Ideas for Action
There is an array of different ways to move an issue or cause on your campus or in your local community. The key factors are to be creative, achievable, and engaging. Here is a list of possible ways to take action:
Each one of these suggestions includes a brief description and some advice on how to execute the type of activity.
Auction: Put together creative but inexpensive items (gift baskets or baked goods), or have items donated to you by local stores or organizations. Also, solicit creative donations to be auctioned from friends or faulty: dinner dates, free laundry, picnic lunch, or a movie date. Enlist members of your chapter to help out in various capacities: taking bids, getting donations, making homemade items, getting items to winners, decorating the auction site, or making flyers for the event.
Art Show: Have local artists in your community, friends, or faculty display their talent at a PHR-sponsored art show. Proceeds will go either to a PHR chapter or for a cause or campaign. For this type of event, donated pieces of art are a must. If you have friends, family, or know of faculty members that have artistic talent, enlist them to either sell their art at the art show, or make an art piece for the show. Members of your chapter can help by making flyers for the event, soliciting artists/donations, selling tickets for the event, decorating the venue, or creating pieces of art themselves.
Athletic Activity (e.g., Sprint for Darfur, Dive for Darfur, Dunking for Darfur): Use an athletic event, such as a sprint, dive, or dunking booth to raise money for a cause. Find a venue to hold your athletic activity in (gymnasium, track and field, swimming pool, outdoor plaza with a clear stretch, indoor gym). Organize a sprint or dive into heats. Use the event to generate a lot of media attention for the cause by putting up flyers, calling newspapers, and contacting other organizations. Also, have a speaker present information about the situation. Enlist members of your chapter to help by collecting money, organizing speakers and volunteers, getting sponsorships, and assisting in finding a venue for the event.
Coffee-House: Call attention to the need for protecting health and human rights by hosting a campus-wide coffeehouse. Find a venue (either a local coffeehouse or a big space on campus). Enlist stores and organizations in your community to donate coffee, food, and games for the event. If your event is in a space on your campus, make sure that you are able to rent the appropriate equipment from your institution or a local café. Invite speakers, musicians, poets, writers, and other activists to present their work on the topic. Employ members of your chapter to help by posting flyers, soliciting artists/donations, selling tickets, coordinating various action activities, and decorating the venue.
Community Forums: Hold a community-wide forum to discuss a specific issue or campaign. Religious institutions (churches, synagogues, Quaker meeting houses) often are able to provide a venue free of charge or for a small donation. Have a department at your university or faculty member sponsor an event and have it held at your own institution. Use the event to foster a round-table discussion with fellow students, faculty, and community members, and come to a consensus of types of action/events that can be done.
Concert/Battle of the Bands: Host a benefit concert at your institution. Enlist either local bands or contact more well-known bands in advance to see if they're available. Decide on a single band or a list of bands, and find a venue (preferably for no cost). Be cautious of bands charging fees. Advertise via flyers, internet (facebook, myspace, e-mail), newspapers, and sell tickets in advance and at the door. Contact appropriate local organizations (PHR, Amnesty, Save Darfur) and have them help advertise and sponsor the event. You can also sell merchandise during the concert for extra funding.
Conference: Host a conference at your institution on issues of importance (Darfur, Global Health Disparities, Access to Medications, HIV/AIDS). Find a venue for the conference to take place at your institution (and be sure to have the appropriate number of rooms for sessions). Find someone to be a keynote speaker, and enlist members of your chapter or outside experts to run workshops and break-out sessions. Advertise for the conference via flyers, internet (e-mail, facebook, myspace), and newspapers. Send invitations to your local community, local organizations, and colleges and universities in your area and surrounding areas.
Cultural Fair or Workshop: Increase awareness and understanding of culture(s) by putting together different cultural booths, raffles, and activities in a Fair. Booths can consist of arts and crafts, calligraphy, national dress, dance, readings, visual art, poetry, and music. A single workshop can incorporate all or a single aspect of a given culture (e.g.- focus on art, music or poetry). Be sure to be culturally sensitive, work with the local cultural community to put the fair or workshop together and collaborate with any relevant groups. Enlist members of your chapter who are of that culture to run specific sessions.
