4 posts tagged “social justice”

I am a member of Amnesty International Canada, although being an international organization, Amnesty International exists in many countries.  Amnesty stands up for the human rights of people around the world in many ways.  It provides me with information in an activist magazine, online and by email to send letters to various parts of the world to governments and other organizations about human rights abuses in their countries.

If you are not aware of Amnesty's work, here is a short blurb from my November/December 2007 issue of Activist:

 

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL IS...

A worldwide movement of people dedicated to the protection and promotion of human rights. We are building a world in which every person enjoys the rights included in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights standards. Towards this end:

• Amnesty International takes action to stop grave abuses of the rights to physical and mental integrity, freedom of conscience and expression, and freedom from discrimination. We campaign, for example, for free prisoners of conscience, protect refugees, abolish the death penalty, and end political killings, 'disappearances' and torture.
• Amnesty International seeks to expose human rights abuses accurately and quickly. We systematically and independly research the facts of individual cases and patterns of human rights abuses. These findings are publicized, and members, supporters and staff then mobilize persistent public pressure on governments, armed political groups, companies and others to prevent and stop these violations.
• Amnesty International promotes public awareness and understanding of the full range of human rights, and we work with a global community of organizations to ensure broad support and respect for all human rights.
• Amnesty International is government by its members; we are independent of all governments, political persuasions and religious creeds. We are funded by our members and donors, and no funds are sought or accepted from governments.

http://www.amnesty.org/        Amnesty International

http://www.amnesty.ca/         Amnesty International Canada (English)

http://www.amnistie.ca/         Amnesty International Canada (French)

http://www.amnestyusa.org/   Amnesty International USA

http://www.amnesty.org.uk/    Amnesty International UK

http://www.amnesty.org.au/    Amnesty International Australia

http://web.amnesty.org/contacts/engindex   How to contact Amnesty International in other countries

 

 

 

This article in the Thursday, October 18 2007, Toronto Star, page Y7, shows how influential teachers are when it comes to bringing social justice awareness to their students:

 

TEACHERS SEE LITTLE ACTS, BIG CHANGES

Cait McKinney

Me to We Volunteer

 

Grade 7 teacher David Thwaits knows he's done his job well when other teachers at Kensal Park Public School in London, Ont. don't recognize students once they join his Me to We in Action club.

Last week, told him a student she had trouble teaching was "completely different."

It's a big assertion, one Thwaits credits to character development.

"We do whatever we can do to get them thinking about others," he explains.

The transformation begins at the individual level. Students who join the club commit to Me to We with an anti-bullying pledge. "If you are really thinking Me to We, you're not bullying," says Thwaits.

Then, members bring the idea to their classmates. They might hold the door for another student or pick up a dropped pencil case, but the change in the classroom is instant. This "little stuff" almost always leads to something big, like when club members helped plan a volunteer trip to the food bank last year.

Creative fundraisers, such as Free Hugs Day or a social-issues film screening at lunch, help inspire others and raise money to fight poverty locally and overseas.

Thwaits' advice for teachers: "Start small within your own classroom with a small activity like a canned food drive."

And remember, "In the end it has to be fun, right?"

 

 

This is an article by Ed Hamer, in the July/August 2007 issue of  the British environmental magazine Ecologist:

TAKING THE DIRECT APPROACH

Non-violent direct action can be an effective and sometimes necessary, part of a campaign.  Go on, says Ed Hamer, dare to throw a spanner in the works.

It is nearly 2000 years since the working-class hero Ned Ludd inspired a campaign of social discontent from the heart of the Black Country. The Luddites saw the dismantling of the newly mechanised cotton mills as their only defence against the job losses and poverty that accompanied the advancing industrial revolution.

Today, the kind of inequalities that first inspired Ludd are growing daily, and on a global scale. Fortunately, so too are the numbers of individuals willing to throw a spanner in the works. From the high-profile road protest movement of the 1990s to recent climate change demonstrations at Britain's airports, direct action is alive and very much kicking.

The object of direct action is immediate and effective change; in some cases this involves civil disobedience which may be illegal. Says John Sauven, Executive Director of Greenpeace, 'Non-violent direct action enables the stopping of wrongs and the highlighting of solutions. Concerned people taking non-violent direction action is exactly how Greenpeace was founded.'

