Tomorrow Is Now | The Eleanor Roosevelt Conferences
Conference Theme
The last book Eleanor Roosevelt authored, Tomorrow Is Now, published posthumously in 1962, encapsulates a message that is relevant to all of us today, for, she said, "It is today that we must create the world of the future."
Eleanor Roosevelt was passionate about issues of social justice and human rights, both themes that remain our current challenges at home and around the world. She was a tireless visionary, yet practical about humanity's progress towards more ethical and equitable standards. She famously stated, "Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home – so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any map of the world."
Tomorrow Is Now: The Eleanor Roosevelt Conferences are made possible thanks to the Center for Civic Engagement at Bard College in collaboration with the Open Society University Network, and the Talloires Network at Tufts University.
Guest Speakers
Related Videos | Val-Kill Featured on PBS
Val-Kill and Eleanor Roosevelt were both featured in Samantha Brown's Place to Love on PBS: click on 15:03 to hear much beloved Val-Kill Park Ranger Franceska Macsali-Urbin offer insights into this historical and inspiring site.
Related Videos: Universal Declaration of Human Rights & Max Richter
Yulia Mahr's powerful 2020 film, All Human Beings, unites the music of Max Richter with excerpts from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, read by Eleanor Roosevelt, Kiki Layne, and Hiba Sellaoui:
"The opening words of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, drafted in 1948, are 'All human beings are are born free and equal in dignity and rights.' These inspiring words are a guiding principle for the whole declaration but, looking around at the world we have made in the decades since they were written, it is clear that we have forgotten them. The recent brutal events in the US, leading to the tragic deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, as well as countless other abuses around the world, are proof of that. At such times it is easy to feel hopeless but, just as the problems of our world are of our own making, so the solutions can be. While the past is fixed, the future is yet unwritten, and the declaration sets out an uplifting vision of a better and fairer world that is within our reach if we choose it. VOICES is a musical space to reconnect with these inspiring principles and Yulia’s striking film depicts this inspiration in a beautiful way, while offering a glimpse into her full length film of our project to come." – Composer Max Richter