Community News

Upcoming ISYP Events, Updates on Existing Projects, Opportunities, and More!

December 9th: Nobel Prize Event with Student-Young Pugwash-UK

December 10th will mark 27 years since Joseph Rotblat and Pugwash Conferences jointly won the Nobel Peace Prize "for their efforts to diminish the part played by nuclear arms in international politics and, in the longer run, to eliminate such arms." 

To commemorate their recognition 27 years ago, ISYP and Student-Young Pugwash UK will host an online event on December 9th. Three speakers who knew Rotblat personally will share their intimate stories of his life: from young scientist, to influential Pugwashite, to champion of student and young Pugwash voices. They will share rare videos and first-hand accounts from the ceremony and offer messages of hope about the future, particularly on the role of Pugwash, the need for dialogue across divides in times of international tension, and the importance of engaging a new generation of scientists and arms control advocates.

Please sign up for this event here.

ISYP (Re)-Launches South Asia Programming 🎉

 

On August 30th, 2022, International Student/Young Pugwash convened a two-hour virtual roundtable among early- and mid-career professionals on nuclear weapons issues in South Asia. The program was hosted in partnership with the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies (IPCS), New Delhi and the Centre for Security, Strategy and Policy Research (CSSPR) at the University of Lahore. The roundtable took stock of participants’ perspectives on contemporary nuclear issues in South Asia, laying groundwork for future ISYP dialogues.

We hope to continue this work and host additional events in 2023. If you would like to get involved, please reach out to us at office@isyp.org.

For the full event report, please click here.

Recording: ISYP's Cuban Missile Crisis Webinar

On the anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis this October, ISYP hosted a webinar on “The Cuban Missile Crisis After Sixty Years” in partnership with the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.   

Watch the webinar recording, here! (Passcode: 2r7!F3kU)

During the program, nuclear experts Stephen Van Evera and Sharon K. Weiner considered what we can learn from the Cuban Missile Crisis. Professor Van Evera discussed how the history of that crisis should inform the U.S. government’s current policies, with respect to the war in Ukraine. Professor Weiner described her virtual reality project, Nuclear Biscuit, which explores the difficulties of decision-making when nuclear threats seem imminent.

Post-Event Information: Third Nuclear Age Conference

The ISYP Third Nuclear Age Conference entitled “New Age, New Thinking: Challenges of a Third Nuclear Age” took place between October 31 and November 2, 2022. The conference mobilized over 20 emerging leaders and leading experts from around the world. Each presentation session featured a vibrant array of participants’ areas of focus, and expert panels offered insight that set the stage for the conversation as well as dug into the nuanced challenges surrounding non-proliferation and arms control to carry forward. Participants wrapped up their conference week with a writing workshop with the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, and an open invitation to pitch articles to the Bulletin based on their research presented this week. ISYP would like to extend our sincere thanks to our supporters and partners:  The Heinrich Böll Foundation, the German Foundation for Peace Research through the University of Duisburg-Essen, Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs, Bulletin of Atomic Scientists and the Third Nuclear Age Project. 

If you are interested in participating and/or learning more, please email office@isyp.org. 

Student/Young Pugwash national group updates 🌐

Israel Student/Young Pugwash 🇮🇱

The Israel Young Pugwash program at Reichman University kicked off its 4th year of activity this week, with 20 new B.A. and M.A. students, excited to start engaging in Track II diplomacy. 

We were honored to host Ezra Friedman, the Director of ISYP, for our first meeting, who gave a fascinating introduction to the Pugwash organization and the role of students within it.

 
 

Opportunities for Young Professionals 🌟

Check out these amazing opportunities relevant for young professionals and students interested in nuclear weapons, climate change, and security!

The Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation welcomes submissions for blogs to their Next Up in Arms Control series.Changemakers for the Planet is accepting applications from "changemakers who tackle the 'planetary crisis' aged 18-35 and based / with impact in Europe or the Middle East and North Africa." (Deadline : January 15, 2023)IFSH Hamburg is looking to fill two vacancies:A researcher on (almost) all things #EmergingTech (BMD, space, AWS, AI, machine learning or new delivery systems) with a keen interest in their regulation through arms control. A researcher from the natural sciences with a keen interest in escalation dynamics caused by fast kinetic weapon systems, the effects of nuclear use, or the verification of the absence of nuclear weapons.

For details, get in touch with Dr. Ulrich Kühn (kuehn@ifsh.de) or Dr. Moritz Kütt (kuett@ifsh.de).

Note, some opportunities listed are limited by citizenship and in-person/virtual attendance.

If you have an opportunity that you would like shared on ISYP's newsletter, please contract office@isyp.org.

A Recap of the 2022 Oslo Freedom Forum in Taiwan

As we reflect on 2022, it’s evident how this year was a critical moment for human rights and democracy in Asia and globally. 

One month ago, the Human Rights Foundation (HRF) returned to Taipei to host the thirdOslo Freedom Forum in Taiwan — making Taiwan the most frequent host country for our Forum outside the United States and Norway. 

The 2022 #OFFinTaiwan was our long-awaited return after two years of pandemic-related postponements, during which Taiwan made international headlines as a model for its pandemic response and its ongoing resilience in the face of rising global authoritarianism.

The Program

We were humbled to receive a gracious welcome from the OFF community in Taiwan upon our return. Excited attendees, including many student delegations, local civil society organizations, activists, journalists, and government officials, filled the theater.

We heard first-hand stories from renowned global activists standing up to tyranny in Burma, China, Hong Kong, Thailand, Ukraine, the Gambia, Saudi Arabia, and Taiwan.

Political figures and government officials from the country, including Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu and Taiwanese Congressman Freddy Tshiong-Tso Lim, joined activists on stage to call for a united struggle against authoritarianism. We were also honored to be joined by Taiwan-based Australian singer Kimberley Chen, who performed at the event.

You can watch the theater program on oslofreedomforum.com and our YouTube page.

The Expo

The #OFFinTaiwan expo space featured many HRF programs, including Flash Drives for Freedom, the Ukraine Solidarity Fund’s Voices from Inside, Impact Litigation, Art in Protest, Responsible Finance’s Defund Dictators, and Wear Your Values’ Uncomfortable Truth. Visitors engaged with the interactive displays, wrote postcards to political prisoners, and viewed artworks by exiled Chinese Australian dissident artist Badiucao.

The space also featured interactive booths by HRF partner organizations: the Citizen Lab, Cofacts, Garden of Hope Foundation, Ghost Island Media, Hong Kong Outlanders, the Human Rights Network for Tibet and Taiwan, Open Culture Foundation, Snowball Community, Students for a Free Tibet - Taiwan, SyndAvant, Taiwan Association for Human Rights, the Taiwan Equality Campaign, Taiwan Foundation for Democracy, and the Taiwan NextGen Foundation. Representatives from these organizations were on-site to engage with visitors about their work.

