GIVE IT UP

GIVE IT UP

Human Rights Day!

http://www.un.org/en/events/humanrightsday/2010/

Publishing Opportunity

The following e-mail was forwarded to us by Ken Zolotar. He asked us to let other interested students know about the opportunity:

jhr Invites University Students to Submit Essays for

Rights in Review Fall Review

Vol 3. 2011 ISSN: 1925-1777

Rights in Review is jhr’s bi-annual peer-reviewed academic journal. Through scholarship addressing human rights awareness and improving peace and security, jhr looks to provide a forum to exchange ideas from a variety of perspectives regarding the pressing human rights and social justice issues of our day. This volume of Rights in Review aims to address themes around, Media and development, and how the Communication Age is furthering human rights.

jhr (Journalists for Human Rights) is now accepting submissions for our 3^rd volume of Rights in Review until December 17^th, 2010. For a full list of guidelines please click here or visit http://www.jhr.ca/schools/rights-in-review-2/

All submitted articles will be subject to an impartial, peer-review process, in addition to an anti-plagiarism program.

Please consider forwarding the above message throughout your list serv to allow your students the opportunity to be published in jhr’s academic journal. Furthermore, if you have any students in mind who have written high quality work on the aforementioned topics please consider passing this message along to them so they can submit their work.

Thank you,

Ken Zolotar

jhr Youth Engagement Coordinator

ken@jhr.ca

And One Last Thing...

This Friday, December 10th is International Human Rights Day. In honour of this event, Amnesty International has organized the largest global letter writing campaign, occurring in over 50 countries! Check out the website posted below if you're interested in making a difference simply by writing a few supportive letters. With so many people involved, a little bit will go a long long way!


http://www.amnesty.ca/writeathon/

Updates!

Hello Everyone,

It is incredible how time flies, and it feels like only yesterday when we last blogged. But somehow first semester is coming to a close and everyone is preparing for exams and getting excited for the holiday season. So with that, I will just give a brief update on what we have been up to and some amazing things which we are planning in the new year.

Back in October we had a movie night and viewed the film The Reporter. Though the majority of the audience was inspired (and heartbroken) from the catastophic world shown in the film, some ethical issues were raised which required much further analysis if they were ever to find resolution. Was it fair for a reporter to come in and show minimal compassion for the suffering being endured by these people, or was this simply Kristof protecting himself from the devastating effects of emotional exhaustion that could occur when exposed to such sorrow on a daily basis? What responsibility did Kristof have to provide some assistance to these communities, or was internation exposure sufficient? Overall, it was a very difficult film to watch, but one which will not be forgotten any time soon.

For next semester we will have our previous issue (finally!) printed and will be gearing up for the next publication - more on that to come. We are also planning another movie night, a public panel/debate on a controversial issue (open to suggestions), and a launch party for our next publication once it takes shape! It should be an eventful and busy semester for all involved at WLU's jhr!

Finally, we are currently brainstorming potential topics for our upcoming publication and are very open to suggestions and ideas. The execs were contemplating doing something in the framework of women's rights, but weren't sure whether to leave the topic open to give the opportunity to explore a multiplicity of issues, or to narrow into a specific women's issue for a more finite focus. Again, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated - they do not need to be women's-rights-related!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful Tuesday!

Sparks!

Join us Saturday September 25^th, 2010 from 12-9 p.m. in Waterloo Park, for Spark in the Park Music Festival.

Headlined by indie rockers Zeus and soulful singer Kae Sun, featuring four emerging artists and a Young Artist Showcase, Spark is more than a music festival; it’s a network of community driven not-for-profit and student organizations woven with ideas and social proof that getting involved is the way to go! What’s your Spark?

Only $15 in advance / $20 at the gate.

For more information and to get tickets visit www.sparkinthepark.ca

To be part of the action as a volunteer, email Pierre@sparkinthepark.ca

See you there!

“I'm soaked from the rain, but I'm still so pumped”

We have a lot to be pumped about over here at Laurier JHR. It was a great summer for us with attending the Human Rights DocFest that U of T organized (props to them, it was a great success) and other various events that JHR held, such as the Make Media Matter campaign, which is a media coalition that celebrates good media and is spearheaded by JHR. I definitely urge you to check out their website for more info: http://www.makemediamatter.com/. However, one of the highlights was seeing filmmaker Nelofer Pazira’s documentary “Audition”, which explored the way that Afghans relate to film and media- a very different understanding than we are used to in the West. She was an amazing speaker and we enjoyed meeting her. Needless to say, we met some amazingly inspiring people, which in turn got us working on lots of new projects for this upcoming year.

Another summer highlight was the production of our next magazine issue. We finally put it together with the help of UW’s chapter president, Veronica. She is a pro at layout so you are all bound to be impressed with the next publication, which is going to print very very soon!

Above all, we are most excited to be back at Laurier where we can put all of these inspiring ideas into action. Yesterday, we spent the day meeting and recruiting incoming first year students to JHR, as well as promoting it at Laurier’s “Get Involved Fair”. The only problem: it rained ALL day. Despite the weather, we stuck it out and so did some amazingly keen first years. Already it seems like this year is going to be a great year due to the dedication that our members have.

We will keep you posted on the happenings of the next few weeks. Next week we are going to be in the concourse so make sure to come visit us!

Mara and Thansha:)

tweets and fb

Befriend us on facebook, and follow us on twitter!

