HOW TO START AN AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL YOUTH GROUP

Transcription

1 HOW TO DOCUMENT FOR YOUTH GROUPS #1 HOW TO START AN AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL YOUTH GROUP Student activists have historically been at the frontline of human rights movements: from standing in front of tanks in Tiananmen Square to sitting at lunch counters in Greensboro, North Carolina during the civil rights movement of the 1960s. Amnesty International is one way to join the movement for social justice, learn more about global issues, and educate others about human right. Usually experienced school members from previous years are part of the new year s youth group and provide the expertise needed to get the school group operating. CONTACT THE AMNESTY OFFICE Before starting a youth group, make sure you have received the youth start-up kit so that you have the basic information. You can do that by contacting our Youth Coordinator youth.coordinator@amnesty.org.nz or the Youth Intern youth.intern@amnesty,org.nz. You can also phone freephone on or for Auckland based schools on Once, you have received the start-up kit, fill out and return the registration form. Keep a copy of your registered group members for your records. Ensure those details are returned in the reply paid envelope to ensure contact details are entered onto Amnesty International databases and that the group receives on-going mailings info@amnesty.org.nz

2 HOW TO RECRUIT NEW MEMBERS 1. TALK TO FELLOW STUDENTS Between classes, during lunch, before or after school, informally talk to your fellow students. Talk to small groups of students, engaging them in the discussion, and listen carefully to everyone's ideas. If your school has dormitories canvas in them or have a table at the front desk. When you meet students that are really interested, get them involved in talking to others. This will allow you to reach out to new contacts (individual or groups) whom they know. Identify people who can be crucial to your group, such as individuals with skills and or connections that would benefit the group. 2. SPEAK TO GROUPS Address meetings of groups that you belong to and other groups at school, such as the student council. Ask for time at the end of a class to make an announcement. Hold an informational session. This requires time and effort but is an effective way to reach a larger number of people at one time. Alternatively, find out if you can table or make an announcement at an already scheduled event. (See the document Student group assembly presentation and the PowerPoint document we sent you) 3. NETWORK Everyone knows someone whom you don't know. Ask your friends and classmates if they know someone who may want to be involved. Whenever you meet someone new be sure to ask them if they know someone else who may want to be involved. Networking is a very effective tool, because people generally respond better to personal interaction. 4. DISTRIBUTE FLYERS Create a simple informational flyer or handout that is easily copied, and always have extras on hand. Or use the Amnesty International alert sheet provided in this kit. Use flyers to announce your work and to encourage people to join in. Always include a contact name and phone number, and suggest ways that people can get involved info@amnesty.org.nz

3 5. FOLLOW UP Carefully track everyone that you speak to. Keep a record of their contact information and make a note about their level of interest, skills, or concerns. New volunteers need to be contacted within hours. If they request additional information get it to them in a similar timeframe. If you don't have all the information in that time period, contact them anyway to make sure they know that you haven't forgotten about their interest or their request. Follow up initial phone calls with an . Don't overuse it is a great way to communicate with those who are already active, but it doesn't replace personal contact. Remember that most people are moved to action through personal contact. Important note Does your school or campus have any rules and regulations that you have to abide by if you want to organise a club? Find out if there are any limitations on the activities you can carry out. For example, some schools do not allow fundraising within the school, and sometimes parental permission slips must be signed for special events or trips to conferences, etc. HOW TO DEAL WITH A TOUGH SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION Establishing an Amnesty International group at your school may be difficult. Here are some strategies for dealing with a tough administration. 1. KNOW YOUR RIGHTS If you attend a publicly funded school, you have the right to meet as an Amnesty International group and to work on whatever you want, even controversial and political subjects, as long as you are not interfering with instruction time, people participate voluntarily in the group, and no one is harmed by the group's activities. The only way for a public high school to shut down a group is if they shut down ALL groups. If you attend a private school, things are different. Since each private school has its own set of rules and regulations, find out what your school policies are and work from there. 2. KNOW YOUR AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL FACTS info@amnesty.org.nz

4 If you can demonstrate that you are knowledgeable about an issue you want to work on, you may be taken more seriously than if you come across as flaky or just interested in the issue because it's controversial. It's OK to have a disagreement with an administrator - make sure you disagree respectfully. If you can explain your opinion, the chances of getting that respect for it are greater. Have some information in writing that you can present to them along with a description of your ideas about how working on this issue can benefit the education of the student body. 3. EMPHASIZE THE EDUCATIONAL AND CIVIC VALUES OF YOUR ACTION Present your efforts in a constructive way: you are not trying to stir up division in the student body; you are trying to promote education and thoughtful discussion on an important social issue. 4. FIND ALLIES Don't challenge an administration alone. Find teachers, parents, and other students that support you and who would be willing to advocate on your behalf if you are not getting anywhere. If you would like assistance contact our Youth Coordinator on youth.coordinator@amnesty.org.nz for advice or additional support. 5. BE DIPLOMATIC If you can establish a decent rapport - a friendly relationship - you will find more doors open to you and some room for negotiation. The last thing you want to do is to polarize administrators against your group and cause. You do have certain rights to expression, but administrators can still create obstacles or be resistant to respecting those rights. Remember that how you deliver your message can sometimes have as much of an impact as what your message is. Communicate respectfully and appropriately with your administrators. HOW TO SET UP A MEETING SCHEDULE A regular schedule will help people keep in touch with the group's activities. Try to pick times that don't conflict with too many other activities. In a school setting it's probably impossible to find a unique meeting time, so consider setting up a system, such as a bulletin board or a Facebook group, for people who can't attend. Consider providing refreshments at the end of regularly scheduled meetings to add a social aspect and a way for group members to get to know one another. To know more about the running of meetings, see our How to run your first meetings document info@amnesty.org.nz

