Newsletter 2014-09-14: Freshers’ Week, First Meeting and Beyond!

September 14, 2014 in events, information, main, meetings, news, newsletter by Rob Hallam

We’re back! September has arrived and the new term is nearly upon us. This is a busy time for everyone and a really important time for us with new members and a whole bunch of events to kick off the new academic year.

Freshers’ Week

15-21 September 2014

Freshers’ week is one of the most important parts of the year for us- chances are high if you’re reading this that you’ve at least wandered by our stall during Freshers Week one September! If you’ve an hour to spare (or more), please come along– it’s a great way to meet the new faces who’ll be coming along this year and would really help us out. Get in touch with us either via email, Facebook or Twitter; or if you prefer you can fill in the Doodle: http://doodle.com/65zgchrx98mvgwun#table. Let us know, we’ll really appreciate it. If you don’t, well:

Stern Bird is judging you

But if you are able to lend a hand, then:

Happy Bird sez well done you

Avian persuasions aside1, if you can come along that would be great and we’d love to see you there.

The Freshers’ Fair Stall

16-17 September, 10-4, Randolph Hall

We have booked a stall which will be in Randolph Hall on Tuesday 16th and Wednesday 17th September from 10 AM to 4PM. Wearing our best smiles we’ll be chatting to Freshers about what we do, our meetings and events, and generally looking like the society that everybody wants to join.

Collaboration with STAR & CB – ‘Journey to Safety’

Wednesday 17th September, 3-6 PM, Body Orr Building Room 213

One of the other things we’ll be helping with is a very exciting workshop on the asylum seeker process organised by STAR over the course of a few hours on Wednesday afternoon 3-6 in the Boyd Orr Building (room 213). It’s a really good way to get a quick feel for the process; it’s be done in previous years and extremely well-received. STAR Glasgow and Crossing Borders will be taking people through the stages.

If you’d like to come along and take part I’m certain you’d find it a useful and positive experience. Or if you’d like to help out we could use folks to take people from one station to another (no prep work needed- script you can read from provided!) that would be really helpful. Let us know as mentioned above.

Activist Mixer/Social

Sunday 21st September, Curler’s Rest, 5 PM onwards

Thanks again to Kit of STAR, there is an activist mixer on Sunday 21st September in Curler’s Rest on Byres Road (by the subway). Invitations have gone out to a number of activist groups on campus, so there will be a mix of different groups doing good work. It’s a great opportunity to find out about what other societies are doing, and to network; we as a group tend to work with a number of familiar faces so it’s useful to meet these good folks. Come along for a bit if you’re passing and say hi.

(Provisional) Activism Talk

Thursday 18th September, Afternoon

Although this is provisional, we are hoping to do a talk on activism on the afternoon of 18th of September. We’re discussing with the SRC what we can do, it would be good to see some familiar faces in the crowd if it does go ahead. Keep an eye on the website, Facebook or Twitter for updates on time and venue.

First Meeting of 2014-15!

Tuesday 23rd September, 5PM, QMU

Fun! Excitement! Presentations!

We’ll be kicking off the academic year with our first meeting on Tuesday 23rd September in the QMU at 5PM. We’ll be giving an overview of what we do for new members, introducing the committee and giving information about upcoming campaigns, events- which includes the election of two ordinary board members. This is a committee position which gives even greater opportunity to be involved in the planning and direction of GU Amnesty.

First Social of 2014-15

Tuesday 23rd September, 7PM onwards, The Old Schoolhouse, Woodlands Avenue

Following on from our first meeting we will be having our first social. This will be held at The Old Schoolhouse in Woodlands Road after the first meeting (roughly 7PM). If you don’t know where it is, don’t worry, it’s close by and we’ll walk you there. It’s a really good way to get to know folks – invariably the members of GU Amnesty are great folk to hang out with as well as outstanding campaigners!

Other Upcoming Events and Info

We already have a number of exciting things planned for Freshers’ Week and our first campaign, but there are plenty of other things going on which you might be interested in.

GHRN Events and Bulletin Information

If you haven’t heard of it, you should check out the Glasgow Human Rights Network.

The Glasgow Human Rights Network aims to bring together researchers, practitioners,
members of civil society organisations and policymakers who address human rights issues.

Their events can be very informative for those looking to go a bit deeper into human rights issues, especially those that see themselves either working, pursuing further education or researching in the field.

The latest bulletin had too many events to list here, but if you are interested you can find details on how to subscribe to their website, linked above. If there’s any difficulties finding the details, please get in touch with us and we’ll help you out.

I Am Troy Davis Community Book Club

21st September-10th October 2014

On September 21, 2011, the State of Georgia put Troy Davis to death despite a compelling case of innocence. To mark the 3-year anniversary of this travest9thy of justice, and to deepen and widen the discourse about the human impact of the death penalty and criminal justice system, we invite you to participate in a worldwide Community Book Club between September 21 and October 10, World Day Against the Death Penalty. Through hundreds of intimate gatherings across the country and the world, Troy’s story will reach and impact thousands of new people.

The case of Troy Davis is one we’ve campaigned on in the past, and it continues to be a focal point in the case for the abolition of the death penalty. If you’re interested, please take the time to have a look at I Am Tro Davis and the Community Bookclub. The death penalty is a campaign we will return to in October. If you’re interested in more information or the book please contact our campaigns manager Alex or the good folks at I Am Troy Davis above.