Media Coverage

More than 100 journalists, photographers, and videographers attended the 2022 #OFFinTaiwan press conference and theater program. The Forum and our speakers have since received remarkable coverage in international and Taiwan-based outlets, including The Taipei Times, Focus Taiwan, Taiwan News, The Guardian, Taiwan Plus, and The Liberty Times, among others.

Local Meetings

For the first time in #OFFinTaiwan history, HRF coordinated closely with Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) to spearhead a delegation of HRF staff members and international OFF speakers. The delegation schedule was action-packed, including: A meeting with the president of Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan, You Si-kun, attended by legislators across all political partiesA dinner banquet graciously hosted by MOFA’s Secretary General Lily Hsu, along with distinguished guests: commissioner from the National Human Rights Commission, Chi Hui-Jung, director general of MOFA’s Department of NGO International Affairs, Constance Wang, and representatives of international NGOs in Taiwan.A meeting with the inaugural chairperson of Taiwan’s National Human Rights Commission, Chen Chu, joined by six commissioners involved in Taiwan’s democratization process and human rights development.These meetings have been covered by Radio Taiwan International, Central News Agency, Taiwan News, and other major local news outlets.

What's Next

Despite the global backsliding of democracy, Taiwan continues to stand tall and strong — serving as an inspiration for the region and the world. As the first and currently only Oslo Freedom Forum in the Asia region, it’s incredibly valuable to continue bringing global activists to Taiwan to share strategies, exchange ideas, and strengthen the global movement for freedom. Now, more than ever, it’s important for us all to stand together.

HRF firmly believes Taiwan can become a capital for human rights. We hope to bring our Oslo Freedom Forum community back to Taipei for years to come and shine a spotlight on Taiwan as a global beacon for democracy. If you would like to support future Oslo Freedom Forums in Taiwan, please donate to our OFF in Taiwan fundraiser.

Announcing the 2022 Winners of the Tällberg-SNF-Eliasson Global Leadership Prizes

YEVGENIA ALBATS, GLADYS KALEMA-ZIKUSOKA AND SAM MULLER
AWARDED TÄLLBERG-SNF-ELIASSON GLOBAL LEADERSHIP PRIZES

Stockholm and New York, November 9, 2022—Today the Tällberg Foundation announced the winners of this year’s Tällberg-SNF-Eliasson Global Leadership Prizes, awarded annually to well established leaders working in any field and any country whose leadership is courageous, innovative, rooted in universal values and global in application or in aspiration.

The 2022 laureates:

Yevgenia Albats, Russia, for her passionate commitment to reporting truth in the face of repression and corruption, and for forcefully asserting her—and every Russian’s—personal responsibility to work for a democratic future in their country.

Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, Uganda, for her persistent, innovative leadership in developing new approaches to human/wildlife interaction at a time when the danger of zoonotic diseases is rising worldwide.

Sam Muller, Netherlands, for his innovative work in creating and implementing new, concrete concepts and ways of working for law practitioners that focus on solving people’s real needs and thereby reinforce their commitment to democracy.

“Converging crises are challenging all our societies. If we ever needed great leadership it is now,” said Alan Stoga, the Tällberg Foundation’s chairman. “What these three extraordinary individuals—working in dramatically different contexts on different kinds of problems—demonstrate is the power of courageous, creative, persistent leadership.”

The Prizes are made possible by the financial and moral support of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF). SNF Co-President Andreas Dracopoulos said, “What each of the most serious challenges humanity faces—such as climate change, the erosion of democracy, unmet mental health needs, the risk of future pandemics—requires is sound, selfless leadership. SNF is proud to support the Prizes in recognizing leaders whose practical optimism unlocks human potential to meet these critical challenges."

The Tällberg Foundation is deeply committed to the idea that great leadership comes in many different flavors. “What do a journalist, a veterinarian and a jurist have in common? Great leadership skills and the willingness to challenge the status quo with innovation and energy. The world needs as much of that as we can find,” concluded Stoga.

The winners receive a $50,000 cash award and the opportunity to participate in the Tällberg Foundation’s global leaders’ network. They will be honored in a virtual celebration on December 13. To register to participate, go to tallberg-snf-eliasson-prize.org.

The Tällberg Foundation separately recognizes and honors emerging leaders whose work has less track record and more potential. This year’s emerging leader laureates will be announced on November 16.

Prize winners are nominated through an online process open to anyone anywhere and are ultimately selected by a global jury. The Tällberg-SNF-Eliasson Global Leadership Prize was established in 2015 and has honored 27 global leaders.

8th Newsletter for Our 2022 Program

October 2022 Newsletter

The 50:50 Startups 2022 Cohort concludes the program!

Join us in congratulating all participants and expressing utmost gratitude to those who made their journey happen.

Demo Day 2022

On September 28th, we held the concluding event of the 50:50 Startups program - the 2022 Demo Day!

Seven ventures pitched their deck, and two got the prizes. My Family presented by Jafar Mahfouz won the first prize consisting of $10,000 pre-seed investment🏆! And Abe's events presented by Ibrahim Handal and Ibrahim Tomizeh won the second prize - pre-seed investment of $7000 🏆

A huge thank to the amazing, and highly experienced Judges who joined us:
Rosa Azhari - President, Azrieli College of Engineering Jerusalem.
Shirley Shahar - Co-Founder at DANA Accelerator.
Aiman Abu Ammar - Senior Lecturer at Azrieli College of Engineering.
Haytam Kasem - Researcher at Technion - Israel Institute of Technology.

Many thanks to Azrieli College of Engineering Jerusalem and AtoBe Startup Accelerator for their incredible hospitality. And lots of gratitude to Michal Zur and Miriam Malis for supporting us throughout this journey.

We are thrilled to share that Northeastern University will be giving a substantial scholarship, and bringing one of the 50:50 alumni to join their MBA program, after they got inspired by the 50:50 participants this year.

''I have followed your 50:50 program and could not be more impressed. What a thrill that the students were finally able to come to Northeastern" - Associate Director of Admissions at Northeastern University

To learn more about their journey in Boston? Check out this Article!

2022 Cohort Testimonials

Hear what the participants of our third 50:50 Startups cohort share about their journey!

Crypto, being a 1 trillion dollar market, needs next gen inheritance solutions yesterday. At Q-Fi we are building a turnkey crypto inheritance solution for everyone, fiduciaries, individuals & access points for probate courts. Our product will offer a secure, easy, & fully regulatory compliant. We will also keep to the values of crypto & blockchain, offering full control of one's assets during their lifetime, industry leading security, & privacy features only possible with blockchain & cryptography tech. We have finished our MVP and will be starting a seed round early November."

We are happy to see our alumni grow and always support their development after completion of the 50:50 Startups program! To learn more please visit Q-Fi

Stay Tuned!
Applications for 50:50 Startups 2023 are coming soon...

