Resolving Conflict Peace by Peace

A quick scan through Ulife's list of campus organizations show that student-run groups at U of T run the gamut from ethnic-based associations to academic networks, from student government unions to politically motivated affiliations, and from environmental and advocacy groups to faith communities. With all of these organizations trying to capture the student population's attention, it's pretty easy to get lost and blend into the background but there are a few out there that really deserve some recognition. One such organization is that of Peace by Peace, a student-run organization with chapters at York, Glendon, and of course, U of T. With the aim of empowering kids with the ability to prevent, manage, and resolve conflict in their everyday lives, students at the three aforementioned university chapters deliver an eleven week conflict resolution curriculum to Grade 5 students all across the Greater Toronto Area. By using interactive games and stimulating group discussions, youth members of Peace by Peace guide children through daily problems that will help them to develop valuable conflict resolution skills.

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#Tweet4Rights: An Evening of Rights Media

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So it's the hot topic that everyone seems to be talking about these days: social media. It is completely transforming, if not fundamentally challenging the media landscape of today and it only makes sense for Journalists for Human Rights to be active participants in this ongoing dialogue. It seems that more and more, ordinary citizens all around the world are using social media tools like blogs, YouTube, and Twitter to reach out to a global audience to report on and expose the rampant human rights violations that are occurring every single day. There are tons of examples that have recently been capturing the headlines. Just think Iran, think China.

But it is all too easy for us to be swept away by this new frontier, overly confident of what it is capable of. This is not to say, of course, that we should not embrace its potential benefits or the wide range of possibilities that it has to offer. The complete opposite actually. But we must proceed with caution and with a conscious mind. As panelists Andrew Coyne and Shirley Brady of last week's "Traditional Media Meets Social Media" session at Toronto's Social Media Week agreed, the rush to be the first to break a story on Twitter (or any other social media site for that matter) is often at the expense of accuracy, context, and relevance. That's why we at Journalists for Human Rights are hosting #tweet4rights - A Night of Rights Media on February 26 from 6-10PM, where we are hoping to educate and inform our online followers of how to effectively and, more importantly, responsibly tweet, blog, or whatever the case may be, about issues dealing with human rights in a way that will encourage an ongoing dialogue.

We're at the cusp of something really great and there's nothing more we would love than for you to join us on this journey. For more information and to register for the event, click here - http://tweet4rights.eventbrite.com