© D.Min
Poster Counterpoints

Placing the gains of development within everyone’s reach: such is the dream of modernity. But at what cost? At the margins of this dream, a vanishing legacy… The forthcoming “Counterpoints” debate invites us to sharpen our vision of progress, of what we have lost and of what we stand to gain by safeguarding the wisdom of our forbearers. Is development “wise”? Can intangible wealth live with tangible progress?
Canadian ethnobotanist Wade Davis, Explorer-in-residence at the National Geographic Society in Washington, makes an ardent appeal on behalf of the fragile, intangible heritage which is our duty to preserve. Ivorian poet and philosopher Tanella Boni, tenured Professor at the University of Abidjan and research fellow (2011) at the Paris Institute of Advanced Studies, speaks of the place of Africa in the globalization process: issues of gender and women, cultural diversity and human rights. The debate is open to the public and moderated by Ethnohistorian Joëlle Rostkowski from the École des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales This encounter, the second in the "Counterpoints" debates cycle launched last 22 March with a session devoted to "creative industries, cultural diversity", is organized in partnership with publisher Albin Michel and the NGO Survival International.