Du 5 au 8 février prochain, la Délégation Droits et Démocratie de l’Université de Mount-Allison présente la conférence intitulée “Silver Spoons and AK47s : How Youth Understand Conflict Around the World”.

Pour permettre une véritable compréhension des expériences vécues par les jeunes et les enfants impliqués dans des situations de conflits, cet événement, qui se déroulera sur trois jours, rassemblera des ONG et des experts travaillant sur le terrain, de la Sierra Leone à La Haye. Les participants à la conférence auront la chance d’entendre le Président de Droits et Démocratie, M. Rémy Beauregard, qui viendra partager son expérience de travail avec d’anciens enfants-soldats et des jeunes survivants d’abus sexuels du nord de l’Uganda, Mme Patricia Tobón, une jeune avocate embera, qui travaille depuis longtemps, avec les jeunes population autochtones d’un pays qui vit un conflit armé depuis plusieurs générations. Les participants auront aussi la chance de visiter un camp de personnes réfugiées reconstitué et de profiter d’atelier de formation pratiques qui viseront le développement d’aptitudes autant en termes d’animation d’émission de radio qu’en ce qui concerne le rôles des médias lors de situations de conflits.

Nous vous encourageons de télécharger le formulaire d’inscription, de le remplir, et de le soumettre à l’adresse courriel : silverspoonsandak47s@gmail.com, avant jeudi le 29 janvier 2009.

In collaboration with two other environmental groups on campus (Eco Action and Delta) and the student government (the Students’ Administrative Council) the Mount Allison Rights and Democracy delegation assisted in coordinating a campaign to encourage 100% student voter turnout for the recent federal election.

Through articles in the student newspaper (The Argosy), creating posters that highlighted major party platforms, putting up countdown banners in high-traffic areas, manning information tables and running voter registration tables on election day, the delegation played an active role in getting out the good word about voting.

Other parts of the campaign included hosting a federal candidates’ debate, fighting to get voting stations on campus, and holding an inter-residence competition to get the highest student voter turnout.

Overall, the campaign was a success, achieving higher than average youth voter turnout on the Mount Allison campus.

The Panties for Peace campaign was launched at Mt. A on October 27 and ran until November 3. With trees wrapped in Panties for Peace banners, and a paper panty-covered drop box in the library, the delegation was able to collect about 270 pairs of panties and thirteen boxers (both real and paper) as well as 126 signatures on a petition calling for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners in Burma.

Before launching the campaign, however, we at the local delegation decided it was important to educate ourselves before we began to educate others. By choosing specific topics (ie history, human rights, women’s rights, culture, religion, the government in exile, Aung San Suu Kyi, etc) and dividing them among the members of the group, we were able to get a better sense of the overall context for the current abuses that are happening in Burma and appreciate the country beyond the military junta.

On the kick-off day of the campaign, one of our group members wore a bright red pair of panties over her pants like a human rights super hero (which we found was an extremely effective method of advertising!). We also collected the information we learned from our group mini-presentations and, along with the Panties for Peace website, wrote them onto “info panties” cut out of paper which we pasted all over campus. We also sent out a mass email to all staff and students explaining what we were doing and submitted an article about Panties for Peace to our student newspaper, The Argosy, as well as wrapped trees in banners and underwear. For two days we also set up information tables (with a giant see-through collection box) in two high-traffic areas: the cafeteria and the front of the library. In addition to collecting real underwear, we had paper cut out undies people could write a little protest on or paste a sticker on; we found this particularly useful, as many people were either uncomfortable having their panties/boxers out for all to see, did not feel comfortable sending real underwear to the embassy, or did not have any extra to give. On the side, we had an Amnesty International petition calling for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners; this allowed us to engage people who did not feel comfortable with the panties concept at all.

For the rest of the week we left the big, transparent collection box in the front of the library with a Panties for Peace banner, instructions, some basic information, the petition, and blank paper panties with markers and stickers out so people could drop by any time and participate when they wished. We encouraged anyone who had extra time to just sit by the box for a bit to answer any questions people had (and there were a lot, as well as plenty of giggles).

On the final day of the campaign, we had the pleasure of hosting Mika Lévesque, Rights and Democracy’s Asia specialist and founder of Panties for Peace in Canada, for a talk about the origins of the campaign and Burma in general. She also had the opportunity to present in a Political Science class about Canada’s involvement in Burma.

After talking to Mika about the various creative ways one can send panties to the Burmese embassy in Ottawa, we have decided to send a package of panties to the embassy every day or two, each with a different return address to media outlets or the Chinese embassy. With the packages, we will include a little note addressed to those we put down as the return address explaining Panties for Peace and why they are getting the package (ie because the Burmese embassy had refused to accept our protest).

Overall, the campaign was very successful and created a lot of buzz around campus not only about the issue, but also about Rights and Democracy (which will certainly help when we carry out future campaigns). We collected panties written in Thai, boxers that were submitted in solidarity with the women in Burma, skimpy black thongs, and a particularly flamboyant paper cut out pair of panties with tassles and sparkles.

Who knew that panties could be so political?

Media coverage of the Mount Allison Delegation’s Panties for Peace campaign:

Panties for Peace. Boxers for Burma. The Argosy By Christina Free

The politics of panties: Underwear from around the world is taking a stand against the Burmese military junta The Argosy By Kelly O’Connor

From October 27 to November 3, 2008, the Rights and Democracy Delegation at Mount Allison will be collecting panties (real and paper form) in support of the Panties for Peace campaign, as well as circulating an Amnesty International petition calling for the release of political prisoners. Mika Lévesque will help us conclude the campaign with a talk on Monday, November 3 from 8-9pm in the Wu Centre about the Panties for Peace campaign and her experiences in Burma.

www.pantiesforpeace.ca