Since September of 2011, this year’s team at STAND U of A has strived to raise awareness about the situation in Sudan, South Sudan and DRC. We did so through organizing events such as  a South Sudan Panel discussion where the Chapter had the chance to meet with the South Sudanese community in Edmonton, Alberta and consult about different issues regarding the challenges that South Sudan is facing in its transition towards peace. Moreover, we recently held a Congo Week, in which we presented documentaries, celebrated Congolese culture and discussed Congo’s conflict minerals in a panel discussion with representatives of Friends of the Congo and Enough Project.  It was a great opportunity for us to network with other groups on UofA campus, as Amnesty International and African Students Association helped us in organizing the events. We ended the Congo Week with a well-participated Congo Show, a concert to raise funds for a civil society group in Congo.

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This semester brought a new year for STAND Carleton and along with it new faces and ideas. I am pleased to say that we have a strong and dedicated group this year.

My team and I were really excited to promote the MP e-mailing tool during Holocaust Education Week. We had a computer set up on our table, an idea suggested to us by the STAND U of T team, with the e-mailing tool opened so people could access it. We got a good number of people at the table who wanted to e-mail Stephen Harper right then and there about Canada’s commitment to genocide prevention. Those who didn’t e-mail wanted me to write down the website where they could get more information and e-mail anytime they wanted, so standcanada.org was heavily promoted.

We have also been working on creating a STAND chapter at the University of Ottawa. Right now we are in the process of promoting with posters and encouraging those we know at Ottawa U to start a chapter. With our close proximity to the Parliament buildings, it would be great for both universities to work towards to goal of making genocide prevention a cornerstone on Canadian foreign policy. The groups can be combined under a broader STAND Ottawa. If anyone from Ottawa U is reading this and are interested in starting up a STAND chapter please do so! We here at STAND Carleton are always happy to help.