Avatar photo

GU Students for a Free Tibet Society – First Meeting!

Hi everyone,

This is a follow-up to the Tibet meeting that we had on 2nd October. For those of you who couldn’t attend, Theo’s documentary highlighted the ongoing suffering of Tibetans following the Chinese occupation of Tibet which very sadly has resulted in over 100 self-immolations. We also had Amie from Students for a Free Tibet (SFT) UK talk to us about how students are getting involved to raise awareness of the situation in Tibet as well as campaigning for Tibetan freedom and independence.

The hopeful outcome of this meeting was that we could start a GU Students for a Free Tibet group, so below are details of how to get involved. Also, Amie has provided an overview of the activities that she coordinates to give you an idea of the opportunities that would be available to you through SFT UK.

If you want to join, add yourself to the planning group on Facebook (or email us if you don’t have Facebook):

 https://www.facebook.com/groups/169987623148922/?fref=ts

 

The first meeting will be next week.

 

Website: http://edinburghunitibetsociety.blogspot.co.uk/p/history.html

[from Amie]

Okay so for starters, every year in the first weekend of Novemeber there is the Students for a free Tibet UK conference which brings together activists from all over the country to get concrete skills training for tibet. This year it’s at the University of Sussex on the 2nd and 3rd November!

Here are just some things you can expect from the workshops:

– Non Violent Direct Action – Campaigning – Sustaining / building your university group – Activism and technology – Fundraising – Updates from Tibet – And some amazing guest speakers

Tickets are ÂŁ12 (early bird sale) however prices will go back to ÂŁ15 in 3 weeks time so get your tickets fast!! This will include food, workshops and crash-pad accommodation for the weekend.

You can buy your tickets by making a donation with the reference “SFTUK national conference” and your name.

http://www.sftuk.org/donate-us/

For more info contact: info@sftuk.org

——————————————-

Next thing would probably be the Annual Demonstration on March 10 which we have every year going from the Mound to Chinese consulate in Edinburgh. This march is seriously getting bigger and bigger so next year we hope to rev it up again. March 10 is the biggest day in the Tibet support calendar as it marks the day that China officially stood to occupy Tibet and the people rose up with a nationwide uprising. Unfortunately this led to a brutal crackdown and some half a million Tibetans were killed, imprisoned or sent into exile. So each year we do make it big!

—————————————-

And THEN, can’t believe I never even said about INDIA!

We have a FB page for people interested coming on our 2 week summer program to India to connect with the Tibetan community in Exile. Here’s the link/info

https://www.facebook.com/groups/161151737422794/?fref=ts

Welcome to the opportunity to discuss the incredible experience of the Edinburgh University India programme.

This is a once in a lifetime journey to Dharamsala, India; the seat of the Central Tibetan administration and the heart of the Tibet Freedom Movement in Exile. Here we are fortunate enough to take part in a 2 week Activism program hosted by Students for a Free Tibet India who give us in depth experience into the reality of issues affecting Tibet today, and how we can take effective action back home in Scotland. Whilst over there, we are blessed to meet so many leaders and Freedom fighters of the Tibetan struggle and to gain more inspiration and determination for the cause than ever before.

And you can find more info on it like what we do out there etc on website!

—————————

I hope many of you get involved! I will certainly attend the first few meetings to help support the society finding its feet.

Ruth

 

Avatar photo

Meeting Tuesday 8th October: Let’s Get Down To Business

Hope you’re all having a good weekend!

If you missed my update earlier this week, our chosen campaign for October is LGBT rights with a focus on Russia. You can check the website for our full list of campaigns for 2013-2014, as well as all the campaign action ideas put forward last week.

I am trying hard to keep the newsletters brief, but there are just so many exciting things I don’t want to leave out. For those of you who are too busy to read it all, I’ve written a summary just for you.

  • At Tuesday’s meeting we are splitting the committee rooms according to upcoming events
  • The elections are taking place at 6pm with drinks afterwards at the Old Schoolhouse on Woodlands
  • LGBT events (scroll down)

Here’s the plan for Tuesday:

Committee Room 1 – Campaigns

‘End the Death Penalty’ demo preparation

Our first demo will be next Thursday 10th October, which is of course International Day Against the Death Penalty.  We have some banners made in previous years and some AK-47s (of the cardboard variety) that we can put to good use so we need everyone who is free on Thursday to contribute ideas for an effective demonstration on library hill. We will be bringing along paints, sheets and cardboard to continue from past creative efforts.

