Carl Wilkens and Cynthia Davis

Yesterday the Westport News published a feature article about 2011 Carl Wilkens Fellow Cynthia Davis and her Sudan Canvas Project. A decorative artist and seasoned community organizer, Cynthia founded the Sudan Canvas Project as an effort to raise awareness about and funds for women in South Sudan. In her work as a Carl Wilkens Fellow, Cynthia also continues to bridge the gap between educating and activating her community to advocate for peace in all of Sudan. “Each individual voice does make a difference in the decisions made by our Members of Congress,” she said.

It is with this mandate in mind that Cynthia is partnering with STAND chapters from Amity and Trumbull High Schools and the Jewish Federation of Fairfield County in hosting Carl Wilkens, the namesake of the Fellowship program, on Monday evening in Connecticut.

Carl Wilkens believes strongly that “one person can make a difference” and that popular groundswells for change are born when individuals “look outside of “themselves” and reach out” to one another. “We need to live for each other,” he has said. Together with Cynthia, Carl will share his story of how one “ordinary” person can affect extraordinary change.

The event with Carl Wilkens will be held at the Jewish Community Center of Eastern Fairfield County at 4200 Park Avenue, Bridgeport, CT on Monday, May 23 at 7:30pm. The event is free and open to the public.  For more information, contact Cynthia Davis at Cynthia@Cynthiadesigns.com.

The war in the Congo is the deadliest war in the world. Throughout the conflict, civilians have been the targets of killings, torture, and rape. It is estimated that over 5 million people have been killed in this war and over 1 million have been displaced.  Many believe that this conflict has been driven, in large part, by illegal exploitation of Congo’s natural resources: tin, tantalum, tungsten, and gold. These minerals are used in products we use daily,  such as our cell phones and laptops.

Gosling and Prendergast are raising awareness about conflict minerals with the Raise Hope for Congo Campaign. The campaign is asking people to demand conflict-free products from electronic companies. It also encourages students to lead efforts to create conflict free campuses.

To help out, read the blog post Gosling and Prendergast have written for the Huffington Post and spread the word about their efforts on Twitter by tweeting @ryangosling, it’s time to “Raise Hope for Congo” – http://vimeo.com/22243103.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Following each performances will be a symposium featuring various speakers.  Click Here for more information about the What the Heart Remembers and the schedule of speakers.

What the Heart Remembers: The Women and Children of Darfur will perform Nov. 16-20 at 8pm, and Nov. 20 and 21 at 3pm, in Theatre 2.  Advance tickets are $8 for students and seniors and $12 general admission; day-of-show tickets are $10 for students/seniors and $15 for general admission.  For information, call the College of The Arts box office at 813-974-2323, or visit online at http://www.arts.usf.edu/.

“On 24 May, an unknown armed group broke up an engagement party in the female dormitories at the request of a dormitory supervisor, beating the women with iron sticks… A third year student in the faculty of Science, Halima Musa, was seriously injured and later died after being denied medical care by the Students Support Fund and the dormitory administration. … The following day, Dalnaj University students, calling themselves the “Support the Students Fund” gathered to demonstrate in solidarity with their colleagues and to protest the Students Support Fund’s actions. Police forces from Dalnaj city broke up the demonstration by firing into the crowd and using tear gas. Two students were killed.”

You can read the full report on their website.

Certainly, my logic was flawed and my time at Save Darfur has proven how incredibly skewed my thinking was. The issue of women’s rights is a grave concern for all and is often indicative of other ingrained illnesses within a society. The endemic violence against women in Darfur makes it increasingly apparent that the maltreatment of women reveals other conflicts at play – struggles for land, political power and recognition. As nations with poor political infrastructure are the countries most culpable of victimizing females, guaranteeing women’s rights are imperative to achieving the peaceful world we all seek.

The mission of International Women’s Day is to promote a world in which women are no longer victim to rape, incest, battery and sexual slavery. All of the world’s inhabitants must recognize that International Women’s Day is, truly, about defending basic human rights. The fight for women’s rights is not only a distinct movement, but one that encompasses all those who wish to redefine our modern world.

Marissa Glauberman is a Campaign Advocacy Intern with the Save Darfur Coalition.

Unusual content for this blog? Perhaps, except for the video that played during a timeout early in the game. In the video longtime rivals Duke and Georgetown announced a partnership in support of the Darfur Dream Team, a fundraising project for the Sister Schools Program, an initiative to connect American middle schools, high schools, colleges, and universities with sister schools in 12 refugee camps in Chad.

The student groups Georgetown STAND and Duke for Darfur are leading the effort to raise money to refurbish and equip two schools in Darfuri refugee camps in eastern Chad.  According to the Enough Project, “Thanks in large part to their high-profile event today, they are well on their way.”

