Celebrating Social Justice on Good Friday

The Edmonton Good Friday Outdoor Way of the Cross brings together members of the Christian social justice community, with a message for everyone, regardless of faith. Once again, this year's event had to be done in video form because of the pandemic, and once again I was happy to help with directing, filming, and editing. In the video, local leaders contribute reflections on environmental justice, homelessness, immigration and systemic racism, Indigenous issues, and more. The video will premiere on YouTube at 10 a.m. this Friday, April 2.

ANNOUNCING JEWISH EDMONTON STORIES ONLINE PROJECT

I am happy to announce that I will be working on the following project in collaboration with #YEGFilm and the cooperation of several community organizations. 

JEWISH EDMONTON STORIES ONLINE PROJECT SEEKS PARTICIPANTS

Jewish Edmonton Stories Online, a project for Jewish and non-Jewish Edmontonians alike to learn and connect with the stories and places of our community’s past, will launch in the fall of 2021. We are seeking remarkable stories and memories from interested members of Edmonton’s Jewish community that connect to a particular place in the City. Stories do not have to be submitted in a complete format. At this point, we're looking for story ideas and summaries. We will follow up with you once the stories are selected for sharing on our coming interactive storytelling website. Stories will be recorded via audio, video, and/or written transcription via an interview process.

We intend for the stories to represent diversity within the Jewish community, including, but not limited to elders, Sephardim and Mizrahim, women, LGBTQ individuals, and people with disabilities. All recording will be carried out safely with COVID-19 protocols in place. The storyteller will be paid a small honorarium. At this time when we are physically isolated due to COVID-19, it’s important to reach out in as many ways possible to connect and share our community’s knowledge, history, and experiences.

This project is being made possible with the support of the Edmonton Heritage Council, JAHSENA, WordsPicturesMusic.com, #YEGFilm, and the Jewish Federation of Edmonton. To share your story, or for more information, feel free to connect with us at stories@jewishedmontonstories.ca. Deadline for stories: March 1, 2021.

Fifteen Years of Radical Citizen Media

In September of 2005, I attended my first peace march, and afterwards launched what has become RadicalCitizenMedia.com to document progressive social movements and citizen engagement. 15 years later, it has almost 50,000 photos, 3400 videos with over 4 million views, and 4500 subscribers. And YouTube still won't monetize me, LOL! https://www.radicalcitizenmedia.com

Problematic Monuments: Educate, Don’t Celebrate

I've been investigating the Ukrainian far-right for a number of years, particularly a couple of monuments in Edmonton that pay tribute to Nazis. Here is an article I wrote for the Canadian Jewish Record about one in particular:

KIRMAN: Problematic monuments in Edmonton Force Us to Question Our Community’s Core Values

Why He Cries

I wrote this song almost 20 years ago. It’s a bit over the top, but I think it’s still relevant in light of current world events. You can give a listen here: https://paulaevekirman.bandcamp.com/track/why-he-cries

As the dawn brings a new day
Seems like no one has something good to say
Building walls around our hearts
Where’s the love when lives are torn apart?
Shouting names we can’t repeat
To those who we think are incomplete
And then somehow the truth gets masked in lies
And He watches
And we wonder why He cries

And we speak our words of hate
And we cast our cloak of fear
And we cut our hearts with pain
As our own demise draws near
And we neatly seal our fate
And no words of love we hear
And we beat and kill and maim
As He gently sheds His tears

Flip the channel to the news
It’s enough to give anyone the blues
I can’t bear to watch this pain
All this fighting just seems so insane
They say the war has to be won
But who wins when all is said and done?
Broken dreams, broken hearts, broken lives
And He watches
And we wonder why He cries

And we speak our words of hate
And we cast our cloak of fear
And we cut our hearts with pain
As our own demise draws near
And we neatly seal our fate
And no words of love we hear
And we beat and kill and maim
As He gently sheds His tears

It’s the way we choose to live
We can choose to take or choose to give
It’s what we have to demand
Come to grips with what we don’t understand
Never say it’s not their fault
They’re just acting upon what they’ve been taught
Bloody footprints on the ground and in our lives
And He watches
And we wonder why He cries

And we speak our words of hate
And we cast our cloak of fear
And we cut our hearts with pain
As our own demise draws near
And we neatly seal our fate
And no words of love we hear
And we beat and kill and maim
As He gently sheds His tears

And we rationalize our words
And we turn our heads in shame
And we think of all we’ve hurt
And we try to spread the blame
And we struggle with our deeds
And we try to hide our fear
And we’re sowing the wrong seeds
And He gently sheds his tears

Our Digital Future, C'est Ici

On November 29 and 30, Studio 96 became home for about 30 young people, mostly in their late teens and early 20s, who took part in a 24-hour “Thinkathon.”

“Our Digital Future, C'est Ici” was organized by the Goethe-Institut Montreal, as well as the Goethe-Institut Toronto, Edmonton's NextGen, European Union in Canada, and the CJD NDG, a non-profit organization in Montreal that helps young people enter the job market.

The Edmonton event was the second in a series of Thinkathons in six Canadian and six European cities between now and the end of 2020. The project offers young citizens (18-30) an open, inclusive platform for a debate on our digital futures. During the 24 hours, participants co-created videos and social media campaigns, as well as recommendations, for Canadian and European politicians. The work took place both on-site and online, connecting with a Thinkathon happening at the same time in Milan, Italy.

The first Thinkathon took place in October in Montreal and Brussels, Belgium on the topic of Digital Citizenship 4.0.

I was especially excited to be asked to be one of the guest expert speakers at the Edmonton event. I was asked to speak because of my work in community and digital media, as well as community organizing. My topics were online hate, hate groups, and bullying in the digital age, particularly how to deal with it when encountered online and how to protect themselves (and each other) from such behaviours. I was also asked lots of questions about the current state of the media, and how the digital age has changed how we get our information and how we interact with social media and the Internet.

After introducing myself and explaining my work (focusing in particular on documenting social movements at RadicalCitizenMedia.com), I gave a very general overview on online hate and bullying. Some of my major talking points included:

The digital age can give anyone a public platform, which can be good - it means people who are marginalized but have access to electronics can have a voice - but there is a dark side.

People can feel emboldened behind a keyboard, and can even be anonymous, and say things they would never say in person.

Online media can also make recruiting people for hate groups easier, because people who are lonely, disenfranchised, vulnerable can be easier to reach.

Arguing with haters doesn't work. It just amplifies whatever was posted.