Renowned environmentalist Jonathon Porritt is also a believer in direction action: applied intelligently and effecively, it can strengthen conventional campaigns. 'Historically, non-violent direct action has always played an important part in the UK environment movement, and, in my opinion, always will,' he says, 'Those who claim this undermines the credibility of mainstream environmental organisations are plain wrong.'

Since I belong to World Vision and the Make Poverty History campaign, I was sent information on the Stand Up and Speak Out Against Poverty events which took place worldwide.  The event was also a Guiness World Record attempt.  Here is the press release which was issued after the event took place:

 

18/10/07: 38.8 Million People break Guinness World Record for Stand Up Speak Out

New York 18/10/07: Over 38.8 million people, in 110 countries have broken the Guinness World Record – set last year at 23.5 million - for the largest number of people to “STAND UP AGAINST POVERTY” in 24 hours.

The “Stand Up and Speak Out” record attempt took place over 16th and 17th October and was jointly organised by the United Nations Millennium Campaign (UNMC) and the Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP) with a wide range of other partners. The challenge saw millions of people physically and intentionally standing up against poverty, inequality and in support of the Millennium Development Goals.  They spoke out to demand a more urgent political response to the growing crisis of global poverty.

United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, who led a stand up action at UN Headquarters in New York, said “Today tens of millions of people are making their voices heard by standing up and speaking out against poverty and for the Millennium Development Goals. They are sending messages that call on their leaders to keep their promises. They are calling for the actions of citizens to be matched by the actions of Governments, in developing and developed countries alike, to demonstrate the political will required to end the scourge of poverty once and for all."


For 24 hours from 9pm GMT on the 16th of October people around the world from all walks of life came together in their schools, streets, market places, in front of government buildings and local councils, in workplaces and houses of worship, at sports and cultural events and at public landmarks to demonstrate their frustration that we still live in a world where 50,000 people die daily from preventable causes. The mass mobilisation provided a platform for global civil society seeking more active involvement in the current aid architecture debate, debt cancellation processes, trade negotiations and public accountability monitoring. The largest numbers of people who took part in this mobilisation came from developing countries.

Kumi Naidoo, Chair of the Global Call to Action Against Poverty said: "The confirmation of the new  Guinness record coupled with the political dimension to this year’s action, tells us we are a growing movement of people holding our leaders to account for tackling global poverty and inequality.  The impressive efforts of our brothers and sisters in developing countries through new lobbying actions like delegations to politicians on this date, shows the poor are watching how resources are allocated and want to have a say how policies are made. It now falls on rich countries to fulfil their side of the bargain too.”

The UN Millennium Campaign’s Executive Coordinator Eveline Herfkens said:  “Together we have broken the incredible record for the largest number of people standing up to demand action on poverty. But the record we really want to break is the world’s record of breaking promises and ignoring the poor. We don’t want to record numbers of people dying of poverty every year.  This is the great issue of our times, let us become great by dealing with it decisively.” 
 
- Ends

     

Notes to Editors and Producers:

For photos visit: http://www.standagainstpoverty.org/press/photos

‘Stand Up’ regional overview of World record numbers


Africa: 7,473,057
Arab Region: 2,546,885
Asia: 27,612,061
Europe: 218,604
Latin America & Caribbean: 734,185
North America: 109,828
Oceania: 117,333


For further details and country breakdowns please visit www.standgagainstpoverty.org/press


Country Highlights

- In India all over the country people of all ages were standing up. In Madhya Pradesh, a state in central India, five million people participated. DAV Schools, the largest public school system of the country, reported 500,000 voices against poverty and at Kashmir University, 35,000 students stood up.  Also in Delhi, one of four Women's Tribunals on Poverty gathered 400 women from 20 states to debate how gender exclusion and discrimination impede development in poor countries.

- In Bangladesh just under 850,000 people stood up with the main event held at Dhaka City office and led by the Mayor followed by a high profile concert. People called for cancellation of debt servicing to eradicate poverty and at the end 1000 candles were lit to express solidarity with the GCAP movement.

