.”
William Ermine, Saskatchewan Elder explains: “Nature lives in harmony with itself, each looks out for the other, each protects the other. There is no warring, there is no gossip, there is nothing. They live in harmony side by side, they are not fighting over that piece of land that they grow from. That is organic, as designed by our Creator.”
To Each a Spirit of Life, Growth, Healing and Beauty
There are four kinds of plant beings – flowers, grasses, trees and vegetables. To each, the Creator gave a spirit of Life, Growth, Healing and Beauty. Each He placed where it would be most beneficial, and lend to Earth the greatest Beauty, Harmony and Order”
Daniel Musqua continues: “It’s a belief that everything has Life and everything has Spirit. We pray to these Plant Spirits. These Spirits were put here on this Earth to look after all living things. They are at work in the Universe, here.” Daniel, a First Nation Elder is also a 3rd Generation Organic Farmer.
“Everything here has a purpose in its natural state, and it’s that purpose that we have to try to emulate within that relationship with these plants. There are people believe all life is connected, you certainly hear from the mainstream society it’s good to talk to your plants, and that’s taken quite seriously by the First Nations.”
After plants, the Creator made Animal Beings, conferring on each, special powers.
Last, he made Man, the Keepers of the Earth.
The Great Laws of Nature
Written and Directed by Noah Erenberg
Edited by Bruce Little
Many thanks to Director Noah Erenberg for making this great documentary,
presented here courtesy of Muskoday Organic Growers Co-op Ltd.
If you want to purchase a copy of this video
please contact the producers through this link:
rivard@rivard.tv
Muscoday Organics on Facebook
“We will take care of you, we will deal with your enemies, the other weeds and the other competitors, and in turn, you can feed us and take care of us at some point.
Read MoreLiving Without Wikipedia
China is able to limit its people from reaching much information on the web. The power of the internet lies in the freedom of expression it has given to all who can access it.
If the internet slowly loses its independance, we have the prospect of all information being controlled by… who?
Yes. freedom of expression can be abused, but the abuse and the abusers should be addressed, not the freedom. There are many powerful people with hidden motives, who do not include the welfare of the general public as part of their plans.
Wikipedia shut down its English language service today in protest at the proposed new laws to contol the internet. This is a message we all need to think very hard about.
Wikipedia Explains:
Why is Wikipedia blacked-out?
Wikipedia is protesting against SOPA and PIPA by blacking out the English Wikipedia for 24 hours, beginning at midnight January 18, Eastern Time. Readers who come to English Wikipedia during the blackout will not be able to read the encyclopedia. Instead, you will see messages intended to raise awareness about SOPA and PIPA, encouraging you to share your views with your representatives, and with each other on social media.
What are SOPA and PIPA?
SOPA and PIPA represent two bills in the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate respectively. SOPA is short for the “Stop Online Piracy Act,” and PIPA is an acronym for the “Protect IP Act.” (“IP” stands for “intellectual property.”) In short, these bills are efforts to stop copyright infringement committed by foreign web sites, but, in our opinion, they do so in a way that actually infringes free expression while harming the Internet. Detailed information about these bills can be found in the Stop Online Piracy Act and PROTECT IP Act articles on Wikipedia, which are available during the blackout. GovTrack lets you follow both bills through the legislative process: SOPA on this page, and PIPA on this one. The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to advocating for the public interest in the digital realm, has summarized why these bills are simply unacceptable in a world that values an open, secure, and free Internet.
A Perspective on the internet censorship bills from the Alyona Show on YouTube.
Why is the blackout happening?
Wikipedians have chosen to black out the English Wikipedia for the first time ever, because we are concerned that SOPA and PIPA will severely inhibit people’s access to online information. This is not a problem that will solely affect people in the United States: it will affect everyone around the world.
