Arlette Bashizi & Marcus Bleasdale in conversation
FREE
Saturday, November 9
8:00 PM Goma, DRC
7:00 PM Central European Time
1:00 PM Eastern Standard Time (US East Coast)
10:00 AM Pacific Standard Time (US West Coast)
Arlette Bashizi
Bashizi is an award winning documentary photographer and photojournalist born and currently based in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo. She focuses on topics related to health, environment and culture, keeping human beings, especially women and youth, at the center of her stories.
In recent years, she has delved into topics including the extraction of rare minerals to satisfy the Western demand for electric vehicles, the repercussions of the conflict in Congo DRC and Tigray, and the destructive consequences of climate change in the region. Her project "Survivors" has been awarded in the 2024 World Press Photo Contest.
In 2020, Bashizi contributed to the collaborative project "Congo in Conversation". Led by Finbarr O'Reilly, this marked the beginning of her professional career. Since then she has worked for The New York Times, The Washington Post and The New Humanitarian. She is a contributor to the news agency Reuters and works as a consultant with international organizations.
Marcus Bleasdale
Bleasdale has been involved in advocacy and human rights for twenty-five years. In his role as a documentary photographer for National Geographic Magazine and Human Rights Watch, he has documented conflict and the impact natural resources have on conflict. Bleasdale has educated and advised corporations and policymakers around the world around these and other issues.
His work on human rights and conflict has been shown at the US Senate, The US House of Representatives, The European Parliament, The United Nations in NYC, the International Criminal Court, and the Houses of Parliament in the UK.
Bleasdale has published three books, One Hundred Years of Darkness (2002) and The Rape of a Nation (2009), and The Unravelling (2015). He is an advisory board member of the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership's multigenerational programme, a board member of the Congo Kids Initiative, and a fellow of the Enough Project. He is also a guest faculty at the University of Oxford Said Business School Impact Measurement Programme. Marcus holds a bachelor’s degree in business and finance and a master’s degree in international relations from The University of Cambridge.
Bleasdale was appointed to the Order of St. Michael and St. George by King Charles III in the 2023 birthday honours list for services to photography and human rights.