Press release: Megaslumming - the future of urban shantytowns
Press release: Share The World's Resources will be hosting a panel discussion on Wednesday 24th February 2010 at the Human Rights Action Centre, Amnesty International, London, EC2A 3EA, 18:30 – 20.00, followed by a drinks reception.
View PDF version of the press release
Share The World’s Resources, a London-based campaign group, are hosting a public event on slum growth and urban poverty in the Global South.
The event follows the launch of the book ‘Megaslumming: A journey through sub-Saharan Africa’s largest shantytown’, which took place at the National Museum of Kenya in Nairobi during January 2010.
The UK event will commence with a short film by STWR on slum residents in Nairobi, followed by an introduction by the author of ‘Megaslumming’ on his experience and analysis of Africa’s most notorious shantytown – Kibera.
A panel of experts will then present their views on the reality of poverty for those living in ‘megaslums’, the underlying causes of the growth of informal settlements, and what the options are for reversing this trend.
Panellists will include:
Adam Parsons
Author of ‘Megaslumming’ and editor at Share The World’s Resources.
Dr Firoze Manji
Executive Director of Fahamu and editor of Pambazuka News.
Jeremy Seabrook
Author and commentator on social, environmental and development issues.
Malavika Vartak
Campaign Coordinator for Poverty and Human Rights, Amnesty International UK.
The panel discussion will be chaired by Share The World’s Resources and followed by a Q&A session. The diverse audience will include non-governmental organisations, activists, academics, media representatives and the general public. Complimentary snacks and drinks will be provided after the discussion.
Booking
Admission is free. To book a place, please send an email to alexia[at]stwr.org stating your full name and the number of seats you require.
For more information about the event and to purchase a copy of the book, visit www.sharing.org/megaslumming.
Press Contact
+44 (0) 20 7609 3034
Notes
Megaslumming is published by Share The World’s Resources. Written as an introduction to global justice issues, the book sets out to unravel how a ‘megaslum’ such as Kibera came to exist, what economic forces shape the reality of life for slum residents in Africa, and what it really means to live in extreme poverty. In a mix of travel writing, history and political narrative, the book vividly describes life in the slum through the eyes of its different residents – the AIDS orphans, the grandmother-headed households, the neglected schools, the Nubian elders, and most of all the street boys who become the author’s guides and teachers inside the notorious shantytown.
Share The World’s Resources (STWR) advocates for governments to secure basic human needs by sharing essential resources such as water, energy and staple food. www.stwr.org
Adam Parsons is the author of ‘Megaslumming: A journey through sub-Saharan Africa’s largest shantytown’, published by Share The World’s Resources. He is also the editor at STWR where he regularly writes articles, conducts research for policy reports, and publishes the latest news and analysis on a range of global issues.
Dr Firoze Manji is the founder and executive director of Fahamu, the editor of Pambazuka News, and visiting fellow at the University of Oxford. Kenyan-born, he formerly worked as programme director for the International Secretariat of Amnesty International.
Jeremy Seabrook is an author and journalist specialising in social, environmental and development issues. He has written over forty books, including The Refuge and the Fortress: Britain and the Flight from Tyranny (Palgrave Macmillan 2008), Consuming Cultures: Globalization and Local Lives (New Internationalist 2004), In the Cities of the South: Scenes from a Developing World (Verso 1996). He is also a regular contributor to the New Internationalist and the Guardian.
Malavika Vartak is Campaign Coordinator for Poverty and Human Rights at Amnesty International UK, focussing on corporate accountability and forced evictions. She has previously coordinated the Global Forced Evictions Programme at the Centre on Housing Rights, as well as worked with the Housing and Land Rights Network New Delhi, International Rivers, Berkeley and the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, Pune.