Scottish Mental Health Arts & Film Festival

1-19 October 2014

There’s a film being screened on 9th October, the UK premiere of Beneath the Blindfold telling the stories of four torture survivors. As a heads-up, we have a death penalty-related event putatively pencilled in for the same day, but details will follow and it may be of interest.

Get in Touch

There’s lots on in the coming week or two, and even more beyond but this newsletter has to end somewhere! There will be more coming next week, and every week after that. Well done for making it to the end this time. Your picture rewards are the two birds included above.

If you have any questions, suggestions or feedback you can always get in touch either via the website or on Facebook or Twitter.


  1. Photos taken in my back garden this week. 

Newsletter 2014-07-12: Pride Glasgow! Volunteer Opportunities and Coming Up

July 12, 2014 in events, information, main, newsletter by Rob Hallam

Hello and welcome to another summertime newsletter. Are you sitting comfortably? Good. Lots to get through this week again!

First and foremost, next week is Glasgow Pride! Once again GU Amnesty intend to go along and join in the march and we may have a small social gathering thereafter. Hope to see everyone, including our friends from Glasgow West and possibly even Ayr there! There are a number of interesting things coming up as well as a whole host of pretty dandy volunteer opportunities. Interested? I am, so read on!

Saturday 19th July: Pride Glasgow!

It’s that time of year again. Get out your best marching boots and come along and join us for a day of celebration of identity. If you haven’t been before I would strongly urge you to come along. All are welcome, the atmosphere is very friendly. I wasn’t able to make the event last year, but I went to the one before that and it was definitely a highlight of my summer.

We’re going to march in the parade. This year it starts from Clyde Place (see map), and initially over the George V bridge. The assembly time is 9:30 AM, and the destination is the King Street Car Park at 11:30.

Start:

Our plan is to meet up outside Bridge Street Subway at 9:15.

Please get in touch via FB, Twitter or the website if you’re running late! Some folks have expressed an interest in joining us afterwards; thats fab too- we’ll probably head to a park or cafe or similar depending on the weather once the march has wound up. You can either meet us at King St Car Park, where we’l be until 12 at least, or get in touch as above and meet us at the social.

Photos from two years back.
One of the photos from Pride 2012

For those who can’t join us on the day, you could tweet your support (@guamnesty using the hashtag #glasgowpride. Include us in the tweets so we can retweet you!

Amnesty UK Volunteering Opportunities

With the Commonwealth Games nearly upon us and the Edinburgh Festival following hot on its heels, there are volunteering opportunities for both! If you fancy helping out, have a look and see if any of the following interest you:

http://www.amnesty.org.uk/amnesty-commonwealth-ambassadors

http://www.amnesty.org.uk/amnesty-edinburgh-festival-ambassadors

Please note that the closing date for the Commonwealth Ambassadors and Edinburgh Festival Ambassadors is this Monday (14th July), so get your skates on if you want to take part!

If you’re in Edinburgh and don’t mind the commute, there are opportunities to help out at the Scotland Office:

http://www.amnesty.org.uk/administrator-volunteer

These close next Monday (21st July).

Volunteering Opportunity with Philanthrobeats

From our friends over at the ever-groovy Philanthrobeats, Sarah Crowe got in touch to let us know about a really positive volunteering opportunity:

Philanthrobeats are offering one-to-one music classes for asylum seeker/refugee children
and we are looking for volunteers! Philanthrobeats are launching
one-to-one music classes with asylum seeker and refugee children. If any skilled
musicians out there want to get involved, take a look at the info on our website where you
can also find the volunteer application form.

http://philanthrobeats.org.uk/music-classes/

It’s worth keeping an eye on PB’s website (http://philanthrobeats.org.uk/) for their upcoming events.

AIUK Student Survey

A quick word from Rachel Statham from the STAN committee:

Hello Scottish Activists,

Please take a few minutes to fill out our AIUK student survey and give a little feedback
on what your Student Action Network Committee can do to help improve the student
activist experience –
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=Jc2KR6Cc%2bzHN9keazRXvUg%3d%3d
It’s quick and straight forward, and will guide new student materials for the coming year.

Most importantly, a huge thank you on behalf of the student network for all your inspiring
activism over the past year – have a wonderful summer and I look forward to hearing of
your plans in the autumn!

I’ve done the survey and it really is ‘quick and straightforward’; it took me only a minute or two. Feedback is really important in general – we’ll be looking for your feedback throughout the year so be ready for that! – and it’s worth your time to make sure your experiences are represented.

GHRN Events

You may have seen us promoting GHRN events in the past. They are the Glasgow Human Rights Network. Their website speaks for itself, but I’ll briefly quote the introduction:

The Glasgow Human Rights Network aims to bring together researchers, practitioners,
members of civil society organisations and policymakers who address human rights issues.

They put on rather quite interesting events and conferences which are worth attending if you realy want to get into the nitty-gritty of human rights issues in depth.

This week there is a one-day conference on LGBTI rights in the Commonwealth:

18th July 9.00am – 5.00pm
Sir Charles Wilson Building, University of Glasgow
E15 on campus map

‘LGBTI Human Rights in the Commonwealth People of the Commonwealth’ is a free
one day conference. The event is being held in Glasgow on Friday 18th July, five days
before the opening of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.

For full details and to register, please visit the Conference website.

The website is hosted over on the Equality Network

It looks to be a very interesting conference, and definitely worth a look; particularly given the focus we gave to LGBT issues last year.