That Tracy McGrady, Alexander Aleinikoff, the incoming U.N. deputy commissioner for refugees and a Georgetown alum, and Michel Gabaudan, the UNHCR Regional Representative for the United States and the Caribbean, and other U.N. staff would come specifically to support the student’s fundraising efforts says a lot about the role of both students and sports in highlighting important causes.  That the students could launch their initiative in front of the President and Vice President (and in the middle of such a great game) was all the better.

For more coverage check out Enough Said, The Huffington Post, and ESPN.com.

*yes, this blog post might be slightly biased towards the Hoyas.  Sorry, Duke fans.

With the G-20 summit in our backyard last week, we, members of the University of Pittsburgh’s STAND chapter, knew that we had a unique opportunity to deliver our message to the world’s most powerful leaders. This message was that we, as members of developed economies, hold links to all genocides that make us complicit in their implementation and maintenance. These links also provide us with crucial opportunities to debilitate these genocidal regimes

We kicked-off our campaign on Thursday by joining with PDEC, the Pittsburgh Darfur Emergency Coalition, to put up an art installation directly in front of the delegates’ Thursday night dinner. The installation, which represented villages destroyed by genocide, caught the attention of many local news sources and was featured the next day on the cover of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. It certainly caught the gaze of delegates Thursday night as well.

On Wednesday, we participated in the United Steelworkers Conference on Human Rights along with the Save Darfur Coalition. There, we had the opportunity to rekindled discussions that had begun with Sudan Divestment campaign years ago about the capacity for unions and other institutions to draw on their economic investments to leverage their influence on the governments of genocidal regimes. We found the Steelworkers to be very receptive, and some attendees expressed a serious interest in starting up socially responsible investment campaigns.

Later that day, we attended Save Darfur Coalition’s press conference. There, we had the opportunity to pass out press packets to attending members of the press. These press packets detailed how the countries of the G20 are connected the conflicts in Sudan, Burma, and the D.R.C.

On Thursday, we passed our message off to a most impressive ear—that of President Obama. With hands filled with flyers and signs and dressed in neon yellow Save Darfur shirts, the University of Pittsburgh’s STAND members crowded every possible entrance to the venue of the delegates’ dinner. At these entrances we paced backed and forth, awaiting the delegates’ arrival. As we traversed the sidewalks, we passed out flyers and spoke to onlookers and officials about our conflicts and how they relate to the G20. Around 6:00 pm, the delegates passed through the Boulevard of the Allies, a contingent of STAND students waved and cheered. There, they were undoubtedly seen and heard. Obama looked directly at one STAND member holding a sign and waved and passed of a firm nod of affirmation! Hopefully, equally firm policies will affirm our asks in the days to come.

Anna Siegel is STAND’s National Programming Coordinator and a student at the University of Pittsburgh.

Mickey Jackson, National High School Outreach Coordinator for STAND and freshman at American University, had this say about the event:

I have to admit that until this week, I never dreamed that anything could possess me to trudge through the rain with a bunch of other DC-area students and lay a hastily-made cardboard-and-paper gold star against the door of the Sudanese embassy. But then again, I never dreamed that Scott Gration, the Obama Administration’s special envoy to Sudan, would tell the Washington Post that we should try to end a genocide by “giving out cookies…gold stars, [and] smiley faces” to an indicted war criminal.

Daniel Teweles, STAND’s National Student Coordinator, said STAND felt impelled to highlight General Gration’s comments because he is reportedly leading the White House’s approach to Sudan. Teweles said:

Stunts aren’t going to stop the genocide, and Gration’s ‘gold stars’ approach won’t either. We want the president himself to step in here and make sure his administration’s approach is up to snuff.

Check out the Save Darfur Coalition’s checklist for the Sudan policy review laying out a balanced list of approaches for Sudan.

Click here to listen to her account of the attack.

She concludes, “We are hoping that the international community will help protect us by telling President al-Bashir that this violence against young women is wrong; it’s against both the law and our religion. He should stop this and allow us to continue our education.”

ESPN recently featured the Darfur Dream Team’s Sister Schools Program in a special segment that aired on SportsCenter. Basketball star Tracy McGrady of the Houston Rockets and Enough’s Omer Ismail and John Prendergast were shown in footage from their trip together to eastern Chad.

The Darfur Dream Team is a dynamic partnership of organizations and professional basketball players working together on the Sister Schools Program, an initiative to connect American middle schools, high schools, colleges, and universities with sister schools in the 12 refugee camps in Chad. As part of the Sister Schools Program, U.S. sister schools are raising funds to improve the education of their Darfuri peers through the construction and rehabilitation of school buildings as well as by providing teacher training, sports equipment, and other school supplies. The program also aims to foster cross-cultural relationships and mutual understanding between American students and Darfuri refugee students through letter exchanges and video blogging.

Visit darfurdreamteam.org today to sign up your school, become a sister school, or learn more about the Darfur Dream Team.