Why? SOPA and PIPA are badly drafted legislation that won’t be effective at their stated goal (to stop copyright infringement), and will cause serious damage to the free and open Internet. They put the burden on website owners to police user-contributed material and call for the unnecessary blocking of entire sites. Small sites won’t have sufficient resources to defend themselves. Big media companies may seek to cut off funding sources for their foreign competitors, even if copyright isn’t being infringed. Foreign sites will be blacklisted, which means they won’t show up in major search engines. And, SOPA and PIPA build a framework for future restrictions and suppression.
Does this mean that Wikipedia itself is violating copyright laws, or hosting pirated content?
No, not at all. Some supporters of SOPA and PIPA characterize everyone who opposes them as cavalier about copyright, but that is not accurate. Wikipedians are knowledgeable about copyright and vigilant in protecting against violations: Wikipedians spend thousands of hours every week reviewing and removing infringing content. We are careful about it because our mission is to share knowledge freely. To that end, all Wikipedians release their contributions under a free license, and all the material we offer is freely licensed. Free licenses are incompatible with copyright infringement, and so infringement is not tolerated.
Isn’t SOPA dead? Wasn’t the bill shelved, and didn’t the White House declare that it won’t sign anything that resembles the current bill?
No, neither SOPA nor PIPA is dead. On January 17th, SOPA’s sponsor said the bill will be discussed in early February. There are signs PIPA may be debated on the Senate floor next week. Moreover, SOPA and PIPA are just indicators of a much broader problem. In many jurisdictions around the world, we’re seeing the development of legislation that prioritizes overly-broad copyright enforcement laws, laws promoted by power players, over the preservation of individual civil liberties.
How could SOPA and PIPA hurt Wikipedia?
SOPA and PIPA are a threat to Wikipedia in many ways. For example, in its current form, SOPA would require Wikipedia to actively monitor every site we link to, to ensure it doesn’t host infringing content. Any link to an infringing site could put us in jeopardy of being forced offline.
I live in the United States. What’s the best way for me to help?
The most effective action you can take is to call your representatives and tell them you oppose SOPA and PIPA, and any similar legislation. Type your zipcode in the locator box to find your representatives’ contact information. Text-based communication is okay, but phone calls have the most impact.
I don’t live in the United States. How can I help?
Contact your local State Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, or similar branch of government. Tell them you oppose SOPA and PIPA, and any similar legislation. SOPA and PIPA will affect sites outside of the United States, and actions to sites inside the United States (like Wikipedia) will also affect non-American readers — like you. Calling your own government will also let them know you don’t want them to create their own bad anti-Internet legislation.
Is it still possible to access Wikipedia in any way?
Yes. During the blackout, Wikipedia is accessible on mobile devices and smart phones. You can also view Wikipedia normally by disabling JavaScript in your browser, as explained on this Technical FAQ page. Our purpose here isn’t to make it completely impossible for people to read Wikipedia, and it’s okay for you to circumvent the blackout. We just want to make sure you see our message.
I keep hearing that this is a fight between Hollywood and Silicon Valley. Is that true?
No. Some people are characterizing it that way, probably in an effort to imply all the participants are motivated by commercial self-interest. But it’s obviously not that simple. The proof of that is Wikipedia’s involvement. Wikipedia has no financial self-interest at play here: we do not benefit from copyright infringement, nor are we trying to monetize traffic or sell ads. We are protesting to raise awareness about SOPA and PIPA solely because we think they will hurt the Internet, and your ability to access information online. We are doing this for you, because we’re on your side.
In carrying out this protest, is Wikipedia abandoning neutrality?
We hope you continue to trust Wikipedia to be a neutral information source. We are staging this blackout because (as Wikimedia Foundation Trustee Kat Walsh said recently), although Wikipedia’s articles are neutral, its existence is not. For over a decade, Wikipedians have spent millions of hours building the largest encyclopedia in human history. Wikipedia is a tremendously useful resource, and its existence depends upon a free, open and uncensored Internet. SOPA and PIPA (and other similar laws under discussion inside and outside the United States) will hurt you, because they will make it impossible for sites you enjoy, and benefit from, to continue to exist. That’s why we’re doing this.
I have a question that isn’t answered here, or, I would like to send feedback to Wikipedia.