Freshers Week 2014

It’s still a little over two months away, but we’ll be having a stall as usual during Freshers Week 2014. Not only that, but we’re planning on at least one event in collaboration with our good friends in STAR which I am really excited about. Details will come a bit closer to the time, but it promises to be really informative.

The reason I’m giving this advance heads-up as we’ll be looking for helpers- it reflects positively on the society if we’re got a well-run stall. The huge attendence after Fresher’s Week last year proves that if nothing else!

Letter Writing: A Reply

Towards the end of last term we did some letter writing under the banner of ‘Scotland Stands for Human Rights’. And we got a reply!

Reply from Blair Jenkins of Yes Scotland

It’s great to get a reply and when we do we want to make sure everyone is aware that we do- letter writing is one of the vital things we do as a group, and that Amnesty International does in general, so when we get feedback on it we’re sure to make the most of it.

There will be plenty more letter-writing opportunities in the year to come!

End of Newsletter

Well done for making to the end of the newsletter. If you have any questions, suggestions or feedback you can always get in touch either via the website or on Facebook or Twitter.

This week’s ‘thanks for reading’ reward is a picture of a cute bird I snapped having a drink in my back garden.

Bird is the word

I figured having featured VladPut last time y’all deserved something a bit, well… nicer.

Hope to see you next week at Pride!
Rob

Newsletter 2014-06-18: Amnestea Mark 2, Stop Torture Launch, Other Upcoming Events and Things of Interest

June 18, 2014 in events, information, main, news, newsletter, spb by Rob Hallam

Hello all! I hope everyone that’s still here has been enjoying the frankly stunning weather we’ve been having in Glasgow, and for those who have gone home already I hope the weather’s good there too. Despite us being out-of-term there’s quite a bit on! Briefly: we’re having a small social gathering in Kelvingrove park on Friday 20th, there’s the “Feast of Stories” as part of Scottish Refugee Week on Saturday 21st; Stop Torture Campaign launch on Wednesday 25th with Amnesty Scotland; a ‘Scotland as a Good Glocal Citizen’ Amnesty Scotland event on Monday 30th; and some other upcoming things and opportunities for everyone- whether in
Glasgow or not!

It’s a long one even from looking at that paragraph, so if you get to the end of the newsletter there will be a surprise! Ooh, the suspense.

This Friday 20th June Afternoon: Social in Kelvingrove Park / AKA ‘Amnestea Mark II’

We had a great time at the last Amnestea back at the start of the month. Thanks to Ruth for hosting us when the weather just didn’t want to cooperate. So in the spirit of getting the sunshine that we missed out on last time, we figured we’d have a relaxed social gathering in Kelvingrove Park this Friday afternoon. We’ll aim to kick off after lunch (maybe 1 or 2 PM) which we will announce on FB and Twitter, but please feel free to turn up whenever suits- we have at least one or two joining us onice they escape from work! Also, don’t feel you have to bring or bake anything – we had our fill of confection last time around!

A table *full* of cakes biscuits sweets and tea!

And if you aren’t in Glasgow but feel like joining in the spirit of things, please take a selfie of yourself with some tea or a picnic or of a teapot and send it to us or tweet it to us or get it to us somehow! Might sound a bit silly on the face of it but we’d like to build a library of “people being involved with GU Amnesty” even when not in Glasgow.

Wednesday 25th June 1800: Stop Torture Campaign Launch – John McIntyre Building Room 201

Exciting times next week – we’re playing host to Amnesty Scotland’s launch of the Stop Torture campaign. With canapes and Alistair Carmichael, Secretart of State for Scotland, as a confirmed speaker it promises to be an interesting launch for a campaign that is right at the heart of Amnesty International’s work. If you’re in Glasgow or within travelling distance please come along. You can find the event page on Facebook as ever.

Please note that this is in Room 201 (downstairs) in the John McIntyre building rather than the more usual venue of the Williams Room.

Also on Wednesday 25th June: CFCI Goes to Court

As <a href=”http://www.guamnesty.org.uk/2014/06/june-2014-amnestea-in-the-park-stop-torture-campaign-launch-refugee-week-and-more/>Ruth mentioned in the last newsletter, our CFCI petition is finally making its way to the university court. After the SRC passed a motion of support we hope that Jess McGrellis can convince the court of the miportance of the motion and the need for change. Fingers crossed.

Coming Up on 19th July: Glasgow Pride!

<a href=”https://www.guamnesty.org.uk/2012/07/pride/>GU Amnesty are no strangers to Pride. We will be marching again this year, and our friends over at the Glasgow West Amnesty group will hopefully be joining us 🙂 We will post up more details about where and when to meet closer to the time. Please note that tickets for the main event (not the parade!) are £5 this year, which the Pride Glasgow website notes is due to decreased grant funding this year. It’s a shame, but if they don’t have the same level of funding I think a fiver to cover such a massive event is very reasonable. One day our SPB will be just as big– more on that later…

Other Events

Saturday 21st June: Feast of Stories

This event is going on as part of Scottish Refugee Week and sounds fab. I’ll let the description speak for itself:

Tales of Migration and Welcome

Come and celebrate the rituals of sharing food and storytelling with people and organisations in Glasgow who welcome refugees and asylum seekers! I would really appreciate if you can share this on your fb page as well.