We are excited that the application round for our next 50:50 Startups cohort will start soon! If you are interested to apply and spread the news to potential applicants, tune in for our further communications on the matter. We will announce all the relevant to the application round information soon on our website. We are excited to start for our fourth cohort in 2023!

Visit our Website for More

Visit https://www.5050startups.org/ to learn more about 50:50 Startups!

The VIIF Frontline Report #7

Police raid a bar in San Salvador, El Salvador, looking for gang members on July 14, 2018. Photograph by Kimberly dela Cruz, who is a member of the VII Mentor Program.

Dear friends,

With the worldwide rise of populism, neo-nationalism, and autocracy there is much to do to challenge the emergence of anti-democratic forces and safeguard a world where ordinary citizens are treated with dignity and respect by their governments. This challenge is especially acute for anyone involved in journalism.

As my colleague David Campbell writes on VII Insider in an essay that details the shocking global anti-democratic trend, “addressing the challenge of democratic decline ….. demands much, much more than just arms-length coverage of the issue. Only journalism has the reach to demonstrate what is at stake if authoritarians take power. We need the practice of journalism to stand for democracy and be actively engaged in the fight for democracy. Now.”

Of course, Churchill reminded us democracy is flawed, but the alternatives are worse, as anyone living in a de-facto dictatorship, or a country run by kleptocrats, religious fundamentalists, or a military junta will attest.

The VII Foundation, through VII Academy, has trained over 700 majority world students from over 80 countries, in nine languages in three years. Many of our students live and work under regimes that suppress the media and extinguish the free flow of information and other fundamental human rights. Their bravery and their existence are essential. They are the ones bearing witness to invasion, violence, corruption, the impact of climate change, and the pillage of natural resources firsthand. Their work informs all of us.

Most of our training has taken place online throughout the pandemic. With the opening of our new campus in Arles – named after our late colleague Alexandra Boulat, and funded by our board member Jennifer Stengaard Gross and her family – we are now able to invite the most accomplished of our students to study with us in person. We are launching our first intake of students in 2023 and we can’t wait to see them here.

Gary Knight
CEO
The VII Foundation

Speak Out!

What kind of peace do young Bosnians live in today? What is their experience of the past, and what is their hope for the future? Are they afraid of a new war? How do they see their role in preserving peace?

Inspired by the lessons in the “Imagine: Reflections on Peace” book, eight young individuals from all across Bosnia and Herzegovina came to the National Museum in Sarajevo and worked with Nikola Vučić to improve their communication skills for debating difficult topics.

The discussion was broadcast on N1, a major national television channel in Bosnia, on September 27 and can be viewed here. We are grateful to The Foundation for Systemic Change (FSC) for making this event possible.

Preparations for the first collection bearing Yves Saint Laurent's name, January 1962. Photograph by Pierre Boulat.

Yves Saint Laurent by the Boulats

“Yves Saint Laurent by Alexandra and Pierre Boulat” is a special exhibition opening in Sarajevo on November 4 at the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Alexandra Boulat was one of the founding members of the VII Photo Agency, and our campus in Arles, France, is named in her honor. This exhibition showcases the work she and her father did covering Yves Saint Laurent over nearly four decades. Pierre Boulat produced his first story on Yves Saint Laurent for LIFE Magazine in 1962 when the designer created the first fashion collection in his own name. This cover story with 12 pages of photographs took a month to make and began a long association. This culminated in Alexandra Boulat taking over from her father and photographing Yve Saint Laurent’s presentation at the 1998 FIFA World Cup for Paris Match.

The exhibition has been made possible by the foundation leading a collaboration with the French Embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the French Institute, Fondation Pierre Bergé Yves Saint Laurent, the Association Pierre et Alexandra Boulat, and the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

From Ismar Čirkinagić's "Herbarium" project.

Herbarium

The foundation has collaborated with visual artist Ismar Čirkinagić to produce new work for his ‘Herbarium’ project and exhibit it in Bosnia for the first time.

Čirkinagić, who was born in Prijedor and now lives in Copenhagen, began “Herbarium” in 2004. The project is based on a classical herbarium that classifies flora with the difference being that all the plants have been collected from the site of mass graves in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The plants are gathered, dried, and mounted behind glass along with information about the mass grave site. Čirkinagić has made 70 new pieces specifically for the exhibition in Sarajevo after traveling to Prijedor in April this year and collecting the last plants in August.

“The exhibition will open at the National Museum 30 years since the war started, a round number. Thirty years is not a little time. We are still living in the war in many ways. There are still traces of the war around us; we are still looking for bodies of people missing, discussing certain topics. There is, again, a new cycle of nationalism. We obviously didn't leave those demons from the past behind,” said Čirkinagić.

We are grateful for the support of our partners, the Danish Arts Council, Memory Module, KUMA International, the Museum of Contemporary art Ars Aevi, and The National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The exhibition opens at the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo on 13 November.

School students from Arles and region at VII Academy's Alexandra Boulat Campus. Photograph by Florent Demarchez / Workflow.

Visual literacy lessons in Arles

VII Academy’s Alexandra Boulat Campus in Arles recently welcomed school children for La Rentrée en Images, organized by Les Rencontres de la Photographie. Throughout September and October 11 classes – comprising nearly 300 school children aged 10 to 18 years from Arles and the region – participated in workshops and guided tours to teach them about the complexity of a journalistic image. Using Alexandra Boulat’s “Modest” – portraits and stories of women in the Middle East – students were instructed on how to better read and understand images. Philip Blenkinsop of VII Photo Agency showed his Southeast Asian reportage to emphasize, among other elements, the importance of captions.

Kiley Knowles rides her horse through the Shell River (Anishinaabe Akiing/Minnesota, USA) during a women water protectors demonstration against Line 3 – commonly referred to by activists as “The Black Snake,” July 15, 2021. Photo by Chris Trinh.

Apply for the Foundry workshop

The Foundry Photojournalism Workshop is coming virtually to the USA! This tuition-free workshop, hosted by VII Academy in partnership with PhotoWings, has met in over a dozen countries around the world, teaching people how to better document their own communities and interests and develop skills to help them in work and life.

Foundry alumni have won the Pulitzer Prize and their images have graced the pages of major publications including National Geographic, The Washington Post, and The New York Times. In 2021, participants gathered virtually from all over the world in Foundry’s first online workshop. We laughed, we cried, we debated — and we had a great time. In 2022, as usual, there are no tuition fees. Classes will be taught by Andrea Bruce, Vanessa Charlotte, Michael Robinson Chavez, Alan Chin, Danny Wilcox Frazier, Alison Morley, Christopher Morris, Brian Palmer, Nina Robinson, and Maggie Steber. Guests and portfolio reviewers include editors from print publications, curators, consultants, and agents.

