ONE WORLD Conference
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Human RigHts foR all: one movement one WoRld Amnesty InternAtIonAl UsA Western regIonAl ConferenCe 2011 November 4-6, 2011 Los ANgeLes Contents ...........01 Program ...........02 Welcome from AIUsA’s Western regional Director ...........04 Welcome to AIUsA! the AIUsA Board and resolutions ...........05 Best of the West: opening night ...........05 opening Plenary ...........06 HUmAn rIgHts sUmmIt trACk 1 Human rights Panels ...........08 Workshops ...........09 HUmAn rIgHts sUmmIt trACk 2 Human rights Panels ...........10 Workshops ...........11 Afternoon Caucuses ...........12 keynote Address ...........13 film screening with rainn Wilson ...........14 Co resolutions Voting Plenary ...........15 Closing Plenary ...........16 N te sAfe California training ...........18 staff Bios ...........18 N Acknowledgements ...........20 ts // Hotel map ...........20 01 HumAN rigHts for ALL: oNe movemeNt, oNe WorLd frIDAy, noVemBer 4, 2011 12:00 – 8:00 p.m. registration 5:00 – 6:00 p.m. Welcome to AIUsA! the Board, resolutions, and How your Voice & Vote matter California Ballroom 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. Break 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. the Best of the West: opening night at the 2011 Western regional Conference California Ballroom With musical guest Ximena Sariñana sAtUrDAy, noVemBer 5, 2011 8:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. registration 9:00 – 10:30 a.m. Human rights for All: opening Plenary California Ballroom With special guest speakers Rais Bhuiyan, Jennifer Marlowe, and Jose Antonio Vargas 10:30 – 10:45 a.m. Break 10:45 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. session #1 HUmAn rIgHts PAnels WorksHoPs Migrant Rights Are Human Rights! Write for Rights! Engaging Your Community in (San Diego 1) Amnesty’s Global Write-A-Thon (Westwood) Ensuring Justice & Accountability for Torture Human Rights, Not Corporate Wrongs: It’S HELL (San Diego 2) in the Niger Delta (Hollywood) Social Media, Technology, and #HumanRights Engaging Abolition Events: Furman v. Georgia (Los Angeles) 40 Years Later (La Jolla) Campaigning During the “Fog of War” (Malibu) AIUSA and Human Rights 101 (California Ballroom) Take It To The Hill! Lobbying for Human Rights (Comfort Restaurant) Progr 12:15 – 12:45 p.m. lunch Break California Ballroom Boxed lunches will be provided 12:45 – 2:15 p.m. AIUsA Afternoon Caucuses New to Amnesty? (San Diego 1) A Students (California Ballroom) m // Local Groups (San Diego 2) YPAI (Hollywood) Human Rights Educators and Faculty Advisors (Westwood) 2:15 – 2:30 p.m. Break 02 AmNesty iNterNAtioNAL usA’s 2011 WesterN regioNAL CoNfereNCe s AtUrDAy, noVemBer 5, 2011 (cont’d) 2:30 – 4:00 p.m. session #2 HUmAn rIgHts PAnels WorksHoPs Abolishing the Death Penalty in the US, State An Education in Repression: Defending by State (San Diego 1) Student Activists at Risk in Iran (Westwood) Uprising! Freedom, Democracy, and Human What’s going on with Guantanamo?! Rights in the Middle East & North Africa (Hollywood) (San Diego 2) Human Needs Are Human Rights (Los Angeles) Human Rights Don’t Stop at the Border: Immigration 101 (La Jolla) Amnesty International Around the World (Malibu) Your Amnesty Year: Organizing Effectively with AIUSA (California Ballroom) HOW-TO: Organizing a FABULOUS Amnesty USA Event in Your Community (Comfort Restaurant) 4:00 – 4:15 p.m. Break 4:15 – 5:30 p.m. keynote Address by ms. shadi sadr California Ballroom 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. resolutions Working Parties San Diego 1 & 2 8:00 – 9:30 p.m. Education Under Fire: film screening with rainn Wilson California Ballroom Doors Open at 10:00 p.m. Dance Party! California Ballroom sUnDAy, noVemBer 6, 2011 8:00 – 10:00 a.m. registration Progr 8:00 – 10:00 a.m. resolutions Voting Plenary California Ballroom 10:00 – 10:15 a.m. Break 10:15 – 12:00 p.m. one movement, one World: Closing Plenary California Ballroom With Palden Gyatso, Cipriana Jurado, and Sara Shourd A 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. lunch on your own & Informal networking m // 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. We Can lIVe Without the Death Penalty: sAfe California Campaign training California Ballroom 03 WeLCome to tHe 2011 WesterN regioNAL CoNfereNCe! Over 600 of Amnesty International USA (AIUSA) members, activists, allies, and supporters from the thirteen Western states are expected to converge in Los Angeles for this year’s regional human rights conference. This year’s theme, Human rights for All: one movement, one World, celebrates the momentous human rights victories and struggles of the past year and spotlights the growing grassroots movement to fight human rights abuses around the world. From Tahrir Square in Cairo to Liberty Square in Manhattan, popular uprisings are sweeping across the globe and demonstrat- ing the power of people to bring about social change. Calls for freedom, democracy, and human rights continue to reverberate across the