Block, delete, report, repeat. If reported enough, person/group may get banned from the service. They may come back with a different name, so be vigilant and keep reporting.

Same for bullying: report behaviour, and support the person being bullied. Send them public and private words of support.

Protect yourself: keep social media locked down to friends only, be particular about who you accept to friend/follow you, use a false name, don't use a photo of yourself as a profile picture.

Doxxing = posting a person's photo and personal information online with the intent of causing harassment. If you are doxxed report it to the online service, to authorities. Keep a record of all harassing calls, emails, posts.

The questions and comments that followed were excellent. Here is a summary of the outcomes of those questions and comments:

While "block, delete, report, repeat" might seem like a band-aid solution, it's the first step. The goal is to get the groups/individuals off the Internet. This has been achieved through continuous reporting, but also posting about the people/group and their behaviour on public platforms, including screenshots/quotes.

Emotions cannot be banned. But if someone is posting harmful, inappropriate things, they have to be stopped. It would be great to channel that energy into something positive, but that usually comes from a person's work on themself and the intervention of the people around them. They also may not see their actions/words/ideology as negative. They think they are standing up for their country, their culture, or whatever. It's very difficult to have a rational discussion with someone of that mindset.

There are no laws specifically against doxxing (that I am aware of), but there are laws against criminal harassment. Document everything.

Social media has changed the way people do community organizing and activism, in terms of organizing events but also how they participate, to capture very visual or vocal multimedia posts to use on social media.

Social media has grown in importance in terms of allowing people to become citizen journalists, especially now when traditional media is dwindling.

It's important to be positive, even when social media is very sad and dark. Post about people in your community doing things to make the world a better place. Don't engage with the negativity if it is hate speech or trolls - work to get rid of it as described above, and add posts that are more positive in nature to your social media.

What should be done about "cancel culture" and/or "call-out culture"? If a person has made a mistake or done something inappropriate and you have access to them, talk to them first. Calling out as a first step is generally reserved for people to whom one doesn't have access, such as celebrities being called out as part of the #MeToo movement. Every situation is different and you need to use your own judgement, but in general, calling out should be a last resort.

How has documenting local activism changed since I began in 2005? When I started, I was one of the few doing it, but now since so many people have smartphones, lots of people are taking photos and shooting video and posting on social media.

More information about the Thinkathons is here.

A School Visit for the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

On March 21, I was invited for the second time as a guest speaker for the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on March 21 at Balwin School in north Edmonton. My talk was very similar to the one I gave last year, focussing on anti-bullying, anti-Semitism, and activism.

This year, I added am emphasis on calling out and stopping racist and prejudicial comments immediately, to prevent them from becoming normalized and becoming the start of a path of hatred. We've seen what unchecked hatred can do with the recent terrorist attack at the mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand, and at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh last year.

Some of the young people in the multiracial class shared their experiences encountering racism, but also asked me a lot of questions about being Jewish, mostly about cultural and religious practices. I was apparently the first person most of them had ever met who self-identified as being Jewish. Even their teacher and the student teacher were asking me questions.

Opportunities like this are really important because these young people now could put a face and name to the word "Jewish." Much racism and prejudice often comes from fear of the "other." Now, a Jewish person is no longer an "other" to them. When we get to meet people from different backgrounds, and we sincerely seek to learn about their lives and traditions, it helps to build intercultural understanding, peace, and harmony in our society.

A Safe Space for Activism: Talk and Music

I was invited to be the guest speaker and performer at the Unitarian Church of Edmonton for its quarterly "Social Justice Sunday" on October 28, 2018. The topic was "A Safe Space for Activism." Below is a video of my talk and performance of four songs, as well as my notes. I ad libbed a bit in my talk as well, because I was responding to the previous speaker and adding a few things here and there as well.

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Safe Spaces and Self-Care

I come from a Jewish background. In Judaism, as some of you probably already know, there is a concept called tikkun olam, which translates to healing or repairing the world. Much of my activism is rooted in this belief.

There is a lot of talk about safe spaces in the activist community and beyond, especially now in light of the #MeToo movement. When it comes to establishing and maintaining my safe spaces, of course, the support of my family, friends, and community is important. Being able to confide, ask for advice, share experiences, and the opportunity to be accountable and hold others to account is part of having a healthy community. But like every part of society, the activist community is not immune from bullies and predators, which is why having a network of support is so important.

Having safe spaces also includes finding a place and time for self-care. Activists often get so wrapped up in organizing and attending events, that they neglect their own needs, leading to burnout and mental and/or physical health issues. Not being at the best we can be physically and mentally can make us more vulnerable. We need to be safe to say no when we are stretched, and to have the space to explore our own self-care needs.

Music is an integral part of my safe space and my self-care. Like my faith, music also was a formative part of my activism. Through my mother, I grew up listening to a steady stream of Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Buffy Sainte-Marie, and Peter, Paul and Marie. The folk music of the 60s helped shape my political beliefs and my own musical style, when I began learning how to play the guitar and write songs as a teenager. Music is part of my activism, writing songs about social justice issues and performing at rallies and protests (and events like this).

For me, music is both a creative expression and a place of mental retreat. Putting on my headphones helps take me away from the stress of daily life, can calm anxiety, and sometimes even help me concentrate. Writing and performing music, whether in front of an audience or in the privacy of my home, also cuts through stress and helps me focus. I find that if I go more than a few days without playing music, I get very tense and feel incomplete. Then, as soon as I pick up a guitar and start singing, my sense of grounding and balance is restored. There are proven health benefits of singing, both physically and mentally (these can be researched online), and I can attest to many of them from first hand experience.

Besides being a part of my safe space, music helps me reach out to audiences with messages of peace and love and social justice. I will be sharing some of these songs with you today, and I welcome you to join me in my place of sanctuary.

#HateFreeYEG Lanches

#HateFreeYEG is a new grassroots community initiative to work towards eradicating Edmonton of hate and racism. The initiative launched on September 30, and I was asked to speak at the launch as a community organizer about how we can eliminate hate, as well as my own experiences with anti-Semitism. Here is a video of my talk, as well as my notes.

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Shalom and thank you for inviting me to speak this afternoon and to join my voice with all of us here who proclaim that hate is not welcome in Edmonton. I am with the Edmonton Coalition Against War and Racism and the Edmonton Interfaith Centre for Education. I am also a Jewish woman.