There will be tales about migration and welcome from seasoned storytellers, alongside a delicious, local and organic meal cooked by volunteers on the day. There will be space to share your own story, as well as music, poetry and maybe even dancing. Proceeds will go to a local charity.

Saturday 21st June, 7pm-11pm
Kinning Park Complex 43 Cornwall Street Glasgow, G41 1BA

Price on a sliding scale from FREE – £15. Booking essential!

For more information about how to get involved and how to book a place, please visit: http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/feast-of-stories-scottish-refugee-week-2014-tickets-10965912339 or contact bridgetholtom@hotmail.co.uk

Monday 23rd June: Free Online Course – Right Versus Might in International Relations

Looks very interesting, we had a chat about this at Amnestea and folks were very keen on it. More info: https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/right-vs-might. Check it out!

(Change of Date) Monday 30th June 1830: Business and Human Rights: Scotland as a Good Global Citizen

Another event by Amnesty Scotland, this is on at The Lighthouse in town and also looks really interesting. Please note it was moved from 23rd June to 30th due to unforseen circumstances. More details on the event page:

Modern day slavery, forced labour, human trafficking, the illegal arms trade- these are all human rights abuses resulting from unscrutinised and irresponsible business practices. This is an opportunity to hear from both sides of the Scottish Independence Referendum debate as to how they will ensure that Scotland stands for human rights.

Guest Speakers:

  • Humza Yousaf MSP, Minister for External Affairs and International Relations
  • Robert Brown, Liberal Democrat Councillor for the Rutherglen South Ward of South Lanarkshire Council
  • Chaired by Peter Frankental, Amnesty International UK’s Programme Director – Economic Affairs

Tickets are free but you need to book via eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/business-and-human-rights-scotland-as-a-good-global-citizen-tickets-11929323929

Opportunities

Those of you who were around at the AGM a couple months back and heard the speeches will know that we’ve some big plans for next year. For those of you who weren’t at the AGM… we have some big plans for next year! I’d like to talk about those a bit over the summer as we hash out the ideas and figure out what’s going to work. As ever, if you’ve an idea please contact us and let us know 🙂 In the meantime, here’s a couple of things to consider getting involved in:

SPB Subcommittee

Last year our lovely former VP and SPB Convenor Debbie White took charge of the running of our Secret Policeman’s Ball, which is a major night of comedy modelled on the one also held by Amnesty UK. She did a fantastic job but I’m sure she’d be the first to point out the contribution of the SPB Subcommittee. It’s much more than just being a pair of helping hands, it’s an opportunity to shape a really big event. One of the things Debbie pointed out is it’s a great thing to see your ideas realised and to take ownership of the event. Plus it’s a great thing in terms of experience to talk about in interviews, cover letters, personal statements and the like.

GU Amnezine

For those who aren’t familiar with our incessant puns, we’re also planning on doing an Amnesty Magazine this summer in time for Freshers’ Week. We’d like some quotes from members to give people a taste of what it’s like, for example:

  • meetings
  • memorable campaign actions
  • favourite events
  • one important thing you learned

If you’ve 30 seconds to dash off a sentence or two on one or more of those headings, or anything else, that would be great! And because it’s so easy to forget I will probably mention these topics again over the course of the summer.

Naturally, if you’d like to be involved with either, please let us know!

The Surprise

Well done for making this far! Or for skipping ahead to the end to see the reward. Either way, you deserve some pictorial fun. I already mentioned <a href=”https://www.guamnesty.org.uk/2014/06/photos-from-amnestea-2014/>Amnestea and the photos from there, but there are now finally photos up from the ceilidh the other week, including this gem of someone really enjoying themself:

A jump and heel click

But since you all are avid readers of the website you’ve probably seen the ceilidh photos already. So here’s something different, our dear friend VP:

putin_rights

Yeah. Thanks for reading folks!

Avatar photo by Ruth

June 2014: Amnestea in the Park, Stop Torture Campaign Launch, Refugee Week and more!

June 1, 2014 in events, information, main, newsletter by Ruth

Happy post-exams stress!

I hope you’ve been enjoying the sunshine. If you are still in Glasgow, we have our final event of the year – Amnestea in the Park! – as well as an exciting campaign launch which we are co-hosting with Amnesty Scotland (see below). To those of you who have already left Glasgow for good, I wish you all the best. It’s been a fantastic year and a pleasure getting to know you all throughout.

At the end of the year, we are sending £1,700 to Amnesty International UK, which is an amazing amount of money, well done everyone! This will be added to our Raise-Off total, which you can see here (along with a photo from our SPB two years ago!).

We have had our official handover meeting, so this is the last newsletter from me. If there is any more exciting news over the summer, Rob will keep you posted!

Amnestea in the Park!

The event is up! We are going ahead on the 5th despite the variable weather. We have a backup plan in case it rains! Please check the event page on the day, if there is a change of plans we will post and include some phone numbers so you can call/text and be sure of what is happening.

Amnestea is a yearly end-of-term social event which is very informal and relaxed. Feel free to turn up when you are free during the day! Even if you are brand new to us, it is a great way to get to know the people in the group and relax for an afternoon. It´s about cakes, it´s about tea, it´s about music, it´s about bunting, it´s about people, and it´s about chilling out. Sun permitting, we will set up in Kelvingrove Park and stay for the afternoon. Hope to see you there!

