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Network Newsletter  Rights and Democracy Network Number 22 August 27, 2008 Newsletter Sections |
The Network’s Fall Retreat from September 25-28 in Montreal: Call for applications
This fall’s Retreat celebrates both the 20th anniversary of Rights & Democracy and the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This auspicious occasion will be held in Montreal from September 25-28 at the Rights & Democracy offices, offering you a chance to really get to know what Rights & Democracy is all about.
You’ll meet some members of our staff, including Program Officers, Senior Thematic Advisors, Communications staff, as well as our Directors and our new President, Mr. Rémy M. Beauregard.
We’ll offer an in-depth look at the work of Rights & Democracy, and how we work with our partners in developing countries towards the fulfillment of human rights and the implementation of truly democratic processes in their countries.
We’ll also offer workshops and presentations that will give you the tools you need to ensure that your Delegation thrives. Download the application form at www.dd-rd.net/cms/site/en/2008retreat_candidature/
Staying in touch: Updating the Network Database
Have you moved? Studying at a new university? Have you graduated?
It is now possible to update your personal profile, with the Modification form, in the Member's Section: http://www.rightsdemocracy.net/en/formulaire_inscription/modif.php.
To get started, you will need your user name, as used on the Forum, as well as your original password, consisting of 7 digits. Please contact the webmaster (webnet@dd-rd.ca) if you need assistance.
Connect to your profile in two easy steps:
1- In the Member's Section of the website (http://www.rightsdemocracy.net/en/formulaire_inscription/modif.php):
a) Enter your user name. (You can change the selected language if you wish)
b) Click on the 'Submit' button. If you are not automatically redirected, click on the link that will appear.
2- In the modification form:
a) Re-enter your user name, as well as your 7-digit password. (Contact us immediately if you have any difficulty accessing your account.)
b) Update your data.
c) New! You can now select information that will later appear in your personal profile, including the human rights issues that you are passionate about. Click on the issues you would like to see appear in your public profile. (Optional)
d) If you have graduated, and if you don't want to put an end to your membership with the Network, please change your status from 'Student' to Young Professional.
e) Don't forget to click the Submit button, when you are done.
For more information or for assistance, please contact Sylvain Aubé, the Network’s webmaster, at webnet@dd-rd.ca, or by phone (toll free) at 1-877-736-3833, ext. 294.
Panties for Peace:
Kick off your campus campaign with a visit by Mika Lévesque, founder of the Canadian campaign
In Burma, there is a taboo about women’s clothes that are worn under the waist, where men will be robbed of their power if they come in contact with these clothes, and especially women’s panties. The Panties for Peace campaign is a call from the women of Burma to women around the world to send their panties to representatives of the military junta (through their local Burmese embassies). The goal is to strip the regime of its power. In effect, this campaign throws this taboo on its head, especially since the taboo itself is oppressive to women. In Canada, this solidarity campaign was launched last May in Montreal in collaboration with the Fédération des femmes du Québec; the Network is among the very first members of the innovative and important initiative.
This campaign could now be carried out at your campus! If your Delegation would like to join this Network campaign, we encourage you to invite Micheline (Mika) Lévesque, Asia Regional Officer for Rights & Democracy and the founder of the Canadian campaign to speak on your campus. Mika is an expert on the situation in Burma, and her passion for human rights and democratic development in Asia is contagious. On top of the humanitarian crisis which has been going on for more than 20 years, other issues can be discussed with Mika, including sexual violence against Burmese women, and the Burmese student resistance movement. The participants at the Annual Event held last May can certainly testify to the fact that Mika is a great speaker and is passionate about human rights issues in South-East Asia!
For more information about the campaign, visit: http://pantiesforpeace.ca/. To invite Mika to your campus, contact Elana Wright at ewright@dd-rd.ca.
Join millions worldwide as they Stand Up and Take Action against Poverty and for the Millennium Development Goals
Last year, over 43 million people stood up to demand that world leaders keep their promises to end poverty and inequality. This year, help us break that record and send an even louder message to our governments.
Join the global movement of people who refuse to stay seated or silent in the face of poverty and broken promises to end it! For ideas and resources on organizing a local Stand Up event, check out: http://standagainstpoverty.org/.
Source: Millennium Campaign and GCAP
See more pictures and information from last year's event on www.8goals.ca/site/standup.
A new year for your Delegation: How to ensure your success
Time for recruitment and elections: submit your order form now!
With the school year beginning, now is the time to plan your recruitment strategy and elections for this year. Inspire other students at your university to join you in promoting human rights and democracy internationally by ensuring they hear about your Delegation and its activities. Then, you’ll be sure to have a strong and vibrant executive for your Delegation when you hold your elections.
To help you with recruitment, the Network has flyers, stickers, bookmarks, and posters. As well, we can also send you Rights and Democracy’s Annual Report, which describes all of our work in the last year, and the latest issue of the Libertas newsletter. Fill out the new Network promotional materials order form available through the Resources section, and we’ll send you your materials right away!
The Delegation Handbook, 2008 edition
To support you in the creation of your Delegation, or in the development of your activities, the Network is proud to offer you a brand new Delegation Handbook with a new format and new content. This 2008 edition offers you new tools, including evaluation forms for your activities and your executive, a code of ethics, and a detailed example of a project budget. The Handbook will be launched at the Fall Retreat which will take place in Montreal from September 25 to 28, 2008. During this event, we will give enough copies of the Handbook for each of the members of your executive. And not only that, but the Handbook and the Delegation tools will also be available on-line, after the Retreat, for consultation or download!