As a Jewish woman, the growing resurgence of ultra right-wing hate groups concerns me greatly. My own community has been affected recently, with swastikas being spray painted on buildings in several southwest neighbourhoods. It stands to reason that the same kinds of people who would express hate towards immigrants, Muslims, and people of colour are the same kinds of people who would be anti-Jewish. Also, as a Jew I feel a need to stand up against hatred because of my roots and my faith. Many Jewish people of my generation are the descendants of immigrants and refugees. I am also vigilant against Islamophobia not only because hatred is just plain wrong, but also because of the shared Abrahamic roots of our faiths.

In fact, my commitment to social justice and human rights stems largely from my Jewish background. In Judaism, there is a value called tikkun olam, which translates to healing or repairing the world. We all have that potential within us, regardless of our background, to make the world a better place. It doesn't have to be through grand gestures or high-profile acts – every day, we all have opportunities to make the world around us safer, and to fill it with more compassion, hope, and love.

At various times in my life I have had experiences with anti-Semitism. It's often been a subtle undercurrent, sometimes taking the form of jokes or comments perpetuating various stereotypes like being cheap, or being part of some kind of power conspiracy. Anti-Semitism has sometimes crossed over into sentiments that are misogynist, like body shaming, or calling a Jewish woman a nag, or the ubiquitous Jewish mother jokes. I've been told at times I don't “look” Jewish, as though that is a compliment. It isn't. Some anti-Semitism I have faced or witnessed also crosses a line into been ableist, like being referred to as neurotic or controlling – attributing to one's culture symptoms of mental illness which may or may not actually be real. After all, you don't always know what someone might be struggling with.

I recall when I was accosted by a man on an isolated street in the inner city. He had seen my Star of David around my neck, and thought it was appropriate to stop me – a complete stranger – and ask if I was Jewish. I said yes, keeping a wide physical distance from this person. He then proceeded to interrogate me, asking where I was from, and not accepting Edmonton as the answer. He finally backed off when I gave him some general response about my distant Eastern European heritage. After that experience, I have found myself feeling defensive when someone asks about my choice of jewelry. I enjoy meeting new people and talking about myself and learning about them, but being “othered” time and time again can sometimes make a person overly sensitive to inquiries about their background, which is unfortunate because having conversations about ourselves can lead to greater understanding.

Planting the seeds against racism and hate need to start early. We also all know that kid from school who was always being picked on, pushed around, made fun of, teased, beaten up, and pushed around some more. I know – because I was that kid. I believe that a lot of my values towards kindness, love, and being against racism and hate comes from the fact that I was badly bullied as a child and teenager and I don't want to see that happen to anyone. When we see bullying, when we see people being made fun of because they are somehow different, when we see hatred in our midst we have an obligation to stand up, intervene and say that this is wrong.

In closing, I also wanted to say that I am a board member with the Edmonton Interfaith Centre for Education and Action, and what we do is to seek to achieve peace and harmony and an end to racism in the world through teaching about different faiths, not from a religious point of view, but from an educational one. I encourage you to look us up and see what we have to offer, and to become a member and get involved.

Families Belong Together

I helped organize the #FamiliesBelongTogether solidarity rally in Edmonton on June 30. Here is my speech and a video of my introductory words and chants.

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Thank you for coming this afternoon. We respectfully acknowledge that we are located on Treaty 6 territory, a traditional gathering place for diverse Indigenous peoples including the Cree, Blackfoot, Métis, Nakota Sioux, Iroquois, Dene, Ojibway / Saulteaux / Anishinaabe, Inuit, and many others whose histories, languages, and cultures continue to influence our vibrant community.

My name is Paula Kirman, and I am with the March On Edmonton Collective and the Edmonton Coalition Against War and Racism, the co-organizers of this event. We would also like to give thanks to the Alberta Federation of Labour for help with logistics, as well as Women for Rights and Empowerment, and No One Is Illegal.

Please tweet and Instagram and Facebook from today and join the cities around the world who are all standing up for the rights of refugees and families today. The hashtags are #KeepFamiliesTogether #FamiliesBelongTogether #RefugeesWelcome as well as our local city #Yeg hashtag.

We are here today to call upon the Canadian government to demand that the U.S. end child detention and to stop criminalizing refugees! Families belong together, and those who have been separated must be reunited. But we are hearing disturbing news that the location of many of these children who have been detained is unknown, that they are not receiving comfort or care, and are likely to be in physical danger due to lack of proper oversights. The emotional scars that these children are receiving will affect them for life.

And the new Executive Order that was signed is not going to make things better. While supposedly ending detention of children, it has brought in indefinite detention of families – and indefinite detention is against international law. We are calling for an end to all refugee detention - not just those of children.

Today and every day, we must call on Canada's federal government to:

Condemn the US's exclusionary, racist, and unjust detention and deportation policies in the strongest terms.

Scrap the Safe Third Country Agreement

Scrap the Designated Country of Origin list, and end the quota restrictions on refugee claimants and asylum seekers

End immigration detention and deportation in Canada.

Grant Permanent Resident Status to all undocumented and migrant people in Canada, including everyone who has crossed over from the United States.

Reckon with all its historic and current practice of family separation of Indigenous, Black and Brown children from their families through slavery and colonization.

Indeed, we also stand here today to acknowledge Canada's role in separating families, through the history of residential schools, the 60s Scoop, and the continued practise of removing children from Indigenous families and placing them into foster care. In addition, we must examine our country's own treatment of refugee children. In 2016-2017, Canada jailed 162 minors, 11 of whom were unaccompanied. In 2015-2016, the number was 201, 20 of whom were unaccompanied. At least six people have died in immigration detention custody since Prime Minister Trudeau came to power.

As well, today we have live-in-caregivers in Canada who are bureaucratically separated from their children back in the Philippines. Confusing changes were made in 2014 to Canadian immigration rules which has resulted in permanent resident status for live-in caregivers converting to possible citizenship being blocked, thus preventing family reunification. These changes were devised and implemented by Jason Kenney when he was in Stephen Harper's cabinet.

What can we do? We need to keep pressure on our Prime Minister, Immigration Minister, and our MPs. Several people are here today handing out letters that you can sign and send. We also have sample wordings and links to the email addresses of federal politicians on our social media and Facebook event for today – we are @WMWYEG on all platforms if you want to connect and get more information.

Speech: International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

I was invited as a guest speaker for the first annual student conference for the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on March 21 at Balwin School (Belvedere School also participated). The event was organized by Chris Nielsen, MLA Edmonton-Decore. Below is my speech, which was geared to the grades 5-8 age group.
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It's not often that I get to talk to people your age. Usually it's old people like me. But I am so happy to have this opportunity.

