Write for Rights 2013 local groups briefing - November 2013

This year's Write for Rights campaign will feature 13 new cases from around the globe. This briefing contains all the information you need to order your materials as well as a template press release and sample editor's letter for local media.

As the winter months approach, here at Amnesty UK we are preparing ourselves for another fantastic Write for Rights campaign! This year’s campaign will be launching on the 1st November at the annual student conference in London. It will run through to the 31st December, and will feature 13 cases from across the globe. Having had such a great response from groups in previous years we are really excited about launching the campaign again.

Visit the Write for Rights 2013 page

As usual we have some great materials for you to use to help get involved with the campaign:

• Write for Rights Campaign booklet (Containing information on all the 13 cases – sample enclosed) - WRF 015
• Write for Rights Poster (A3 poster with A4 options on reverse)  - WFR 016
• Map of cases (A2 world map with photos marking this year’s cases) - WFR 017

All these materials can be ordered free of charge by emailing sct@amnesty.org.uk and quoting the relevant reference code from above.

There is also an action card on one of this year’s cases which is only available from the office – more information below.

Help get them home

With three of this year’s cases, you will see the campaign tagline ‘Help Get Them Home’. These three cases will be widely publicised to increase public awareness and attract new supporters for Amnesty’s campaigns for individuals at risk. The highlighted cases are: Eskinder Nega (page 12), Yorm Bopha (page 11), and Jabeur Mejri (page 17).

We know that part of the fantastic work you do is to reach out to new people in your local community. You may find that using the Help Get Them Home messaging could be a useful way of starting to talk about the cases and what you would like people to do at your stall or event.
 
For one of the Help Get Them Home cases, Yorm Bopha, (as mentioned above) we have produced an action card (a sample of which is enclosed). This action card could be a simple and easy first step for you to get people involved in the campaign. It is already addressed to Yorm’s family and its postage paid, so all people have to do is write their message of support in the space provided and post it. Alternatively you could collect all the signed cards and post them together to make it even easier!

Please note that this action card is only available from the AIUK office. To order a batch, please contact Activism Team.

Ways to get involved

We know that you will be as eager and willing as last year to help support the campaign, and once again there are many ways that you can get involved depending on how much time and capacity your group can spare.

Writing letters of support

This is the simplest way to get involved and we know that these messages of solidarity and support can make a real difference to the individuals that receive them as well as to their family and friends. As with last year, the campaign also includes the opportunity to write appeal letters to the authorities of the countries that these individuals are in.

Get creative!

Creative campaigning can be a fantastic way of showing support, for example: One of our cases is the Committee for Relatives of the Detained and Disappeared in Honduras (COFADEH), a human rights organisation whose symbol is a white dove, representing peace. For this case you could draw and cut out white doves on a piece of paper on which you could write your messages of support to send to them.

We know that you will have your own great ideas for creative campaigning on the cases, but if you need any suggestions have a look at page 21 of the enclosed Write for Rights booklet.

Hold an event

Stalls and events are a great way to raise awareness of the cases and help increase support for the campaign. They are also a good way to entice more people to write letters of solidarity. As mentioned above, the Yorm Bopha could be a useful material to have at your stall or event as a quick and easy action for people to take. Make sure you order a copy of the map of cases and Write for Rights poster to decorate your stall, as well as some booklets to hand out if people wish to take further action on more cases at home.

Invite someone to speak

You may want to invite a country coordinator to come and talk about one of the cases and the human rights situation in that country. Contact Activism Team for Country Coordinator details.

Want more cases?

There are 13 cases in this year’s campaign, as feedback we have received in previous years has suggested that some groups found a large number of cases confusing. However, if your group has the capacity and would like to take action on more cases, we have eight further cases we can share with you. For information on these cases please contact Activism Team. 

We are so grateful to groups like yours for all of the hard work you’ve put into campaigning for our individuals at risk programme. Now, once again, please join us as part of the Amnesty International movement around the world for this year’s letter writing campaign.

With your help we think this year’s campaign will be bigger and better than ever! 

Contact the team

Telephone: 020 7033 1675
Email: activism@amnesty.org.uk