Day of Silence: Echo the silence of marginalized communities (ranging from LGBT communities to victims of the genocide in Darfur) by having members of your chapter, university, faculty, and local community take part in a day of silence. Have participants wear similar colored clothing (black, white, or both), and go through an entire 24-hour period without speaking to anyone. To get volunteers to participate, invite classmates, faculty, and community members to a meeting devoted to the event. Explain the event and ask members to participate. Have all chapter members help in advertising the event via flyers, internet (e-mail, facebook, myspace), and through newspapers. Be sure to have information to pass out and a activity to bring all participants to wrap up the day and reflect.
Die-ins: This event is a form of protest where participants simulate being dead. It can be used to protest wars, ask governments/international communities to act on genocides, or to protest potentially hazardous technology. Talk to classmates, faculty, and members of your local community to participate in this event by discussing it at a meeting. Decide on the issue of protest, and on the degree of realism you would like to use (e.g. - painting wounds on bodies, using bandages). Make signs to be used for the event, and publicize the event via flyers, posters, the internet (facebook, myspace, e-mail), newspapers, and local organizations. To be effective, on the day of the event, make sure that participants place themselves in varying positions on the ground. The primary function of this event is to get attention and media coverage so media work is one of the most vital responsibilities for the effectiveness of this event.
Dinners (themed meal, potluck): Raise awareness of issues of importance by hosting a themed meal or potluck. A possible dinner theme is hosting a hunger banquet, where participants are divided into "classes" and served food according to their "societal status". You can also do dinners around cultural days/holidays, or world days (World Food Day, World AIDS day, World Water day, etc). Have food donated to the event by local organizations, other student groups, the university, or local restaurants. You can also have participants and chapter members bring food to the event. Advertise for the event via flyers, posters, the internet (facebook, myspace, e-mail), newspapers, and local organizations. Collect donations for a cause.
Documentary Screening: Seen a good documentary lately that really captured the essence of an issue? Show it on your campus. Reserve a venue for the screening on campus, and then advertise for the event via flyers, posters, the internet (facebook, myspace, e-mail), newspapers, and local organizations. Talk to as many people as possible about the screening to encourage attendance. On the day of the screening, give a brief introduction to the documentary and the issues covered. Collect donations for the cause/theme of the screening.
Fast: Host a fast for a given period of time (day, week) in order to protest an issue (e.g.- the international community's lack of response to the genocide in Darfur). Introduce the idea at a chapter meeting, and invite chapter members, as well as other classmates, faculty, and members of the local community. Set a time period for the fast, as well as a reason, and limitations (full fast vs. breaking the fast each day). Advertise for the fast via flyers, posters, the internet (facebook, myspace, e-mail), newspapers, and local organizations.
Film Series: Choose an issue to focus on (AIDS/HIV, Clean Water, Darfur, Infectious Diseases, etc.) and find films/documentaries that discuss that issue. Choose the number of films that you want to run, and run the film series for a corresponding time period. You can do the series on weekend, or spread out the films by showing one film at the same time each day for a week. Enlist members of your chapter to help by finding films/documentaries to show, getting the rights to the film if needed, advertising for the event via flyers, posters, the internet (facebook, myspace, e-mail), newspapers, and local organizations. Invite fellow classmates, faculty, and local community members. Collect donations or raise money for a cause or organization.
Internet Action Café: Gather your peers (and their laptops) for "live" action on an issue (Darfur, HIV/AIDS, torture, etc.). Find a suitable place on or off campus to get together and write Op Eds, letters to policy makers, letters to the editor, circulate the petition, and connect with others who care. Use the opportunity to work with other groups on your campus, classmates, faculty, and other local organizations. Advertise for the Café by putting up flyers, using the internet (e-mail, facebook, myspace), contacting newspapers, and talking to local organizations. Collect donations for the cause.
Lectures: Tap into your resources. If you know of faculty at your school who are experts on hot issues, or know of experts in your local community, ask them to come to your campus to speak. Advertise for the event via flyers, posters, the internet (facebook, myspace, e-mail), newspapers, and local organizations.
