Progress Report # 1

Progress Report # 1-Darfur

Plan:

We plan to meet as a group at least once a week in order to update and clarify what we will be presenting to the class on October 31^st. We will also be exploring and confirming different resources on this topic through the group’s personal Google Document. We will be working with Prezi in order to bring a more dynamic action campaign to the classroom. We will also be planning incorporation of the class in order to boost their awareness and ultimately motivate them to action.

The resources we will explore include; United Nations, articles containing eye witness accounts by Miller and Reeves, Helen Fein’s articles, and the savedarfur.org website. We will also be looking into websites such as africaaction.com and humanrightswatch.com and books such as “Tears of the Desert: A Memoir of Survival in Darfur”. We will be attempting to include eyewitnesses or recordings of people in foundations, organizations, or friends who have been affected or have been involved in Darfur.  We have heard that there are movies on Darfur and will be looking into them.

We have tentatively decided that Sinikka and Austin will be in charge of the multimedia presentation.  Alex will be creating ideas to sell the action campaign to the class. Bret will be in charge of updating the class on our progress via the online blog and progress reports. Mitchell will be the presenter of the action campaign and Larry will be chief researcher on this project.

Questions we will try to answer:

1.)  Who are the key players in the Darfur genocide?

2.)  How many lives has the genocide claimed?

3.)  How has the genocide affected women and children, the economy, and the continent of Africa?

4.)  Which human rights is the genocide violating?

5.)  What kind of aid has been sent to Darfur and how has it been helping?

6.)  How can Indiana University students get involved?

7.)   How did the genocide begin, and what are the reasons for it?

8.)   What do we, as an action campaign group, want the resulting actions of this presentation to be?

9.)    What are the hidden political motivations behind the genocide?

10.)   After the genocide resolves, what actions will be taken to prevent this from happening again?

We will build an effective campaign through educating the class on the impact of Darfur on their lives as well as others. We will get them involved through activities, quizzes, and creative ideas. We will also build their motivation to help victims of Darfur by introducing them to different ways they can get involved and change the impact of the genocide. Finally, we will incorporate videos and small articles from websites such as the Onion in order to keep the class interested.