Something I find really exciting is how young people have a chance to make a difference. You have the chance to make a difference in other people's lives. If you want to change the world, you need to start with the world around you.

I am an activist who believes in peaceful and non-violent ways of protesting. I have been interested in issues like human rights and peace since I was as young as you are. I never liked it when someone was treated unfairly or was bullied. I was bullied when I was a child. So, I don't like to see other people hurting because it reminds me of how I felt when other people treated me badly.

Sometimes I was lucky and had a friend who would help me when someone was making fun of me. If you see someone being bullied, you can be that friend. Even when we become adults, we still have to look out for each other, because adults can be mean to each other too, and we need to stand up and say when someone's behaviour is wrong.

I eventually wanted to get involved with organizations that had values I have, and work for social justice and human rights. I got on the Internet and searched until I found local groups to connect with. I was an adult when I did this – we didn't have the Internet when I was a kid. We didn't have phones that could take pictures and send emails and play movies. The phones just made phone calls. Yeah, kind of boring. You're very fortunate that you have a lot of resources literally your fingertips and you can stay informed about what's going on in the world almost any time. Social media like Facebook and Twitter make it easy to support an idea by sharing and liking. In the activist community, we call that “clicktivism.” It's great because it is easy and helps people feel involved, like they are doing something important. But it is also important to be active in real life and take part in things with people face to face. And that begins with getting to know each other.

When I was in elementary school, I was the only Jewish kid in my class. It made me feel like an outsider. In grade one, my father (who is now a retired university professor) would visit our classroom a few times a year to explain Jewish customs and traditions, usually around the time of a Jewish holidays like Chanukah in winter or Passover in the spring. Those visits were really important because for most of the other kids in the class, I was the first Jewish person they had ever met and it gave them the opportunity to ask questions about why I celebrated different holidays or couldn't eat certain kinds of foods.

I was always very shy. In high school, I hung out in the computer lab a lot and became good friends with the other people who hung out there too. One person was also friends with my older brother, and we're still friends now. He told me that when he was growing up, he used to use the word “Jew” in a very bad way – to mean that someone was cheap with money. But in the social circle he was in, that was considered perfectly fine. He didn't know that was a anti-Semitic thing to say. He also didn't know any Jewish people. Then he met my brother, and then me, and suddenly “Jew” had a face and a name. And he realized that you can't call people that, because it's wrong. When you get to know people from other cultures and religions, it can open your eyes to just how much racism and anti-Semitism there is out there. Many people simply don't know any better until they are corrected and they learn.

One of my jobs is editing a community newspaper in the Boyle Street and McCauley neighbourhoods. Much like here, the neighbourhoods are very multicultural. Children who grow up in neighbourhoods like this are very lucky because you get to know people from different backgrounds, and this will help you throughout life as you meet and interact with others in school, work, or wherever you may go. I mentioned earlier that I was the only Jewish kid in my elementary school class. Otherwise, most of the kids in that same class were white. I remember at one point we had a new student who was Lebanese. Sometimes he was made fun of because of the colour of his skin, I am thankful we had a teacher who put a stop to this right away. Racism had no place in her classroom. And I have never forgotten how she dealt with that situation.

We need to treat everyone with respect, dignity, and kindness. It is wrong to make fun of someone for any reason. I mentioned earlier that I was bullied a lot as a child. People made fun of all sorts of things about me: the way I walked, the way I talked, how I dressed, the music I listened to. I had really bad skin when I was a teenager and they made of that – something I had absolutely no control over. I felt terrible all the time, but I refused to change who I was to try to get other people to like me. I think what I went through is a reason I became an activist because I don't like to see people treated unfairly, because of their religion, the colour of their skin, who they love, differing mental or physical abilities, or any reason. We are all unique, beautiful people and we deserve to be accepted for who we are.

But even when we become adults, we still make mistakes. Nobody is perfect or acts perfectly all the time. We say or do things that hurt other people's feelings. The important thing is to be strong enough to apologize and learn and grow from the situation. Sometimes the other person may not want to hear an apology or talk about it, and that is their choice and you have to respect that too. Reconciliation cannot be forced. But as long as you are open to it, then you're on the right path.

In my faith tradition, which is Judaism, we have a value that in Hebrew called tikkun olam, which translates to healing or repairing the world. I want to make the world a better place, and I want to show others how to make the world a better place – that's you. And then, on your life journeys, even while you are still learning, you can teach others as well by how you treat each other and making a decision that you're always going to try to do your best in every situation.

Presenting at the NDP Federal Convention 2018

March On Canada was invited to give a workshop on grassroots, cross-country organizing at the 2018 NDP Federal Convention in Ottawa. I recorded a video that was included in the presentation, about organizing the women's march in Edmonton in 2017 and 2018, as well as Completing the Story, a partner campaign of March On.

Hi everyone. I hope you are enjoying the presentation from Sam and Bianca! I wish I could be there with you. My name is Paula Kirman, and I am an NDP member from Edmonton Centre. I am also one of the grassroots organizers locally with March On.

4000 people outside the Alberta Legislature on a cold January day in Edmonton. It was a sight that was overwhelming and unforgettable. There was an energy in the air that was palpable, and many of the people in the crowd had never been to a such a gathering before.

We were there to proclaim that Women's Rights Are Human Rights, and that we had reasons to gather that were specifically Albertan: to raise the level of public discourse and stop the bullying of women in political office and public life. To support survivors of gender-based violence and the families of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. And, to continue the struggle for equal pay in the workforce. Since January 21, 2017, the March On Edmonton Collective has continued to be active in amplifying the voices of women and other marginalized groups through our social media, our presence at events, and our continued organizing.

For me personally, I have had the opportunity to lead workshops and mentor others, as well as speak to a variety of groups about grassroots activism and the importance of making our voices be heard. I am also very involved with Completing the Story which March On Canada took on as a campaign. 

Completing the Story seeks to increase and improve the visual representation of women in public spaces – things like public art, statues, monuments, murals, and place names. This is important because representation matters. Lack of visibility leads to marginalization. Girls need to learn from an early age that they can be and do anything.

On a local level we are also gearing up for International Women's Day, to be a presence at several events as participants and speakers. And we are currently organizing a #MeToo rally to support survivors and look at ways to go beyond the hashtag.

