Newsletter, Region South, November 2023
Publisert:
27. Nov 2023, kl. 10:36
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Sist oppdatert:
28. Nov 2023, kl. 15:49
Dear activists in the southern region,
We are getting close to the end of another month; November started with our regional meeting in Arkivet in Kristiansand - thanks to everyone who participated! If you were not at the meeting, Carina has made som notes to sum it up here.
There are a lot of events planned and Schools, malls, in the city centre the next few weeks - we wish you all the best of luck with these!
November 30. death penalty will be marked in connection to Cities for Life at Arkivet in Kristiansand and at Arneageren in Stavanger. See the events for more information - and join in!
This newsletter contains information about:
- Write for Rights 2023
- Narges, the Peace Prize and report on Iranian prisons
- Annual General Meeting
- Digital Theme evening: the Israel and Palestine Conflict
- The Israel and Palestine Conflict: Information pack
- The SOS method
- Update on Sasha - from last years Write for Rights
Greetings from the office in the south, Gunvor, Carina, Desiree, Birita, Lone and Hildegunn.
Pictured: Activists from the regional meeting November 4th.
Write for Rights 2023 - action circular!
In this year's campaign, we focus on Ahmed Mansoor from the United Arab Emirates, Justyna Wydrynska from Poland, Rocky Myers from the USA, Narges Mohammadi from Iran and Thapelo Mohapi from South Africa.
Read more about how you can get involved in the action guide.
Nobel Peace Prize to Nares and HRD 75 years!
December 10th , the Nobel Peace Prize will be awarded to Narges Mohammadi. This is also the day when the Universal Declaration of Human Rights turns 75. So, this is truly a milestone for us at Amnesty and a day we want to be visble all over the country.
How about organizing a torchlight procession for Narges? Or a light display for 75 years of human rights? An idea could be to buy torches and shape them into "HR 75". You can also give a speech or write an op-ed. Do you want to plan something on this day? Contact us at the regional office, and we'll assist you 😊
Seminar online streaming - December 10th
In connection with the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony, we are hosting an exciting seminar, which will be streamed nationwide.
Here, we will celebrate Narges Mohammadi and look at Amnesty's work with Iran and Narges. Agnes Callamard, Amnesty International's Secretary-General, Nassim Pappayianni, one of Amnesty's investigators on Iran, and some of our dedicated activists will be present on stage.
We think this will be an amazing event and warmly welcome you to join. This is a closed event for our members, donors, and activists. Register via the link below to receive the streaming link.
Israel/Palestine conflict
The current escalation of violence in Israel and Gaza is unprecedented and Amnesty is working to investigate and report what’s happening.
It can be difficult to understand the conflict and know what to say or do. Therefore, we have gathered relevant information and articles on our website here for you (in Norwegian).
Please don’t hesitate to contact us should you have any questions or comments.
Digital theme evening: Israel and Palestine (Norwegian)
What is happening in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories? What is Amnesty International doing internationally and in Norway, and what can we do locally?
Welcome to an information meeting with updates on the situation in Gaza, the West Bank, and Israel, Tuesday 5th. December at 18:00 with Amnestys political advisor Gerald Folkvold. We will review how Amnesty International works at the international headquarters and what we do here at home, in relation to Norwegian authorities and more.
Before we wrap up there will also be time to discuss how we can work locally. If you have good experiences from actions or other work, it's great to share them so we can learn and be inspired by each other.
Remeber to sign up for this beforehand as we need to send out Teams links. Welcome!
Annual general meeting
The AGM is the highlight of the year for Amnesty in Norway, and the date for the next AGM is set for April 19-21, 2024.
We have gathered some information about the deadlines, youth gathering, board election, awards and membership below!
SOS – Do something when you witness harassment, racism and discrimination!
Right now, we are seeing an elevated frequency of harassment and hate speech directed towards Jews and Muslims in our society.
What is worse than being subjected to harassment related to your identity? Yes, it is being provoked while others watch but do nothing. Unfortunately, it is common to remain silent in the face of harassment and discrimination. 56% of those who witness hate speech in Norway do nothing to intervene, yet 84% say that we should intervene.
Therefore we, in collaboration with the Norwegian Institution for Human Rights and Catalysts, have launched the SOS-method, a tool that gives you options when you witness harassment, racism and discrimination. The SOS-method stands for “Say something”, “Observe” and “Support” (unofficial translation as an official is still being worked on). It presents different alternatives for how to intervene when you are witnessing harassment, racism and hate speech.
Engage in a tool that will strengthen you in intervening when others are experiencing racism, discrimination, and harassment linked below.
Sasha Skochilenko is sentenced to seven years.
Sasha Skochilenko has been convicted of “disseminating knowingly false information about the Russian Armed Forces” and sentenced to seven years in prison for replacing price tags with anti-war messages in a Saint Petersburg supermarket.
The 33-year-old artist and singer was detained the 11st of April, accused for “distributing false information about the Russian armed forces”. “Her persecution has become synonymous with the absurdly cruel oppression faced by Russians openly opposing their country’s criminal war.” said Amnesty International in a press release after the verdict was known. Sasha has already been in custody for over 19 months. She suffers from celiac disease and heart disease and her health has deteriorated greatly during this time. Further incarceration will make it worse and may put her life in danger. Amnesty has campaigned for a long time to get Sasha Skochilenko released. She is a prisoner of conscience and was part of the WriteforRights last year. During the last hearing, the artist thanked all who have supported her. It is expected that the verdict will be appealed. Please sign the petition to call for her immediately release of access to medical care while in prison: 7 år for å bytte ut prislapper med info om krigen | Amnesty International Norge
Usefull links:
Film from one of last years proposal
Hvordan fremme et forslag til landsmøtet? | Amnesty International Norge
Vedtekter for Amnesty International i Norge | Amnesty International Norge
This newsletter will go out to all activists who are registered in groups on Min Side. Currently, I see that not everyone is registered here and ask group leaders to share with those who may not have received this e-mail - thank you!
Get in touch if you have any questions!
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