Applications are open now. They close on November 4, 2022, at 2359 EDT. Residents of the United States with two years or more of experience as working photojournalists may apply. Applicants from underrepresented communities will be prioritized. Applications will be evaluated on a rolling basis, so although applicants won’t hear if they’ve been successful until after the application deadline, early birds will get their first choice of instructor.

To apply, please complete this online form.

VII Academy mentee Farshid Tighehsaz has won the third edition of the prestigious 6 Mois Photojournalism Award 2022. Farshid is a documentary photographer based in Tabriz, Iran. Farshid's work focuses on the experience of being human and the structural, cultural, environmental, and interior aspects that determine our lives. Farshid's prize of €10,000 will enable him to continue his project "Labyrinth" on the psychological situation of young people in Iran, a story of undoubted significance given the current protests in Iran.

Trump followers rally at the Washington Monument listening to President Trump addressing them on January 6, 2021. Photograph by Christopher Morris / VII.

We published a major article on the VII Insider blog this month on "Visual Journalism in the Age of Authoritarianism – What Can and Should You Do?" Written by managing editor David Campbell, it poses a crucial challenge:

"The decline of democracy and the rise of authoritarianism are global phenomena...I want to challenge existing and emerging visual journalists to think about how best to respond to these anti-democratic developments. It is something we all have to think hard about because...everything we do as journalists, photographers, artists, and critics depends upon having the cultural space to think, create and work freely."

VII Insider’s online community continues to provide an open platform for public debate and discussion, including on the war in Ukraine. On the VII Insider blog, you will find David's article along with the latest in the series on South American photographers by Arturo Soto.

Members of the VII Insider community get access to weekly live presentations and can view the video collection, which contains more than 120 recordings of educational discussions. Don't forget to check out the upcoming events.

VII Insider is a program of The VII Foundation in partnership with PhotoWings and VII Agency.

New year, new hope?

Dear Friends,

In Israel, we are busy preparing for the High Holidays. Deciding where to have our festive dinner, remembering whose turn it is to host, dipping our apples in honey and pausing to reflect on the year that was. We have to admit, we started the year more enthusiastically than we are ending it. The Hebrew year 5782 brought with it a new ‘Government of Change’ - one that would restore democracy, that promised better times ahead, and that would make ending the occupation a priority and a reality. It wasn’t an easy task and we relied on a small number of minority parties to make a dent in the wall of right wing nationalistic rhetoric. It didn’t work.

Once again, the occupation was put on the political and social back burner, settlements expanded and the Palestinian 2022 death toll in the West Bank is the highest it has been for seven years. The Israeli coalition government crumbled as violence took hold, and politicians were reminded once again that the occupation cannot be ignored, and that restoring democracy inherently begins with ending the military rule of one people over another. Israelis go back to the polls again in November and our hope is to elect strong leaders who have the courage to make ending the occupation a national priority and who will break the ugly status-quo. 

As Yair Lapid said on the UN stage yesterday “Peace is not a compromise”. We couldn’t agree more! But neither is human rights, access to water, and freedom of movement. We were cautiously optimistic to hear the words ‘Peace’ and ‘Palestinians’ in the same sentence, but now we need action, and to take positive steps to end settler violence, evacuate illegal outposts, and get back around the table for direct peace talks.

One thing we do know, is that regardless of who is in power, we have to be the change we want to see. We will continue to unite Israelis and Palestinians and create friendships, coalitions and partnerships that many people think are impossible. We are a model of togetherness that we are repeatedly told can’t happen - yet here we are!

On that note, we finally got to spend quality time together, in person! We held our annual bi-national movement meeting, and for anyone who thinks Palestinians and Israelis are only destined to be enemies, see the photos below. We are forever each other's partners for peace.

In Peace & Solidarity from Israel/Palestine,

Rana Salman

Palestinian Director

 Yonatan Gher

  Israeli Director

Israeli - Palestinian All Movement Meeting

We met last week in Beit Sahour, on the outskirts of Bethlehem, for our annual bi-national members and staff meeting. Dozens of Israelis and Palestinians filled our conference suite, to come together for the first time since Covid kept us apart. We hugged and caught up on our lives, our frustrations, and our hopes for the future. 

Throughout the two days that we were together, we listened, we shared, we argued and we debated the issues that matter to us most. We talked about the urgent need to encourage young people to join us, and how women must be at the center of peace making. We looked for ways to spread our message of non-violence, and ultimately, how we can end the occupation once and for all.

We heard from our Palestinian colleagues and friends about their lives in the Jordan Valley, Jericho, Hebron and Nablus. How they live without access to water or electricity, stuck between checkpoints and humiliated by permits. We can't sit back while this continues. 

We have a plan, and we intend to do whatever it takes to change the system, to bring about peace, and to deliver equality, justice and freedom for all.

The Art of facilitation workshop

Combatants for Peace volunteers took part in a creative, unique event hosted in Lublin, Poland. The workshop was designed to strengthen and promote leadership skills for activists through the medium of art, theatre and performance.

Participants included Ukrainian refugees and female Armenian educators amongst others, and together the group heard personal stories, and designed protest actions as a team. Liat, a CfP member and one of the event organisers shared this reflection following the workshop;

"There are two significant sentences that stayed with me from the workshop that I would like to share: the first was Ayman's sentence - who concluded the workshop by saying that his heart was opened to the story and situation of other countries at war, and that his head was opened to the desire to learn and know more. The second sentence was said by one of the Ukrainian participants "I used to have no problem cooperating with Russians, today I can't imagine how we will bridge the gaps. I am glad that there is a living example of Israelis and Palestinians here and I would love to hear about your path."

Our ongoing work depends on people like you, who share our vision of peace, reconciliation and justice.

Use the following buttons to easily and efficiently donate in your own currency

7th Newsletter for Our 2022 Program

August 2022 Newsletter

Celebrate with us: the 50:50 Startups 2022 Cohort concludes the Advanced Incubation phase!

We are thrilled to share that our participants have completed the Advanced Incubation phase at Northeastern University, Boston, U.S.A! There, they took their startup experiences to a whole new level by polishing market research skills, finalizing pitch decks and practicing pitches.

We were delighted to have the final pitch decks and presentation scripts due for the 50:50 Startups entrepreneurs and the Northeastern university students already on August 18th. Working closely with the teams reflects the greatest impact on their startups, where they accomplished high-quality presentations that will be used to pitch for grants, seed money, and funding.

We thank our partners - D'Amore-McKim School of Business and their learning initiative "Bridging Conflict, Creating Diversity: An Entrepreneurial and Marketing Experience" - for making this possible. Here, you can read more about the experience of our participants at Northeastern University.

Networking Event at Northeastern University!

Our articipants had a chnace to meet with local entrepreneurs, tech and business stakeholders, and friends of the 50:50 Startups program.

Join the 2022 50:50 Startups Demo Day!