March On Canada organized anniversary events in cities throughout the country on January 20, 2018. In Edmonton, 1000 people came out on another very cold day. March On is continuing to keep women's rights at the forefront by raising awareness and initiating important discussions about what a safe and equitable society should look like, and how we can all work towards those goals.
Thank you very much. Enjoy the rest of the presentation. March On!

Documenting Activism at International Week

I was invited to present Documenting Activism during the University of Alberta’s International Week 2018. I have posted my notes and a video of the presentation at my main website, Words, Pictures, Music.

Speech at Hands Off Jerusalem Rally

I was asked to speak on December 5, 2017 by the organizers of an emergency rally to protest the announcement of the intention to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, and declaring Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Here is the text of my speech as well as the video from the event.

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I am a human rights activist. I am a Jewish person. I am a global citizen. But most of all I am someone who wants to see peace for all peoples of the world. The world became a more dangerous place this past week, and we cannot sit idly by.

The decision to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem and to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel is nothing less than an act of war, a provocative move that will further destabilize the region and result in unnecessary and inhumane suffering.

It is a decision that is being criticized by people from all three Abrahamic faiths. This is no surprise since Jerusalem is an international city that is sacred to Muslims, Jews, and Christians in Israel, Palestine, and around the world. Resolution 476 of the United Nations Security Council says that altering the character and state of Jerusalem is a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention and has no legal validity.

Such a move will only deepen the oppression of the Palestinian people by giving the Israeli government a clear signal that the US will continue to support and aid the immoral and illegal occupation of Palestine. It will do nothing to achieve a just and lasting peace in Palestine and Israel. Demonstrations have already been happening in the West Bank. Festive lights are being dimmed and seasonal celebrations are being cancelled in Bethlehem, which is the occupied West Bank town where, according to the Christian faith, Jesus was born.

Today is the United Nations' Human Rights Day. How appropriate that we gather here to protest how both Palestinians and Israelis – the majority of whom want peace for themselves and their children – are being used as political pawns. In Judaism, we have a value called Tikkun Olam, which means to heal or repair the world. We cannot support that which will further tear the world apart. In the name of a just and lasting peace, we must say no to the US embassy in Jerusalem, and an end to the occupation.

Explaining Chanukah to Atheists

Is Chanukah really the "Jewish Christmas"? Why do we light candles and eat oily food? If a man converts to Judaism, it's going to hurt in the end, right? These, and other questions, were addressed during my presentation about Chanukah to the Society of Edmonton Atheists on December 5. (Spoiler: the answer to the last question is "most likely, yes.").

Reconciliation at Garneau United Church

On September 17, 2017, I was invited to speak to Church in the World monthly session at Garneau United Church. This is a session over lunch following a Sunday morning service, dealing with some aspect of social justice. My topic was Reconciliation and what Edmonton United Churches are doing to address the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Calls to Action. I presented my short talk in the context of Moving Forward with Reconciliation, a group I have been involved with for a couple of years. Below is a video, as well as the notes from my talk and a summary of the responses to the questions I was asked afterwards.

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My work: I have an interest in documentation and communication, particularly bringing groups together that have a common cause or interest. To that end, I have been documenting local activism in Edmonton and posting on social media, which is building greater awareness of progressive movements in the city. This extends to Indigenous issues and Reconciliation.

I've been involved with a group called Moving Forward with Reconciliation for a couple of years. It's a ministry of Edmonton Presbytery and we have members from a number of Edmonton United Church congregations. I got involved with the group through a woman named Debbie Hubbard. Debbie and I knew each other through Palestine solidarity work, and I later found out she had formed the Moving Forward group and was facilitating it at the time. I was also writing for an Indigenous newspaper (I'm a multi-media journalist by profession) and was following what the group was doing, which was working on building bridges between the United Church and Indigenous communities, through meetings, events, dialogues – all of this was in the planning stages at the time but I started to attend planning meetings of the working group.

A large part of Moving Forward was the building of an email list to send out announcements concerning events relating to Reconciliation and Indigenous education that are open to non-Indigenous people. Last summer, Debbie moved to Kelowna with her husband, and needed someone to take over the list. She felt I was the natural person to that given my background with communications and, although I am not of a United Church background, I am involved with the United Church on a professional basis as Marketing Project Coordinator with Mill Woods United Church, where I assist the congregation with its website and social media. So, I did indeed take over the email list after she moved.

What I have built: The email list has grown quite a bit since last year. I send out more event notices than in the past, although I try to limit to one per day because it is quite a large list. I also built a Facebook page where the events, which mostly have Facebook event pages associated with them, are also posted. People were requesting this, particularly younger people who tend to check Facebook more than their email. Some kind of list of events was also requested, so that people did not have to go back-tracking through their email to look something up, so I built a Reconciliation Calendar as part of the Mill Woods website. (I am paid an honorarium for my Moving Forward work through a grant that is administrated through Mill Woods, hence it being the logical connection). Many of the events I post I find on Facebook – I spend time searching through pages of Indigenous and Reconciliation-related organizations – and also I am contacted personally with request to post information and events.

Ongoing work/integration: The working group itself continues to be dynamic and finding its way in terms of mission and purpose, while its members are a presence at many events as participants and volunteers. Why are we doing this? As we know, the United Church has been responding to the Calls for Action and there is an excellent section of the main United Church website that deals with Reconciliation:

http://www.united-church.ca/social-action/justice-initiatives/truth-and-reconciliation-commission

The response to the email list is overwhelmingly positive. A resource such as the Moving Forward list is a relatively simple, inexpensive way to make church people aware of events and bring people out in greater numbers. Reconciliation can't happen in a vacuum – it's definitely great to have church-based discussion groups because there are many things that need to be discussed on a church level in terms of what the role in Reconciliation should be, and people's experiences and such, but in order to take it to the next level (so to speak), we really need to be out there at events and learning and volunteering and taking part.

Speaking of which, we need people from Garneau to be involved. The church is on the email list, as are a number of you, and I notice a number of the items I post make it into your weekly newsletter, but the only person who was attending meetings regularly was Jim Graves, who as we all know was very passionate about reconciliation. Since he passed away in April, there has been no official representation from Garneau. We miss Jim terribly, and know that he would want someone from Garneau to be a part of Moving Forward.

Here are some issues and information that have been raised in previous talks I have given on this topic.

The Calls to Action pertaining to the Churches are 58-61.

58. We call upon the Pope to issue an apology to Survivors, their families, and communities for the Roman Catholic Church’s role in the spiritual, cultural, emotional, physical, and sexual abuse of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis children in Catholic-run residential schools. We call for that apology to be similar to the 2010 apology issued to Irish victims of abuse and to occur within one year of the issuing of this Report and to be delivered by the Pope in Canada.