You can reach Wikipedia editors at info-en(at)wikimedia(dot)org. If you need a response, please be patient: we may have trouble keeping up with the mail.
For more information on this see the Wikipedia page here…
The video below is from Border Row Productions on Vimeo, clarifying some of the points to consider with these censorship bills.
Common Sense – SOPA & PIPA from Border Row Productions on Vimeo.
A PSA of sorts. Spread the word, please.
Everything here done by Andrew Hoag and Molly Ryan at Border Row Productions.
Special thanks to Jason Harvey (alienth) for his fantastic article on these two bills, which helped us craft this video. The article can be found here: blog.reddit.com/2012/01/technical-examination-of-sopa-and.html
www.borderrowproductions.com
@BorderRow
SFX Credits to some great users on Freesound.org (ironically, a site that would probably be subject to blacklisting if these laws come to pass).
– gezortenplotz
– dj chronos
– andrew duke
– percy duke
– rumphries
– acclivity
– herbertboland
– digifishmusic
– theta4
The Age of Stupid: Pete Postlethwaite
“.. we all have our self-justifying myths. We tell ourselves a story of our lives in which we almost always appear as the heroes.
These myths prevent us from engaging with climate change” This is how environmental activist George Monbiot described the film “The Age of Stupid”‘s message in his review for the Guardian Newspaper.
“The Age of Stupid” is a drama-documentary -animation hybrid starring the late Pete Postlethwaite (In The Name of the Father, The Usual Suspects, Brassed Off) as a man living alone in the devastated world of 2055, watching archive footage from the mid-to-late 2000s and asking “Why didn’t we stop climate change when we had the chance?”
This 2009 British film is by by Franny Armstrong, director of McLibel and Drowned Out, and founder of 10:10, and first-time producer Lizzie Gillett. The Executive Producer is John Battsek, producer of One Day in September.
Crowdfunding and Indie Screenings are Born
Multi-award-winning documentary director Franny Armstrong (McLibel, Drowned Out) and Oscar-winning producer John Battsek (One Day In September, Restrepo) pioneered the “crowd-funding” model to finance the film, and then spent four years following seven real people’s stories to be interweaved with Pete Postlethwaite’s fictional character.
They also pioneered a new distribution system, Indie Screenings, which allows anyone, anywhere, to hold a screening of the film and keep the profits for themselves.
The film was shot in seven countries over a period of three years.
Spanner Films Channel on Vimeo
Spanner Films Channel on YouTube
Plot
The film begins in the year 2055 in a world ravaged by catastrophic climate change; London is flooded, Sydney is burning, Las Vegas has been swallowed up by desert, the Amazon rainforest has burnt up, snow has vanished from the Alps and nuclear war has laid waste to India.
An unnamed archivist (Pete Postlethwaite: In The Name of the Father, The Usual Suspects, Brassed Off) ) is entrusted with the safekeeping of humanity’s surviving store of art and knowledge.
Alone in his vast repository off the coast of the largely ice-free Arctic, he reviews archive footage from back “when we could have saved ourselves”, trying to discern where it all went wrong. Amid news reports of the gathering effects of climate change and global civilisation teetering towards destruction, he alights on six stories of individuals whose lives in the early years of the 21st century seem to illustrate aspects of the impending catastrophe.
These six stories take the form of interweaving documentary segments that report on the lives of real people in the present, and switch the film’s narrative form from fiction to fact. The people who feature are:
Al Duvernay, a Shell employee and resident of New Orleans who stayed behind and helped in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina. He reflects on what it feels like to have had all his possessions washed away in the flood, and also on his job in the oil industry and how valuable resources are being wasted.
Jehangir Wadia, an Indian businessman who talks about his low cost airline GoAir startup company and his democratic vision of a world in which all people, rich and poor, are able to afford air travel.
Jamila and Adnan, two Iraqi children who fled with their family to Jordan during the Iraq War, who tell the story of their father’s death and of their desire to be reunited with the older brother they left behind.
