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Water activist to open The Forum season

RELEASED: Aug. 13, 2010

Maude Barlow
Maude Barlow

EAU CLAIRE — The 69th season of The Forum at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire will open Oct. 5 with a presentation by water activist Maude Barlow.

Climate change, pollution, industrial growth and a surging population have combined to create a global crisis of such magnitude that nearly two billion people live in parts of the world that are running out of water. By 2050 we will need 80 percent more water just to feed ourselves — and no one knows where this water will come from. Maude Barlow is national chairperson of the Council of Canadians, Canada's largest citizens' organization, and founder of the Blue Planet Project working internationally for the right to water. Barlow also chairs Food and Water Watch, a consumer advocacy organization that filed suit to halt operations of BP's Atlantis oil drilling platform in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.

Barlow's Forum program, titled "Blue Covenant: The Global Water Crisis and the Coming Battle for the Right to Water," will begin at 7:30 p.m. in Zorn Arena. The event is the first of five Forum events scheduled for the 2010-11 season. The rest of the season lineup is:

  • Jeremy Scahill, "Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army"; 7:30 p.m. Nov. 9, Zorn Arena. Scahill is an award-winning investigative journalist and frequent contributor to The Nation magazine, where he reports on war contractors. His first book, "Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army," is a New York Times bestseller. Widely viewed as one of the world's leading experts on privatized warfare, he has testified before Congress on the use of mercenary forces in United States war zones, and his reporting on Blackwater has been used in numerous congressional investigations.
  • Ann Gibbons, "The Human Race: The Quest to Find Our Earliest Ancestors"; 7:30 p.m. Dec. 1, Schofield Auditorium. Gibbons is the author of "The First Human: The Race to Discover Our Earliest Ancestors." She is a correspondent for Science magazine, where she has covered human evolution for more than a decade. With a name like Gibbons, it was perhaps inevitable that she would write about primate evolution, including the evolution of humans. Her research has included many hours observing highly evolved scientists in their familiar habitats, whether upright in the lab sequencing DNA or prone on the ground excavating fossils from ancient graves.
  • Jacqueline Elena Featherston, "Weaving Change: A Guide to Personal and Political Transformation"; 7:30 p.m. Feb. 9, 2011, Schofield Auditorium. Featherston is an educator, writer, filmmaker and visionary who challenges social and political inequity on multiple fronts. Her interactive and engaging lectures address classism, racism, sexism and heterosexism while promoting sustainable social change. She encourages alliance building across multiple domains of difference and helps clarify the role that healing internalized oppression and dominance will play in any effort to alter our current social and political structure.
  • Michael Uslan, "From Fan to Filmmaker: The Journey to Bring 'Batman' to the Silver Screen"; 7:30 p.m. March 8, Zorn Arena. Uslan is best known as the originator and executive producer of the "Batman" movie franchise, starting with Tim Burton's 1989 film, and continuing to 2008's box office record-breaking "The Dark Knight." Less well known is that the first Batman film was the culmination of Uslan's more than two decades of work to bring a serious, dark version of the character to the big screen. Uslan's visit is a highlight of the campuswide "Be a Hero" campaign.

Established in 1942, The Forum continues its tradition of presenting many of the world's greatest minds and imaginations. A typical Forum includes a 60-minute lecture, a 30-minute question-and-answer session and an open reception.

More information about each of the events as well as ticket information can be found in the season brochure or online.

Ticket sales begin Aug. 30. Season subscription information is available at the Service Center in the east lobby of Davies Center, 715-836-3727. Subscription options include the "the Works" package at a 25 percent discount or a build-your-own-season package of six or more tickets to Forum and Artists Series events at a 20 percent discount.

Tickets for individual Forum events are $8 for the public; $6 for those 62 and older and UW System or Chippewa Valley Technical College faculty and staff; and $4 for those 17 and younger and UW System or CVTC students. Student tickets are half price, $2, until the day of the event. On the day of the event, students must pay the full student ticket price.

Patrons also may charge their tickets to Discover, MasterCard or Visa when ordering by phone. Call 715-836-3727 or, outside the immediate Eau Claire area, call toll-free, 800-949-UWEC. A $3 handling fee will be added to all telephone charge orders.

Wisconsin Public Radio and Community Television have contributed generous promotional support for The Forum. The Forum is also funded in part by Visit Eau Claire ... The Unexpected Wisconsin. Best Western Trail Lodge Hotel & Suites (715-838-9989), 3340 Mondovi Road, is The Forum's exclusive accommodations partner.

Funded by the students of UW-Eau Claire, The Forum is administered by the Activities and Programs office of the University Centers.

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JS/DW

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