Catapa - Open Min(d)ed

The Spanish students of the master's programme in Multilingual Professional Communication cooperated in the promotion, communication and presentation of the following events:

  • Debate evening on the consequences of mining in Chile and Bolivia on Wednesday 13 March 2019 at 6 pm on the City Campus (C001)
  • Guest lecture on the case of the Popoo and Uru lago population on Friday 15 March 2019 at 12.30 am on the City Campus (R001).

These activities are organized together with Catapa in the lightof the international speaker tour Open Min(e)d. This tour aims to create more awareness about the impact of exploitation related to the ICT production chain and its consequences on communities on the other side of the world.

The guest speakers:

RUTH VILHES TORREJÓN

Ruth Vilches Torrejón fights for the rights of the Bolivian Uru community affected by the impact of the mining industry and climate change. The community is largely made up of fishermen and farmers who are forced to move to the city because of the water shortage due to the drying out of the Poopó. However, the community is becoming more and more aware of their rights and with the help of several NGOs the Uru's are starting to fight for their land. Ruth works for one of these NGOs, CEPA (Centro de Ecología y Pueblos Andinos - Center for Ecology and Andean Peoples). They provide the communities with technical support and lobby at regional, national and even international level. Ruth will therefore, from the perspective of the Uru community, provide an insight into the consequences of the harmful mining activities in the Bolivian Altiplano.

MARCELA MELLA ORTIZ

Mella Ortiz is the president and spokeswoman of the No Alto Maipo campaign. When in 2007 the Maipo river basin was threatened by the Alto Maipo Hydropower Project (PHAM), she stood up as leader of the resistance. The project, a collaboration between Chilean mining companies AES Gener S.A. and Antofagasta, serves to generate electricity for the Los Pelambres copper mine, the 5th largest in the world. However, PHAM threatens the water resources of more than 7 million people and the indispensable fauna and flora that also depend on water. Marcela is the inspiring representative of Chile's struggle against the extractive industry, a struggle for the right to water and the right to life.