Suad Amiry at TedXRamallah

I kept meaning to post this from TedXRamallah. Suad Amiry's closing speech. She is such an enthusiastic and brilliantly funny story teller. Her book "Sharon and My Mother and Law" was given to me to read before I moved to Ramallah - funnily enough into a house quite close to her mother-in-law's. It was helpful in preparing me for the absurdity of the day-to-day existence in the Occupied Territories.

Part 1

Part 2

... oh and there is this. Response to uprisings? Consolidating efforts? Kissing and making up for the greater good? Will be interesting to watch.

TEDxRamallah

TED Talks are coming to the Palestine, Jordan and Lebanon on 16 April 2011!

Tomorrow is the last day to register for TEDxRamallah (for attendance in the Levant area of the Middle East). There are a number of sites globally where you can attend and view the Talks in the Gulf, Europe, North America and around the Middle East. ALSO if you are interested in hosting a TEDxRamallah gathering, you can – get in touch with the organisers before 16 April 2011.

All you need is a laptop, internet and some eager viewers.

The event include talks from personalities such as Suad Amiry – author of “Sharon and My Mother-in-Law: Ramallah Diaries”, Julia Bacha – filmmaker, and musical performances from artists such as DAM – an acclaimed Palestinian rap group.

More information can be found on the event page.

(logo from the event)

The Youth Vote

What many youth around the world would die for - a chance to determine their country's political future. But in Canada - Apathy amongst young eligible voters remains.


From CBC's "Rick Mercer Report" 28 March 2011

The Best Day of the Year!

International Women's Day!
If you are in Ottawa - Come celebrate the 100th Anniversary (!) at the National Archives from 7-10pm!
Details HERE

Also check out this list of the 100 most influential women as composed by the Guardian. As well as a great article by Stephanie Nolen about how for we need to go still...

Yup

Article on the key role youth can play in the Middle East from the National Journal

stopping sexual violence and harassment with technology

There was a lot of buzz created by the assault CBS reporter Lara Logan in Tahrir Square. On the twittersphere a lot of the discussion has pointed to the blame and owness that is placed on the survivors - Still!

There are a lot of tools out there to break the stigma of talking about sexual harassment and assault. A number of which were spearheaded in the middle east where taunting and catcalling are endemic, and little fault or blame is placed on the perpetrator. Instead, the survivor - primarily women - is blamed and her freedoms are curtailed in order to preserve honour and to "prevent" these acts from "occurring again" (wear less revealing clothes, don't go outside without a male escort etc.).

Despite tireless efforts to dispel myths surrounding SGBV, it still occurs and can be difficult to combat because there is so little hard data on the topic. This is why new initiatives using technology to map from the ground up are so important.

Here are some tools I have come across:

Hollaback : Global site using online and mobile technology to track and collect data/information on street harassment.

HarassMap Similar to HollaBack, spear headed in Egypt (in arabic)

There is Visualising Women's Rights in the Arab World is an online space for women's rights initiatives including SGBV work.

In DRC there is Si jeunesse savait an online and mobile support network for young feminists. (in French)

A general project taking place during the 16 days of Activism is Take Back the Tech imploring women to use technology to combat violence against women and girls and highlighting projects. It has a handy map of what is going on tech wise associated with the project around the globe.

On a more national/state driven and generic level there's CartoCrime, and initiative by l'Observatoire National de la Délinquance in France that maps crime in general. (in French)

These are the few I can think of with websites. Any more? (I'm sure there are tons)

Egypt! Where are the women?!

As the Egyptian government is transformed a great opportunity presents itself. Women are often excluded or at the very least underrepresented in state affairs, peace processes and statebuilding exercises. Egypt is presented with an opportunity to buck the trend and involve women in the formation of their new state governing apparatus. A democratic reform process has the aim of creating a freer, fairer governing apparatus that respects the rights and will of all people, including women. This end goal is impossible without the inclusion of women, a point recognised and highlighted internationally through the Beijing Declaration and subsequent UN resolutions. Yet women still remain excluded. Journalist and political commentator Mona Eltahawy tweeted on 14 February that despite women being active in the Egyptian revolution, they have been all but excluded from talks with the military. Only one woman, Asmaa Mahfouz, who’s Vlogs are cited as one of the drivers of the youth movement, was present at talks between youth organisers and the military. Egypt and other stakeholders need to recognise the importance of having a balanced perspective when building a new governance structure. Egypt can provide women with an equal voice, unprecedented in that region (or further afield for that matter). Let us support women activists in having their voices heard.