Fernand Pareau, an 82-year-old man who works as a guide on the Mont Blanc glacier in France – he takes an English family on a tour of the glacier and explains how he has seen the ice recede massively in his lifetime. The guide is also shown taking action against expanding road infrastructure in his area.
Piers Guy, a wind-farm developer who talks about his efforts to bring sustainable energy to an English village, and how he is being blocked by people who profess a commitment to fighting global warming but do not want wind turbines destroying their views. His family takes action in reducing their carbon footprint and contemplate the effects of air travel.
Layefa Malemi, a Nigerian woman who struggles with poverty despite the wealth of oil in her country. She talks about her ambition to study medicine and the everyday impact of the exploitation of oil by Shell Nigeria on health, security and the environment in Nigeria.
The Film’s Release
Largest Film Premiere Ever with the Lowest Carbon Emission
The film’s UK premiere was on 15 March 2009 in London’s Leicester Square
The screening was held in a solar-powered ‘cinema tent’ and conducted without use of mains electricity. An independent audit conducted by Carbon Accounting Systems found the event’s carbon emissions to be 1% of those produced by a normal blockbuster premiere.
Linked by satellite to 62 cinemas around the UK, the premiere received a Guinness World Record for being the largest film premiere ever, based on number of screens.
During the post show discussion, President Mohamed Nasheed received a standing ovation for announcing that the Maldives would be the world’s first carbon neutral country.
Star of the film Pete Postlethwaite threatened to return his OBE if the government gave the go-ahead to the controversial Kingsnorth coal-fired power station in Kent. A month later the Government announced a change to its policy on coal – no new coal-fired power station will get government consent unless it can capture and bury 25% of the emissions it produces immediately – and 100% of emissions by 2025. This, a source told the Guardian, represented “a complete rewrite of UK energy policy”.
“Best Green Event” and Best “Live Brand Experience”
The UK premiere received the accolades of ‘Best Green Event’ from Event Awards and best Live Brand Experience in the PR Week Awards.
In the UK, The Age of Stupid was released in 62 cinemas in its opening week and hit the top of the Box Office charts (by screen average). The total run was 13 consecutive weeks, playing in 263 cinemas in all, with the longest single run being four weeks at London’s Odeon Panton Street.
The Age of Stupid was launched in Australia and New Zealand on 19 August 2009 with simultaneous green carpet premieres in Auckland and Sydney, linked by satellite to 32 cinemas in Australia and 13 in New Zealand. The film was then released in all 13 cinemas in New Zealand and many of the 32 in Australia.
Global Premier
The film was released internationally on 21 September and 22 September 2009 at the “Global Premiere”. A green carpet cinema tent in downtown New York, powered by locally sourced biodiesel, was linked by satellite to 442 cinemas across the USA and to more than 200 cinemas in more than 30 other countries, as well as another 33 countries which hosted independent screenings with no satellite link.
Popular musicians Moby and Thom Yorke from Radiohead performed live. Special guests at the New York premier included Kofi Annan, Ed Miliband, Mohamed Nasheed, Rajendra Pachauri, Heather Graham, and Gillian Anderson. Pranksters, The Yes Men, walked up the green carpet in their “survivaballs”.
Many guests arrived by low-carbon transport, including sailboat, rowing boat, electric car, bicycle, bicycle rickshaw and rollerblades.
Reception
Writing for The Guardian, environmental activist George Monbiot said that the film’s “message, never stated but constantly emerging, is that we all have our self-justifying myths. We tell ourselves a story of our lives in which we almost always appear as the heroes. These myths prevent us from engaging with climate change.”.
The Financial Times critic described the film as intelligent and provoking, giving “The wisdom of hindsight, today”.
Time Out London‘s film editor, Dave Calhoun, said, “Armstrong’s prognosis is apocalyptic, but her journalism is solid, instructive and pleasingly thoughtful,” and described the film as “entertaining and provocative”.
The Times called the film “the most imaginative and dramatic assault on the institutional complacency shrouding the issue”, saying, “The power of this shameless campaigning film is that it gives dates and deadlines. It explores options and ideas. It names culprits…”
The Telegraph‘s reviewer, Sukhdev Sandhu, said, “Bold, supremely provocative, and hugely important, [Armstrong’s] film is a cry from the heart as much as a roar for necessary change.”