Help Journalist for Human Rights win $100,000!

image from http://www.jhr.ca/en/

Its quite simple, just go to http://www.refresheverything.ca, select the Arts and Culture Category, then the $100,000 tab, select current leaders, and finally click to vote for JHR! $100, 000 goes a long way with a great organization such as JHR, and we can help make it happen! Voting will continue till the end of August, and you can only vote once per day for the same organization. Make sure to vote everyday, tell your friends, add it to your facebook, and send some TWEETS! :)

Calling all Film Enthusiasts!

JHR has an exciting opportunity for you to create a human rights documentary and submit it to the JHR film festival that U of T organizing this summer. It is entitled “Human Rights DocFest” and more information can be found at this website: http://hrdocfest2010.wordpress.com/

We encourage you to submit something, or come out to the festival to soak in the creative journalistic works of your peers!

Hope to see you there!

Art & Human Rights

Art and human rights come together with great force through Evoke. The national art contest is an initiative put forth by TakingITGlobal and the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. Evoke offers youth the opportunity to showcase their interpretation of human rights through various forms of art, creating dialogue on the subject nation wide. The contest is open to Canadians between the ages of 13-25 and closes May 25th, 2010.

For more information, visit: Evoke

Make Media Matter

“Youth are not just the leaders of the future, but the leaders of today.” – Ben Peterson, Co-founder and Executive Director of JHR

Hello All!

On Saturday we traveled to U of T for a Health and Human Rights conference. It was an eye-opening experience to say the least, and we’d love to share a few key moments with you.

Our first indulgence in the conference, and perhaps the most important message we want to share with you, was at a lecture given about “the power of the pen” and journalism’s social influence. We learned about the importance of media and human rights based journalism from Ben Peterson, executive director of JHR (yes we met him too!). We took away from Ben’s talk the simple yet profound notion that journalism inspires people to take up a cause, and so we should use our passions as journalists to inspire others. This is based on the idea that media has an immense power to create social change. Ben also persuaded us to use the media as an outlet to create social passions, so we want to convey the importance of this to you. Don’t be afraid to get involved and act upon issues that you’re passionate about. As journalists and consumers of an array of social networks, we have the unique opportunity to use the multiplier effect, allowing one story to reach millions and millions of people. We encourage you to take advantage of this, because there is definite potential that lies within all of us and we shouldn’t let it sit idle.

As today’s lessons have taught us, we are the hope of the future. We cannot force change, it has to come from within. Ben stressed that never before has a single generation had such immediate access to alternative media that is run separately from the elites. There is great potential here. Therefore, just as we have been posed with many challenges today to be agents of social change, we’re passing this onto you. Go and be leaders of today!

“We can use the media’s power to make the world a better place”- Ben Peterson

Hope this was inspiring:)

Mara and Thansha

Rights Based Media

What are Human Rights?

What does Human Rights mean to you?

Bake Sale!

Thanks to everyone who contributed to our bake sale yesterday! We raised awareness about JHR, and our role on the Laurier campus, as well as satisfied the sweet tooth of many passerby’s. We also met a lot of great people with an interest for what we do. Thansha and I are so pumped for all of the exciting plans JHR has in store this term, so make sure you continue to keep updated through our e-mails and this blog, because it’s going to be an amazing termJ

Also, if you're reading this and would like to be added to the mailing list, please e-mail laurier.waterloo.jhr@gmail.com

-Mara

We're Hiring!

Today was the day!

JHR was at the Global Citizenship Conference today, and it was a huge success! We were at the conference bright and early, to set up our booth at the NGO fair. By 10am, we were ready to go! The fair displayed a wide variety organizations, with a vast range of interests, from the Stephan Lewis Foundation to The Living Earth Festival, needless to say we met some amazing people. It was great to interact with community members who possessed passion for all kinds of change under one roof. Next we attended a workshop on the power of words, held by slam poet Carlos Andres Gomes. As journalists, we understand the language we use has tremendous force to empower others, however this workshop demonstrated how words can be used in reverse, to make people feel small, and insignificant. It definitely made me think about the words I use on a daily basis, and the power they have on others. Finally, we presented two rounds of our workshop on Rights Media! The day was a huge success, we met some great people, shared ideas, and learned something new for ourselves!

Thanks for everyone who came out!

-Thansha

Movie Nights

JHR Laurier is looking to host biweekly movie screenings throughout the term. We're picking topics for each movie screening, and following the movie we'll have some great discussion! Send as your requests for movies and topics at: laurier.waterloo.jhr@gmail.com

image: www.istockphoto.com

Food For Thought

Eleanor Roosevelt on human rights:

"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 maps of the world. Yet they are the world of the individual person; the neighborhood he lives in; the school or college he attends; the factory, farm, or office where he works. Such are the places where every man, woman, and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination. Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world."

The Grand Unveiling...

JHR has announced the theme for the next publication: Climate Change & Human Rights! If your interested in writing a piece for the publication send us an email at: Laurier.waterloo.jhr@gmail.com. A friend of mine sent a video, which fit in perfectly with what we're talking about: the story of stuff, take a look!

From: Green Pea: http://ericha-greenpea.blogspot.com/

JHR at the Global Citizenship Conference

Journalists for Human Rights will holding a workshop next weekend at the Global Citizenship Conference, taking place at Laurier during Jan 22-24th. We're discussing human rights, media, and your role in making a difference! Make sure you get your ticket and come out to this great event! For more information check out the GCC website at: http://www.gcclaurier.org/. Hope to see you there! :)

-Thansha

image: ggclaurier.org