Alex Hellmuth's blog

Today the Raise Hope for Congo campaign released a new campaign video, “Conflict Gold 101.” The video outlines the details of Congo’s conflict gold trade and puts the spotlight on jewelry companies who can play a role in reforming this deadly trade.  Read More »

Continued pressure from citizen activists has finally started to crack Nintendo—the company that ranked dead last in the Enough Project’s 2012 company rankings on conflict minerals report released last month. Nevertheless, much more is needed to convince the world’s largest video-game console maker to move beyond issuing public statements and take meaningful action to clean up its supply chain.  Read More »

The BBC published an article today—notably quoting three Enoughers or former Enoughers—called “How to offset your ‘conflict minerals’ guilt,” about the link between our electronics and the atrocities committed by armed groups in Congo over the control of key mines. However, as the article reveals, this issue is not about feeling guilty but about harnessing the power of technology for good, to feel empowered to help spur change in eastern Congo.  Read More »

Student leader Carly Oboth wanted to use this season of heightened consumerism to make a point about our connection to the war in Congo through our electronics. Here's her Letter to the Editor of American University's newspaper. Take a look at hers and draft one of your own.  Read More »

With election-related violence on the rise, and experts highlighting some encouraging trends, as well as apparent challenges, connected to the increased focus on the trade in conflict minerals from the East, now is a key moment for the U.S. government to ramp up its engagement in Congo. 

Next Monday, November 21, the George Washington University STAND chapter is hosting a rally for students, activists, human rights organizations, and members of the African diaspora community.  Read More »

For over a year, students at the university level have been the leading voice in the movement for conflict-free products. Since Stanford University passed a proxy voting resolution in spring of 2010, four other universities, the most recent being the Ohio University Honors Tutorial College, have issued statements calling on electronics companies to clean up their supply chains, and over 50 schools across the nation are participating in the Conflict-Free Campus Initiative. Now high school students have joined the movement, using their power as individual consumers and collective communities to change the demand for conflict-free products and change the equation for peace in Congo.  Read More »

As testament to the growing influence of students in the movement to end the trade in conflict minerals from Congo, Stanford University recently hosted the very first gathering aimed at sharing and coordinating efforts to create conflict-free campuses. Students from 12 schools across the country gathered in Palo Alto, California, for a conference to learn more about the conflict minerals issue, what different companies, NGOs, and countries are doing to make a difference, and how a statement from their respective universities on the purchasing of conflict-free electronics can incentivize key stakeholders to work for peace in Congo.  Read More »