Based on only 12 reviews Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a rating of 83%.
The New York Times described the film as a “much sterner and more alarming polemic than An Inconvenient Truth”. The review noted the “gallows humor” throughout the film, although the review was critical of the crude animated sequences.
The Sydney Morning Herald described the film as “a wake-up call with an elegiac tone — not quite hectoring but pressing. This is about human nature, greed and personal responsibility. It aims to scare and galvanize — and it’s pretty good at both.”
In a double-page spread under the headline “Oblivious to oblivion” The Sun‘s environment editor said “reality has caught up with the apocalyptic images.”
William Nicholson, writer of Shadowlands and Gladiator, said “I hate this film. I felt as if I was watching all my own excuses for not doing anything about climate change being stripped away from me.”
Awards
Grierson: Sheffields Awards – Best Green Doc 2008
Sunny Side of the Doc – Best Green Doc 2008
Sunny Side of the Doc – Film Most Likely To Be Cinema Hit 2008
Sunchild International Environmental Festival – First Prizes
Birds Eye View Film Festival – Best Documentary 2009
British Independent Film Awards – Best Documentary 2009 (nominated)
http://www.spannerfilms.net/films/ageofstupid
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Age_of_Stupid
Franny Armstrong
Franny Armstrong is a British Documentary film director and former drummer with indie pop group “The Band of Holy Joy”.
She works for her own company Spanner Films and is best known for the climate change blockbuster “The Age of Stupid”, “McLibel” about the infamous McDonald’s court case and “Drowned Out” which followed the fight against the Narmada Dam Project.
As well as pioneering the use of Crowdfunding for producing independant films, she developed the innovative form of film distribution known as Indie Screenings.
Franny launched her recent carbon reduction campaign 10:10 in the UK in September 2009 and it is now active in more than 50 countries.
On International Womans Day, March 8, 2011 Franny Armstrong was named as one of the Guardian newspaper’s “Top 100 Women”, in a list which included Aung San Suu Kyi, Wangari Maathai, Gareth Pierce, Doris Lessing, Arundhati Roy and Oprah Winfrey
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There will be a Screening of the film in Enfield, London (UK) on the 12th March 2012 – more info here…
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ORGANISE A SCREENING – via www.goodscreenings.org
“Show the best, award-winning social justice filmmaking. Share films that aren’t just good – they do good too…
Welcome to the future of film distribution. Now anyone in the world can buy a license to screen these excellent films. Our cunning software will calculate the license according to who you are, where you screen and how many people you’re screening to. You can even keep the profits for yourself or your organisation, campaign or cause.”
http://www.goodscreenings.org/
Read MoreMonika Bulaj: The hidden light of Afghanistan
Monika Bulaj - discovering Noor, the hidden light of Afghanistan
“My aim is to give a voice to the silent people, to show the hidden lights behind the curtain of the great game, the small worlds ignored by the media and the prophets of a global conflict.”
Monika Bulaj was born in Warsaw, Poland in 1966 and studied Polish philology at the University of Warsaw.
Although Polish is her mother tongue she also speaks Italian, French, English, German, Russian and other Slavic languages, some Spanish and at present is studying Arab and Persian
Monika is a photographer, reporter and documentarian who classifies the main areas of her research as “The Borders of Faiths” (mystic, archetypes, divination, possession, pilgrims, body, cult of the dead) and minorities, nomads, migrants, outcasts, dispossessed, in Asia, Europe, and Africa.
Among other things she has published many books and articles, given many presentations of her work and had over 50 solo exhibitions,.
In this TED talk she shares some of her work on her project “The hidden light of Afghanistan”, an inspiring work of photojournalism and insight into the hidden lives of an ancient people in a world now devastated by war.
“My travels to Afghanistan began many, many years ago on the eastern border of my country, my homeland, Poland. I was walking through the forests of my grandmother’s tales. A land where every field hides a grave, where millions of people have been deported or killed in the 20th century.