LGBT Rights in Russia

We will begin our first campaign with a photo action as suggested by someone last week. We will have Robert (our website manager) along with his super expensive camera to take photos of us sending messages of solidarity to LGBT students on our campus and in the wider community.  We can also use this photo action to send a message to the Olympic Committee which has ignored Principle 6 of the Olympic Charter which states:

‘Any form of discrimination with regard to a country or a person on grounds of race, religion, politics, gender or otherwise is incompatible with belonging to the Olympic Movement’.

Our third photo action shall be focused on Vladimir Putin’s violent persecution of the LGBT community in Russia which we discussed on Tuesday which, believe it or not, is the same day that it was announced that he has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.  A NOBEL PEACE PRIZE!!! Oh dear.

Committee Room 2 – Fundraisers

This room shall be finalising our list of events for the year and planning our first semester fundraisers:

Bake sale alongside Thursday’s demo

We still have GU Amnesty tote bags that we can have on the stall as well and hopefully more will arrive by Tuesday for us to paint.

Pub quiz in October

We need to finalise our date for this and delegate responsibilities for running the quiz.

‘Love is a Human Right’ gig night in November, for which I am pleased to say that we have already recruited some acoustic talent!

Nikola will be looking for help with poster designs for our pub quiz and gig night.

Elections for Ordinary Board Members

The elections will take place at 6pm. Anyone who wants to stand for OBM but can’t make 6pm, please get in touch either via email or Facebook and we will try to make some arrangements.

Afterwards we shall head to the Old Schoolhouse for some more socialising.

LGBT Events

The Glasgay festival has officially begun and there are a whole lot of events taking place between now and 9th November.

In particular:

Tuesday 22nd October – ‘Cured’ 7.30pm @ The Arches

‘Inspired by real accounts of conversion therapy, two performers, Julie Hale and Mary Gapinski, uncover the stories of four women in a brand new play about love, identity and The Golden Girls.’

I think this event looks really good and happens to take place on a Tuesday after our meeting – if people are keen then we can go as a group. Tickets are £8.

Equality Network and Scottish Transgender Alliance event:

Thursday 17th October – ‘Including Intersectional Identities Film and Discussion Event’ 2pm Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum

‘The films focus on Minority Ethnic LGBT and Disabled LGBT intersectional people and include their ideas on how services can better include them. A discussion about including intersectional identities in services will follow the screening.’

This event is free but places are limited. If you don’t have classes on Thursday at 2pm then give this a look.

 

Well done for making it to the bottom,

Ruth

Avatar photo

Today’s Meeting Summary

Hey everybody,

Since some of you had to leave early, here’s a quick recap of what happened at the meeting today.

We voted for our campaigns for this year with the results as follows:

Our Campaign for the Year: Conflict Minerals as part of the Conflict Free Campus Initiative (CFCI), a creation of Enough Project’s ‘Raise Hope for Congo’ campaign.

First Semester Main Campaigns: LGBT Rights with a focus on Russia (October) and then Women’s Rights with a focus on India (November).

Second Semester Main Campaigns = GuantĂĄnamo Bay (January) and then Human Trafficking (February/March).

Although we appear to have more time next semester, the Secret Policeman’s Ball will leave us short on time for campaigns in February, which is why we opted for just two main campaigns again.

The full list of campaign suggestions were:

  1. Destitution and Forced Evictions
  2. Guantanamo Bay
  3. Right to Education
  4. Asylum Deeker and Refugee Rights
  5. Tibet
  6. LGBT Rights (Russia)
  7. Pussy Riot
  8. Human Trafficking
  9. Women’s Rights (India)
  10. Violence Against Women (in the UK)
  11. Organ Harvesting in China
  12. Conflict Minerals
  13. Death Penalty
  14. Water Rights/Land Rights

We will try and cover the remaining campaigns at various points throughout the year as one-off meetings.