59. “We call upon church parties to the Settlement Agreement to develop ongoing education strategies to ensure that their respective congregations learn about their church’s role in colonization, the history and legacy of residential schools, and why apologies to former residential school students, their families, and communities were necessary.

60. We call upon leaders of the church parties to the Settlement Agreement and all other faiths, in collaboration with Indigenous spiritual leaders, Survivors, schools of theology, seminaries, and other religious training centres, to develop and teach curriculum for all student clergy, and all clergy and staff who work in Aboriginal communities, on the need to respect Indigenous spirituality in its own right, the history and legacy of residential schools and the roles of the church parties in that system, the history and legacy of religious conflict in Aboriginal families and communities, and the responsibility that churches have to mitigate such conflicts and prevent spiritual violence.

61. We call upon church parties to the Settlement Agreement, in collaboration with Survivors and representatives of Aboriginal organizations, to establish permanent funding to Aboriginal people for:

i. Community-controlled healing and reconciliation projects.

ii. Community-controlled culture- and language revitalization projects.

iii. Community-controlled education and relationship building projects.

iv. Regional dialogues for Indigenous spiritual leaders and youth to discuss Indigenous spirituality, self-determination, and reconciliation.

Apologies need action. Saying you're sorry and acknowledging what you did wrong is the first step – but what are you going to do, moving forward, to effect change?

Go to events and listen and learn. Offer to volunteer, where appropriate.

Have conversations. Get to know people as individuals, where they are at. We all have different backgrounds and stories. When we get to know people, we stop seeing them as “other.”

Ask questions. If you are unsure if something is cultural appropriation, or if you can take photographs, or in any situation where you don't know how to proceed – ask. Asking shows respect.

Questions/Answers

I made my main presentation short on purpose, because Reconciliation needs to have discussions, not some white person talking non-stop for an hour. Several people in the congregation spoke about their experiences learning about residential schools and with Indigenous people, such as a retired physician who worked for a time in an Indigenous community and witnessed a high rate of tuberculosis there.

I was asked what churches are doing specifically to address Reconciliation in Edmonton, and the answer is that it is really a church-by-church sort of thing. Each congregation is doing different things, some more than others, in terms of events and such.

I was also asked about how seminaries and theological schools are addressing Call to Action #60. I am definitely not in the loop when it comes to what is being taught in seminaries, but I did say that when I was growing up as a student in Edmonton's public school system, I never learned anything about residential schools. It was only more recently, when I attended the final TRC event in Edmonton in 2014 on assignment for a newspaper I was writing for at the time, that I learned about them. My mind was blown when I found out that the last residential school closed in the mid-90s. And I felt angry that such a gap existed in my education, and that what I received was a sanitized version of history. A younger man in the audience said that he learned about residential schools, so this is something that is changing with the generations. Someone added that this has indeed been added to the curriculum.

The conversation shifted at one point to the current controversy surrounding the removal of monuments and the changing of place names because of a historical figure's attitudes and actions towards Indigenous people and others. I acknowledged that this is a complicated issue, and that one way to deal with it is, instead of removing something, to add to a monument by indicating those negative actions and beliefs – complete the story, so to speak, instead of replacing it. Also, the practise of naming places and things after people is inherently flawed, because in many cases people have beliefs or have done things that do not stand the test of history. I discussed this in the context of my involvement with Completing the Story, which seeks to increase the visual representation of women in public places.

Finally, someone mentioned about having to be careful when it comes to building things where it is known there are sacred burial grounds, as well as building tributes to Elders. My response is that any project that is about Indigenous people should involve Indigenous people.

Journeys of Faith - Paths of Resistance: Reflection at Mill Woods United Church

I am the Marketing/Social Media Coordinator for Mill Woods United Church. On September 3, I presented a reflection on my faith journey and the work I do for the church.

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Subtitle: Activism and Spirituality, or, “What’s a Nice Jewish Girl Doing In the United Church?”

I was asked to make a presentation about my spiritual journey, activism, and accomplishments, in the context of what exactly I do for Mill Woods United, in approximately 20 minutes or less. So, please fasten your seat belts. Here we go.

I recall my job interview in the spring of 2016 with Ian, Brian, Mary-Anne, and Janice. It was going pretty well, but there was something I had to fess up to: I wasn’t from a United Church background. In fact – get ready for it – I’m Jewish. “That’s okay,” replied Ian, “So is our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” I tell this story quite often and it always elicits laughter.

Many of you also know me as being involved as the email list and social media coordinator with the Moving Forward with Reconciliation group which is comprised of members from a number of Edmonton’s United Churches. So, how did a nice Jewish girl end up working with the United Church?

I was raised in a fairly traditional Modern Orthodox family. Saturday was the Sabbath. We observed all of the Jewish holy days: the High Holy Days of Rosh Hashana (also known as the “Jewish New Year”) and Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement and the holiest day on the Jewish calendar), but also Passover and the other feasts and festivals as well. It was fun – I got to take a lot of days off of school for “religious observance.” We also strictly observed the dietary laws, the most well-known of which are no pork products and no shellfish (Levitical restrictions), both of which I still observe to this day.

Then came the teenage years of rebellion, and I, like many of my peers, fell away from the faith of my family. I still always identified as being Jewish but stopped being as observant. Saturday became just another day. I considered myself secular. I didn’t need a spiritual life as such. And so my teens became my 20s and I started to feel a spiritual longing that led me on a path that included everything from east to west, from Buddhism to even a time spent in the Messianic Jewish movement, which is basically Evangelical Christians who celebrate the Jewish roots of Christianity, and Jewish people interested in exploring Christianity in a Jewish context.

It was ironically during my time in this extremely right-wing, Zionist movement that I became interested in getting involved in Edmonton’s activist community – and by activist, I mean of the politically progressive kind. I had always been interested in issues of human rights and social justice but never found a way to connect. Enter the Internet, which I had been spending a lot of time on since my university days. I taught myself how to make web pages, and was starting to learn the ways of what was going to be known as social media.

Eventually, I connected with local groups that dealt with independent media, peace, the environment, women, and Indigenous issues, and as I left organized religion behind yet again I felt more affirmed in my Jewish identity as ever. There is a value in Judaism called Tikkun Olam, which roughly translates to “healing or repairing the world.” In many ways, activism has become a form of spiritual expression for me.

