Tag Archives: Human RIghts

Quote of the Week: From Declaration to Implementation

Continuing this new series, I’d like to highlight a great, young mind–Akhila Kolisetty. Currently a student at Northwestern University, Akhila shares a unique willpower that refuses to be distracted and instead, stays committed and focused on international human rights.

If you want to get back in touch with what motivates you to do good, get to know Akhila. She writes with a focused idealism about how things should be–and doesn’t accepts things as they are.

In Akhila’s recent post, “The 21st Century Approach to Human Rights,” Akhila writes:

“We need to shift away from a time of declaration and into the era of implementation.”

Akhila goes on to defend her stance in the frame of human rights work–rallying for systemic transformation and change. Not only do I admire Akhila’s position, but I am also a fan of her quote. Why? Because there are many places where this quote can apply to our work. For example, some organizations and individuals get “paralysis by analysis.” They get stuck in the cycle of rehashing research and developing plans–that implementation lags behind. Don’t get me wrong–declaration of rules, appropriate research, and strategic planning are important–but implementation and execution are also necessary.

Take it to a personal level. Have you ever had a crush on someone? You plan and imagine what you will say or how to take that person out, but if you never make the ask–asking the person out–then you may have a case of paralysis by analysis.

Thank you Akhila for the great thoughts and quote. What about you–does any of this sound familiar to you or your organization?

flickr credit: Paldavo

Michael Jackson & Iran: Music to Your Ears

I’m no expert on the Iran situation. But, I do know when a video has that extra powerful “umph.” Talk about responding to current events (Michael Jackson), harnessing in on emotion, and making a statement through visual storytelling.

Have you seen this video of the events in Iran set to the music of Michael Jackson’s “They Don’t Care About Us” yet? What are your thoughts?

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lm-FUQUKoXM

(One more tip: Jocelyn Harmon, in her latest post, also talks about how the Sierra Club recently leveraged ‘timeliness’ in one of its new initiatives as well.)

Invisible Children: From Grassroots to Mega Movement

You may have heard of Invisible Children. And no, this is nothing from a science-fiction movie.

Movement Image

Invisible Children is a non-profit that benefits children in war-torn Uganda. It began as a grassroots efforts in 2003 when 3 college students set off on an adventure to Uganda. With only a video camera to document their travels, they discovered a 17-year war they had never heard of where children were being forced to be child soldiers.

Their biggest observation was witnessing hundreds of children marching every night, miles upon miles, from their homes in the country to Gulu in hopes of avoiding being forced into the LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army). The children shared their stories with the students about their nightly commute and the struggles they face everyday. What came through clear, was that the children wanted more education.

Upon witnessing what they did, the students turned their videos into a documentary and showed it to anyone and everyone. The movement grew into the Global Night Commute , where Americans all over the country walked miles to sleep outside within their own cities, hoping for others to notice the situation in Uganda.

Since the Global Commute, Invisible Children’s movement has grown…a lot. Currently, it has a fully developed website, a visible child scholarship program, a bracelet campaign, Invisible Children Campus Movie Tour bus, teacher exchange program, internships, a world tour and more. For more information on the war or the movement, I highly recommend visiting and browsing the site.

I mention it here for three reasons:

1) I think it’s a great example of how a grassroots movement can go from a few individuals to an international movement…and how a good story, enhanced by media capabilities can be powerful beyond words.

2) I wanted to highlight how collaboration can lead to a more effective campaign and cause. This movement was begun by college students by has even hit the steps of Washington by gaining the interests of the media, policy makers, world leaders, government officials, special interest groups, partnering NGOs and more.

3) I wanted to emphasis the great use of capitalizing on your target and interested audiences. This movement begun by showing the movie at house parties and on college campuses, working to gain that one-on-one interaction combined with powerful stories and powerful media. Also, by targeting college campuses first (especially with Generation M), it made for a strong network to grow the movement. And, for great resources (students) to tap into to also promote the cause – they still believe that anything is possible, have more flexible schedules, want to feel like they matter, want to be the change in the world, have the technology know how, have some education and many other useful attributes…and with Invisible Children working to aide the children of Uganda…this is an audience college students can more closely relate towards, and as history shows, turned out quite successful.

Bravo.

(You can watch the original Invisible Children video here.)