Jewish World Watch kicks off six-week series Impact in Action
3 years
Tonight, Jewish World Watch (JWW) launches its second annual “Impact in Action,” a six-week series of engaging conversations and community events featuring human-rights trailblazers from around the world. The free series kicks off at 5 p.m. PT with a virtual event, “Hear Her Voice.” It features Jewher Ilham, Uyghur human-rights advocate; Wai Wai Nu, former political prisoner and founder of Women Peace Network; Millete Birhanemaskel, Tigrayan journalist and business owner; Anna Astvatsaturian Turcotte, Westbrook City Council vice president; and Tatiana Mukanire, national coordinator of the survivors’ movement in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
From now until Nov. 14, participants can learn about global humanitarian issues including in Chad, Congo, Tigray and China, among others. Activists and activists-in-the-making will hear firsthand accounts from people working on the ground discussing famine and food security, trauma in children resulting from the pandemic, genocide, antisemitism, domestic and international violence and how social media can fuel activism.
On Nov. 9, the 83rd anniversary of Kristallnacht, participants will demonstrate at Chinese embassies worldwide to protest the human-rights abuses against the Uyghur minority.
The goal of “Impact in Action” is to widen participants’ understanding of what modern genocide looks like and inspire them to sustainably take action in their own community. Since 2004, JWW has used Jewish history and values to help survivors of humanitarian atrocities, advocate for policy changes, and educate and inspire people of all backgrounds to fight against genocide.
“There is always a piece of these stories the Jewish community can relate to. The brutality we hear about, stories of people being taken in the night, having their heads shaved, being put on trains, this is so viscerally familiar to the Jewish community,” said Serena Oberstein, JWW executive director. “We have to figure out how to talk about these things in a way that feels accessible, where people do feel they can make an impact. The only way you enact change is if lots and lots of people engage.”
To register for the series, click here.