October 2010

Stand 2010-2011: The New National Team! Stand has been very busy this summer, and not just with preparations for the coming year… but also with several new additions to the national team! Many of the new members of the team spend their summer months transitioning into their new positions, so that Stand could still run smoothly come this fall. Here is our National Team for 2010-2011! If you would like to contact any of us, please do not hesitate to do so. We will all work our hardest to make this year Stand’s best year yet!

Elham Bidgoli, Principal Director Montreal QC, McGill Universityebidgoli@standcanada.org

Monica Chakravarty (left)Deputy Principal DirectorToronto ON, University of Torontomchakravarty@standcanada.org

Scott Fenwick, Advocacy DirectorEdmonton, ABUniversity of Albertasfenwick@standcanada.org

Lisa Pires, Director of Communications Toronto ON, Ryerson Universitylpires@standcanada.org

Aneil JaswalDirector of Stand for the DeadVancouver BC, University of British Columbia ajaswal@standcanada.org

Laurie Drake (right)Director of Chapter Support Montreal QC, McGill Universityldrake@standcanada.org

Lindsay Broadfi eldDirector of High School ChaptersGuelph ON, University of Guelphlbroadfi eld@standcanada.org

Luke Kujawa, Policy DirectorOttawa ON, Carleton Universitylkujawa@standcanada.org

Anne Wagner Past Principal Director Toronto ON, Ryerson Universityawagner@standcanada.org

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Weallknowthebenefitsanddrawbacksofworkinginateam.Eachchapterundoubtedlyhasitsupsanddowns,butwhenalleffortsarecombined,weknowwecanaccomplishamazingthings.Witheverythingwecanaccomplishwithinourownchapters,justthinkofhowmuchmorewecouldaccom-plishifnearbychaptersalsoworkedtogether?Inadditiontomakingbigger,better,andmoresuccess-fuleventsandcampaigns,therearemanyotherbenefitsofcollaboratingamongstchapters.

Wonderingwhereyoucouldfindchaptersnearyouthatyoucanworkwith?WithmostofCanada’suniversitiesbeinglocatedinmajorcities,therearealsoseveralhighschoolswithfunctionalchaptersinthesamecities.Collaborationbetweenhighschoolanduniversity

chapterscanoffermanyextraben-efitsotherthaneventsupport.

Universitychapterscaneasilyprovidementor-shipforhighschoolchaptersinmultipleways.Bothgroupscouldlearnhowtheotherrunsmeetings,andcanshareideasonwhatwaysdoanddon’twork.Ideasharingwouldinevitablyhappen,asboth groupshavehaddifferentexperiencesthatcanbeshared.Aswithanyothergroupoflike-mindedpeoplecom-ingtogether,itwouldcreateamorediverseforumfordiscussionanddebate–offeringagreatlearningexperienceforhighschoolstudentsanduniversitystudentsaliketogainafurtherunderstandingintothecomplexitiesofgenociderelatedconflicts.

Highschoolstudentsmaygaintheaddedbenefitofworkingwithuniversitystudents,throughgainingtheunderstandingthatStandextendsbeyondthehallsof

theirhighschool,andthatwhentheypotentiallymoveontouni-versity,Standissomethingthat

theycancontinue.Universitystudentscangainexperiencein

workingwithyoungerstu-dents,mentoring,andhelp-ingouttheircommunity.

Allchapterscan

benefitbycombiningeffortsforevents.With

moremanpower,therearemorehandstodothingsandmoretimetodothemin.Eventscanbecomebiggerandbetter,andcandrawabiggercrowd.Morechaptermem-berstherealsomeansmoreexpertswhocanhelptogenerateconversa-tionandpromoteeducationandadvocacyofgenocideconflicts.

Overall, if your chapter islooking for a way to reach out tothecommunitymore,gainmoreat-tention and attract bigger crowds,do not rule out collaborating withotherchapters.Whiletheremaybesomedrawbackstodirectingalargercrowd,andmakingsureeverythingthatneedstobedonegetsdone,thepotentialbenefitsaremany.

Working With Other Chapters – the Benefits of Collaboration

by: Lindsay Broadfield

TEAMWORK!

:)

Ifyouwanttolearnwhatotherchaptersarenearyours,feelfreetocontacttheStandChapterdirectors!

