From 6 to 7 June 2014, eminent scientist and environmentalist Dr. Vandana Shiva from Dehli, India will be visiting Harare.
Born to a father who was the conservator of forests in the valley of Dehran Dun and to a farmer mother with a love for nature, Dr Shiva trained as a physicist and received her Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) from the University of Western Ontario, Canada in 1978. She later went to undertake interdisciplinary research in science, technology and environmental policy at the Indian Institute of Science and the Indian Institute of Management in Bangalore.
In 1982, she formed the Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology. This led to the creation, in 1993, of Navdanya, a network to protect the diversity and integrity of living resources (biodiversity), especially native seed, the promotion of organic farming and fair trade. Dr Shiva is very concerned about the effect of genetically engineered (GE) organisms on the environment, food sovereignty and the rights of farmers.
She is the author of thirteen books and over 300 articles and has been presented with numerous awards, among which are: the Right Livelihood (1993), the Order of the Golden Ark (1993), the Save the World Award (2009), the Sydney Peace Prize (2010) and Fukuoka Asian Culture Prize (2012). During her visit to Zimbabwe, Dr Shiva will share her ideas and experiences with people from all sectors of society, including key decision-makers, smallholder farmer organizations and the media. She will address a public meeting on Saturday 7 June at 2 pm at Book Cafe. The same event will display the work being done by smallholder farmers in promoting healthy indigenous foods and biodiversity through saving seeds from a wide range of crops. Admission will be free.
The trip will be sponsored by the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA). AFSA champions small African family farming/production systems based on agro-ecological and indigenous approaches that sustain food sovereignty and the livelihoods of communities.
For more information contact Anna Brazier on email abrazier@mango.zw and mobile 0773 267 351
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