I am very excited for our chosen campaigns! As I said, LGBT rights, human trafficking and
GuantĂĄnamo Bay have never been a main focus for GU Amnesty (not since I joined anyway) so it is
great to be doing these. For now though, here are the suggestions for our first campaign:

  • Day of Silence– ‘The National Day of Silence is a day of action in which students across the country vow to take a form of silence to call attention to the silencing effect of anti-LGBT bullying and harassment in schools.’
  • Events in partnership with LGBTQ+, the Equality Network (including something discursive),
    and the 4 student bodies but particularly GUSA and GUSSC in relation to a campaign in the run up to the Winter Olympics.
  • Attending events in the Glasgay festival.
  • A photo campaign in support of the LGBTQ+ at our university/globally and against Russia’s anti-gay crackdown and the Olympic Committee’s inaction.
  • ‘Love is a human right’ gig night, hopefully with the GU Band Society, as a combined campaign and fundraiser.
  • Visual demonstration on campus (somebody suggested creating an image using the Olympic rings and someone else thought of playing the Russian anthem).
  • Letter writing, as always.

These ideas were FANTASTIC and we will begin contacting the various organisations to see what we can arrange.

We will be having a bake sale outside the library next Thursday 10th October for International Day against the Death Penalty. We will need everyone who is available even if it’s only for a couple of hours to help run the stall and to take part in a demo. We will spend some time at our next meeting organising this.

Elections – we are hoping to start next week’s election at 6pm so that we still have time for a regular meeting. However, we will obviously double check at the start of the meeting to make sure that everyone who wants to run can stay from 6pm onwards, and if not we’ll begin before then.

Finally, it’s our Tibet meeting tomorrow in the Boyd Orr 6(6.30 start)-8pm. I’m glad so many of you are coming along, I’ll see you there.

Ruth

Avatar photo

This Year’s Events, Tibet Meeting and a Reminder About the Elections!

Hi everyone,

I hope you all survived the first week!

I am thrilled that so many people have joined Amnesty this year and it was great to meet most of you at our social on Tuesday. For those of you who didn’t make it, don’t worry, there will be another one soon enough.

Next meeting: Tuesday 1st October 5pm QMU

This Tuesday we will be voting for our campaigns and fundraisers for the year. Some of you made some really good suggestions, so we will be discussing all the ideas in more detail at the meeting. Whichever campaign and fundraising event we decide to do first, we will start planning and organising.

See photos of past events on our Facebook page and find more information on our website.

I know there are people who cannot make our meetings at 5pm but there will still be plenty to get involved with outside our usual slot. Psychology students – see note at the end*.

A Sacrifice Poster
Tibet meeting: Wednesday 2nd October

A Sacrifice

Don’t forget we have our joint event with STAR next Wednesday, 6-8pm.

https://www.facebook.com/events/597440403650551/

Theo Hessing is coming to Glasgow to promote his documentary ‘A Sacrifice’, which will be shown in Boyd Orr 412 (Lecture Theatre B). The Students for a Free Tibet society will introduce the meeting and then we will show Theo’s film. The documentary lasts 30 minutes and will be followed by a Q&A and discussion with Theo.

“A Sacrifice” follows the journey of Lhamo Kyab, a Tibetan nomad living in India, as he secretly returns to Tibet to highlight suffering of the Tibetan people. Meanwhile, 100 Tibetans set themselves on fire. “A Sacrifice” considers the implications of the sacrifices being committed by Tibetans in the name of freedom.

More information can be found on the film’s website: http://asacrificefilm.com/

ELECTIONS: Tuesday 8th October

As we mentioned at our first meeting, there will be elections in two week’s time for 2 x Ordinary Board members.

These elections are open to all members of the society, whether you have just joined or not. If you are interested in standing for the position of Ordinary Board member, please come and chat to me or anyone else on the committee on Tuesday and we’ll tell you why you should J.

I should also mention that we will be forming a Secret Policeman’s Ball sub-committee. The Secret Policeman’s Ball is our huge annual comedy fundraiser and will be held in February next year. As it’s such a big event to organise, we have decided to form a sub-committee consisting of both current committee and non-committee members. So, this is something else to bear in mind. Again, come and chat to us if you are interested and want to know more about getting involved with that.

I can’t wait to get cracking with our events! This year is going to be awesome, I can tell.

See you Tuesday,

Ruth

[*Note for 1st year Psychology students:  I had an informal chat with Jason Bohan, who is in charge of Level 1, about those of you who can’t make our meetings on Tuesdays. He said that in the coming weeks, attendance will naturally drop and if you are free at 9am, then you should be fine to attend this lecture instead. Keep me posted though and let me know if any problems arise. I know some of you have other classes at this time, in which case, I hope you can still come to our events outwith our Tuesday meetings.]