An old photo of a previous Amnestea in the Park (it’s always this sunny!):

Amnestea in the Park 2010

Amnestea in the Park 2010

 

25th June 2014: ‘Stop Torture’ Campaign Launch, John McIntyre Building (Room 201), 6-8pm

GU Amnesty has been helping Amnesty Scotland to organise the launch of the global Stop Torture campaign in Glasgow. We will hear from various guest speakers including the Secretary of State for Scotland, Alistair Carmichael. Following the presentations, there will be drinks and nibbles with the opportunity to network.

More details will be added to the event page as soon as they become available.

Stop Torture campaign: http://www.amnesty.org/en/stoptorture

25th June 2014: CFCI Petition Finally Goes to Court!

Our Conflict-Free Campus Initiative petition is being raised by David Newall (Secretary of Court) at the next meeting of the University Court. SRC President, Jess McGrellis, will speak in support and the recommendation by the Secretary of Court will be to establish a working group to meet with representatives from GU Amnesty. This would allow for a report to be produced, outlining actions that should be taken by the University. This is very exciting news, and we have high hopes that this motion will be granted.

 

Other events and opportunities:

7th June 2014: Falun Gong Film Screening and Workshop, Hillhead Library

 

For those of you who missed our film screening in March, I strongly encourage you to go along and invite your friends. This eye-opening film exposes the brutal treatment of Falun Gong Practitioners by the Chinese Communist Party.

From Yuyu:

June is Glasgow Westend Festival month. Hillhead library offered us a slot for Falun Gong Introduction to public.  We will show visiters Free China: The Courage to Believe.  The workshop is free to public on 7th June, Saturday from 2:00 to 4:45pm.

Part 1: Screening of the award-winning documentary “Free China: The Courage to Believe”, stories of two Falun Gong practitioners who stood up for their peaceful belief. For taking their stance, they were imprisoned and tortured. The documentary sheds light on how Falun Gong practitioners hold on to the universal principles of Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolenrance.

Part 2: Falun Gong exercises demonstration – everyone welcome to join.

www.falundafa.org.

 

11th June 2014: Training to Volunteer with STOP THE TRAFFIK

Interested in volunteering with STOP THE TRAFFIK at the Commonwealth Games?

From Euan at Stop the Traffik:

We are delighted to be helping to bring the UN GIFT Boxes to Glasgow during the Commonwealth Games this summer. The Boxes are a wonderful means of raising awareness of human trafficking and equipping communities to spot the signs of this abuse. You can read more about the Boxes at ungiftbox.org.

We are looking for volunteers to help out with the Boxes. You don’t need to be an expert to volunteer but you do need to come along to our training session. We will be running through everything you’ll need to know at Cafe Phoenix on Woodlands Road in Glasgow on 11 June. Come along at 5.30pm and you’ll get a wee cup of tea or a coffee.

Contact stopthetraffikglasgow@hotmail.co.uk if you have any questions.

 

16th – 22nd June 2014: Refugee Week

Don’t miss out on the many exciting events taking place this year! Visit the website to see what’s happening in Glasgow featuring events run by our friends at Philanthrobeats and STAR Glasgow.

From Scottish Refugee Council:

World Refugee Day Concert:  20th June 2014. The line-up is Young Fathers, Balkanarama and Skipinnish – all representing the rich and eclectic mix of cultures in Scotland today.

We’ve got 200 early bird tickets for sale now at the rate of £12 / £10. Once these go all tickets will be £15 / £12. All funds raised go to Scottish Refugee Council and British Red Cross to support our continuing work to provide support to refugees in Scotland.

Here’s the link:
https://www.facebook.com/events/642783769135246/

 

That’s all from me! Thank you to everyone for an incredible year of all things Amnesty. I hope you will stay involved with human rights activism next year in Glasgow or wherever you are. Good luck to Rob and the new committee, I know they will have many more new and exciting events for us to look forward to next year!

In the meantime, don’t hesitate to get in touch over summer if you have any ideas for next year, or have any news/events that you want to share with us.

Big love from the committee 2013 – 2014,

Ruth xx

Avatar photo by Ruth

Amneslunch and Ceilidh Coming Up, Local Opportunities and Global Campaigns News

April 15, 2014 in events, information, main, news, newsletter by Ruth

Why hello there,

Sorry for the delay, I was waiting for news and updates before sending this newsletter – and now we have news aplenty! Our events are at the top, and then there are some good looking opportunities and actions that we have been asked to share with you, followed by some wonderful human rights news and campaign successes sent out by AIUK at the beginning of this month. Happy reading!

May: Amneslunch!

We are planning to start our new lunch club on the 1st May, as a simple casual, drop-by and say ‘hi’ kind of thing. Join the event to let us know if you think you’ll make it along at some point and suggest things that we can do/talk about. Also, we haven’t confirmed all the dates so let us know when you would like us to be there.

Saturday 24th May: Ceilidh for Red Cross Tracing Service

STAR Glasgow, GU Amnesty, and GU Red Cross are hosting their annual ceilidh fundraiser at the end of exams this year! As well as the usual ceilidh dances, we’ll be having a whiskey toss (where you can win a bottle of whiskey!), and a raffle with prizes worth up to £40!

As usual, all funds raised on the night will be going to the Red Cross International Tracing Service – this service helps reunite families and loved ones who have been displaced by conflicts around the world. They do a lot of great work, and you can read more about it here:

http://www.redcross.org.uk/What-we-do/Finding-missing-family/International-family-tracing

Tickets are £3 if you buy them beforehand, or £4 on the door. Tickets can be bought from anyone in the STAR, Amnesty, or Red Cross groups.