We are delighted to announce the Demo Day Event 2022 on September 28th between 18:00-20:00 at Azrieli College of Engineering Jerusalem. It will be the end of the 2022 cohort as well. Each venture will have the chance to pitch their deck, where two ventures will be nominated to win the #1 or #2 prize. 🏆

You can express your interest in participating in the Demo Day as audience by signing up via this Google Form. We will follow up with you regarding the schedule and ways to join, once that information is finalized. Keep an eye on our social media channels to stay updated and to celebrate the success of our third cohort with us!

We launched our mentor page! Would you like to be our next mentor?

We are proud to have such outstanding professionals on board to mentor our participants throughout the 50:50 Startups journey. Check out our mentors team, and contact us in case you would like to join and mentor the 50:50 Startups participants of the upcoming 2023 cohort!

 
 

Applications open for 50:50 Startups cohort of 2023!

We are pleased to invite you to apply to be part of our next 50:50 Startups cohort and to share this opportunity with those who may be interested. The applications should be made via our website's application section. We are looking forward to this amazing new experience!

Alumni Updates

Yalla Reyada 
The team launched their beta version Yalla Reyada and is working with six trainers nowadays. All the platforms are online for fitness personal training. They are all in English in Europe, US, and Colombia. So far, platforms in arabic are not available. 
 
Quantum 

The team has a new name Q-Fi and has launched their website Q-Fi . 50:50 Startups staff assisted the team with a few grant opportunities.  

Check out ways you can support the 50:50 Startups vision. Donate via PayPal to:


- Give more passionate Palestinian and Israeli youth the chance to build strong relationships based on economic cooperation.
- Support 50:50 Startups workshops, events, activities.
- Help 50:50 winner ventures to start their own company. 
- Cover a highly-subsidized 5-week startup boot camp in Boston. 

Contact us to learn more!

Visit our Website for More

Visit https://www.5050startups.org/ to learn more about 50:50 Startups!

RWCHR Weekly Digest

This summer we had the pleasure to host excellent interns who engaged themselves fully with the Centre’s pursuit of international justice. I am delighted to share with you a message written by McGill law student Ella Johnson about her internship experience.

Best,
Irwin Cotler, International Chair of the RWCHR

Interning at the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights has been one of the most incredible, rewarding experiences of my life. I came to the Centre after my first year of law school out of a desire to learn more about international and human rights law. My time here has opened up that world to me more than I ever expected. That is a credit both to the Centre’s staff, who are dedicated, experienced advocates and mentors, and to the substantive, groundbreaking work that they do on many of the most important human rights violations of our time.

For example, the Centre has in the past two years led the first independent legal analyses of Chinese violence against the Uyghurs and Russian violence against Ukraine, respectively, under the international legal framework of genocide. An independent report such as this provides a very important support to any efforts by the Uyghurs and Ukrainians to advocate for themselves. It is also quite important for all other states, who have obligations to prevent genocide, as it informs them of when those obligations have been triggered.

I did not know any of that before my internship, but was able to learn because I was brought into the process of writing, releasing and publicising the Russia report. The Centre’s staff made the time to explain what was happening to me as the process went along, gave me a chance to contribute meaningfully to the report and provided me with constructive feedback throughout the process. I learned much more than I ever could have in a classroom and feel really proud that I was able to contribute to this important work. My experience has been so excellent that I will continue working with the Centre after this summer. I cannot imagine a better place to begin a career in this field.

RWCHR Statement on Sentencing of Jafar Panahi 
The RWCHR condemned the arrest and arbitrary detention of award-winning Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi and called for his immediate and unconditional release from Evin Prison. Iran’s judiciary ruling that Mr. Panahi serve a previous six-year prison sentence is an affront to his universal human rights and the international rule of law and must be promptly overturned.

CJN Interview with Professor Irwin Cotler 
Professor Cotler was interviewed on The CJN Daily podcast, on the anniversary of Canada’s National Summit on Antisemitism, to assess the progress made since the first-ever national summit of its kind. Convened by the Canadian Government and Professor Cotler in his role as Canada’s Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combatting Antisemitism, Canada’s National Summit on Antisemitism was a timely initiative that brought together the Prime Minister and other Government Ministers, parliamentarians, and a diverse representation of the  Jewish community, among others. Professor Cotler shared a National Action Plan to Combat Antisemitism at the Summit and summarised the concrete action that has been taken since the Summit in the past year.

RWCHR Statement Condemning Recent Wave of Baha’i Arrests
The RWCHR strongly condemned the recent wave of arrests, raids, and imprisonments targeting Baháʼís by Iranian authorities. The arrest – and systematic targeting – of members of the Baháʼí faith is a looking glass into the Iranian regime’s longstanding pattern of hate and persecution against the Baháʼís in Iran. 

Op-Ed by Professor Irwin Cotler on China’s Transnational Repression 
Professor Cotler published an article in The Globe and Mail on China’s transnational repression, including the criminal harassment and intimidation of Canadians such as Canadian Uyghur Husseyin Celil, and Canadian businessman Xiao (James) Jianhua. Titled “The Chinese government's continued assault on Canadian freedoms requires action”, Professor Cotler called for meaningful action to address this repression, including by prioritizing the combatting of arbitrary detentions as a matter of principle and policy and imposing targeted Magnitsky sanctions on CCP officials responsible for human rights abuses.  

Commemorating Raoul Wallenberg’s Birthday
On the 110th anniversary of his birth, the RWCHR remembered and paid tribute to the life and legacy of Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg – Canada’s first Honorary Citizen and hero of the Holocaust. An inspirational role model for humanity, Raoul Wallenberg demonstrated how one person with the compassion to care and the courage to act can confront evil, prevail and transform history.

RWCHR Announces Role as Co-Chair of Global Civil Society Coalition Advocating for Targeted Sanctions
We are delighted to announce our role as Co-Chair of a global civil society coalition comprising over 300 of the world's leading NGOs advocating for targeted sanctions against perpetrators of human rights abuses and corruption. Coordinated by US-based NGO Human Rights First, this coalition has been instrumental in much of the major sanctions designations in recent years, as well as meaningful legislative and policy initiatives. The RWCHR's new role as Co-Chair of this important group signals a newfound focus on Canada – a recognition of the leading role of Canadian civil society and government – and the need for further concrete action and coordination.

Mourning the Passing of the Honourable Bill Graham
The RWCHR is very saddened to learn of the passing of the Honourable Bill Graham. A long-time friend and colleague of Professor Cotler, they worked together as Law Professors, Parliamentarians, and Cabinet Ministers. A leader respected internationally and a great Canadian, he will be truly missed. Condolences to his family and friends.

Summary of GPAAAC’s Inaugural Meeting
The official summary of The Global Parliamentary Alliance Against Atrocity Crimes (GPAAAC) inaugural meeting has been released. Professor Cotler participated in the meeting, hosted by MIGS and KAS Canada, where he led a discussion on our ground-breaking report concluding that Russia bears State responsibility for breaches of the 1948 Genocide Convention.