 

 

Avatar photo

First Meeting and Social

66158_598691240174592_1400974256_n

Hello GU Amnesty!

 

It was absolutely wonderful chatting to so many of you at the SRC and QMU Freshers’ Fair this week, and I look forward to seeing you again at our first meeting on Tuesday. A huge thanks to everyone that helped with the stall, I know I wasn’t the only one who just about lost their voice after day 1!

 

First Meeting and Social

 

Our first meeting will be next Tuesday 24th September at 5pm in the QMU, Committee Room 1. The committee rooms are on the 3rd floor but there will be a couple of us in the reception area to welcome you and show you where to go if you are unsure.

 

This meeting will be more of an introduction and a chance for new members to get to know who we are and what we do. We will also outline the campaigns and fundraisers for this year and add any new ideas to the list so that we have everyone’s thoughts and suggestions before voting on our main events in the second meeting. So if there are any particular campaigning or fundraising events that you think we could do, please share these ideas with us on Tuesday!

 

As most of you know, Amnesty International UK chose ‘Free Pussy Riot’ as the freshers campaign so if you didn’t manage to sign the petition at our stall, you can do it on Tuesday.

 

We’ll be having a social afterwards at Hillhead Bookclub on Vinicombe Street, which is just off Byres Road. We have booked the space from 6.30pm onwards, but I will need to confirm numbers by Tuesday next week, so please let us know if you are coming! You can either reply to this email, or better still, join the event on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/200011773510109/

 

Coming up

A Sacrifice

https://www.facebook.com/events/597440403650551/

We are co-hosting a meeting on Tibet with STAR (Student Action for Refugees) which will be on Wednesday 2nd October 6-8pm. It’s not during our usual slot, but due to having an external speaker, this was the date that worked out easiest for him. Our speaker Theo Hessing is on tour to promote his documentary on the Tibetan self-immolations, which will be shown in Boyd Orr 412 (Lecture Theatre B). The documentary lasts 30 minutes and will be followed by a Q&A and discussion with Theo.

 

“A Sacrifice” follows the journey of Lhamo Kyab, a Tibetan nomad living in India, as he secretly returns to Tibet to highlight suffering of the Tibetan people. Meanwhile, 100 Tibetans set themselves on fire. “A Sacrifice” considers the implications of the sacrifices being committed by Tibetans in the name of freedom.

Avatar photo

Petition for a Conflict-Free Glasgow


Warning: count(): Parameter must be an array or an object that implements Countable in /var/www/html/wp-content/plugins/speakup-email-petitions/includes/class.petition.php on line 307


CFGlasgow BannerWatch our campaign video on YouTube.

GU SRC Motion on Conflict Free Campus

Petition to: David Newall (Secretary of Court), Professor Anton Muscatelli (Principal)

Gold, tin, tungsten, and tantalum are found in the electronic products we use every day, such as computers, mobile phones, and MP3 players. These minerals are now known as ‘conflict minerals’ because they are extracted from mines controlled by armed groups who use violence and mass rape to control local populations. These armed groups generate an estimated $144 million each year by trading in conflict minerals 1.

The Democratic Republic of Congo is one of the countries worst affected by this illicit trade, with an estimated death toll of over six million2; and hundreds of thousands of women and children having been raped 3. Children are also forced into mines, undertaking heavy labour and 80% of the population lives on 30 cents or less per day 4. The sheer scale of this forced labour amounts to modern slavery.

This is a conflict that major electronics companies have known about for nearly two decades, yet little has been done to prevent the use of conflict minerals in our everyday technologies. While it is an inescapable reality that we are all going to keep using our mobiles and other essential consumer electronics, this should not be at the expense of fuelling the deadliest conflict in the world. Companies that use these minerals in their manufacturing processes must ensure that these minerals do not come with the cost of human lives.

Glasgow University Amnesty International has joined Raise Hope for Congo’s Conflict-Free Campus Initiative (CFCI), a global movement of students campaigning for peace and justice in the Congo. By encouraging university officials and stakeholders to commit to measures that pressure electronics’ companies to responsibly invest in Congo’s minerals sector, we are voicing the University of Glasgow’s collective demand for certified conflict-free products.

