Convenor’s Report 2000

We've had a great year with people being involved in lots of good things. Considering that this is the first year that Amnesty has had a substantive presence at this University, I can happily say that we have made some great strides. Here is a list of activities we have been involved in:

1. O-week 2000: With only 4 people to manage the stall, we were very happy to sign up over 200 members.

2. Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras: With the rest of Amnesty International Australia, the Sydney Uni group marched along campaigning against persecution based on sexual orientation.

3. Amnesty Awareness Stall – Women's Rights, Fisher Library: We campaigned on the issue of "honour killings" in Pakistan and the repression of women's rights in Afghanistan. We collected donations, signed petitions, wrote letters and handed out leaflets on this issue.

4. Article "Amnesty speaks out" in Honi Soit: Exploring the issue of women's rights in Afghanistan/Pakistan.

5. Birthday Cake stall: Celebrating AI's 39th birthday, we baked cakes, toffees and other goodies and sold them at Holme. It was a sell-out!

6. Amnesty Birthday Party Bash: Invited 3 bands such as the Fantastic Leslie to perform in a charity concert. We did a lot of publicity work with this, including the painting of the graffiti tunnel at Uni.

7. Amnesty stalls at Wentworth Markets: We sold Amnesty Merchandise, raffle tickets and signed up members at Wentworth.

8. Mandatory Sentencing Rally: We participated in a rally at Town Hall and Amnesty spoke at this event.

9. Letter-writing Sessions: Held every Wednesday, 12-2pm throughout the semester, members and other interested folks could spend 10 minutes to "write a letter, save a life".

10. REO Day Stall: We signed up about 10 new members and we spoke on stage about Amnesty's refugee campaign.

11. 2 x Amnesty Awareness stall: Refugee Rights, Fisher Library. We sought to raise awareness on the plight of refugees and asylum-seekers in Australia. We had petitions signed, leaflets distributed and publicised Amnesty's presence on campus. These stalls were a great success.

12. Amnesty Forum: "Women Refugees" – Margaret Piper, Executive Director of the Refugee Council of Australia, spoke about the refugee experience and how women were particularly vulnerable to abuse. This forum was a success.

13. Refugee Rally at Villawood Detention Centre: In solidarity with other refugee support groups, we marched to VDC protesting against the mandatory detention of asylum-seekers.

14. Article "Refugee Women", Union Recorder: This article exposed the vulnerability of female asylum-seekers in Australia.

15. Video Screening: "Don't risk it" from the Department of Immigration – exposed the government's intention of trying to deter asylum-seekers and how immigration detention centres were used as a form of penalty (which contravenes the UN Refugee Convention).

16. Letter-writing Appeals: Focus on "Christina"- a Columbian asylum-seeker fearing reprisal from prostitution syndicates if returned to Colombia. Lots of publicity on this case was generated.

Thanks to all the cool people who chipped in to make our society a success. Best wishes for 2001! Here's to making a positive difference!

-Marc Tutaan, Convenor 2000