Update on Vladimir Kara-Murza
Hero of humanity and RWCHR Senior Fellow Vladimir Kara-Murza yet again faces new sham charges as part of Vladimir Putin’s campaign of repression targeting democracy advocates, opposition politicians, anti-war commentators, and the like. We stand with Vladimir and his wife Evgenia during his unjust detention which is yet another example of the Kremlin’s criminalization of speech, association and assembly.

Article by Nasrin Sotoudeh
Nasrin Sotoudeh, a leading imprisoned Iranian human rights lawyer, whose case was first taken up by Professor Cotler as a parliamentarian in 2011, published an article in Ms. Magazine standing in solidarity with women across the United States after the Supreme Court’s recent decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. In her public letter, Nasrin warned of the dangers of the “loss of freedom and democracy”. 

Murray Rankin Appointed as BC’s Acting Attorney General 
Congratulations to RWCHR Board Member Murray Rankin – who also serves as BC Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation – on being appointed BC’s Acting Attorney General. We are very proud to be working with him in common cause.

Baroness Helena Kennedy Continuing Work in Support of Women Judges in Afghanistan
RWCHR International Legal Advisory Board Member Baroness Helena Kennedy continues to be engaged in the rescue and resettlement of Afghan women judges. See here for more on their plight and pain, and Baroness Kennedy’s ongoing efforts to secure their safety. 

Article by Jared Genser on Brittney Griner’s Imprisonment
RWCHR U.S. Chair Jared Genser co-authored an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal on Brittney Griner’s imprisonment in Russia as the most recent example of hostage-taking by authoritarian states – like Russia and Iran – targeting U.S. citizens.  

Cindy Blackstock’s Post-Apology To-Do List
RWCHR Senior Fellow and Director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society Cindy Blackstock published a “Post-Apology ‘To Do’ List” – a list of actionable items – in the wake of the Pope’s apology on the part of the Catholic Church for Canada’s Residential Schools.

Murray Sinclair Issues Statement After Pope’s Apology
RWCHR Senior Fellow Murrary Sinclair published a statement after the Pope’s apology to survivors of Canada’s Residential Schools, recognizing the importance of the apology for First Nations, Inuit and Metis survivors, but also calling for more to be done – by the Catholic Church and all Canadians – towards the goal of reconciliation.

Ahmed Shaheed Completes Mandate as UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief
Congratulations to RWCHR Senior Fellow Ahmed Shaheed on completing his mandate as UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, during which he focused on combatting hate and intolerance, including antisemitism. We are very proud to continue to be working with him in common cause. See here to read his latest report – and recommendations – on combatting antisemitism on a global scale.   

RWCHR Announced as Co-Chair of international sanctions coalition

 
 

The Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights (RWCHR) is excited to announce its new major role as Co-Chair of a global civil society coalition comprising over 300 of the world's leading Non-Governmental Organizations advocating for targeted sanctions against perpetrators of human rights abuses and corruption. 

Coordinated by US-based NGO Human Rights First, this Coalition has been instrumental in much of the major sanctions designations in recent years, as well as meaningful legislative and policy initiatives. The RWCHR's new role as Co-Chair of this important group signals a newfound focus on Canada – a recognition of the leading role of Canadian civil society and government – and the need for further concrete action and coordination. 

The RWCHR will continue its role at the forefront of advocating policy reforms and strengthening multilateral coordination, but now with the intensified support of the world's major human rights institutions and as a leading voice of a diverse Canadian civil society.

Sincerely,

The RWCHR Team

50:50 Startups: 6th Newsletter for Our 2022 Program

 
 

July 2022 Newsletter

Celebrate with us: the 50:50 Startups 2022 Cohort concludes the Idea Incubation phase and starts the Advanced Incubationphase!

We are immensely proud of our participants for successfuly completing the Idea Incubation phase of the program! The participants took part in the AtoBe startup accelerator at the Azrieli College of Engineering in Jerusalem. There, they gained hands-on skills on further on startup development and polished their innovative ideas.

The last sessions of the Idea Incubation phase have been all about pitching. Dafna Gold Melchior - Scientific & Entrepreneurial Communication Clarifier at Let’s Clarify It - conducted the unforgettable workshop “Pitch It to Me - Powerful & Persuasive Presentations”. Our cohort had the chance to dive deeper into pitch structure, practice pitching their ideas, improve their decks, and overall take their ventures to a completely new level.

The very last meeting of the Ide Incubation phase was the 2022 Event Pitch with our great partners - the AtoBe Accelerator at Azrieli College of Engineering Jerusalem, where our teams/ ventures got the chance to pitch their deck, moreover received valuable feedback. We are very grateful to our partners at AtoBe for making our participants’ journey so rich in learning and growth. We would like to especially thank Michael Mizrahi and Michal Tsor for their hard work in supporting the learning of 50:50 Startups participants.

Advanced Incubation Phase at Northeastern University!

We are proud to share that the 50:50 Startups program participants have made it to Northeastern University, U.S.A., for the Advanced Incubation Phase. The participants are taking part in the D'Amore-McKim School of Business at Northeastern University program “Bridging Conflict, Creating Diversity”. As part of this experience, our participants met up with partners at Microsoft and had a series of wonderful lectures by Prof. Amir Grinstein and Prof. Daniele Mathras. Those participants who were not bale to make it to Boston in person can still attend all the lectures virtually! We are proud of creating inclusive experiences for all those who are willing to learn.

Stay tuned for the 2022 50:50 Startups Demo Day!

You can express your interest in participating in the Demo Day as audience by signing up via this Google Form. We will follow up with you regarding the schedule and ways to join, once that information is finalized. Keep an eye on our social media channels to stay updated and to celebrate the success of our third cohort with us!

Visit our Website for More

Visit https://www.5050startups.org/ to learn more about 50:50 Startups!

The VII Foundation: Frontline Report #6

 

VII Academy alumni from the Balkans in Arles, France for Les Rencontres de la Photographie

The VII Foundation’s mission is to transform visual journalism by empowering new voices and creating stories that advocate change. In a world where beliefs and actions are increasingly out-of-sync with facts and realities, transforming visual journalism is an urgent task.

Dear friends,

Every year in the first week of July, thousands of photographers, curators, and photo editors descend on the Roman city of Arles in the south of France to participate in "Les Rencontres de la Photographie Arles," the world’s pre-eminent photo festival. Exhibitions are curated and installed in churches, old railway sheds, butcher shops, supermarkets, and gardens. Evening events and colloquiums might be held in a Roman amphitheater, or just up the hill in Maja Hoffman’s Luma Foundation Tower, recently designed by Frank Gehry. "Rencontre" in English means "encounter", and the Rencontres is much more than a photo festival; it’s a meeting place. Anywhere there is shade, there are people discussing politics and photography and the politics of photography.