Rights Referendum Campaign: Keeping Human Rights in the Debate

From Amnesty Scotland:

In the run up to Scotland’s Referendum on Independence, we have launched our Rights Referendum campaign calling for any future Scottish Government to respect and safeguard human rights at home and abroad, regardless of the outcome of the vote.

It would be fantastic if you could join the Rights Referendum campaign and mobilise students from around Scotland to take action by contacting local MSPs and Scottish MPs, asking your representatives to show their support for human rights. Here’s the link to our action on the Amnesty website:

https://www.amnesty.org.uk/actions/scotland-scottish-independence-referendum-human-rights?from=issues

AHRI Human Rights Conference: Call for Submissions

From the Glasgow Human Rights Network at Glasgow University:

The Association of Human Rights Institutes (AHRI) calls for the submission of proposals for papers to be presented at the AHRI Human Rights Conference to be held in Copenhagen on 29-30 September 2014.

“Human Rights under Pressure: Exploring norms, institutions and policies”

Papers can be presented on any topic related to human rights and should be unpublished. Interdisciplinary projects and jointly authored papers are welcomed. Proposals for entire pa- nels (up to four papers) are equally welcome, indicating the title, abstract and author of each paper as well as proposed chairs and discussants.

Deadline for submission of abstracts and panel proposals is 1 May 2014. Submissions should be sent to ekni@humanrights.dk. All abstracts will be reviewed by the AHRI Programme Com- mittee and selections announced by 1 June 2014. Formal registration for the conference will be possible from 1 June.

This is only a snippet of the email that was sent. If you are interested, please reply to this email and I will forward you the rest of the information.

New NGO for Maternal and Children’s Rights

From the Glasgow Human Rights Network at Glasgow University:

A new NGO is being established, specialising in maternal and child rights, particularly for Reproductive Health Rights Education, initially in Malawi and Scotland, but not exclusively so.  The aims include reduced HIV, improved maternal health and reduced maternal mortality, through female empowerment.

If you are interested in finding out more and might be interested in supporting these objectives, please contact Gordon MacPherson at scunner1320@yahoo.co.uk.

Great News on our Amnesty Campaigns!

In recent weeks, we’ve had good news on a whole host of campaigns, from the release of Hakamada Iwao in Japan, to the UK ratifying the Arms Trade Treaty and the UN Human Rights Council voting for an inquiry into alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka. Meanwhile, the UK has welcomed the first of the most vulnerable Syrian refugees to be granted sanctuary here – the direct result of all our campaigning as a global community.

Arms Trade Treaty

2nd April 2014 marked the one year anniversary of the UN vote and saw 18 governments, including the UK, jointly deposit their signed ratification papers at a special ceremony at the UN. That brings the total of ratifications up to 31, well over half way to the 50 we need.

There is now every likelihood that we will see the 50th ratification as early as this autumn, allowing the treaty enter into force well within two years of its adoption. For an international Treaty, that’s actually that’s pretty good going. Read more.

Syrian Refugees

After months of weak arguments and refusal to share responsibility for resettling some of the escalating numbers of Syrian refugees, the government has eventually done the right thing. The announcement comes after a combination of months of lobbying work from our refugee specialists and the incredible response and action taken by Amnesty supporters. Read more.

Hakamada Iwao – the longest-serving death row prisoner.

Hakamada is, for the first time in nearly half a century, experiencing life outside of a detention centre. He has serious mental health problems after his time on death row, having spent the previous 46 years awaiting execution every single day; Japan gives its prisoners no forewarning of their execution – many find out just minutes before they are hanged. We hope that soon Hakamada may experience justice that is nearly half a century overdue. Read more.

War crimes in Sri Lanka

On 27th March 2014, the UN Human Rights Council voted to establish an inquiry into allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Sri Lanka, something we have all fought long and hard for. After a certain amount of wrangling with the rules and filibustering, the Resolution was passed with 23 states in favour, 12 against and 12 abstentions. Read more.

Jailed for posting on Facebook: Jabeur Mejri now freed in Tunisia

Jabeur was part of our 2013 Write for Rights campaign and nearly 12,000 of you signed our petition calling for his release. Thank you, your simple act has made a massive difference. Read more.

Jailed for supporting LGBTI teenagers: Elena Klimova now freed in Russia

In January this year, Elena Klimova was charged under Russia’s new anti-‘gay propaganda’ law for running Children 404, a website offering support to LGBTI teenagers. Read more.

Mozambique takes positive step towards outlawing rape in marriage

In March this year, the parliament of Mozambique was close to ratifying a Criminal Code that would permit rape within marriage. Not only would the proposed law allow impunity in existing abusive marriages, but if a rapist were to later wed an unmarried victim (including girls as young as 12 years old), the abuser would escape prosecution altogether. Thankfully, authorities in Mozambique have publicly stated they will not follow through with these proposals. Read more.

 

Whether you are having a good rest or cracking on with coursework and revision, I hope it’s all going splendidly.

Ruth

 

 

2014-15 Plans, Rocky IV

April 1, 2014 in information, main by Rob Hallam

Hi-dilly-ho, neighboureenos!

To round off the last three updates, I thought I would finish with a little about myself and the changes to the society itself.

