Uman Tok: A Discussion on Period Poverty and Global Collaboration, February 13th 6:00 – 7:30 PM, Latzer Hall | University YMCA
“Join us for a discussion on global collaboration and period poverty as we come together to watch the trailer for the compelling documentary Uman Tok: Tailoring Hope, Renewing Futures, which sheds light on the critical issue of period poverty in Sierra Leone. Set against the backdrop of a post-civil war nation, the film highlights the resilience of young girls battling the stigma surrounding menstruation while also calling attention to a local, grassroots NGO (Uman Tok) that facilitates health awareness, education, and sustainability of feminine healthcare. The event will also feature a short talk by the film’s director, Associate Professor of Journalism Stretch Ledford, a panel discussion with journalism lecturer Alison Davis and partners from Fourah Bay College in Sierra Leone and University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom, an information table hosted by the student organization ‘Code Red’, as well as a virtual reality exhibit where attendees can use state-of-the-art virtual reality headsets to enter an immersive experience of Uman Tok’s tailoring shop in Freetown.”
The film is produced by students and faculty in the University of Illinois Journalism Department in collaboration with the University of Birmingham (UK) and Fourah Bay College in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Attendees are encouraged to donate one or more period products to ‘Code Red’ for distribution to women and girls in Central Illinois.”
This event is sponsored by:
Department of Journalism in the College of Media
Center for Advanced Study
Women and Gender in Global Perspectives
Center for African Studies
Humanities Research Institute
Illinois International