Election for Regional Representative

All local groups have today been sent a letter inviting nominations for a new regional representative. They will be communicating this to their members. If you are a group member, AIUK member and interested in standing for this position please find two local groups in the region to nominate and second you. Any queries please email simontware@gmail.com

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Thankyou and Farewell

I am writing to let you know that after 4 years where I have been proud to be your Amnesty International Regional Rep for the West Midlands I will be standing down from my Amnesty roles to recharge my batteries and focus on other interests for a while. It has been an honour, a pleasure and enjoyable to have had the chance to do this role. However, all good things come to an end and my time is done. I would really recommend to anyone interested and active in Amnesty locally that you find someone (or perhaps two people) who can do this role to ensure that views of local groups in the region get to head office, that a regional conference can take place and coordinate activity between groups. It may well be that you also wish to see if you can find someone to look after the blog, Twitter and Facebook accounts too.

 

I plan to officially stand down as of 30th November but I will work with anyone interested in performing a regional role to ensure they have the support they need and Farshid, Local Groups Officer is there to provide assistance too.

 

Thanks to each and every activist and group for all you do and for the way you have worked with me and each other to further the cause of human rights.

Contact me on simontware@gmail.com to find out more about the role of Regional Representative. If you’d be interested in sharing the role with someone else please let me know.

We’re on Twitter and Facebook too

If you are on Twitter then you can follow West Midlands Amnesty International at www.twitter.com/wmai

On Facebook ‘WestMids AmnestyInternational’ can be your friend whilst we also exist as a ‘West Midlands Amnesty International’ group too.

If you’re an Amnesty activist social media is a great way to spread the message. Want me to follow or add you then leave your details below.

The Importance of Networking

In my time as Regional Rep for Amnesty International and the time previous to it I have found networking to be an immensely important activity for local groups and the region. There seem to me to be several key benefits. Firstly, it brings our human rights work to a wider audience. Secondly, partners might be able to provide support i.e. meeting rooms, display space for materials, prizes for raffles. Thirdly, events can be promoted to their supporters also. Fourthly, it can be a great opportunity to recruit new members. And there are lots more benefits to be had.

So how do you do it? Well the key to networking in my opinion is that there has to be something in it for both parties. A successful partnership like with a person has communication and mutual benefit at its heart. So what can you offer a partner organisation? Well you can provide materials, you could offer to do a stall at an event, you could give a talk at a meeting or conference and through talking find out what else might work. 

Examples of successful networking at a regional level includes relationships with the Birmingham LGBT Community Trust, The Stirrer, Midlands Cooperative, Midlands TUC and UNISON. Please share your thoughts and examples of networking by leaving a post below.

Regional Conference Sends Message To Shell

At Saturday’s West Midlands Amnesty International Regional Conference in Birmingham delegates sent a message to Shell to Come Clean in the Niger Delta. For more information on this campaign see http://www.protectthehuman.com/demanddignity . Thanks to all who attended on Saturday. I will put further feedback on this blog over the coming days and weeks.

Regional Conference – Last chance to book places…

The West Midlands Amnesty International Regional Conference for 2009 is nearly here. The conference on Saturday (10th Oct) is a great chance to hear speakers including Amnesty International UK’s campaign director – Tim Hancock on the International Council Meeting, Natalie Smith from AIUK’s Individuals at Risk Team on how we will be supporting Human Rights Defenders and Prisoners of Conscience into the future and David Nicholl, a local consultant neurologist and local campaigner against torture. The booking deadline has now been extended to Wednesday 7th October. For further information and to book your place please email westmidsamnesty@gmail.com

AIUK Campaigns Director to attend Regional Conference

I can confirm that Tim Hancock, Amnesty International UK’s Campaign Director will be speaking at the West Midlands Amnesty International Regional Conference. He will be feeding back from the International Council Meeting which took place in August. He will update us on the main priorities for the international movement and update us on the key decisions taken there.

Regional Conference Agenda and Booking Details

The West Midlands Amnesty International Regional Conference will be held on Saturday 10th October between 10am and 4.15pm at the Library Theatre in Birmingham. The main speakers will be looking at Amnesty’s work on Individuals at Risk, what happened at the International Council Meeting and our guest speaker, David Nicholl will be focussing on campaigning to prevent torture. For full details see the Regional Conference 2009 Agenda and to book your place email me on westmidsamnesty@gmail.com – you must book in advance by Monday 5th October at the latest.