I have been walking east for 20 years
Behind the destruction, I found a soul of places. I met humble people. I heard their prayer and ate their bread. Then I have been walking East for 20 years — from Eastern Europe to Central Asia — through the Caucasus Mountains, Middle East, North Africa, Russia. And I ever met more humble people. And I shared their bread and their prayer. This is why I went to Afghanistan.
One day, I crossed the bridge over the Oxus River. I was alone on foot. And the Afghan soldier was so surprised to see me that he forgot to stamp my passport. But he gave me a cup of tea. And I understood that his surprise was my protection.
Noor, the Hidden Light of Afghanistan
So I have been walking and traveling, by horses, by yak, by truck, by hitchhiking, from Iran’s border to the bottom, to the edge of the Wakhan Corridor. And in this way I could find noor, the hidden light of Afghanistan. My only weapon was my notebook and my Leica. I heard prayers of the Sufi — humble Muslims, hated by the Taliban. Hidden river, interconnected with the mysticism from Gibraltar to India. The mosque where the respectful foreigner is showered with blessings and with tears, and welcomed as a gift.
What Do We Know About the Country and the People that We Pretend to Protect?
What do we know about the country and the people that we pretend to protect, about the villages where the only one medicine to kill the pain and to stop the hunger is opium? These are opium-addicted people on the roofs of Kabul 10 years after the beginning of our war. These are the nomad girls who became prostitutes for Afghan businessmen.
What do we know about the women 10 years after the war? Clothed in this nylon bag, made in China, with the name of burqa. I saw one day, the largest school in Afghanistan, a girls’ school. 13,000 girls studying here in the rooms underground, full of scorpions. And their love [for studying] was so big that I cried.
What do we know about the death threats by the Taliban nailed on the doors of the people who dare to send their daughters to school as in Balkh? The region is not secure, but full of the Taliban, and they did it.
My aim is to give a voice to the silent people, to show the hidden lights behind the curtain of the great game, the small worlds ignored by the media and the prophets of a global conflict.”
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http://www.monikabulaj.com/eng/
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Below is a selection of extracts from press statements about her work.
“If you suspect that the ancient faith does not lie in the choked squares, the marble cathedrals or the great metropolis, but rather in the periphery, in the forgotten villages on the farthest borders of the empire, then you should visit the work of Monika Bulaj”.”
Paolo Rumiz, La Repubblica, Rome
“If justice belonged to this world, “People of God” would be a textbook in every school of the world. Thanks to a moving and elegant writing style, and to dozens and dozens of photographs, this book confirms how people of different ethnic origin, nationality, and religion can and do live together. … The faces worn by time, endless and without a beginning, caught behind windows that look as if they have never been opened, behind dusty glass panels which, if broken, are never replaced; …. the villages lost in remote and distant regions, almost crystallized by ice and snow…”
Alessandro Marrongiu, Liberal, Turin
“Monika Bulaj is a “light hunter”. Rather than being interested in the boundaries among different cultures, she is focused on the spaces where what was impossible to blend has actually blended. Hers are simply provocations to those who believe in solid and established truths. She thinks that respect means to work without flash, because she is looking for the light, even when there is only shadow, and the details and outlines are blurred. This is how she creates her images that suggest action and motion.”
Christiane Schlotzer, Suddeutsche Zeitung, Munich
Happy New Year 2012
London opened its Olymic Year with a spectacular fireworks display on the Thames.
Quarter of a million people watched the eight-minute display which had a surprise start with the display being launched from Big Ben and synchronised to its chimes. Guy Fawks would have thought he had woken up in heaven if he had seen it.
The display then continued along the Thames, with fireworks launched from barges in the Thames as well as from its normal center of the London Eye. The show was all synchronised to music and was introduced with a broadcast of the original announcement that was made when London won the honour of hosting the 2012 Olympic Games.
The most comprehensive coverage can be seen on the BBC website at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12101999
This is the display as seen on Sky News:
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