04 June 2009
Reflecting back on the project A.I.D: Amnesty International Debate and Human Rights volunteer week, I believe there has been both short and long term successes to be made, due to the spreading of the message of peace for child soldiers and restricting the arms trade. Even if it was seen as a taster or sample event, it has shown what we could possibly achieve on a larger scale if a Human Rights society were to be formed, which it is now likely to be as soon as the new term begins in September.
The project was about spreading the awareness of the plight of child soldiers primarily involved in civil war and conflicts in Southern Uganda, Sudan, Liberia and many other African countries, but also the abuse of children across the world. There was a focus on the international Arms Trade, seen as one of the causes for this harrowing situation, but it was spreading the message to students and young people who have not necessarily experienced this kind of 'early adulthood' and getting as many people as possible to support change- to bring an end to the abduction of children and forcing them to fight with guns and other weapons in their own countries. With help from Invisible Children, Amnesty International, The Human Rights Watch and other organisations we aimed not to make a profit or force people to sign up and tak action- we were giving them the choice- and our priority was to make them aware of the issues they may not have fully understood in the past or have never been revealed to them through the media or press. By spreading this mesage in a variety of formats using the senses- writing thoughts on murals, watching films and listening to Drama performances, we hoped the message would be clear to the student population so future generations can remain aware and take action when they feel it is necessary- perhaps forming projects of their own.
I believe the project has made a difference to the wider community because of the message contained in the events we had planned, which could continue to be spread today, as well as the formation of a Human Rights society based on the feedback of those involved in the project, which would carry on presenting these issues and would not forget what happened in this first founding project. With the contribution of social networking and communication I also believe the impact could be made even wider across the world, and with enough interested parties a difference couldbe made, as already shown by the work of the Invisible Children organisation.
Leading and working as a team on the project, I enjoyed many parts of the two weeks, the setting up of the events, and the finished product. I particularly enjoyed the film showings as seeing the situations for one's self is the boldest exprience as opposed to just telling others about the child soldiers situation, and the collection of films worked to gether very accurately. I also enjoyed the response recieved from the feedback murals placed around the university bulidings, as it meant that the work we doing was being noticed and could stimulate discussions and debated.
Overall I enjoyed the whole experience working as a team, coming up with ideas and putting them into action, and am inspired towards setting up a society or group to continue these experiences further. I wish to thank all those who contributed and/or took part in the events, as well as the support and advice from Junction 49, and look forward to what further effects the project may have in the near future!
The project was about spreading the awareness of the plight of child soldiers primarily involved in civil war and conflicts in Southern Uganda, Sudan, Liberia and many other African countries, but also the abuse of children across the world. There was a focus on the international Arms Trade, seen as one of the causes for this harrowing situation, but it was spreading the message to students and young people who have not necessarily experienced this kind of 'early adulthood' and getting as many people as possible to support change- to bring an end to the abduction of children and forcing them to fight with guns and other weapons in their own countries. With help from Invisible Children, Amnesty International, The Human Rights Watch and other organisations we aimed not to make a profit or force people to sign up and tak action- we were giving them the choice- and our priority was to make them aware of the issues they may not have fully understood in the past or have never been revealed to them through the media or press. By spreading this mesage in a variety of formats using the senses- writing thoughts on murals, watching films and listening to Drama performances, we hoped the message would be clear to the student population so future generations can remain aware and take action when they feel it is necessary- perhaps forming projects of their own.
I believe the project has made a difference to the wider community because of the message contained in the events we had planned, which could continue to be spread today, as well as the formation of a Human Rights society based on the feedback of those involved in the project, which would carry on presenting these issues and would not forget what happened in this first founding project. With the contribution of social networking and communication I also believe the impact could be made even wider across the world, and with enough interested parties a difference couldbe made, as already shown by the work of the Invisible Children organisation.
Leading and working as a team on the project, I enjoyed many parts of the two weeks, the setting up of the events, and the finished product. I particularly enjoyed the film showings as seeing the situations for one's self is the boldest exprience as opposed to just telling others about the child soldiers situation, and the collection of films worked to gether very accurately. I also enjoyed the response recieved from the feedback murals placed around the university bulidings, as it meant that the work we doing was being noticed and could stimulate discussions and debated.
Overall I enjoyed the whole experience working as a team, coming up with ideas and putting them into action, and am inspired towards setting up a society or group to continue these experiences further. I wish to thank all those who contributed and/or took part in the events, as well as the support and advice from Junction 49, and look forward to what further effects the project may have in the near future!
04 June 2009
To correspond with keeping communication to other volunteers and interested parties in the two weeks of the A.I.D/ Human Rights project, I utilised the social networking site Facebook to create a fan page for the events included, and a group page for those interested in helping out.
To add to this, I also posted photos we had used for the posters around the univerity along with questions they could answer on what they knew about the isseus we were covering in the project and what the photos meant to them. This was not only a chance for those who couldn't attend the events due to the late timing in the year to take part, only having to spare 15 minutes or so, but also allowed those who were involved to get to know a little more about the project they were participating in, as well as providing a platform for communication and discussions about the events and the issues of child soldiers and the arms trade.
