Civil and Human Rights

Reprieve, the organization founded by Echoing Green Fellow Clive Stafford Smith, is holding an open competition for the Reprieve Fellowships, awards that enable outstanding individuals with a proven commitment to capital defence work to initiate a project or take up a position in a not-for-profit host organisation in the United States working on behalf of poor people facing the death penalty.

Applications are due on October 16, 2009, and successful candidates will start work between January 2010 and October 2010.

We were thrilled to see 2009 Echoing Green Fellow Esra’a al Shafei and her organization Mideast Youth featured today in CNN International. Speaking to reporter Manav Tanneeru by telephone from Bahrain, Esra’a explains the pressing need to provide young Muslims with an outlet to express themselves and connect with others. By utilizing technology to engage the world, Esra’a hope is to create a more positive Middle Eastern identity in a time when Islamic extremists are often appearing in the headlines.

2009 Echoing Green Fellow Esra’a Al Shafei recently launched a video in collaboration with the Committee to Protect Bloggers to raise awareness on The March 18 Movement. Also referred to as “OR318,” The March 18 Movement was born from the death of Omid Reza Mir Sayafi, an Iranian journalist and blogger who was accused of spreading “propaganda” against the Islamic Republic of Iran and insulting religious leaders.

Be sure to check out this clip from today’s edition of MSNBC's Morning Joe, where the anchors interviewed 2006 Echoing Green Fellow and founder of the Genocide Intervention Network, Mark Hanis. He spoke about President Obama’s progress on Darfur in his first 100 days, as well as what the general public can do to stop genocide. When asked about how we can take action, Mark commented that “it’s not just knowing [about the genocide in Darfur], we need to act.

The Los Angeles Times recently highlighted the important work of 2007 Echoing Green Fellows Melvin Yee and Matthew Sirolly, founders of the Wage Justice Center. The Center—based in Los Angeles, California—fights to turn court victories for workers into real money. Even when workers won legal claims with the state for unpaid wages, some unscrupulous employers find creative ways to avoid payment.

With all the talk of triple bottom lines, the Pop!Tech conference offered a refreshing blast of simplicity—in addition to the warm glow that comes from being near so many Echoing Green Fellows at once.

Mulago Foundation exec Kevin Starr offered this clear message to conference participants: "Whether you are a for-profit or not-for-profit should be determined by what will give you the biggest impact…My job is to buy impact. To get the biggest bang for my philanthropic buck."

Rose Mapendo, a genocide survivor and co-founder of the refugee protection organization Mapendo International, has been acknowledged by actress and human rights advocate Susan Sarandon as a “CNN Hero”. Sarandon was deeply inspired, as I am, by Mapendo’s courage and strength in surviving sixteen months in a Congolese death camp before launching Mapendo International, with 2006 Echoing Green Fellow Sasha Chanoff.