Letter writing campaigns: Want your representatives or senators to back a major piece of legislation? Or have an issue that you'd like to see your congress person support? Organize a letter writing campaign. Gather your chapter members, as well as faculty, classmates, and local community members to write letters on a given issue. Bring sample letters for everyone to replicate or use as a draft. Then, send the letters out to your representative or senator. Follow-up the letter writing campaign with a phone call to your representative's or senator's office.
Mural painting: Use art to raise awareness. Select a theme or issue for your mural. Find a place at your university that you think the mural would complement, and receive permission to paint or draw your mural there. Decide on a scene or picture for the mural, and a caption, and contact local artists or fellow classmates with artistic talent to help with the dimensions and drawing/painting of the mural. Enlist local stores to donate supplies for the project.
Musical Benefit: Enlist local bands, small ensembles, or orchestras to play for your cause. Find a venue (preferably for no cost) for the event to take place. Advertise for the benefit event via flyers, internet (facebook, myspace, e-mail), newspapers, and sell tickets in advance and at the door. Contact appropriate local organizations (PHR, Amnesty, Save Darfur) and have them help advertise and sponsor the event. Sell merchandise during the concert.
Panels: Use faculty at your institution or local experts to put together a panel on an issue of importance (e.g.- Health/Human rights, Darfur, HIV/AIDS). Once you have decided on the issue of the panel, enlist speakers to speak about different aspects of the issue. Find a venue at your institution or somewhere locally. Hold a Q/A session after the speakers have finished, so that the audience can ask questions. If needed, draft a series of questions to ask the speakers during the session. Advertise for the event via flyers, internet (facebook, myspace, e-mail), and newspapers. Contact appropriate local organizations (PHR, Amnesty, Save Darfur) to help advertise and sponsor the event.
Performance Art: Sponsor a poetry reading, literary reading, or a play performance with a health and human rights theme. Look for artists and performers on your campus and in your community, as well as well-known individuals. Find a venue on your campus or in your community. Invite chapter members, classmates, faculty, and community members to the event. Enlist members of your chapter to assist in planning the event, asking artists to perform, decorating the venue, and advertising for the event.
Photo Exhibit: Using either images from well-known photographers or from organizations, host a photo exhibit featuring images of causes that need action. Photos can be of refugees, people suffering with HIV/AIDS, or any issue of your choice. Be sure to get the rights to any pictures you use from photographers or organizations. Find an appropriate venue for the exhibit, and advertise the exhibit via flyers, internet (facebook, myspace, e-mail), and newspapers. Contact appropriate local organizations (PHR, Amnesty, Save Darfur) to help advertise and sponsor the event.
Protests: Host a protest at your institution or at a venue locally to raise awareness of your issue. Find a venue to use for the protest. Advertise the protest via flyers, internet (facebook, myspace, e-mail), and newspapers. Contact appropriate local organizations (PHR, Amnesty, Save Darfur) to help advertise the event. Make signs to be used at the protest, and enlist members of the media to cover the event.
Prayers: Use the main area on your campus to gain visibility for your prayer service. Advertise the service via flyers, internet (facebook, myspace, e-mail), and newspapers. Invite classmates, faculty, and members of your community, but remember to be sensitive to cultural differences. Another way to do this event is to organize a prayer-writing drive. Host a meeting or gather your peers in a common location. Have everyone write out their prayers. Then, display the "prayer letters" around your campus, or send them to appropriate locations (a village in Darfur, village particularly struck by HIV, etc).
Rallies: Organize a rally by mobilizing your peers, chapter, faculty, and local community into action. Decide on the main issue of the rally. Enlist local bands to play at the rally. Ask faculty members or community leaders to speak at the rally. Advertise the rally via flyers, internet (facebook, myspace, e-mail), and newspapers. Contact members of the media to cover the rally. Make signs to be used at the rally. Organize booths with information about the issue.
Refugee Camp Simulation: Create awareness of this daunting issue by organizing a simulation. Find a venue to use for the refugee camp, or a large open space to set up tent(s). Advertise the refugee camp by flyers, internet (facebook, myspace, e-mail), and newspapers. Train chapter members to lead certain parts of the camp (medical clinic, food aid, clothing, etc.). When participants are entering the camp, give them cards identifying what type of refugee they are (female, 20 years old, Chadian refugee displaced because of the Janjaweed, etc.). Ask faculty and local community members and organizations to participate. Raise money at the event for a specific refugee camp.
