Describing herself as “globally passionate,” Deb Gregory searched the Columbus area for a place to apply her informed worldview and landed at the Columbus Council on World Affairs. She lends her time and talents as an accomplished documentary filmmaker to capture the essence of CCWA sponsored events and programs on camera.
Two of the speaker events in particular that Deb pointed out as highly interesting were Salih Memecan, the Turkish cartoonist, and Wahu Kara, a Kenyan activist. “I enjoyed listening to Salih Memecan discuss Turkey’s bid to enter the EU from an insider’s perspective. His cartoons, rich with political satire, gave me a humorous glimpse into a world I know little about. When I left the event, I went home to read up on Turkish politics.” Additionally, “I really liked hearing Wahu Kara talk about Jubilee USA’s work promoting African debt forgiveness policies. She was so compelling to listen to and I respect her devotion to fighting poverty on both a local and international level. That was an inspirational event.”
Deb has been to nearly fifty countries, for work and pleasure, even living in Japan for ten years. She has used her talents to relate the Indonesian people’s stories in the aftermath of the tsunami, and to transport viewers to prisons in Ecuador and brothels in Southeast Asia.
CCWA’s role is that of “community informant,” says Deb, providing a forum for a broad rage of political topics for the community. In particular, she applauds the youth programs as “spectacular” in drawing attention to problems relevant to youth and gathering young people of different backgrounds to address such issues. In general, Deb sees the organization continuing to bring in quality speakers and becoming a leader in uniting globally-minded organizations to conduct joint programs.
Deb moved to Columbus in January of 2008 and started volunteering with CCWA the following March. She has worked with numerous non profit organizations and grassroots movements around the world, and the Columbus Council on World Affairs is honored to be associated with such a passionate citizen activist. You can see her work at our International Awards Ceremony in March, and subsequently on our website. For samples of her other work, see Deb’s website.
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