My role as an activist has largely been documenting local social movements through photography and video, posting my work online on my blog RadicalCitizenMedia.com as well as on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and more recently, Instagram. As a result, I have gained a large following online while learning the ins and outs of social media, which I have been able to apply to my work as a communications consultant who works largely with non-profits and NGOs.

For example, in my (just a little over a) year with Mill Woods, I have helped fix up the website, make sure it is updated regularly, while ensuring timely and relevant posts on Facebook, Twitter, and the Instagram account that I set up for the congregation. Ian’s reflections go up every week, announcements are posted, events are promoted, and at the same time I curate material to go online that pertain to the work of the congregation and the wider United Church, particularly concerning Reconciliation and LGBTQ issues, since we are an affirming congregation. Numbers on social media are growing and hopefully this is translating into both communication to congregational members, and inspiring others to attend. In addition, I help proof newsletters and print/promotional materials when required. You get all of this and more, packed into what is now five hours per week.

I heard about the position, which was called Marketing Project Coordinator but is now simply referred to as Social Media, through my involvement with the Edmonton Interfaith Centre for Education and Action, where I am a board member. The building that hosts the Interfaith Centre’s office also houses Garneau United Church, where I occasionally attended as a guest, particularly to video the sermons of a friend of mine who occasionally led services as a layperson. Quite simply, I saw a posting for the job on the communal bulletin board and I applied. And so, here I am.

Last summer I also began working with the group Moving Forward with Reconciliation, which is made up of people from several Edmonton United Churches. I took over the email list announcing events in Edmonton and area pertaining to Reconciliation and Indigenous educational opportunities when the original founder of the group moved to another province. I wanted to enhance and augment the position, and created a Facebook page for the group, as well as a Reconciliation calendar that is now part of the Mill Woods website.

My work in social media, combined with my involvement in activism, started to receive recognition from my community in 2012, when I received the Salvos Prelorentzos Peace Award, an award annually given by Project Ploughshares Edmonton (historically an ecumenical Christian peace organization), to an individual or organization in Edmonton working for the cause of peace, who has not previously been honoured for their work. Around this time I began working with the founding steering committee for the annual Daughters Day event, held in City Hall to honour women and girls for their achievements, the first Daughters Day being held in September of 2012. In 2014, I was named one of the Daughters of the Year at that year’s Daughters Day event for my leadership and being an example to women in activism. Most recently, I was named a Human Rights Champion by the John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights in December of 2016, and was a co-organizer of the Women’s March on Washington Edmonton “sister march” on January 21, 2017, which saw over 4000 people converge at the Alberta Legislature grounds to proclaim and affirm that women’s rights are human rights.

Most recently, I have become involved with an initiative called Completing the Story. We’re a grassroots group of women who came together last year to address the lack of visual representation of women in public spaces, not only in Edmonton, but throughout Canada and elsewhere. It was a logical move from my experiences with Daughters Day and the Women’s March, to work on projects that work towards an equitable society.

So even though I don’t come from a United Church background, I have always been attracted to the United Church of Canada’s commitment to social justice and a better world. I’ve often told people that if I was Christian by birth, I would have chosen the United Church as my spiritual home. From peace to reconciliation with Canada’s First Nations, to a just resolution to the conflict in Israel/Palestine, the United Church has been a part of all of these struggles, and I am very grateful to have been welcomed into this congregation and to be able to serve you in the capacity of Social Media/Marketing Coordinator.

Documenting Activism: A Practical Guide for Organizers

On August 22, 2017, I presented this workshop on Documenting Activism for the conference Ignite Change: Global Gathering for Human Rights, organized by the John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights. The session was attended by people from Edmonton, Vancouver, and Toronto. Below is a video recording of my presentation, as well as my notes.

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Ignite Change Presentation

Documenting Activism: A Practical Guide for Organizers

Overview of Me and My Work

How and why I started doing this

I showed up to my first peace rally in September of 2005 and asked permission to take photos. I just thought it might be an interesting thing to do. I posted the photos later on, on a blog I had, and the reaction to them online was so huge, the server crashed. I realized that I might be on to something – that no one at that point was documenting the local activist scene and that there was a demand for it – a desire to see photos from events afterwards. I got a better website with more server space, and began to hone my skills in photography and social media, and a short time later, videography. I document through photography and videos, and share my work using social media.

Why documentation is important

The importance of documentation has several facets. First of all, it is capturing history, perhaps a part of Edmonton's history that is not and has not been widely examined. It keeps a record of what happened, when, and why. It creates something tangible that can be shared with others, both locally and elsewhere, and perhaps even help to form connections between organizations and individuals. I also view what I do as having an artistic element to it – art and activism are very closely connected in my beliefs, as both communicate messages in visual ways. Also, documenting visually, unless someone intentionally sets about using photoshop or some other program in nefarious ways, are ways of presenting the truth of what happens. For example, I videoed Jane Fonda's talk during a panel discussion on pipelines. A number of people expressed their dismay to local media that a celebrity should come up here and be disrespectful, and were basically criticizing what she said, without actually listening to what she said. I gave them that opportunity.

What I use

I use YouTube and Flickr for videos and photos, respectively. I find them both intuitive to use and make my work easy to share. I post my work, then share it on Twitter and Facebook. The sharing/retweeting capacities of these social media platforms help spread my work to a wide number of people in a relatively short period of time. I have been using Instagram more and more, because I like how it enables someone to take a photo then send it out to a number of social media platforms at once. For blogging and simple websites, I really like Wordpress because it is so intuitive, but I have also used Blogger.

Documentation conversations

There have been conversations about the efficacy of the use of social media when it comes to activism. There is agreement about it being a great way to get messages out, but also it's important to be cautious: such as, not accepting any and all friend requests, being careful about sharing personal information, and issues of privacy and permission (photographing people in public places taking part in public events in fair game in Canada (mostly – laws are different in Quebec), but there may be times when it would be appropriate to ask permission. Also, photographing the police is fine as long as you're not interfering with their ability to do their work. Laws can be different in different parts of the world – be sure to research and know before you whip out a camera at a protest somewhere else, to avoid getting into legal trouble.). And there have been conversations about the subject matter itself, discussing different sides of the issues, which is really what we want to do: foster discussion about issues concerning conflict and human rights.