- In South Africa, children in Pretoria stood up and the residents of the Big Brother Africa House joined the call lighting a bonfire against poverty which burned for the 24 hour period (see www.mnetafrica.com/bigbrother/videogallery.asp).   In Malawi children were asked to bring a blade of grass to a local football match, the sum of which was their total of 15,584 participants.
 
- In Bangladesh just under 850,000 people stood up with the main event held at Dhaka City office and led by the Mayor followed by a high profile concert. People called for cancellation of debt servicing to eradicate poverty and at the end 1000 candles were lit to express solidarity with the GCAP movement.

- In South Africa, children in Pretoria stood up and the residents of the Big Brother Africa House joined the call lighting a bonfire against poverty which burned for the 24 hour period (see www.mnetafrica.com/bigbrother/videogallery.asp).   In Malawi children were asked to bring a blade of grass to a local football match, the sum of which was their total of 15,584 participants.
 
- In the Philippines, a massive 7+million people were mobilised at events involving faith groups and at the Anti Poverty fair. Campaigners called on the Arroyo government to change their position regarding the worsening condition of millions of Filipinos trapped in poverty.

- Pakistani campaigners mobilised over 3.5 million including thousands who helped unfurl a 10km–long banner, In Bahawalpur carrying one million written messages.  Pakistan was one of 25 countries across the world using giant banners to form a white band, the symbol of the global anti-poverty movement.

- Palestinian children throughout the Occupied West Bank and Gaza spoke out saying no to poverty.  The activities organized jointly with the Palestinian Ministry of Education took place for the first time in public and private schools, as well as UNWRA schools.

- In Ramallah, a choir from the University performed a new musical work “The Poverty Requiem” as one of a global chain of 20 performances that took place on every continent. A high school choir also performed the piece at the UN Headquarters in New York.

- In Egypt, Cairo the “Sailing the Nile” initiative saw over a million participants. 

- Civil Society delegations to government were organised in an unprecedented coordinated global lobby against poverty.  Somalia was one of 35 countries where civil society representatives organised a group to present demands for pro-poor policy change directly to their politicians.

- In The Hague, the national anti poverty campaign displayed 200 uniquely created life-size ‘Avatars’ whilst in London the UN Deputy Secretary General stood up with key women leaders in front of city hall.

- In Rwanda, youth groups organized a Stand Up soccer tournament with 20 primary schools and in Bangladesh 10,000 young people blocked a busy crossroads with a human chain.

- Faith leaders Stand Up and Speak Out – At papal mass at the Vatican Pope Benedict XVI sent a message of support urging increased efforts to eliminate poverty. Indian spiritual leader his holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar mobilized 30,000 people at his ashram in Bangalore and millions more across the globe to raise their voices through the Art of Living Foundation. Micah Challenge, the global Christian campaign took part and In the US, Canada and Europe Episcopal and Lutheran churches made the MDGs their top social justice priority by appointing an MDG-focused organizer in every diocese.

Visit www.standagainstpoverty.org for full list of events from around the world

 
For more information contact:

Ciara O’Sullivan, Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP) Media Coordinator, ciara_os@hotmail.com Tel: +34 679 594 809 GCAP www.whiteband.org
 
Anand Kantaria, Global Media Coordinator, United Nations Millennium Campaign
Anand.kantaria@undp.org Tel: +44 7908 230 165
www.endpoverty2015.org

 
Notes to Editors:

  
The Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP) is a civil society alliance of social movements, International NGOs, trade unions, community groups, women’s organizations, faith and youth groups, local associations and campaigners working together across more than 100 national coalitions/platforms. GCAP is calling for action from the world’s leaders to meet their promises to end poverty and inequality. In particular, GCAP demands solutions that address the issues of; public accountability, just governance and the fulfilment of human rights; trade justice; more and better aid; debt cancellation and gender equality and women’s rights.                                                                                                                                  

The UN Millennium Campaign was established by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan in 2002. The Campaign supports citizens’ efforts to hold their governments to account for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.  The Millennium Development Goals, formally adopted by 189 countries in the year 2000 are a set of eight specific goals which commit rich and poor countries to work together to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, ensure all boys and girls complete primary school, promote gender equality, improve the health of mothers and children, reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS, protect the environment, and create a global partnership for development by ensuring rich countries give more and better aid, debt relief and trade opportunities to poorer countries.