female Voices on Progress, Setbacks and Oppression
The Night of Ideas is an annual nocturnal marathon of philosophical debates, performances, readings and more, that is hosted in cities across the United States in early April. The event brings together artists, historians, leaders, and change makers for a day filled with debates, workshops and performances.
In Minneapolis, join Alliance Française for a moderated panel discussion on the role women play in society today and how current political events are shaping the future for women.
With a global perspective, our panelists will speak about the U.S., France and more - revisiting the past to learn from it - particularly focusing on when women solved problems, despite lacking power and resources. The goal of this event is create a multicultural and interdisciplinary exchange by giving specialists from different disciplines and backgrounds the opportunity to share their expertise on a contemporary subject.
Featured speakers:
Mikki Morrissette (Editor, Minnesota Women's Press),
Professor Sharon Marquart (Gustavus Adolphus),
Anika Robbins (Anika Foundation),
Briana Joyner (Women’s Foundation of Minnesota), and
Sarah Jones-Boardman (Alliance Française & Minneapolis College).
Moderated by Christina Selander Bouzouina (Alliance Française Mpls/St Paul).
The program will be in English and we encourage everyone to attend!
About our speakers
Briana Joyner is Executive Vice President of People and Culture at the Women’s Foundation of MN. Briana’s vast experience includes organizational development, operations, human resources, culture transformation, diversity, equity, access, and inclusion. Briana has worked to develop broad ownership of equity work, a sense of belonging, and deep intercultural competence across the communities she’s led. She continues to champion, inspire, mentor, and empower the next generation of changemakers and beyond.
Dr. Sarah Jones-Boardman teaches French at Alliance Française and has a PhD in French from the University of Minnesota. Her focus is on teaching French language as well as Francophone literature and culture. Her research interests include questions of race, gender, and mobility in Francophone African and Caribbean literatures.
Sharon Marquart is a Professor of French and Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies at Gustavus Adolphus College. She is the author of On the Defensive: Reading the Ethical in Nazi Camp Testimonies (University of Toronto Press, 2015), co-editor of a volume of essays on Auschwitz survivor Charlotte Delbo, and her work has appeared or is forthcoming in The Routledge Companion to Literature and Trauma, French Forum, H-France Forum, The Romanic Review, Ethnologies, and various essay collections on World War II and the Holocaust.
Mikki Morrissette is the publisher and editor of Minnesota Women’s Press, the longest continuously run feminist publication in the U.S. The monthly magazine created a Changemakers Alliance spin-off to connect engaged feminists of all genders who care about solutions and action. Its attention to first-person narratives is rare in the media industry, to amplify the power of people to tell their own stories in their own voice.
She lived in New York City for 18 years, where she worked as an editor, reporter, and project manager for places including Time Inc. and The New York Times. She wrote “Choosing Single Motherhood: The Thinking Women’s Guide” after proactively deciding to raise two kids on her own; they are now in their 20s.
Anika Robbins - The Urban Maven - is a global renaissance Woman. A 30 year business veteran, property owner and community servant, Robbins has consulted with some of the world’s leading industrial giants through her agency, ANIKA & Friends, producing and participating in high profile campaigns in beauty, politics and entertainment - including touring with our late beloved Grammy Award-winning Artist, Prince.
Anika is the founding director of the ANIKA Foundation, a nonprofit organization established in 2008. The organization has served over 300,000 Minnesotans through its health disparity reduction, economic empowerment and civic engagement levers which form the core of the organization’s mission. In 2015, she founded Black Votes Matter MN as part of the agency’s civic engagement program to increase civic participation and leadership pathways. She is a Roy Wilkins Fellow and served as Chair of the Minneapolis Civil Rights Commission (2018-2020).
She was also honored in Outfront Media’s Empowered Women campaign in 2023. She has been featured on CBS News, WCCO, KSTP, KMOJ, KFAI, Oromia Media, Insight News, MSR, CBC and the BBC for her advocacy. Robbins and her husband, Dr. Juneau Robbins, own and operate the first Black owned health wellness center, Robbins Urban Wellness Retreat, in North Minneapolis, where they reside with their son, Lordan Jaiye.
The Night of Ideas is an annual nocturnal marathon of philosophical debates, performances, readings and more, that is hosted in cities across the United States in early April. Speakers from various backgrounds and disciplines will discuss a subject that reflects on the general theme ''Common Ground”. Exploring the literal and metaphorical interpretations of “common ground”, Night of Ideas will prompt participants to consider how we can commit to and protect what we have in common.
This program is made possible with the support of :