President: Rob Hallam

Rob listening intently to the suggestions of a member.

Rob listening intently to the suggestions of a member.

I have been with GU Amnesty since 1897, when the society was known as ‘The Gentlemen’s Social Concern for the Plight of their Fellow Men’. Those were the days. I have been doing the website since then, and it has slowly evolved into the marvellous wonder it is today. Even though I do say so myself. I like to think that I run things fairly freely, but if there’s one thing I cannot abide it is jokes and jocularity. I may be quite strict on this point in meetings but it is for the sake of the greater good. The Greater Good. I think if we’re ever going to break the £1 million mark in the raise-off this is the year to do it!

I have kindly offered the use of my car to field trips such as Largs, Perth and Brisbane.

Changes to the Society

It was proposed that we now consider ‘University of Glasgow Amnesty International Society and Activist Group with a Remit for Defending, Promoting and Ecouraging Human Rights via Campaigns, Demonstrations and Petitions’ to be the standard orthographic representation of the society name. It was felt abbreviations such as ‘GU Amnesty’ or ‘GUAI’ were too curt, confusing and – in some cases – offensive to continue using. It was agreed that the new rendering makes things much clearer and simpler.

Due to conflict with our parent organisation, we have also been mandated to change our motto, which instead of being ‘Protect the Human’ will now be ‘Calamus Gladio Fortior’, which is more explicit in conveying our aims and avoids unnecessary reference to a specific species.

There will also be further changes to the constitution, specifically in terms of dealing with membership, voting and committee:

  • It is now proposed that membership will be based not only on a list collated and updated throughout the year; but also with certain requirements: minimum number of letters written (100)
  • Voting will now be considered as a multi-tiered hybrid of Alternative Voting, Instant Runoff Voting and Single Transferable Vote, to be known as Alternative Runoff. Here, individuals can form voting syndicates with votes grouped and ordered by a complex series of transformations that prioritise certain positions under specific conditions. A 47-page document will explain the process. It’s quite simple really.
  • Similarly, it is proposed that each emmeber’s votes is weighted by their contribution, such as number of letters written through the year.
  • Committee elegibility will be decided by a process adapted from Witchfinder Trials; with Committee eligibility eligibility constrained to those who meet prerequisites, such as minimum number of letters written.
  • The number of Ordinary Board Members will initially rise to eight, with more added in proportion to the number of letters the society has written.

I’m sure you will agree that these changes will increase the transparency and simplicity of membership and the voting process.

Group Photo

All the best from all of us.

Here’s to a great academic year 2014-2015!

Rob

being hunted down by a dead man

2014-15 Plans, Part Trois

April 1, 2014 in information, main by Rob Hallam

Hey hey hey,

I’m sure by now you’ve read the first two parts of these plans. I hope to introduce the rest of the committee here so you can benefit from knowing who they are, what they’ll be doing, and what suggestions they made for how to change the society.

Campaigns Officer: Alex Pancheva

Alex Pancheva

Alex prepares to cast a spell to dazzle a room of keen Amnesty members.

Alex joined us this year as an ordinary board member, and before even that she had ideas for the Day of Silence / Jamnesty and a general keen interest an all things human rights. Her suggestions are aimed at ensuring members in meetings are never bored and always have something to kep them busy: ‘hot seating’, where everyone has to change seats at least once per minute; three presentations / guest speakers / workshops to run simultaneously; and a free packet of Proplus to be issued to everyone in attendance at the start of the meeting.

Alex has kindly offered to organise, plan and run the proposed 161 campaigns for next year.

Fundraising Officer: Nikola Cabanová

Nikola Cabanová

It is a little-known fact that Nikola’s hair is magical and grants her the power to fly.

Previously Publicity Officer, Nikola mobdro free download was known for kindly offering to permit her flat to be used for getting decorations made (like the 1000 sq ft Amnesty canvas which covered the Library and Fraser building during Fresher’s Week last year), and for storing materials (paper, card, sheets, fabric, several thousand litres of paint). She has proposed a ew changes to fundraisers, mainly aimed at getting more money from them: autographed photos of committee members, a new line of GUAI merchandise and apparel, and a two-drink minimum at bake sale stalls.

Nikola has kindly offered to do a charity abseil down the Boyd Orr building to paint a giant barbed-wire candle on the facade.

Publicity Officer: Milia Hau

Milia Hau

Milia [left] wonders Ellen [right] has suddenly turned to, ready to catch with her right hand.

Milia comes to the committee from being an integral part of the SPB team laast year, where she organised the lighted champagne fountains we all enjoyed so much. She has proposed some quite unorthodox changes to enhance the publicity the society should have: a mandatory GU Amnesty Uniform, “GUAI 4 Life” tattoos, and 1984-style telescreens to monitor and enhance promotion of the group.

Milia has kindly offered to do simultaeous translations of meetings into five languages. M’Goi!

Press Officer: Bex Corbett

Bex Corbett

Bex supports all the new ideas and changes… proposed by Bex.

Bex comes to use from a background of GUST, journalism, blogging and high-stakes poker Mobdro Online TV in Las Vegas. It was her idea to expand on what we do in terms of promoting ourselves as a society; and the proposed establishment of a printing press and London offices will hopefully be ready in time for the first August edtion of the GU Amnesty Picayune, competitively priced at five British pence: “No other paper brings you more for less for more!”

Bex has kindly offered to persuade her good friend John Sessions to join our media team.