Middle East and North Africa as grassroots movements have toppled dictators in Tunisia and Egypt and challenged the status quo. This past spring, hundreds of thousands of demonstrators flooded the streets in Madison, Wisconsin; Co- lumbus, Ohio; and Lansing, Michigan to protest attacks against working-class people. More recently, inspired by the historic uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa, “Occupy Wall Street” demonstrations have taken place in over 70 cities and 600 communities in the US to call attention to the widening gulf of inequalities that is dividing this country. This past year, we have been fortunate to bear witness to this global groundswell of grassroots activism. Sadly, we have also witnessed the unthinkable. On September 21, the state of Georgia executed Troy Anthony Davis. He was 42 years old. More than one million people signed petitions urging clemency for Troy Davis, and tens of thousands of people around the world organized protests to stop the execution. In the end, it was not enough to prevent a grotesque miscarriage of justice and to stop Georgia’s unrelenting machinery of death. The day before his scheduled execution, Troy Davis shared the following statement with his supporters: The struggle for justice doesn’t end with me. This struggle is for all the Troy Davises who came be- fore me and all the ones who will come after me. I’m in good spirits and I’m prayerful and at peace. But I will not stop fighting until I’ve taken my last breath. Georgia is prepared to stuff out the life of an innocent man. We must not forget Troy. And we must continue to fight for all the Troy Davises – just as Troy wanted. Let us honor the power- ful legacy left by Troy Davis by abolishing the death penalty, state by state. Let us draw inspiration and hope from Troy Davis, his remarkable family, and millions of supporters to fight human rights abuses and injustice wherever we can. Together, we must continue our work on behalf of those who have been imprisoned wrongfully, who have been sentenced to death, who have been tortured, or whose rights have been violated simply because they are poor or an immigrant. Together, We we can build towards a world in which every person enjoys universal human rights. rInI CHAkrABorty AIUsA Western regional Director LC regIstrAtIon & memBer serVICes ome // Friday, November 4, 2011 12:00 PM – 8:00 PM Saturday, November 5, 2011 8:00 AM – 8:00 PM Sunday, November 6, 2011 8:00 AM – 10:00 AM The Registration and Member Services Table is located in the California lobby. Please visit the registration table upon your arrival to check-in and pick up your Western Regional Conference registration packet with detailed program information. Those who have not pre-registered for the conference can register on-site in the lobby. 04 WeLCome to AiusA! / fri, Nov 4 / 5:00 – 6:00 Pm WelCome to AIUsA! tHe BoArD, resolUtIons, AnD HoW yoUr VoICe & Vote mAtter We California Ballroom Amnesty International USA is a global grassroots movement led by members and activists like you. Come to this interactive LC session to: meet the West’s Board members and National Resolutions Committee representative; learn more about AIUSA’s governance and democratic structure; and find out how you can get involved, sponsor a resolution, or even run for the national ome to A to ome Board! Presenters: SARAH AIRD, AIUSA National Board Member JAN BLACk, AIUSA National Board Member STEPHANIE MCkINNEY, AIUSA National Resolutions Committee Representative tHe best of tHe West / fri, Nov 4 / 7:00 – 9:00 Pm ius tHe Best of tHe West: oPenIng nIgHt At tHe 2011 Western regIonAl ConferenCe A! / California Ballroom Join hundreds of fellow Amnesty International members, supporters, and human rights activists b from across the thirteen Western states as we est of t est of kick-off the 2011 Western Regional Conference! Celebrate this year’s winners of Amnesty West’s Activist Awards, and start the conference with ximenamusic.com what we do best: ACTIONS! Put your voices and texting thumbs to work, as we take action on various campaigns and priority areas, including actions to abolish the death penalty, end torture and arbitrary detention, and promote the rights of immigrants. With special guest Ximena Sariñana, a Mexican singer and actress who will inspire us with H her voice and song. e West // e XImenA SarIñAnA was born in Guadalajara, Mexico on October 29, 1985. She rose to stardom in Mexico as a young actress starring in numerous telenovelas. At seventeen, she composed three songs for the soundtrack of the Mexican movie Amar te duele where she also played the part of Mariana. Ximena later acted in the movie Dos Abrazos which won Sariñana an award for Best Female Actress at the 38th Diosas de Plata of Pecime awards. In 2008, Ximena released her first album, Mediocre. Rolling Stone gave it four stars and praised it as “one of the strongest debuts from a female singer-songwriter since Norah Jones’ ‘Come Away with Me’.” On March 28, 2008, Mediocre was certified gold for selling more than 50,000 copies.