Here is the link to the group page:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home/group.php?gid=79107257967&ref=ts
Again, the facebook pages could have had some advertisement or promotion to bring more interested parties to join, but this will go a long way towards the creation of a possible Human Rights society in the next few months, and with enough members we can retain communication through social networking mediums such as these. Not just in Leicester, but with interested parties around the UK and possibly further!
To add to this, I also posted photos we had used for the posters around the univerity along with questions they could answer on what they knew about the isseus we were covering in the project and what the photos meant to them. This was not only a chance for those who couldn't attend the events due to the late timing in the year to take part, only having to spare 15 minutes or so, but also allowed those who were involved to get to know a little more about the project they were participating in, as well as providing a platform for communication and discussions about the events and the issues of child soldiers and the arms trade.
Here is the link to the group page:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home/group.php?gid=79107257967&ref=ts
Again, the facebook pages could have had some advertisement or promotion to bring more interested parties to join, but this will go a long way towards the creation of a possible Human Rights society in the next few months, and with enough members we can retain communication through social networking mediums such as these. Not just in Leicester, but with interested parties around the UK and possibly further!
04 June 2009
The second week's film showings have seen some success in spreading the message of child soldiers and the rising arms trade across De Montfort University and the De Montfort Student's union. Although we would have liked to have seen more students there to spread the message, due to many of them leaving for the summer break, I believe the project has achieved what it set out to do, which was raise awareness of the issues that many students and young people may not recognise, and if the message is spread by those who attended the screenings, however slowly, that is an even greater achievement.
I wish to thank all the volunteers who took part in the two weeks of events and the preparation beforehand, for setting up a first- class reel of films, murals and photos that even today still recieve feedback (we may even leave them up for freshers week, to help promote an under construction Human Rights society) and their continued support, and hope they have learned a few new ideas and issues from their time towards the project, so that they can also spread the message of ending child soldiers and abductions.
The films/ documentaries and clips chosen for the screenings included Invisible Children: The Rough Cut, which was our primary emphasis for the project due to its closest relevance to the issue of child soldiers- and also excerpts from Lord of War (2007), the Amnesty International documentary 'making a killing', Blood Diamond (2008) and 24:Redemption. We also had several more videos we couldn't include, as we wanted to make the screenings only two hours or so, then possibly looped (as they were being shown on two consecutive days, one in our faculty of Humanities, the other in the student's union). We didn't want the film to last too long, because of its shocking content, and we made sure to advise the audience of what the content included before they watched the films.
A couple of improvements we could make if the film showings were to be staged again in the future would be first to advertise them with greater emphasis. Although we had the photos/ murals around the University, Drama Acts which were not 100% effective and several sources of information through emails, the student's union website, and facebook pages, I feel we perhaps should have started circulating more flyers and posters as well as the other sources a little earlier, so students had the chance to see it before they left for the summer, so they may have stayed or returned to take part. We should also have included short breaks in between the films, where the audience could have time to let the information they've witnessed sink in, and also a time for refreshements. The quality of discourse and discussion was excellent before and after the films played out, as we got to measure their resonses and knowledge at both times. We also managed to get people to sign up to volunteering groups and became more interested in more information, which is useful if a Human Rights society is to be formed.
Overall the film showings, like the photo murals before them were the most effective and inspiring events in the A.I.D/ Human Rights week(s) project, so I believe we should keep the videos, add some more on top, use them to promote a Human Rights society and show them on a loop during freshers week to get more new volunteers and students interested in taking part or keeping updated on our projects to come up next year!
I wish to thank all the volunteers who took part in the two weeks of events and the preparation beforehand, for setting up a first- class reel of films, murals and photos that even today still recieve feedback (we may even leave them up for freshers week, to help promote an under construction Human Rights society) and their continued support, and hope they have learned a few new ideas and issues from their time towards the project, so that they can also spread the message of ending child soldiers and abductions.
The films/ documentaries and clips chosen for the screenings included Invisible Children: The Rough Cut, which was our primary emphasis for the project due to its closest relevance to the issue of child soldiers- and also excerpts from Lord of War (2007), the Amnesty International documentary 'making a killing', Blood Diamond (2008) and 24:Redemption. We also had several more videos we couldn't include, as we wanted to make the screenings only two hours or so, then possibly looped (as they were being shown on two consecutive days, one in our faculty of Humanities, the other in the student's union). We didn't want the film to last too long, because of its shocking content, and we made sure to advise the audience of what the content included before they watched the films.
