Amnesty’s Youth Justice Campaign, Free Cones at Ben & Jerry’s, ACRUX Event and more
Important dates are at the top of each Bulletin to help keep you organised and informed. Keep an eye on our Events page for what’s happening near you or online.
18 April: Rusty’s Market-Amnesty stall
19 April: 10am Rally: Not Our Laws & 12pm Rally – No More- National Rally against Violence
20 April: Creative responses
22 April: Amnesty Activity @ Darwin Democracy Dash
23 April: Sydney for Global Sumud Flotilla
25 April: Amnesty Activist Watch Party
26 April: Tanks Monthly Markets- Amnesty Stall
30 April: COTA Seniors Expo Katherine NT
4 May: Creative responses.
6 May: Supporter Launch – Indigenous Youth Justice Campaign
10 May: Kuranda Amphitheatre Community Market- Amnesty Stall
APRIL BULLETIN
- Amnesty’s Youth Justice Campaign
- Youth Justice Campaign Launch
- Introducing Amnesty’s New Youth Collective: ACRUX
- Free cones at Ben & Jerry’s
- Activist shoutout
- Monthly media moments
- Activism wrap-up
- Join our Online WhatsApp Community
- Share your activism for our next monthly Bulletin!
- Activist support contacts
Amnesty’s Youth Justice Campaign
Are you interested in running a letter writing workshop in your local area?
From the end of May to the end of June, we’ll be asking volunteers right around the country to come together and write letters to MP’s to call for an end to the use of torturous practices on children in custody, and to raise the age of criminal responsibility.
If you would like to take the lead on activism and membership in your Region, you can also nominate for a position on your Region’s Activism Leadership Committee (ALC). If elected, you will play a key role in helping to motivate, coordinate and develop local human rights activism in your region! The commitment is for two years.
We’d love for folks who are interested in hosting one of these workshops to join us on an online call soon to get plans organised – if this sounds like something you’d be keen to do, please email rachael.mcphail@www.amnesty.org.au and we’ll send you an invite!
Do you have a burning question about our Youth Justice campaign? We’re planning to put together a FAQ resource to help you feel confident to have conversations in your community about youth justice and our campaign calls to the government. If there is something that you’re keen to find out, or if there is a question that you’ve been asked when having conversations about this topic, let us know!
Youth Justice Campaign Launch
Yaama, Rach here! I’m the Campaign Organiser in the Indigenous Rights team 😊 We’re planning the first phase of the Indigenous Youth Justice Campaign and can’t wait to get started on some actions and tactics with you all that work to build people power and awareness of our campaign.
We’re planning to kick off this first phase with a Supporter Launch (online) on Wed 6th May 7-8:30pm AEST (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Hobart). That’s 6:30-8pm ACST (Darwin & Adelaide) and 5-6:30pm AWST (Perth).
At this event you can expect:
- A first look at our new campaign video that we’ve been working on with Blakground Productions;
- To hear from Strategic Campaigner Kacey Teerman and Uncle Rodney Dillon about our campaign vision, barrier, and solution;
- An overview of exciting tactics and moments to come this year (think Letter Writing, Stunts, Barnstorms, and more!);
- To learn how to communicate why YOU care;
- An opportunity to connect and chat with others who care across the country;
- Clear next steps to take action (that range from 3 minutes of your time, to 2hrs of your time, to taking on larger leadership roles).
Introducing Amnesty’s New Youth Collective: ACRUX
ACRUX is Amnesty Australia’s new National Youth Collective: an unprecedented team of young people leading in fashion, film, art, music, sport and journalism in Australia—who plan to take human rights conversations beyond political silos and into the cultural spaces that shape our generation. Named for one of the brightest stars in the Australian night sky as a symbol of hope — ACRUX knows that Amnesty’s unparalleled global platform has the potential to connect people across difference and distance.
On 16 May ACRUX will launch at Carriageworks, Sydney with A Night of Light— the largest Amnesty event ever held in Australia.
Through live performance, art, fashion, and film, ACRUX will illuminate the stories of children in detention centres and active conflict zones—while returning audiences to the light of childhood that endures: to love, play, wonder, and hope. Additionally, Amnesty will be presenting their ‘Community is Everything’ campaign and hosting a letter-writing workshop. The NSW ALC will be hosting an actions and merch stall!
The night marks the global launch of The Constellation: an international network of Amnesty youth collectives, each renamed after a star in their country’s night sky and connected to create coordinated global projects.
Beginning on May 16, the next generation of Amnesty Australia plans to come together to light the entire night sky.
EARLY BIRD TICKETS OUT NOW! 100% of ticket proceeds go toward paying contributing artists.
Free cones at Ben & Jerry’s
Ben & Jerry will be giving out FREE ice-cream on the 5th of May!
