International Rivers 30th Anniversary Celebration: Rendezvous for Rivers

Date: 
Wednesday, October 7, 2015


Ready for our festive gala event!

Our 30th anniversary celebration was a beautiful thing to behold. The location was gorgeous, the room was full, the "river-tini" cocktail was delicious and everybody was in a festive mood. 

It was a special night. There was so much love, respect and good will in the room. One person said it felt like a reunion.

Robert Hass, former US Poet Laureate and International Rivers Board member, read two miraculous poems – one about dams and one about rain – that earned him a prolonged standing ovation.

Youth Speaks poet Isa shared an incredible piece about the terrible legacy of Typhoon Yolanda. 

John Santos and his band played lovely music (and we think we converted him to our cause).

River of Words graced our tables with art and poetry. (We love you, Pam Michaels.)

People learned some of the 30 things they didn't know about rivers. And they heard about some of the 10 things they should know about dams.

Monti, Deborah and Peter
Monti, Deborah and Peter

And maybe most importantly, Peter Bosshard, Deborah Moore, Monti Aguirre and Stephanie Jensen-Cormier all spoke so movingly and so well about our work. They told us about the huge difference that International Rivers and our global network have made over the past 30 years: More than 200 destructive dams stopped or delayed! Free-flowing rivers from Patagonia to Burma, from Africa to the Himalayas protected! Thousands of dam fighters and river activists brought together! Strong river protection mandates adopted from the US Congress to the World Commission on Dams!

For a brief summary of the impact International Rivers has had over the past 30 years, watch this short video:

The good news is that solar and wind power have overtaken hydropower, and can blow destructive dams out of the water within the next decade. As Peter Bosshard said, “If we can protect rivers for 10 more years, we can make destructive dams a thing of the past.”

Think about that. Let it sink in. This isn't a pipe dream; this is our mission for the next 10 years. Now let's go make it happen.

The participants of our Rendezvous for Rivers were inspired to make very generous donations to help us fulfill this mission. If you missed out on the party, you can still support International Rivers with a donation here. Thank you for your support!

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