5 HOW TO SET UP THE STRUCTURE OF YOUR GROUP Good group structure is vital - it helps give people a sense of belonging and participation, a chance to say what they think, and an opportunity to play a meaningful role. At some point early on in the formation of your group, you need to be able to say who is responsible for what. Remember Amnesty International groups generally work best when workload is shared, including decisions about how the group will operate. Be sure to match people's skills/interests with the group's needs as much as possible. For example: do you need someone to run meetings? Take notes? Organize events? Create publicity? Liaise with the school magazine? Look after the group's money? Keep in touch with the student federation? The list can get pretty long, so try to focus on what is really relevant rather than every task that needs doing, no matter how minor info@amnesty.org.nz

6 IMPORTANT GROUP ROLES Here are some roles you should keep in mind while setting your group structure: The group coordinator: president, convenor, chairperson - you choose the title. She/he is the person who chairs the meeting, represents and speaks for the group: in a word the contact person for Amnesty... the upfront person who doesn t get paid! The secretary: she/he is the one who assists the convenor and who has a good eye for detail and organisation. She/he makes sure everyone provides their contact details and these are circulated amongst the group, knows when the next meeting will be, takes and circulates minutes (although minute taking can also be shared amongst group members) and gets the same pay as the president! The treasurer: She/he is the one who has the key to the cash box or keeps the financial records and organises fund raising such as collections. Optional but highly valued roles: The coordinator of campaign projects gathers information and material for the various campaigns. She/he has a good knowledge and understanding of the issues covered by the campaigns. This role can often be shared amongst a team of people. This person or team informs the wider group to promote a shared group response. The publicity officer / team is the media guru/ team who knows how to get the message across to everyone and deals with the media when you go public! Good at writing, at presenting the issues, deadlines and chasing media. It helps to have photographic, web, design or creative skills in this team. The friendly mentor or buddy helps the new members to integrate. She/he encourages them, explains all those acronyms and answers questions such as why we are absolutely opposed to the death penalty no matter who has received it. USE AMNESTY RESOURCES WITHOUT MODERATION We are always working on new materials for groups and supply these throughout the year. However, there are a number of basic resources readily available to school groups. Amnesty s role in supporting groups is to provide sufficient, important and interesting human rights action material to see the group adequately resourced for the year. The group assesses its own capacity to reach campaign goals based on skill, time, energy and motivation. Don t hesitate to use the following resources intensively: The Amnesty International New Zealand website at / Freedom Challenge website The Amnesty International website for the latest news and updates The national newsletter the Flame for worldwide appeals (also downloadable via info@amnesty.org.nz

7 The schools newsletter ACTIVE student specific news and actions (also downloadable via Campaign resources designed for Amnesty International New Zealand s priority campaigns and for hand out by you and your team. You can find most of them included in ACTIVE. Freedom Challenge kit - comes out during the second term with details on what you will be campaigning on during Freedom Week (second week of August) The How to series for school students you are reading one The annual conference - May 24 th 2015, Wellington The Auckland School s Conference May 8 th / 9 th 2015, Auckland Urgent actions and other information sent from the Amnesty HQ Amnesty Interactive a CD ROM with a power point (included in the school group start up kit) Videos or poster sets which can be loaned from the Amnesty office. Links to local groups or regional teams who might be able to support you by way of speakers etc. (ask youth.coordinator@amnesty.org.nz about local groups in your area,) or visit click on Get involved, join an Amnesty team, and a list of our local groups can be found under Join a regional team or local group info@amnesty.org.nz

8 READY TO HOLD YOUR FIRST MEETING? Check out if you did the following: We ve sent the group members details to the Amnesty office on the registration form provided. That allows all members of your group with an address to be automatically alerted to the latest downloadable issue of ACTIVE, and other relevant information as and when it hits. We kept a copy of the registration for ourselves. We made sure the group has the latest copy of the student magazine ACTIVE so that group members have access to basic information about Amnesty International activities and what other school groups are up too. We ve widely advertised the first meeting of the year by putting up posters, including details in school notices, speaking at school assemblies, contacting last year s members. We ve read the documents How to run your first meetings and How to make your group last info@amnesty.org.nz