A couple of improvements we could make if the film showings were to be staged again in the future would be first to advertise them with greater emphasis. Although we had the photos/ murals around the University, Drama Acts which were not 100% effective and several sources of information through emails, the student's union website, and facebook pages, I feel we perhaps should have started circulating more flyers and posters as well as the other sources a little earlier, so students had the chance to see it before they left for the summer, so they may have stayed or returned to take part. We should also have included short breaks in between the films, where the audience could have time to let the information they've witnessed sink in, and also a time for refreshements. The quality of discourse and discussion was excellent before and after the films played out, as we got to measure their resonses and knowledge at both times. We also managed to get people to sign up to volunteering groups and became more interested in more information, which is useful if a Human Rights society is to be formed.
Overall the film showings, like the photo murals before them were the most effective and inspiring events in the A.I.D/ Human Rights week(s) project, so I believe we should keep the videos, add some more on top, use them to promote a Human Rights society and show them on a loop during freshers week to get more new volunteers and students interested in taking part or keeping updated on our projects to come up next year!
26 May 2009
After a week of generating discussions and getting ideas off the ground my team of volunteers, who praising them for their contributions to research and organisation didn't have to stay as many students were beginning to leave after exams for the summer, we have seen some success in our cause to make people aware of the plight of child soldiers around the world.
There is a poster/ mural of an image in each faculty building in the De Montfort University City Campus, whereby passers by can write their thoughts on what they see in the images, ranging from children holding guns to land mines disguised as teddy bears and ice cream trucks. There are even murals in the library and the student's union building. We hope to use the feedback from the posters towards the film showings in the second week, to provoke discussions on how effective images can be in expressing human rights and their injustices.
The project was slow to get on its feet, after the Drama performances of generic child soldier situations hit a number of obstacles, including volunteer availability, the lack of an audience (even though they were intended to be impromptu dramatisations) and other events clashing in their advertising campaigns.
I believe that one of the reasons for this was not getting enough advertisement for the week or the film showings out, and not getting them sent out in advance. The dramatisations were meant to be an advertisement for the film showings also, but there was nothing in place to make the area in which they were performed busy and populated. To be fair a bank holiday did scupper plans as the University was closed during the sunday, monday and tuesday, but we had little opportunity to hold the week at a different time, due to student availability and the relevance of the showing of Invisible children to the news and the organisation's latest bids for urgent publicity.
Nevertheless, I believe the actions of the first week have enticed a fair few people to hopefully come to the film showings (on wednesday and thursday so that there are two chances to watch them). Together with the facebook group and fan pages it is possible that we can make the showings last for at least four hours or so. More importantly, it suggests that a Human Rights society could be a good idea and would lead to more opportunities for events with other organisations in the years to come. Perhaps with the organisation and planning of a fully fledged student human rights society issues like the Drama performances would be resolved by teamwork, and by broadcasting to volunteers from around the community, including primary school children to whom an event cause such as child soldiers would be more relevant.
Overall I have enjoyed the subtle but noticeable progress of the Human Rights week, as it has not only made myself and others involved think more about the issues raised, but has got us thinking towards the future in terms of projects we could lead on from these foundations and samples of what we as a student voice can do for the world.
I am now looking forward to this week's Film showings and A.I.D debate, which I'm sure will receive even more of a reception and participation from visitors in the week.
There is a poster/ mural of an image in each faculty building in the De Montfort University City Campus, whereby passers by can write their thoughts on what they see in the images, ranging from children holding guns to land mines disguised as teddy bears and ice cream trucks. There are even murals in the library and the student's union building. We hope to use the feedback from the posters towards the film showings in the second week, to provoke discussions on how effective images can be in expressing human rights and their injustices.
The project was slow to get on its feet, after the Drama performances of generic child soldier situations hit a number of obstacles, including volunteer availability, the lack of an audience (even though they were intended to be impromptu dramatisations) and other events clashing in their advertising campaigns.
I believe that one of the reasons for this was not getting enough advertisement for the week or the film showings out, and not getting them sent out in advance. The dramatisations were meant to be an advertisement for the film showings also, but there was nothing in place to make the area in which they were performed busy and populated. To be fair a bank holiday did scupper plans as the University was closed during the sunday, monday and tuesday, but we had little opportunity to hold the week at a different time, due to student availability and the relevance of the showing of Invisible children to the news and the organisation's latest bids for urgent publicity.
Nevertheless, I believe the actions of the first week have enticed a fair few people to hopefully come to the film showings (on wednesday and thursday so that there are two chances to watch them). Together with the facebook group and fan pages it is possible that we can make the showings last for at least four hours or so. More importantly, it suggests that a Human Rights society could be a good idea and would lead to more opportunities for events with other organisations in the years to come. Perhaps with the organisation and planning of a fully fledged student human rights society issues like the Drama performances would be resolved by teamwork, and by broadcasting to volunteers from around the community, including primary school children to whom an event cause such as child soldiers would be more relevant.
Overall I have enjoyed the subtle but noticeable progress of the Human Rights week, as it has not only made myself and others involved think more about the issues raised, but has got us thinking towards the future in terms of projects we could lead on from these foundations and samples of what we as a student voice can do for the world.
I am now looking forward to this week's Film showings and A.I.D debate, which I'm sure will receive even more of a reception and participation from visitors in the week.