Night of Ideas | Alliance Française de Puerto Rico

NIGHT OF IDEAS 2024

March 1, 2024

The Night of Ideas is back in Puerto Rico!

Alliance Française Puerto Rico and Villa Albertine is proud to present the third local edition of the Night of Ideas on Friday, March 1, 2024.

This year, Night of Ideas returns across 20 US cities. Villa Albertine’s annual marathon of philosophical debates, performances, readings, and more, invites experts and the public to engage together in late-night discussions addressing major global issues. Leading thinkers, scientists, novelists, activists, and artists will engage with the theme “Outside the Lines” centering urban life and development, and raising questions about the impact of climate change, new technologies, gentrification, and social and cultural activism.

Night of Ideas 2024 is presented by Villa Albertine and Albertine Foundation thanks to the leadership support of the Judy & Peter Blum Kovler Foundation, and with the support of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Carnegie Corporation of New York. It is coordinated worldwide by the Institut Français.

— Para ver nuestra página sobre la Noche de las Ideas en español, oprime aquí. —

In its third edition of the Night of Ideas, to be held on March 1, 2024, the Alliance Française of Puerto Rico will explore the relationship between environmental conservation and urban development through film and public discussion. To kick things off, we’re teaming up with the Estuario de la Bahía de San Juan on a workshop on environmental practices that help protect San Juan’s water resources and how they relate to efforts in the French Antilles. Accompanying this presentation is the immersive short documentary Sounds of the Estuary (2023) by emerging Puerto Rican artist Armando Román, also AFPR’s cultural coordinator.

The evening’s feature presentation is Beating Sun (Tant que le soleil frappe) (2022, Philippe Petit, France), which follows the persistent struggle of a landscaper (Swann Arlaud) to create a public square in the center of Marseille.

Enriching this screening is an open discussion with Emanuel Urbina, Adriana Ocasio, and Professor Angeliz Encarnación from the Graduate School of Planning at the University of Puerto Rico – Río Piedras Campus. Please note that the entirety of this event will be presented in Spanish and French.

This special event is part of the Mois de la Francophonie in Puerto Rico, a cultural program presented by the Alliance Française of Puerto Rico with the support of Predator Cues.

Night of Ideas 2023

Wednesday, March 1, 2023

3 – 10 pm

Alliance Française Puerto Rico

206 Calle Rosario

San Juan, PR 00911

Program and reservation information will be published the week of February 13, 2023. Stay tuned!

PROGRAM

4:30 PM: Short films on plastic

Cultural Salon

5 PM: Artisan’s Market

Discover products by Xirasol, Vasonoro, Manchada PR, Ara Cé, Cheers by Meli, and EB Designs.

6 PM: Talk – “The impact of plastic on the environment”

Moderator: Carlos Antonio Otero
With scientific experts Rafael Méndez Tejeda, Johnny Gasperi, Cristina Ramírez y Malika René Trouillefou

Annex | In Spanish and French.

Limited seating available. Please reserve via the event page.

7:15 PM: Break

Enjoy the culinary offerings of Mi Panapén Foodtruck and Vaca Negra.

8 PM: Charla – Talk – “Puerto Rican initiatives to reduce plastic use and waste”

Moderator: Carlos Antonio Otero

With the participation of 7 Quillas, Para la Naturaleza, Estuario de la Bahía de San Juan, Sierra Club Puerto Rico, and Tais

Annex | In Spanish

Limited seating available. Please reserve via the event page.

Digital Premiere

Thursday, May 19, 2022

DIGITAL SCREENING

At 7 pm, our documentary Puerto Rico: (Re)building Together will premiere online with subtitles available in English and French. The video will be available on this webpage, as well as on AFPR’s YouTube channel through May 29, 2022.

Teaser - Puerto Rico: (Re)building Together

Puerto Rico: (Re)building Together - Documentary with English subtitles

Cliquez ici pour des sous-titres en français

SURVEY

After your screening of Puerto Rico: (Re)building together, we would greatly appreciate it if you could answer this survey.

2022 THEME OF THE NIGHT OF IDEAS

Alliance Française de Porto Rico_paysage_3

Alliance Française de Porto Rico_paysage_1

Where are we going?

For its first edition, AFPR’s team has pondered the question “Where are we going?”—the driving force behind this 2022 edition of the Night of Ideas in the United States. Over the past months, the non-profit organization and its partners have thoughtfully considered how to build or rebuild what has been lost or even destroyed in the past.

In response to the devastating passage of Hurricane Maria in 2017, earthquakes in 2020, along with other adversities, community initiatives have arisen across Puerto Rico to offer innovative answers for a more promising future. In order to foster dialogue between Puerto Rico, the United States, the Caribbean, and France, AFPR went in search of specialists in the domains of agriculture, the environment, art, and education. Relying upon its experience in audiovisual production—thanks in part to its annual Puerto Rico European Film Festival—AFPR has produced Puerto Rico: (Re)building Together, an original documentary featuring 5 inspiring initiatives on the Island.