Amnesty will be represented in the following locations:
- NSW: Bondi and Parramatta
- Victoria: St Kilda
- Queensland: Southbank
- WA: Northbridge
We will be at all these locations from 12pm-8pm.
Come visit us to hear about our campaigns, and grab a free scoop!
Activist shoutout
Our shoutout for this month goes to Clive Weston, and the entire VIC ALC for their support in moving resources out of the Naarm Office (in Melbourne). We really appreciate your help and could not have done it without you.
P.S. for all activists based in Melbourne: our Melbourne/ Naarm office in Cambridge Street Collingwood has officially closed. We will now move to a co-sharing workspace in Collingwood – The Commons, Gipps Street, as of May 1st.
If you need to visit the office to meet with a staff member or pick up materials, you must send us an email at activism@www.amnesty.org.au beforehand.
Please let us know if there are any questions!
Monthly media moments
A strong media run this period, with 3.87k mentions, reaching an audience of 1.01 billion, including 1.21k features in major outlets.
Our advocacy cut through on key issues, from AIA’s stance on Herzog’s visit and protest policing, to coverage of the Iranian women’s football team, and developments in the Ben Roberts-Smith case.
Top picks:
BBC – Five Iranian footballers granted Australian visas after anthem protest
Al Jazeera – Protests grow across Australia over police response to Herzog rally
Reuters – Australia’s most decorated soldier, Ben Roberts-Smith, charged with war crimes
Daily Mail – Australia condemns Israel’s proposed death penalty laws
Activism wrap-up
Across March and April, Amnesty activists across the country held 28 events and actions! From market stalls to film screenings to speaker panel events, Amnesty groups have been building power across a variety of campaign areas. March began with International Women’s Day with Darwin, Urban and Gold Coast action groups hosting community gatherings. April was a busy month for Bay and Basin action group hosting fortnightly letter-writing actions and hosting a talk event with Dr Randa Abdel Fattah!
Some other highlights include:
- UniMelb hosted an Artists for Aid benefit concert which brought together a diverse line-up of local and emerging artists across multiple genres to celebrate freedom of expression while raising vital funds to support Amnesty International’s work. The night was an incredible community building event and attracted a diverse crowd. The artists covered songs from popular bands like ABBA, The Beach Boys, Radiohead, Geese and The Cranberries and attendees got the chance to learn about Amnesty’s work on Gaza, climate justice and First Nations justice.
- Many groups like Pennant Hills, Urban and Chermside hosted Amnesty stalls at local festivals, film screenings and protests. Stalls are a great way to chat to local community members, encourage people to learn about Amnesty’s work, take action and/or join a local group. Hosting a stall is also no easy feat! Thank you to all the groups that host stalls and put in the time to build Amnesty’s movement from the ground up!
- Darwin Action group participated in annual Democracy Dash event which brings together hundreds of students across the city to participate in an interactive city-wide scavenger hunt about democracy. Darwin group’s participation helps introduce Amnesty International to students whilst encouraging students to reflect on the connection between human rights and democracy.
- This week NSW ALC took a contingent of Sydney activists to represent Amnesty at the Sydney for Global Sumud Flotilla event and show their support for the fearless Australian activists joining the flotilla.
Join Amnesty’s Online WhatsApp Community
Join our Online WhatsApp Community, if you haven’t already, to connect with the rest of our national movement, hear about upcoming events and opportunities, learn from shared experiences and challenges of other activists, and celebrate each other’s activism across the country!
Read the Community Guidelines here, and then simply click this link to join the Community!
We want to hear from you!
The People Powered Bulletin is all about the incredible work, energy and dedication of our movement.
We want to know more about your local actions, online initiatives, community engagement, or anything you’re working on that might inform or inspire fellow Amnesty supporters across Australia. The bulletin goes out on the third Friday of every month, with submissions due on the second Friday of every month.
Our values & behaviours
As a movement of people who stand for equality, justice, freedom and human dignity, we abide by this Values & Behaviours charter so that everyone belongs, is safe, and together achieves impact.
Activist support
The Amnesty team is here to support all activists. Here’s who you can contact:
Your Regional Activism Leadership Committee Presidents for regional support to members, activists and action groups –
- actsnswpresident@www.amnesty.org.au
- nswpresident@www.amnesty.org.au
- qldnnswpresident@www.amnesty.org.au
- santpresident@www.amnesty.org.au
- vicpresident@www.amnesty.org.au
- activism@www.amnesty.org.au – for strategy, training and development, event support, and membership information, or if your region is not represented above.
Being a member of Amnesty International Australia is an effective way of getting involved with our work.
For a small, once-yearly fee of $22, you can stand for board positions, join committees and vote on important resolutions. Click here to learn more.
Amnesty International is a global movement of more than 10 million people who take injustice personally. We are campaigning for a world where human rights are enjoyed by all – and we can only do it with your support.
Act now or learn more about our human rights work.