Concrete examples of my work and its impact

a) In June of 2015 Justin Trudeau was in Edmonton to help launch the campaign of Amarjeet Sohi, who was running for MP as a Liberal in Edmonton-Mill Woods (he was subsequently elected). The Edmonton Coalition Against War and Racism (ECAWAR for short), of which I am a part, was organizing a series of pickets against Bill C-51, which the Liberals voted in favour of, with the promise that if elected, they would revise some of the more problematic parts of the bill (we're still waiting for this to happen). All of the media was inside the banquet hall – except me. I was filming the protest. All of a sudden, I heard a lot of screaming coming from behind me, and I turned around, and there was Justin Trudeau himself. He engaged in an argument with Peggy Morton, and ECAWAR organizer, and I got the whole thing on video and it went viral across the country – I was doing interviews about it with media outlets, and that video is still doing well. This experience really hit home to me the importance of what I was doing – no one else captured this moment – and also how a large part of doing this job I am doing is simply showing up and being in the right place at the right time.

https://youtu.be/wmLwjjcvIeQ?t=6m30s

b) I was a co-organizer of the Women's March on Washington – Edmonton Solidarity Event on January 21. If anything shows the power of social media, it is this. Combined with the international media coverage the sister marches were getting (the main march was in Washington, of course), our event page, Twitter, and Instagram went viral. Documenting this was also important to us, so I was doing triple duty as an emcee, videographer, and photographer (we did have an official photographer as well). We saw the numbers on Facebook getting bigger and bigger up until the day itself, when over 4000 people packed the north side of the Legislature grounds. I and one of the other co-organizers, have decided to try to keep the momentum created by the march going and are using social media with a new Facebook page, new Twitter and Instagram accounts (@wmwyeg), and a website (wmwyeg.org).

https://youtu.be/ojY-PG7vFoQ?t=4m58s

https://youtu.be/373lc__Q2lg

How documentation impacts the community

Documentation, the way that I do it, gives every day citizens a voice and a platform they may not otherwise have had. Mainstream media often does not cover progressive and activist events at great length, if at all. I am putting up entire speeches or at least more than just 30-second soundbites. This also impacts the community in that it creates resources for future actions and the ability to start dialogues on the different issues presented.

Documentation: The Practical Stuff

Why document?

• To have an historical record
• To protect yourself/colleagues by having recorded details that the memory may otherwise lose
• To share your movement and experiences online and connect with like-minded groups/individuals and grow beyond your borders
• Helps build grassroots community locally and beyond through the sharing of resources.
• Helps attract others to the movement by presenting who you are and what you do. Pictures (and videos) speak volumes beyond just written descriptions (but writing is important too, as we will discuss later).
• Be the media: cover important gaps in coverage. Citizen journalism is a “thing” - there are unprecedented opportunities in today's world for our voices to be heard.
• For yourself: just like there are those people who always take pictures at family gatherings, events and protests can make important memories for us as well.

Photos and Videos

• Can be an issue of access/privilege (equipment – you need a camera, and ideally you need a computer)
• However, one does not need a fancy camera – a smartphone/tablet can suffice. Technology has come a long way.
• Most phones can also take video, most cameras (DSLR and point-and-shoot) can take video, and some video cameras can also take decent stills.
• Benefit of the above: items can be shared immediately via data or wifi (be careful about eating up data plan). You can even edit in your phone or tablet now with apps.
• Instagram & Flickr, Facebook & Twitter, YouTube – all places to post immediately. Don't forget to tag and add hashtags. Tags are like keywords; hashtags use the # symbol and also work as keywords that can be clicked on to be taken to materials using that same term. Eg. #yeg in Twitter for Edmonton-related posts.
• Photos should tell a story. Include backdrops, crowds. Don't always focus in one individuals without context or else you end up with photos that look like they could have been taken anywhere. Eg. Festival photo of family on grass that could have been taken anywhere.
• No issues in Canada taking photos and videos at and posting photos from public gatherings on public space. However, respect it if a colleague does not want his/her photo taken and posted. Could be a job-related issue, family issue etc. Or, maybe they just don't like their picture being taken. Legal issues vs. moral/ethical issues in this case err on the side of caution.
• Children: if singled out in a photo, always a good idea to get permission from parents/guardians. Again, morality/ethics should take precedence over legality.
• In Canada, police/law enforcement can be photographed. They, nor anyone else, have the right to tell you to delete photos.
• I'm not a lawyer – my information comes from my experience and what I believe to be true, but don't take anything I have said here as legal advice.
• Editing: I try to shoot in a way that would require minimal editing, if at all, afterwards. Depends what you are trying to do. Documentation, to me, means being true to what I see, so I don't want to change or enhance it much. You can crop and make some adjustments right in your phone. Most computer operating systems come with a basic photo editor (as well as a video editor).

Writing

• Captures the moments, describes them, another way of sharing information.
• Photo captions/descriptions
• Blogs: Wordpress, Blogger. Wordpress is better for making full-fledged websites. If you just want a plain blog, Blogger might be more intuitive to use for some.
• Facebook posts: keep succinct, add hashtags (a more recent development on FB)
• You don't have to be an English major or wonderful writer.
• Be descriptive, be succinct.
• Letters to the Editor at newspapers – don't be surprised if you don't get published or it gets edited way down. Keep as short as possible – increases chances of getting printed.
• Contributions to activist websites. Usually are hungry for submissions because they can't pay.
• Work as a team; have someone edit your work
• Be careful what you write: “say it and forget it, write it and regret it.” Nothing ever really permanently vanishes from the Internet (eg. Deborah Drever). You don't want something coming back at you down the road.
• Published work online usually has a unique link that can be shared on social media.

Best Practices

Photos: General (this can be applied to video as well)

• Seems like common sense: make sure batteries in phone and cameras are charged.
• Carry charger and battery packs for phones.
• Some camera batteries are proprietary; have a spare (if economical) and/or make sure it is charged in advance.

Photos: Instagram

• Good descriptions
• Lots of hashtags
• Settings to share on other social media like FB and Twitter

Photos: Facebook

• Don't tag people who are not in photos. Pet peeve of many; good way to get defriended.
• Respect it when people don't want to be tagged. Easier now that people can remove tags themselves.

Photos: Flickr

• Same as the above with regard to descriptions, keywords, sharing, adding people (the equivalent of tagging).

Writing/Blogging

• Keywords
• Have someone else edit your work
• Fact check
• Share links to your work on social media

Questions & Answers

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Workshop: Ask how many people have smartphones. Break into pairs, with those who don't have smartphones teamed with those who do, where applicable. Take pictures of the room, each other, whatever is going on, video each other talking about what aspects of social justice are important to them. Upload to the social media platforms of your choice, with the hashtag #ignitechange2017.