With a generous gift from Jennifer Stengaard Gross and her family, The VII Foundation bought a 200-year-old salt warehouse on a quay overlooking the Rhone river in Arles to house VII Academy. We will formally open our new home in September–and share more about the space with you in a later newsletter –but we opened our doors briefly to friends who visited the Rencontres this year.

Amongst those friends are some of our alumni who joined the legions of young photographers that descend on the town every summer to show their work, seek inspiration from the work of others, and create new networks that will help them further their emerging careers. 

It was incredibly moving to be reunited in our new space with three former students of VII Academy in Sarajevo–alumni Petra Slobodnjak from Croatia, Armin Graca from Bosnia, and Vladimir Zivojinovic from Serbia, as well as current student Mitar Simikic–four friends who had shared the long journey to Arles from the Balkans. Through their meeting and engagement at VII Academy and their subsequent friendship and work, they are contributing to building fairer, equitable, and more pluralistic societies in a region still struggling to throw off the shackles of a conflict that ended when they were infants.

They–and our global alumni–embody our conviction that young visual journalists immersed in their communities can advocate change and impact policy. Their work can lead to a better, more inclusive, evidence-based picture of the world. This better picture, in turn, can foster a more democratized global conversation that challenges established gatekeepers and disturbs the daily rhetoric of division and conflict that pours from the hymn sheets of populist politicians.

Wishing you a peaceful summer.

Gary Knight
CEO, The VII Foundation
Arles, France

"Imagine: Reflections on Peace" installed the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo.

"Imagine" in Sarajevo and Washington

The exhibition of "Imagine: Reflections on Peace" is on show at the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo until 31 July, and is now open in Washington DC at the United States Institute of Peace (tickets are free but must be reserved in advance).

In Washington, the "Imagine Reflections on Peace" exhibition will run from June 2nd through August 1st and will be open to the public on Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 10:00 am – 4:00 pm. Admission is free, ticket times must be reserved in advance.

Retired landmine-detecting dog Rico visits "Imagine: Reflections on Peace" at the United States Institute for Peace in Washington, DC.

Visitors to "Imagine"

"Imagine: Reflections on Peace" at the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington DC has had many visitors already this summer. They include students from across the United States taking part in education trips to their nation's capitol, as well as retired landmine-detecting dog Rico. Rico worked to clear more than 500,000 square meters of land in Bosnia and Herzegovina as part of a team from the Marshall Legacy Institute. 

VIIF is hiring

The VII Foundation is searching for a Communications Manager in an active, hands-on role working across the foundation’s international network. Reporting to the CEO, the manager’s primary objective is to develop and focus the foundation’s communications on the key audiences we wish to reach and influence. Applications are now open; check out the details on the position and how to apply. Deadline: 31st August 2022.

VII Academy alumni, staff and friends gather on the top floor of The Alexandra Boulat Campus in Arles, France. July 6, 2022. Photograph by Ziyah Gafic/VII.

VII Academy Alumni in Arles

VII Academy alumni were invited to visit our newly-renovated building, The Alexandra Boulat Campus, during the first week of Les Rencontres de la Photographie Arles. Petra Slobodnjak, Mitar Simikić, Vladimir Zivojinovic, and Armin Graca travelled together from the Balkans, while VII Mentee M'hammed Kilito visited from his residency in Paris. VII Photo Agency photography and VII Academy tutor Stefano de Luigi was on hand to welcome Amine Machitouen, a current participant of our Level 2 Seminar.

Amina Kadous contributed this diptych, including a self-portrait, to our COVID-19 global lockdown project, "Amplifying Student Voices," in 2020. ©Amina Kadous

Amina Kadous wins award at Les Rencontres

Egyptian photographer Amina Kadous has been awarded the Madame Figaro Prize at Les Rencontres for her project, “White Gold.” Exhibited as part of a group show called, “If a Tree Falls in the Forest,” she describes the project as, "an ongoing search for my personal and national identity, [a] cycle of loss and possibilities.” She is now an Artist in Residence at Black Rock Senegal for their 2022-2023 season. Amina is an alumnus of the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop that was held in Kigali, Rwanda in 2019, and also participated in our project, “Amplifying Student Voices,” during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

From the project Land of the Sea, documenting a humanitarian crisis and the effects of flooding along coastal regions in Indonesia. ©Irene Barlian

Leica Oskar Barnack Award spotlights VII Academy participants

Two current VII Academy program participants have been shortlisted for the prestigious Leica Oskar Barnack Award. M'hammed Kilito from Morocco, part of this year's VII Mentor Program, has been shortlisted for his project, "Before it's Gone", which documents oases that provide a buffer to desertification in North Africa. VII Academy Fellow Irene Barlian is also part of the twelve shortlisted candidates for her project, "Land of the Sea," focusing on flooding and rising sea levels in Indonesia and their effects on coastal residents.

Photograph by Joachim Ladefoged/VII.

VII Insider’s online community provides an open platform for public debate and discussion, and we have events coming up in the remainder of July and August.

Joining VII Insider is free thanks to our partnership with PhotoWings. Once registered, members of the VII Insider community get access to weekly live presentations and can view the video collection, which contains more than 100 recordings of educational discussions. We also commission and publish new writing and video presentations on the VII Insider blog that are providing powerful new insights into visual journalism.

VII Insider is a program of The VII Foundation in partnership with PhotoWings and VII Photo Agency.

World United in Song for Ukraine

 
 
 

WORLD UNITED IN SONG FOR UKRAINE

Just about 2 and one half weeks ago, I arrived in Warsaw, Poland. The motivating vision for this is to unite the world behind Ukrainian youth by creating a virtual marketplace on the new Internet for them to learn, earn and bring trust back to our online world.

 

Here’s an update on the different aspects of the project beginning with the solar/hand crake instant power. The power is essential but it is needed back in Ukraine as many of the refugees who have arrived are already dispersed into homes and other locations. I’ll be meeting with some Ukrainian activists on Sunday and Monday (World Refugee Day) and Ukrainian teachers and lawyers after that to ascertain where the immediate needs are.

 

The creation of a legal empowerment network is also moving ahead. The first step was to determine the type of legal needs which Ukrainians are facing in order to make certain that lawyers wanting to offer their services pro bono could meet that need. There are legal needs I’ve identified of individuals in family law and employment matters, real estate matters, business matters and more. The local Polish attorneys in many cases have brought Ukrainian lawyers on board to help. They are overwhelmed with work and the traditional law firm model of face to face meetings can not keep up with the demand. As I was fortunate to have attended a legal hackathon my first week here, I can report that there is an opportunity to set up a virtual lawyer referral and virtual law firm network which will begin to provide the Polish and Ukrainian lawyers with help from lawyers around the world.