Youth and Democracy: A look at Columbia
This spring, a team from Rights & Democracy made up of the Democratic Development Officer, the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Officer, and the Network Coordinator, implemented a project allowing Rights & Democracy’s partners from Colombian civil society to organize a parallel event for youth at the General Assembly of the Organization of American States in Medellin to discuss democracy and human rights. As part of this initiative, two members of the Network, including the author of the article below, as well as a representative from Quebec Native Women, had the chance to take part in this unique event.
Read the story written by Marjolaine Olwell
Also, check out the next issue of the Network Newsletter for a video by Jean-Sébastien Marier from York University’s Glendon College, about his experience in Colombia.
Jordanian youth activists attend World Youth Congress in Quebec City
MONTREAL – Rights & Democracy is supporting the participation of three Jordanian youth activists from our partner institution, the Princess Basma Youth Resource Center (PBYRC), in the 4th World Youth Congress in Quebec City from August 10 to 21, 2008. The young Jordanians attending the Congress delivered a workshop on the production of public service announcements (PSAs) between August 17 and 20.
Well known in North America, a public service announcement (PSA) is a non-commercial advertisement broadcast on radio, the Internet or television, intended for the public good**.
“It’s refreshing to see youth activists from Jordan giving a workshop on a North American concept, PSAs, here in Quebec City ,” says Sophie Rondeau, Coordinator of Rights & Democracy’s Student Network who is accompanying the Jordanian delegation. “PSAs are intended to modify public attitudes by raising awareness about specific issues. That’s exactly the work we support by encouraging a culture of tolerance and respect for human rights, strengthening civil society participation and supporting marginalized youth.”
“Even though the three of us who are helping with this project come from different regions of Jordan, the results that were achieved had a great effect on our daily lives,” says Deema Shahin, one of the youth activists from Jordan working in the Media for Development Unit at PBYRC.
**The Videos from this workshop will be available on the Network Website in September.
Visit Rights & Democracy's website on the Olympics and human rights
The Summer Olympics in Beijing are a source of immense concern for those who see the Games as a vehicle for the celebration of human dignity. Is China’s record on human rights something to celebrate? Are claims that the Games would serve as a catalyst for improvements proving empty? Does China have much to gain and the Olympic movement much to lose?
Check out Rights & Democracy’s coverage of the Beijing Olympics, called the Olympic Journal. The site features a series of essays on topics ranging from the relationship between human rights and the Olympics to examinations of specific human rights concerns in China.
Enter our Olympic Journal Short Essay Contest!
We hope that you’ll be inspired to participate in our coverage of the Olympics by submitting a short essay on the connection between the Olympics and human rights to our Olympic Journal Short Essay Contest. The winning author will receive a $500 scholarship grant. The best three essays will be published on the Rights & Democracy website after the Games.
The contest is open to youth aged 18-30. The essay must be no more than 300 words, and may be written in English, French, or Chinese. Submit your essay by September 24, 2008 by email to: network@dd-rd.ca, along with your name, address, and phone number. This contest is not open to the staff of Rights & Democracy, nor their immediate family members.
UN-brokered peace deal signed in Somalia
19 August 2008 – Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and an opposition group have formally agreed to end all armed confrontation between them in a peace deal mediated by the top United Nations envoy to the war-ravaged Horn of Africa nation. The TFG and the Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia, meeting in neighbouring Djibouti, yesterday also decided to cease making inflammatory statements and to take steps to ensure the agreement goes into effect.
The Djibouti Agreement, initialed by the sides in June, was brokered by Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Somalia, which, since Muhammad Siad Barre’s regime was toppled in 1991, has not had a functioning national government and has been riven by factional fighting.
To read more: http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=27746&Cr=Somali&Cr1
September 8: International Literacy Day
Despite the improvements, this International day reminds us that there are still efforts to make to reach the “literacy for all” goal.
http://www.un.org/Depts/dhl/literacy/index.html
The Network’s on-line forum announces job and internship opportunities in Canada and around the world. To access the forum, you must be a member of the Rights & Democracy Network. Become a member by signing up here: http://www.dd-rd.net/members/
If you are already a member, visit the Forum’s jobs and internships section by clicking here: http://www.droitsdemocratie.net/network-forum/index.php?login_lang=en
Network News is a newsletter published by the Rights & Democracy Network.
The Network Team:
Coordinator: Sophie Rondeau
Liaison Officer: Elana Wright
Administrative Assistant: Diane Migneault
Webmaster: Sylvain Aubé
Summer Research and Development Officers: Josianne Cyr & Julie Dumontier
Summer Intern: Laurie Chalifour
Rights & Democracy Network
1001, boul. de Maisonneuve E., Suite 1100
Montréal, Québec H2L 4P9 CANADA
Phone: (514) 283-6073
Toll-free: 1-877-736-3833
Fax: (514) 283-3792
network@dd-rd.ca
www.rightsdemocracy.net
Available issues :
Issue 22 (August 27, 2008)
Issue 21 (July 23, 2008)
Issue 20 (April 24, 2008)
Issue 19 (March 27, 2008)
Issue 18 (January 24, 2008)
Issue 17 (December 20, 2007)
Issue 16 (November 27, 2007)
Issue 15 (November 6, 2007)
Issue 14 (October 18, 2007)
Issue 13 (September 25, 2007)
Issue 12 (September 11, 2007)
Issue 11 (Summer 2007)
Issue 10 (April 13, 2007)
Issue 9 (November 2006)
Issue 8 (August 2006)
Issue 7 (May 4, 2006)
Issue 6 (April 12, 2006)
Issue 5 (March 21, 2006)
Issue 4 (March 1, 2006)
Issue 3 (February 16, 2006)
Issue 2 (January 31, 2006)
Issue 1 (January 17, 2006)
