Govind Acharya |
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As the child of newly arrived immigrants from India, my life was infused with an aim of making the world a better place, not just for those around us, but also for those living a life not as comfortable as our own. That is why I have been an activist for Amnesty International and why I feel compelled to run for the AIUSA Board now.
As the acting head of Amnesty International's first office in Afghanistan, I researched human rights issues just after the liberation from Taliban rule. I saw first-hand the difference that Amnesty International makes for those who suffer human rights abuses. I created a lessons-learned document that will be the model for future planning of devolved AI research offices.
At a time when the AIUSA Board has lost the confidence of many country specialists and other essential long-term activists, I would bring broad experience and credibility within AIUSA to the Board. At a time when students make up the majority of AIUSA activists, I would bring the Board diverse experience and leadership within AIUSA's student movement.
As a long time student activist, I am concerned about the rift that some feel that is growing within the organization between students and non-students. As a member of the Board of Directors, I can provide the voice that students need to have an impact on decisions the organization makes. Students, non students and other volunteers are human rights defenders within this organization. Further as someone who has volunteered for the organization for 10 years, as well as being a staff person at the International Secretariat in London, I also must applaud the organization for being one of the few that can go from being a letter-writer at a college group to being the head of AI's Office in Afghanistan. While in Afghanistan, I spent quite a bit of time talking with students-- from middle school age kids to college students. I remember one time when I spent a morning training some students who were going to the rural areas to help with food aid. I was supposed to give a training on the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Instead of talking about the UDHR, I asked these students with no previous human rights experience to create their own UDHR and amazingly, it was almost the same as the one that we base our work on. These individuals are the key to human rights. That's why as a member of the Board I will make sure that the focus is on providing support to these individuals.
The five other members of the REFORM slate and I believe that AIUSA's Board needs to be accountable to its human rights defenders (that is, to AIUSA members). Please support the REFORM slate, and please visit http://www.amnesty-volunteer.org/usa/reform/platform.html for our full platform.
Please contact me: , Ph: 607-227-3477
Amnesty International Experience and activities
- Chair, Country Specialist Steering Committee, 2003-present
- Country Specialist for India, Bangladesh, and Maldives, 1999-present
- Acting Head of AI Office in Kabul, Afghanistan, 2002
- Member, Business and Economic Relations Group (approaching corporations), 2002-present
- Student Area Coordinator, 1998-1999
- Member and Co-chair, UC San Diego group, 1994-1998
- Member, AIUSA local groups, 1999-present
- Coordinator of my University group (at UC San Diego), 1994 – 1997
- Member of local groups in Oakland, Hayward and Berkeley, 2000 – 2003
- Member of Group 73, Ithaca, NY, 2003 – present
- Partner (and husband) of an AIUSA activist, 1998 – current
Other relevant Experience and activities
- Ph.D. Candidate in Economics at Cornell University, specializing in economics and human rights
- Publicity Coordinator, UC San Diego Cross Cultural Center
- Literacy Tutor, Chula Vista (San Diego, CA) Literacy Team, 1993 – 1995
- Publicity Coordinator, UC San Diego Cross Cultural Center, 1996 – 1997
- Mentor for troubled youth with Partners (mentoring program in San Diego), 1998 – 2000
- Active current member of Cornell's Vegetarian Club; Convener of Ithaca's monthly vegan potluck, 2003
- Member of PETA, Oxfam, Friends of the Earth, NARAL, and Human Rights Watch