The RAISE Hope for Congo Speakers Tour is back for spring 2010 and already off to a fast start. On behalf of the Enough Project, activist, motivational speaker, and spoken word artist Omekongo Dibinga has been touring the country to inspire students to get involved in the movement for peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo. From high school students in Edina, Minnesota to STAND chapter members at the University of Pittsburgh, Omekongo reports that students have been amazingly receptive and ready to lead the charge. Enough Co-founder John Prendergast just returned from Eckerd College in Florida, where students are working to draw attention to the crisis in Congo and make their campus conflict-free.
Hosting events on campus isn’t the only way students are having an impact. Many student journalists are also shining a spotlight on the crisis in Congo by writing about it for their school newspapers. Duquesne University’s campus newspaper, The Duquesne, featured a detailed article by graduate student Dave Richie highlighting the major issues surrounding conflict minerals in Congo. Richie describes the legislation pending in the House of Representatives and appeals to readers’ “universal duty as global citizens to become educated and to raise our voices when human rights violations occur anywhere.” In addition to The Duquesne, The Daily Iowan, The Earlham Word, and Virginia Tech’s Collegiate Times, all recently featured articles describing the connection between the trade in minerals from Congo and the cell phones found on the pockets of college students.
Interested in bringing RAISE Hope for Congo to your campus? Visit our website to learn more about the speakers tour, download our Congo on Campus Teach-In, and learn more about making your campus conflict-free.