The Betsy Writer's Room and the Black Lounge Film Series present writer and a former UN Specialist Monique Clesca for a wine & cheese reception hosted by hotel owner, Jonathan Plutzik. Take an hour to get to know the Artist in Residence as part of The Betsy Writer's Room residency program.
ABOUT THE ARTIST:
A national of Haiti, who immigrated to the United States when she was 12, Monique Clesca is a prolific writer whose work has been published in The New York Times, The Root, Black Renaissance Noire, Huffington Post, Le Nouvelliste and other publications. She is the author of a novel “La Confession”, which features a woman’s struggle to assert herself in the context of Haitian society. She has also published a collection of essays entitled, “Mosaiques” which addresses human rights issues such as gender-based violence, and identity crisis in a patriarchal society. Clesca has served on the Board of the Fondation Forum Eldorado, which she co-founded with Filmmaker, Raoul Peck, (I am Not Your Negro, Lumumba), to provide cultural access to women and under privileged children. She also directed the Haiti production units of several of Mr. Peck’s movies.
In addition to her passion for writing & cinema, for the past 30 years she worked as a United Nations specialist and has champion women rights developing strategies to end child marriages in Africa, with a concentration on the country of Niger. As a result of her work in Niger, several girls were saved from child marriage and recent data shows the rate of marriage is going down. In recognition of her work, she was given two honorary royal titles and Niger’s President decorated her with the highest honor of the civilian National Order of Merit. Known as an expert in both development programming and in her technical field of journalism, advocacy and communication for social change, Ms. Clesca has worked with governments and civil society to provide advice, support and expertise in more than forty African countries. Ms. Clesca is a distinguished alumnus of Howard University where she completed her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Philosophy and Northwestern University where she received her Master of Science in Journalism. She now lives in Miami and Haiti.
This event is open to the public, but your RSVP is requested.