Canadian University Press Releases/Newswire

Source: University of Regina
http://www.uregina.ca/news/releases/2006/november/7(b).shtml

Rethinking productivity: Turning the globalization debate on its head

November 7, 2006

Release: November 7, 2006 Contact: Stephen King, External Relations E-mail: Stephen.King@uregina.ca Phone: (306) 585.5439 Mobile: (306) 536.4312 Fax: (306) 585.4997

Rethinking productivity: Turning the globalization debate on its head Canadian journalist and award-winning documentary filmmaker Avi Lewis will screen his film, The Take, on Thurs., Nov. 9 at 6 p.m. in the Education Auditorium at the University of Regina, followed by a lecture about the film at 8 p.m. The screening and talk are open to the public and are free of charge; free parking is available in Lots 14 and 15.

The Take is an emotional story of hope and resistance in the global economy. In suburban Buenos Aires, 30 unemployed workers walk into their idle factory, roll out sleeping mats and refuse to leave, hoping for the silent machines to re-start. Their simple act has the power to turn the globalization debate on its head. The New York Times called the film "a stirring, idealistic documentary", its CBC telecast was nominated for four Gemini Awards, and it won the International Jury prize at the American Film Institute festival in Los Angeles. For more information on the film, visit http://www.thetake.org.

Prior to filmmaking, Lewis was the host and producer of counterSpin on CBC Newsworld, presiding over more than 500 nationally televised debates in three years. In the 1990s, he hosted City TV's landmark music journalism show The New Music and served as MuchMusic's first political specialist. He hosted and produced live telecasts of two federal elections and the 1995 Quebec referendum.

Lewis is the second speaker in the Rethinking Productivity Speaker Series, presented by the Social Policy Research Unit in the University of Regina’s Faculty of Social Work. The series looks at ways in which modern democracy can divert governments from focusing solely on the interests of the rich and powerful. Other speakers planned for the series include Helen Caldicott, pediatrician, author, Nobel peace prize nominee and anti-nuclear activist; Wendy Mesley, award-winning investigative journalist; Ralph Nader, consumer advocate, author and three-time USA presidential candidate; and Robert Trivers, evolutionary biologist, author and one of the leading scientists of the 20th century. For more information, visit http://scratchpost.cc.uregina.ca/spr.

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