Website Officer: Siuan Portier

Siuan Portier

Little do they realise that Siuan [left] has slipped a live grenade into Catherine’s [middle] handbag. What merry japes!

Siuan is rejoining us from her year abroad, where she has spent her time travelling through Argentina, Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Panama, and Miami on a single cylinder 500cc Norton known as La Poderosa. She has been the most vocal during the proposed changes and improvements, suggesting over two hundred new additions to the year.

Siuan has kindly offered to be our ambassador to South America.

the twisted ones are coming for me

2014-15 Plans, Part the Second

April 1, 2014 in information, main by Rob Hallam

Goodest afternoonage to all and sundry,

Following on from Part 1, I wanted to continue describing some of the changes next year. But it’s also important to get a feel for the new committee, without whom these changes would not be happening.

Vice-President Duncan McNab

Duncan McNab

Duncan keeping an eye on things at the SPB afterparty.

Duncan has also been with the society for many years, learning the ropes and biding his time. In his previous role as Treasurer his creative bookkeeping and offshore accounts saved us money that ended up going towards the Raise-Off! well done to Duncan. Incidentally, he later successfully used the same techniques for technology companies such as Google, Amazon and Apple so that they could continue to do the ecellent work that they do.

Duncan has kindly agreed to be the President’s Malcom Tucker-style enforcer.

Domi Bacanskaite

Domi’s reaction to the proposed changes for this year.

Domi is our secretary and responsible for handling emails, posting letters, receiving faxes, mucking out after the pidgeons, producing our supply of invisible ink, and ensuring the Enteral Spirit Flame of Vigilance used for smoke signals never goes out. The last item may be the most important, as it is the only thing that keeps Bel-Shamharoth at bay. Domi is not only our secretary but also SRC Clubs and Societies Officer, having been elected on a campaign that happily and unusually avoided the usual handing out of sweets, harrassing of voters and assassination of other candidates.

Domi has kindly agreed to organise daily GU Amnesty socials.

Treasurer Jana Sweeney

Jana Sweeney

Jana loves to pull these subtle poses when she thinks the camera is on her.

Jana is our Treasurer, and as such is reponsible for handling they money in our petty cash, society banking, and Swiss/Cayman accounts. She has joined us as Treasurer as she has accounting aspirations; and is in fact planning to later go on do a 47-month intensive training course with the Kuàijì Monks of Beancounting Monastery in remote Tibet. We wish her luck with that when the time comes. She has requested that her position be renamed “Banana Officer” for obvious reasons.

Jana has kindly agreed to take over all official photography and will soon be purchasing a Canon 1DX to that end.

dark things, where reality weakens

2014-15 Plans, Part 1

April 1, 2014 in information, main by Rob Hallam

Hi everyone.

I wanted to express some my plans for next year, so that everyone is up-to-speed and on-board with what will be happening. There are a lot of changes coming, so it’s best that everyone is well-informed.

A typical Ruth pose

Our wonderful president for the year 2013-14, Ruth. We are very fortunate she used her divine powers only for good. Many others have not been so lucky.

But first it is only fair that I say thank you to Ruth. She has been with us through thick and thin, from her days as campaigns officer where she plotted a coup to overthrow the university senate and replace them with CFCI-friendly representatives; to her presidental year, where she initiated contacts and connections with over seven hundred different clubs, societies and external organisations. Her iron rule of “nobody leaves a committee meeting until they’ve submitted ten workable proposals for this week” was at times harsh and enforced through sticky notes but it was necessary to keep the committee in line.

Ruth has kindly agreed to return next year as an honorary representative with a remit to enforce order at our often rowdy and unrestrained weekly meetings.

Before I actually describe the changes I want to reassure everyone that all will be entitled to a fair say in this. To that end, it was agreed that anyone wishing to feed back on any aspect of the changes should complete a small feedback sheet with the following questions:

Feedback Sheet (#280747) – 2 A4 pages

  1. Name
  2. Age
  3. Student Number
  4. National Insurance Number
  5. College
  6. House
  7. Rating of previous year (scale 1-10)
  8. Predieted rating of forthcoming year (scale 1-10)
  9. Rating of current committee (scale 1-10)
  10. Rating of current government (scale 1-10)
  11. Feedback on changes (min. 1000 words)
  12. Proposed amendments (max 10 words)
  13. Drawing of ‘ideal’ weekly Amnesty meeting (1 side of A4)
  14. Proposal for GU Amnesty Theme Song* (min. 3 minutes)

*Music sheets available on request from your nearest music shop

In the interest of a fair process we are regrettably unable to consider feedback from an incomplete sheet. If you have any issues with this, please fill out ‘Feedback Sheet #280747’ in full explaining why.

Hopefully this reassures everyone that the changes are the result of a fair and democratic process. More information to follow.

keep watching the skies

Avatar photo by Ruth

AGM 2014-15 Results!

March 26, 2014 in information, main by Ruth

We had our AGM tonight and have elected the new committee!

President – Rob Hallam
Vice President – Duncan McNab
Secretary – Domi Bacanskaite
Treasurer – Jana Sweeney
Campaigns Coordinator – Alex Pancheva
Fundraising Officer – Nikola Cabanova
Publicity Officer – Milia Hau
Press Officer – Rebecca Corbett
Website Manager – Siuan Poirteir

Two ordinary board members will be elected at the beginning of the academic year.

Congrats to everyone! 🙂