INTRODUCTION TO FREEDOM CHALLENGE 2017 Imagine going to work and being exposed to toxic chemicals without any safety gear. Imagine seeing women workers discriminated against, children as young as eight working in dangerous conditions, and people being paid as little as US$2.50 a day. Imagine being forced to drop out of school and work in dangerous conditions to help your parents, just to make ends meet. That is the reality for some workers on Indonesian palm oil plantations that supply some of the biggest brands in the world, who fill our shelves. Brands who are silent on these human rights violations. Freedom Challenge 2017 is part of Amnesty International s global campaign to stand up for the workers whose labour rights are being violated on Indonesian palm oil plantations. You will be taking action to raise awareness about the labour abuses in our shopping trolleys and on our shelves. You will call on multinational companies to be accountable and transparent about where their palm oil comes from and demand that they stand up for worker s rights. You will send messages of support to palm oil workers. You ll call for the Indonesian Government to investigate these abuses. You ll take a stand. Everyone deserves a safe place to work. #NotInMyTrolley KEY CONTACTS Please keep us informed about what you re doing and ask us any questions so we can help you with your Freedom Challenge! Email us: Freedom Challenge Coordinator Gaia Church youth.coordinator@amnesty.org.nz Call us : 0800 AMNESTY (266 378) Physical Address : 111 Karangahape Road, Auckland Central, Auckland 1141 Postal Address : PO Box 5300, Wellesley St, Auckland 1141
WHAT IS FREEDOM CHALLENGE? Freedom Challenge is an annual team challenge for young New Zealanders to take action for human rights around the world. Each year Freedom Challenge focuses on a particular campaign, often with a youth twist. This year s theme is about abusive labour practices - including the use of kids- in the production of palm oil on Indonesian plantations: #NotInMyTrolley Freedom Challenge is held in the week of 7-12 August 2017 to mark International Youth Day, but you can hold your events any time in Term Three! Each team organises events and actions to highlight the human rights issue in focus. HOW DOES FREEDOM CHALLENGE WORK? Campaign by using your voice, assemblies, drama, art, hosting events, social media and theatre. Think big and create events which will attract people and local media! Inspire others to take direct action of some kind such as signing a petition, sending a solidarity message or speaking out about human rights concerns. Raise awareness of this burning human rights issue at your school. Recruit others to join your group and take human rights action with you. Raise funds for this work by seeking donations in return for badges and stickers. START PLANNING NOW! You can host Freedom Challenge any time during Term Three. All we need from you is your registration and resource request forms returned. You can find our contact details on the first page of this pack!
CAMPAIGNING : FREEDOM CHALLENGE AIMS Campaigning is about getting out there and raising your voice about human rights and encouraging others to take action with you on behalf of others. Start planning your events now, and book a time for your event early. Campaigning is 90% planning, 10% activism Make sure all your events feature an action ask Know the issues but also know your team, your school or community, your strengths and your weaknesses. You ll be surprised how many opportunities exist if you do some research on such questions as: What relevant skills already exist within our team? What famous/influential people do we know that we can call on to help? Have a core team of three or four co-ordinators, and if your team is big enough build teams around the four aims: campaigning, raising awareness, fundraising and growing your group. Stay in close contact with the Youth Team at Amnesty International, they are a great resource for ideas and advice. Email Gaia your Freedom Challenge Coordinator with questions and updates on youth.coordinator@amnesty.org.nz Hold innovative and fun events that people will want to take action on. Get staff on board by having them take part in your events. RAISING AWARENESS: Raising awareness about issues makes people more likely to take action. The more people know about an issue the more likely they are to get involved. Freedom Challenge is about raising awareness of Amnesty International and its priority campaigns. It is about using our freedom of expression to help others! You need to know your stuff, know your campaign issues and know some background about Amnesty International. You ll need to speak to friends, family & strangers about what you re doing and what you hope to achieve. Learn more about the issues by reading this pack. Ensure everybody in your team reads it too. Practice talking to your family and friends about Amnesty International and the #NotInMyTrolley campaign. Brief them on the issues (use the fact sheets for a good overview). Ask for questions so you practise answering them. Put up posters to highlight the campaign and to advertise your events. Hold an assembly and talk about Freedom Challenge and human rights Have a stall at each event you host with information on the campaign, your group at school and Amnesty International! Invite a speaker from Amnesty International, or someone relevant to this year s theme Be proactive in getting media coverage. Add your details to the draft media release and send to your local media.
FUNDRAISING: Fundraising is one of the key goals of Freedom Challenge. It is essential that we raise money in order to fund our vital human rights work! This year our target for Freedom Challenge is $20,000. Charge an entry fee to your events, and have a stall available asking for donations for Amnesty International badges and stickers. Hold a mufti day with a relevant theme, and ask for a gold coin donation from everyone who participates. Food is always popular, so why not hold a palm oil-free bake sale or food festival? Have collectors with Amnesty International collection buckets visiting classes before school and during morning tea. Get sponsorship for holding your event. Hold your events in highly visible and trafficked areas. After your event, bank the money you ve collected & send a cheque to the Amnesty International office in the pre-paid envelope provided in this kit. If you want to make an online bank deposit, make sure that you use your school name as a reference so that we know where it comes from and we can send a receipt! Send us an email confirming the amount. Amnesty International NZ s ASB account is 12-3057-0807706-02. Don t forget to include the reference FC17 (school name). Grow Your Group: Encourage others to join your group. Hold fun events that students will want to be part of. Have lots of signage, stickers and badges at your events. Have a stall with information on your group and registration forms available. Invite another local school to your event so they can be inspired to start their own Amnesty International group. Get media coverage and people will be clamouring to be part of such a famous group! Post photos of your event on your group s Facebook page and Twitter account. Tweet and share it with us too! Use #NotInMyTrolley Share your photos to Amnesty International NZ s Facebook page www.facebook.com/amnestynz and Twitter page www.twitter.com/amnestynz using #NotInMyTrolley Join the Amnesty Aotearoa Student Leaders group at www.facebook.com/groups/616527621864269 and seek support, talk to other participating schools and students and share what you re doing. Make sure to add Gaia, your Freedom Challenge Coordinator, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/amnestynzyouthcoordinator to seek support or share your actions, events and photos!
WHERE DOES THE MONEY GO? Freedom Challenge raises awareness of human rights issues around the world and generates funds to support the work we do. The money you raise will go towards: Supporting and resourcing Amnesty International s most important asset: activists and supporters like YOU! Helping to fund our research into human rights issues like this one. Providing accurate reports and information to leaders around the world, so they have the right information when it comes to making key decisions relevant to human rights. Keeping the media, Amnesty International members and supporters and members of the public fully informed to allow for effective engagement. It all helps us to protect and promote human rights, bring those responsible for human rights abuses to justice, and work to prevent grave rights abuses.