 

As to the virtual marketplace, we have identified a music and documentary project to tell the true story of this war. As the Ukrainian military and people who have remained in Ukraine are telling their stories through pictures which document the atrocities, our approach is to tell the world this story now; eventually, those responsible will be held to account in The Hague for their war crimes. But the world of public opinion can tell that story today. Youth can bring the rule of law to the internet, restart their education and create access to opportunities for themselves and all Ukrainian citizens to tell this story. By exposing the lies of authoritarian leaders who resort to military power and destruction to truth, their lies will be stopped in their tracks.

To get this project off the ground, many people are volunteering their support. Your donations matter even more. The liberal democracy many of have taken for granted is under attack, and, is at great risk. Ukrainian men, women and children are dying and the military fight alone is not the only answer. We need your support in spirit and in financial support. Please support our efforts and we thank you in advance.

RWCHR in the News: Coalition of Experts Concludes Russia is in Breach of the Genocide Convention

The Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights (RWCHR), chaired by Professor Irwin Cotler, former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, along with the New Lines Institute, published the groundbreaking independent expert report, which received widespread international news coverage, including a CNN exclusive and a New York Times front page story.

“We’d like to thank all the contributors who made this report possible. Given the coverage by every major outlet around the world, the international community cannot say they were unaware of the imminent risk of genocide in Ukraine and the corresponding duty to act.”
- Yonah Diamond, RWCHR Legal Counsel and Lead Author of the Report

Combatants for Peace: Joint Memorial Ceremony Recap

Dear Friends,

Thank you to all of you who joined us last night for the Israeli-Palestinian Joint Memorial Ceremony. We have been overwhelmed by your messages of support for our speakers, and touched by how profoundly the ceremony has moved you. The message was clear;

“Violence creates violence. And the greatest loss is the loss of life,” Nasreen Abu al-Jadian.

Nasreen who lost her son, husband and mother in law to an Israeli strike on their home in Gaza in 2012 was one of our inspirational speakers who all spoke with such immense courage, honesty and strength, we are still in awe. 


It isn’t too late to donate to support the ceremony:

For anyone who missed the live broadcast, you can watch the recorded ceremony:

We are now in the final stages of production for our Joint Nakba Remembrance Ceremony  which is taking place on May 15th 7pm Jerusalem time.

We hope you will join us once again as we unite to share the pain of history, and look to restore balance to create a peaceful future for all.
In Peace & Solidarity from Israel/Palestine,

Your Memorial Organising Team

The VII Foundation Frontline Report, April 2022

The VII Foundation’s mission is to transform visual journalism by empowering new voices and creating stories that advocate change. In a world where beliefs and actions are increasingly out-of-sync with facts and realities, transforming visual journalism is an urgent task.

Dear friends,

In his beguiling and foreboding memoir A Time of Gifts, recounting his epic journey on foot across Europe in 1933, Patrick Leigh Fermor bore witness to Germany’s fervent embrace of Nazism. That embrace took twelve years, a global war, genocide, and the death of 85 million people to break, and it changed the course of human history. When the war was over, two simple words that newly liberated survivors of Buchenwald wrote on handmade signs entered the universal lexicon: “Never Again.”

And yet, as the terrifying photographs in our latest exhibition, "Imagine: Reflections on Peace," which opens on April 22nd in the National Museum of Bosnia in Sarajevo, reveal, Hitler’s playbook of racism, xenophobia, nationalism, authoritarianism, mechanized warfare deployed against civilians, the destruction of cities, rape, extermination, and the displacement of millions of people are still in use in our time, in Syria and Ukraine.

Imagine retracing Fermor’s journey through Europe’s most populist country today, but in total silence, save for the sound of birds and wind in the trees. Imagine silent playgrounds, empty churches, shuttered hospitals, fallow fields, no cars on the roads, and nobody at home. Imagine Germany vacant, the entire population uprooted. At the end of 2020, 82 million people from across the world - equivalent to today’s population of Germany - have been forcibly displaced because of civil war, invasion, occupation, and autocracy. Imagine that for a moment.

Samantha Power writes in her Afterword to Imagine: Reflections on Peace, “Conflicts produce devastating effects that go beyond the large-scale loss of human life and livelihoods. They often give rise to massive population movements, which are inherently destabilizing and which have incited a rise in xenophobia and nationalism across the globe. The movement of more than one million people, half of them Syrian, across Europe in 2014 and 2015 helped bring about a surge in support for right-wing populism, a repudiation of previous international norms providing for compassionate care and fair processing of those in flight; and a loss of faith in the European Union, which helped fuel support for the narrow Brexit vote in June of 2016.”

Wars in faraway places seem easy to ignore, but they creep up on all of us, wherever we live. In France, Hungary, the United Kingdom, and the USA, we see a rise in populism and nationalism, but none of these countries have wars at home. As the war in Ukraine drags on, migration increases, as does inflation and the price of anything made using petrochemicals - which is almost everything. This faraway war further destabilizes our fragile societies and makes us all vulnerable to populist authoritarianism and a vicious cycle of violence in which we all lose. The imperative for peace has not been greater since Patrick Leigh Fermor walked across Europe, observing Nazism grow in German parlors and beer halls.

Gary Knight
CEO
The VII Foundation

HRF Wins Two Webby Awards

NEW YORK (April 27, 2022)

The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) is pleased to announce that the organization’s Uyghur Forced Labor Checker has won The Webby People’s Voice Award in the Public Service & Activism: Advertising, Media & PR category and The Webby Award in the Web Services & Applications: Websites and Mobile Sites category in the 26th annual Webby Awards.

Hailed as the “Internet’s highest honor” by The New York Times, The Webby Awards is the leading international awards organization honoring excellence on the Internet. Established in 1996, The Webby Awards receives thousands of entries from all 50 states and 70 countries worldwide, and is judged by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a global organization of industry experts and technology innovators.

To date, more than one million Uyghurs and other Turkic and Muslim-majority peoples have been arbitrarily detained and forced to work in labor camps across China — simply due to their ethnicity, culture, and religion. Within these facilities, detainees are under constant surveillance, and are subject to torture, rape, forced sterilizations, political indoctrination, and other grave human rights abuses. According to the Coalition to End Uyghur Forced Labour, “virtually the entire apparel industry is tainted” by such forced labor, and most fashion brands have been found to be profiting from this.

In December 2021, HRF launched the Uyghur Forced Labor Checker, a Google Chrome extension plug-in, to raise awareness about the intertwined relationship between the fashion industry and the crimes against humanity perpetrated by the Chinese government. Based on the Coalition’s advocacy and research efforts, the plug-in generates a pop-up that informs consumers when they’re shopping from a brand that has not publicly committed to transparently mapping their entire supply chains and fully disengaging with Uyghur forced labor. With this Google Chrome plug-in, HRF hopes to engage consumers and encourage them to shop ethically, right at the point of purchase.