National Geographic photojournalist to discuss empowering women in developing countries March 20


FIU is hosting National Geographic Society photojournalist Annie Griffiths for a talk and book signing on March 20.

Titled “Alternative Energy: Invest in a Girl, Change the World,” her lecture will explore her effort to document the aid programs that are empowering girls and women in the developing world as they deal with the devastating effects of climate change.

Scheduled for 7 p.m., the event will take place in the SIPA Auditorium at the Modesto A. Maidique Campus. It is free and open to the public.

“Photography has an incredible ability to connect people to the world and Annie Griffith’s photos are some of the best at doing this,” said Mike Heithaus, executive director of the School of Environment, Arts and Society (SEAS). “We’re very excited to have Annie visit us to talk about how photography can be a powerful tool for affecting positive social change. Her work is very much in line with our school’s mission to bring together the social and natural sciences with the humanities to solve environmental and social challenges.”

Griffiths was one of the first female photographers to work for National Geographic and has photographed nearly 150 countries in her career. Her work has appeared in many magazines and publications. She has published a memoir titled A Camera, Two Kids and a Camel (2008) and Simply Beautiful Photographs (2010).

Griffiths is a fellow of the International League of Conservation Photographers, a non-profit organization dedicated to furthering environmental and cultural conservation through ethical photography. She is also the founder and executive director of the Ripple Effect, a team of journalists dedicated to documenting the plight of poor women and girls around the world, and highlighting the programs that are helping to empower them, especially as they deal with the devastating effects of climate change. She has received awards from the National Press Photographers Association, the Associated Press, and the White House News Photographers Association.

Sponsored by SEAS in the College of Arts & Sciences, Griffith’s talk is the second installment of the school’s Our Common Future lecture series. The lecture series brings some of the world’s leading thinkers to FIU to discuss critical environmental issues that affect communities on a local, regional and global scale. In its inaugural year, Our Common Future brought global climate scientist Robert W. Corell to campus to talk about the effects of climate change in the Arctic on the rest of the world. This year’s talk is co-sponsored by the Global Water for Sustainability (GLOWS) Program as part of World Water Day 2014. Space is limited, please RSVP to seas@fiu.edu.