Sell Merchandise: Promote health and human rights by selling PHR merchandise. With your officer team or chapter, make a design to advertise an event or cause. Take your design to a local graphics store, and ask them if they can donate items (t-shirts, water bottles, bags, etc.) or reduce the cost of making the items. Advertise for the event by wearing the item, and also sell the items while you are selling event tickets. At an event that you're putting on, sell your items before and after the event. If you do not sell as many as you would like, recycle them and try to sell them at other events. Enlist members of your chapter to assist with this endeavor by asking them to submit designs, sell items, and announce that items are for sale in classes.
Silent Auction: Put together creative but inexpensive items (gift baskets, baked goods) or have items donated. Solicit creative donations to be auctioned from friends or faulty: dinner dates, free laundry, picnic lunch, or a movie date. Put items on tables, and have participants write down their bids. Enlist members of your chapter to help out in various capacities: monitoring bids, getting donations, making homemade items for the auction, getting items to winners, decorating the auction site, or making flyers for the event.
Slideshow Screening: Use a PHR slideshow or a ones that your PHR chapter has made on issues to raise awareness. Find an appropriate venue for the event to take place at your institution. Advertise the screening via flyers, internet (facebook, myspace, e-mail), and newspapers. Contact appropriate local organizations (PHR, Amnesty, Save Darfur) to help advertise and sponsor the event. Ask a faculty member to give an introduction to the screening and be sure to have food and time for socializing.
Symbolic Exhibition (e.g., a mountain of shoes with each shoe representing a person who has lost his/her life): Decide on an item to use to represent a person who has lost their life (shoes, jellybeans, toys, clothing, etc.). Have local stores or organizations donate the items, as well as fellow chapter members, classmates, faculty, and community members. Advertise the exhibition via flyers, internet (facebook, myspace, e-mail), and newspapers. Contact members of the media to cover the exhibition. Organize booths with information about the issue.
Symposium: Host the symposium surround an issue(s) of importance (Darfur, Global Health Disparities, Access to Medications, Clean Water, HIV/AIDS). Find someone to be a keynote speaker, and enlist members of your chapter or outside experts to run workshops and break-out sessions. Advertise the symposium via flyers, internet (e-mail, facebook, myspace), and newspapers. Send invitations to your local community, local organizations, and colleges and universities in your area and surrounding areas.
Teach-in: Decide on the issue of focus for the teach-in. Find speakers at your institution or in your community that have expertise on the issue of focus: professors, local journalists, or local activists. Work with other student organizations. Advertise the teach-in via flyers, internet (e-mail, facebook, myspace), and newspapers. Send invitations to your local community, local organizations, and colleges and universities in your area and surrounding areas. Raise money at the teach-in. Have materials about the issue available for participants to look at.
Vigil: Decide on the issue of the vigil and the date for the vigil. Ask local stores to donate supplies for the vigil (candles, candle-holders, matches). Reserve a venue for the event (an open space in a major area of your campus is best). Advertise for the vigil via flyers, internet (e-mail, facebook, myspace), and newspapers. Send invitations to your local community, local organizations, and colleges and universities in your area and surrounding areas. Raise money for your cause, and have materials about the issue available for participants to look at.
Visit your Congressperson: Extend the fight for health and human rights by speaking with your congressperson. Call your congressperson's office to set up an appointment. Put together a short agenda to discuss with your congressperson on an issue and bill that is important to your chapter, and that you feel that your congressperson should also support. At your meeting, stress the importance of your issue(s), and say that it is important to you (and your officer team) as future health professionals.
Workshop: Raise awareness on an issue by holding a workshop. Find a venue on your campus or in your local community to have the workshop at. Set a schedule of the types of events that you want your training to consist of (e.g.- planning action events). Advertise the workshop via flyers, internet (e-mail, facebook, myspace), and newspapers. In addition, send invitations to your local community, local organizations, and colleges and universities in your area and surrounding areas. Have materials about the issue available for participants.
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