For university chapters, Laurie Drake (ldrake@standcanada.org)

For high school chapters, Lindsay Broadfield (lbroadfield@standcanada.org)

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1-800 Genocide was launched over 3 years ago as an advo-cacy tool that went to the core of Stand’s message: it made it easy

for citizens to act against genocide. Since then, 1-800 Genocide has been used by cam-puses around the country as a promotional tool, it’s been used by the Stand for the Dead campaign, but more importantly, it’s been used by Canadians who take the time out of their day to make a call and show that they do care. As we enter another school year, I want to highlight the importance of continuing to use this tool as a central part of your local advocacy projects. Stand’s policy and advo-cacy team have been working hard all sum-mer to update their recommendations and provide you with useful and up-to-date infor-mation about what is happening in the Su-dan through the Darfur Digest. By combin-ing both these tools, it will be easy for your chapter to speak to others about this tool and encourage people to pick up the phone and call an MP to voice their concern. Even if you’re not completely comfort-able with Stand’s policy recommendations, encouraging people to call 1-800-Genocide and leave a message with an MP is still pos-sible. You can ask people to say something simple: “Darfur is now facing a humanitar-ian catastrophe of the greatest urgency. Now is the time for Canada to strongly denounce Bashir’s actions, and take a leading role in the international response to the crisis.” Or you could take it a little further and talk to people about Canada’s specifi c responsibilities: “Can-ada is a co-chair of the Friends of UNAMID group at the UN and a prime architect of the Responsibility to Protect doctrine. We can and should be taking a leading role in the diplo-

matic response to the atrocities in Darfur.” Even something as straightforward as “I care about Darfur and Canada should too,” will make a difference. The simplicity and effectiveness of 1-800-Genocide makes it the perfect tool to promote within your chapter. First, it’s free, which is always great. Second, all you’re asking for is about 3 minutes of someone’s time. And fi nally, it’s empowers people and shows them that they too can be agents of change. For these reasons, we’ve decided to keep moving the 1-800-Genocide campaign forward and spend this semester re-vamping old material, making it new and more rel-evant to Stand’s current policy recommenda-tions. As a result, your chapter should al-ready have received two new posters you can use to promote this tool on campus. As the semester progresses and as new ideas come fl ying in, I hope to develop a set of material that will allow you, the chapter, to effectively use this tool. Imagine how great it would be if every day 20 Canadians picked up the phone and spoke with an MP!

1-800 GenocideSimple and effective

By: Laurie Drake

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1.Consider why people are volunteering:

Is it because it gives them a sense of self-satisfaction, are they altruistic? Is it to meet new people and learn new things?

Maybe they want to develop contacts and network, or maybe they want to gain ex-perience. In any case, understanding

what motivates people to join your group will help you to better in-tegrate them into roles their truly

going to enjoy.

2.Meet the needs of your vol-unteers:

Volunteer-based organizations provide the perfect space for a mutual exchange be-

tween parties. Instead of asking people just to attend meetings, give them a role with

responsibility. Take them seriously and they will give back.

3.Create “job-descriptions” for new vol-unteers:

While some of the rookies might now how the chapter runs and who does what, some of the new people may not. By outlining

their roles you’ll allow them to under-stand the meaning of the contri-bution within the chapter, while clearly identifying their responsi-

bilities.

4.Have fun:

The most important advice I can give from working as a chapter head for two years is to have fun. Working with

friends is so much more enjoyable then working with “colleagues.” Plan outings out-side of your weekly meetings if you have to. Have a meeting over a potluck dinner. I’m a firm believer in the power of community and I think every Stand chapter has the poten-

tial to be its own little community.

Recruitmentby: Laurie Drake

Recruitment... a three syllable word that most chapters can’t avoid at the begin-ning of a school year. Stand, being a campus based student group, draws most of it mem-bers from students in either highschool or university who work through their local or cam-pus chapter.

Although their are countless benefits to working with young and innovative minds, one of the major drawbacks is rotation: as people graduate and move on, Stand chapters must constantly be looking to recruit new members in order to keep their chapter alive and staffed. Here are a few tips to help you effectively recruit new members and integrate them into your Stand chapter!

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“Armed groups in eastern Congo earn hundreds of millions of dollars per year by trading four main minerals: the ores that produce tin, tantalum, tung-sten, and gold. This money enables the militias to purchase weapons and continue their campaign of brutal violence against civilians. The majority of these minerals eventually wind up in electronic devices such as cell phones, portable music play-ers, and computers. Given the lack of a transparent minerals supply chain, North American consumers have no way to ensure that their purchases are not financing armed groups that regularly commit atroc-ities, including mass rape.”

The Enough project works to protect and empower Congolese women and girls. One way they do this is by educating North Americans about where their electronics come from.

Now that you’re informed, please help support their campaign by emailing the 21 biggest electronics companies to demand that they make conflict-free prod-

ucts. Click on the following link to tell the electronics industry what you think:

http://www2.americanprogress.org/t/1684/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=6265

STAND up against...Congo’s Conflict Minerals

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