On Friday, March 24, 2017, the Kean University Human Rights Institute will host its 10th annual conference on Human Rights, Half Empty: The Depths of the Global Water Crisis.
A description of the global water crisis was sent to all Kean University students via mass email. Although the United Nations has declared that access to water that is sanitary and safe is an inalienable human right, more than one in 10 people around the world lacks this necessity.
This statistic consists of about 663 million people.
The featured speaker at the event will be Doc Hendley, who is the founder and president of Wine to Water and a 2009 CNN Hero. Hendley is a bartender and musician who has been raising money for the global water crisis.
Hendley's Wine to Water Foundation began with a donation jar at the end of the bar and at local wine tastings. Thus far, the foundation has helped more than 25,000 people through digging, repairing and sanitizing drinking wells and has also provided chlorine tablets to people living in "no go" zones of the United Nation.
Janice Kroposky, director of the Holocaust Resource Center, provided further information regarding the conference.
"Conference registration is usually open right up to the event," Kroposky said. "Last I checked, there were 700 registrants. We hope to fill Wilkins Theatre."
If Wilkins Theatre is filled, the conference will be live streamed for the overflow of attendees in Little Theatre in the Miron Student Center (MSC).
During the days leading up to the conference from Monday, March 20, 2017 to Thursday, March 23, 2017, a virtual reality viewing event of "The Source" will take place in MSC from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. There will be viewing stations set up for students to independently view the film. The video is about 13-year-old Salem, who lives in Ethiopia.
"The short film challenges viewers to enter a world without clean water access and experience the transformation of Salem's community when a fresh water well is dug for the first time," Kroposky said.
Through this film, the Kean community will gain a better understanding of the issues associated with water access across the globe.
An exact location and time for the showing of "The Source" is to be determined.
To attend the conference, those interested must register online at no cost. Space is limited, so do not hesitate to register.
For more information and to access the registration form, visit the Kean University website and search Human Rights Institute Conference at Kean University.
The day of the conference, registered guests can check in starting at 8:30 a.m. in the lobby of Wilkins Theatre.