While we recognise that a more multifaceted and comprehensive plan of action is needed to solve the current crisis in Congo, ending the largely unrecognised illicit extraction and trade of conflict minerals will certainly remove a major economic incentive for numerous state and non-state sponsored militias. The direct link between war in Congo and the consumer products we use every day gives our University enormous power to demand change from electronics’ companies. By issuing a resolution supporting the conflict-free movement, the University of Glasgow would amplify and strengthen efforts calling for companies to trace, audit, and certify their supply chains to ensure their products do not support a minerals trade that is benefiting militia groups.

The University of Glasgow’s Sustainable Development Policy 5 states:

“The University of Glasgow recognises the significance of sustainable development in global, national and local contexts and acknowledges a commitment to the protection of the environment and the conservation of our natural resources.

“The University is concerned about the effects of its decisions and actions on the quality of life, the economy and world poverty, as well as the environment and natural resources.”

The University has agreed to adopt the following actions:

“To build partnerships and create local information networks for sharing experience and knowledge of sustainability, and to contribute to national and global discussions of sustainability issues”

We the undersigned call for the University of Glasgow to action the proposals set out in the SRC Motion for a Conflict-Free Campus, which are:

  • To call for the University to give priority to companies who implement due diligence when sourcing their minerals – tin, tungsten, tantalum, and gold – from the Democratic Republic of Congo, when considering vendors for future electronic product purchases
  • To call for the University to express and foster a strong commitment to purchasing products that have been certified as ‘conflict-free’, upon considering the future procurement of electronic devices, once commercially available.
  • To call for the University to express a strong commitment to purchasing electronic products from companies that respect and promote human rights throughout the products’ lifecycle including the mineral extraction and trading phases.
  • To call for the University to issue formal letters of inquiry to contracted electronics suppliers on the status of company efforts to address mineral supply chain transparency and accountability.
  • Attempts to address these issues of transparency and accountability should pay heed to these guidelines, developed by the University of Pennsylvania Conflict-Free Campus Initiative, instructing companies to:
    1. Strengthen company management systems (including establishing and distributing a supply chain policy);
    2. Identify and assess risks in the supply chain;
    3. Design and implement a strategy to respond to identified risks;
    4. Ensure independent third-party audits of supply chain due diligence at identified points in the supply chain;
    5. Disclose publicly supply chain due diligence and findings.
  • If these approaches fail to bring change in a reasonable amount of time, the University should give purchasing preference to compliant companies as well as consider not renewing contracts and divesting from non-compliant ones.
  • To mandate the Students’ Association to do all of the above in their sourcing of electronics.

Petition for a Conflict-Free Glasgow

PETITION TO: DAVID NEWALL (SECRETARY OF COURT), PROFESSOR ANTON MUSCATELLI (PRINCIPAL)

We would like to see the University of Glasgow make the pledge to be ‘conflict-free’ as a step towards promoting peace in the Congo. This move would make the university the largest Conflict-Free University in the UK and a leader in the market for conflict-free products.

‘Conflict minerals’ - gold, tin, tungsten, and tantalum - are found in the consumer electronics that we use every day, such as computers, mobile phones, and MP3 players. They originate in countries like Congo, where they are extracted from mines controlled by armed groups who use violence and mass rape to control local populations. It is estimated that over 6 million people have died since 1998, making this the deadliest conflict since World War II.

Glasgow University Amnesty International has joined the Conflict-Free Campus Initiative, a global movement demanding that companies exercise due diligence and take responsibility for their supply chains by not sourcing minerals from Congo’s conflict-ridden mines.

We the undersigned request that:
The University of Glasgow actions the requests outlined in the SRC Motion for a Conflict-Free Campus thereby issuing a resolution supporting the conflict-free movement.

[signature]

122 signatures

Share this with your friends:

   

  1. http://www.jww.org/conflictareas/congo/overview/conflict-minerals
  2. http://www.caritas.org/activities/emergencies/SixMillionDeadInCongoWar.html
  3. http://www.jewishworldwatch.org/conflictareas/congo/overview/women-under-siege
  4. http://www.friendsofthecongo.org/images/pdf/fact_sheet.pdf
  5. www.gla.ac.uk/media/media_142656_en.doc