It is AFPR’s hope that the this first Puerto Rican edition of the Night of Ideas will spur constructive discussion on crucial topics of public relevance, which will help the exchange of new ideas leading to collaborative action.

The First Night of Ideas in San Juan

Alliance Française Puerto Rico sincerely thanks the five local initiatives—BotaniCultura, Carite 3.0, Casa Pueblo, Vainilla Castañer, LLC/Visit Rico y Yaucromatic—who participated in our documentary Puerto Rico: (Re)building Together. Its premiere during our first Night of Ideas on May 12, 2022 was just the first step towards rebuilding Puerto Rico.

Likewise, we also would like to thank our friends and students, who attend the screening and the subsequent discussion with the participants.

It was indeed a pleasure to see our maison filled with such excitement and energy.

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Night of Ideas in Other Cities

Thursday, May 19, 2022

NIGHT OF IDEAS – MIAMI

The same evening, AFPR’s documentary will kick off the Night of Ideas organized by Villa Albertine and other organisations.

6 – 10 PM

FILM GATE, MIAMI, FLORIDA

For more information, click here.

other events

NIGHT OF IDEAS – UNITED STATES

During the month of May, the Night of Ideas will take place in 19 cities in the United States, such as New York and San Francisco.

This edition of the Night of Ideas is produced by Villa Albertine. To see the U.S. program, please visit: nightofideas.org

Puerto Rican Initiatives

Maria Benedetti La Noche de las Ideas 2022

BotaniCultura

BotaniCultura’s founder María Benedetti is a researcher and educator in ethnobotany. After growing up and completing her studies in New York, Benedetti moved to Puerto Rico, her family’s ancestral home. Since arriving on the island, she has worked on various projects in the field of ethnobotany and medicinal plants. Her books share a wealth of Puerto Rican traditions concerning natural medicine. Today, Benedetti directs BotaniCultura, an association that offers conferences, workshops, and certification courses.

botanicultura.com

Carite 3.0

Carite 3.0 is a non-profit organization based in Guayama. Its mission is to provide budding farmers to the essential skills to launch their own micro-businesses. In addition to professional training, Carite 3.0 launched the project Casita de la Montaña, which offers activities for local children with the aim of teaching the importance of agriculture and protecting the environment.

Carite 3.0 Facebook Page

Casa Pueblo

Casa Pueblo is a community self-management project, which strives to protect both human and natural resources. It was established in 1980 in response to a proposed mining project that would have devastated various parts of central Puerto Rico. After 15 years, Casa Pueblo succeeded in stopping the project and creating the Bosque del Pueblo (Forest of the People) in its place. In recognition of its efforts, Casa Pueblo received the noted Goldman Prize in 2002. Today, the association runs a variety of projects, including solar energy production for the town of Adjuntas and coffee cultivation, available under the Isla Madre label.

casapueblo.org

Vainilla Castaner La Noche de las Ideas 2022

Vainilla Castañer

Vainilla Castañer is an agricultural projected directed by Héctor M. Collazo Maldonado and Millyvette García Santos. Its mission is to reintroduce the cultivation of vanilla in Puerto Rico, an industry that flourished back in the 1940s and 50s. Thanks to Vainilla Castañer’s efforts, there are currently 20 affiliated farms that are growing vanilla. In addition, the organization has participated in the the creation of a new initiative in support of the economy of Puerto Rico’s rural areas.

vainillacastaner.com

Yaucromatic

Founded in the town of Yauco in the south of Puerto Rico, Yaucromatic is the main project of the non-profit Arte para Unir, under the direction of Jonathan Hernández. This urban art initiative notably succeeded in bringing both local and international artists to Yauco to create large murals. Thanks to these artistic contributions, Yaucromatic transformed the urban landscape into a work of art, thus making Yauco a new tourist destination and thereby contributing to local economic growth.

yaucromatic.com

Production Team

PUERTO RICO: (RE)BUILDING TOGETHER

Direction, Interviews, and Narration: Luis Armando Rodríguez

Photography and Sound: Harold J. Leonard

Editing, Animation, and Sound Mixing: Armando Román

Biology and Agriculture Consultant: Georges Félix Lancelloti

Drone Footage: Víctor Pérez Andino

Production Assistant: Cristian Ruiz Matas

Translation: Elise Balland, Gioia Loriot, Daniela Luna

ALLIANCE FRANÇAISE PUERTO RICO

Executive Director: Carine Delplanque, PhD

Administrative Manager: Joan Chamorro

Marketing and Communications: Kai Andersen

Acknowledgements

Night of Ideas 2023 is presented by Villa Albertine, in partnership with FACE Foundation and the Institut français. 

The national program in the US is made possible with major philanthropic support from Presenting Partner the Judy and Peter Blum Kovler Foundation, Mellon Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, and the Institut français.