Amnesty International's Northeast Regional Conference took place on November 11-12.
Education Under Fire (EUF) film screening and panel discussion
This
film documented the "Iranian government's denial of the right to education for ideological and religious reasons." This film is focused around the Baha'i community and their struggle to maintain their education. After the film there was a panel discussion, moderated by Joshua Rubenstein. The panel included Dr. Fatemeh Haghighatjoo, former member of the Iranian Parliament; David Hoffman, Founder and Executive Producer of EUF initiative and documentary; Jeff Kaufman, Producer and Director EUF; Mojdeh Rohani, Graduate of the Baha'i Institute for Higher Education; and Rainn Wilson, actor in The Office and a member of the Baha'i faith.
This film screening and discussion, held at MIT, was a great opportunity to share activism through the arts. The panel discusses the film, the issues, what is happening in the current communities, and expression through the arts.
Kites for Women's Rights in Afghanistan
This action was a great creative way of sending a message. For this action, there was a kite template on a postcard. Supporters could design their own kite with a message to the US government. Message examples were: "Women must be at the peace table in Afghanistan; Don't trade away women's rights; Don't sacrifice women's rights in Afghanistan in the name of peace; or No Peace without women's rights"
Arts and Activism workshop
I co-facilitated this workshop with Brendan Shea, from the American Repertory Theater. We started off by discussing who we were, background on Prometheus Bound, and how we were connected to the project. The first step to the workshop was the clothesline response to Prometheus’ monologue. The monologue was read twice, and they were supposed to ask a question; questions were read aloud. The monologue was read again; this time the response was an answer to one of the questions. These responses were hung on the clothesline. Reflection discussions on each step were a key element to this workshop.
The second aspect of the workshop was the Ode to Prometheus. We split into four groups. Each person wrote two lines in their group’s Ode to Prometheus. Only one line of the Ode was visible when someone was writing. Their lines could be in response to the previous line, the monologue, the questions, or the answers from the previous section. Once completed, each group had to perform their Ode. The Odes were really wonderfully written. The style of writing without knowing what was written before added a very poetic element to the Odes.
The performances were put together so well! There was time at the end for reflection. We got great feedback from the people in the workshop.
Scott Langley's Death Penalty Documentary Project
I have been referring to this project for inspiration all semester. At the AI NE Regional Conference, I had the wonderful opportunity to see some of the photos from this project. I also got the chance to meet Scott Langley and discuss his project, what I was working on this semester in Portfolio, and other AI topics.
For more information:
Education Under Fire: http://educationunderfire.com/
Women's Rights in Afghanistan:
http://www.amnestyusa.org/our-work/countries/asia-and-the-pacific/afghanistan
Scott Langley's Death Penalty Documentary Project: http://www.deathpenaltyphoto.org/index.html
