Archive
Hendrik Beune, will be training as a Legal Observer for the 2010 Olympics
Hendrik Beune, will be training as a Legal Observer for the 2010 Olympics
With thanks to Carlito Pablo of the Georgia Straight for the following article:
http://www.straight.com/article-262837/observers-train-olympics
Legal observers train for 2010 Olympics
Worse, as some incidents in the U.S. have shown, volunteers like these may even be targeted by the police. They may be arrested and charged with anything from mischief to obstruction of justice. They may also get hurt or even killed if a violent confrontation breaks out between protesters and security forces.
Nat Marshik was made aware of these risks when she attended a recent workshop for civilians interested in monitoring protests and potential hot spots during the 2010 Olympics. At the end of the training, conducted by the B.C. Civil Liberties Association and Pivot Legal Society in East Vancouver on October 11, she handed in her application to become a legal observer.
“Part of it for me is the desire to even just know what rights I have and what actions the police are going to be undertaking,” Marshik told the Georgia Straight during a break in the two-and-a-half-hour session. “I think one thing that’s characterized a lot of the lead-up to the Olympics is the general lack of transparency, and that includes all the police preparations as well.”
Eighty people have attended the two trainings conducted so far by the BCCLA and Pivot, according to lawyer John Richardson.
Richardson is the cofounder and executive director of Pivot Legal Society. In an interview after he instructed participants in the basics of legal observing, Richardson said these volunteers will serve as the “eyes and ears” on the ground that will record how human rights and civil liberties are being upheld during the games.
“It has entered the consciousness of the police and military organizers of the Olympics, and they are going to have to be extra conscientious and careful that their military and police forces are observing the Charter of Rights,” Richardson told the Straight about the presence of the volunteers during the games.
The BCCLA earlier announced that the Vancouver Police Department and the RCMP–led Integrated Security Unit for the 2010 Olympic Games had accepted its invitation for their senior officers to undergo the same training as those participating in the legal observer program.
The potential for conflict has grown as the Olympics draw closer.
On October 7, B.C. attorney general Michael de Jong introduced legislation that will authorize municipal officials in Vancouver, Richmond, and Whistler to enter private homes to take down unauthorized signage. It will also amend the Vancouver Charter to provide stiffer penalties, consisting of fines of up to $10,000 per day and imprisonment of up to six months for violators.
On the same day that de Jong brought in the proposed law, anti-Olympics activist Chris Shaw and Alissa Westergard-Thorpe filed documents before the B.C. Supreme Court challenging the constitutionality of an omnibus bylaw enacted by Vancouver on July 23, 2009. This municipal law severely restricts activities such as distributing leaflets in several areas in the city during the Olympics.
Speaking before Vancouver city council on July 7 this year, RCMP assistant commissioner and ISU head Bud Mercer said that local, national, and international groups are planning “criminal protests”. Mercer also told councillors that a force of 7,000 police, 5,000 private security personnel, and 4,500 members of the Canadian Forces will be deployed in the mega event.
Vancouver resident Henny Coates attended the October 10 clinic for legal observers. She is concerned about how citizens will be treated by security forces during the Olympics.
“I think it’s easy for rights to be overridden if we don’t make sure that they know that they’re being watched, that we’re standing up for our rights,” Coates told the Straight.
Legal observers will work in pairs. They will document in various ways—from taking notes to filming—how security officials will interact with both protesters and ordinary citizens.
Participants were told at the training that neutrality is the key to being a good observer. Hendrik Beune is willing to set aside his opinions about the Olympics when he dons the orange shirt of a legal observer.
“I think this is the best way to exercise my civil rights and do my civil duty: being an objective observer,” Beune told the Straight. “Of course, there are a lot of concerns about the Olympics, the fact that corporations seem to have more power than people now. There are going to be some protests, so I’d like to be able to observe those.”
The BCCLA and Pivot will hold two more workshops to train observers at Vancouver’s Britannia Community Centre (1661 Napier Street) on November 22 and December 6, starting at 2:30 p.m.
AHA MEDIA is very proud to be featured in Gillian Shaw’s article on Social Media as a new Olympic Event
With many humble thanks to Gillian Shaw of the Vancouver Sun for her article
The other games: Tweeters, videographers …
From bloggers to citizen journalists, the way we see and experience the Games has changed
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/other+games+Tweeters+videographers/2126923/story.html
VANCOUVER – Social media is the new Olympic event, with the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games giving Vancouver’s fast-growing social media community a chance to showcase its talents and technology.
While the Olympic movement is taking small steps into a world where conventional news services share an online space in which everyone is a publisher and producer, Vancouver’s grassroots social media is already seen as a forerunner.
The upcoming Games are giving rise to a range of social media offerings from the official 2010 hosts to contributions from citizen journalists, tweeters, bloggers and online video producers who will share their city and their Olympic experience with the world.
April Smith is already a winner and the games haven’t even started.
Once homeless in Vancouver’s downtown eastside, the 24-year-old Smith – known as AprilFilms on Twitter – has turned her life around thanks to a mentoring program that taught her new media skills ranging from web design to mobile video. Equipped with a video-enabled cellphone, Smith will be participating in the Cultural Olympiad Digital Edition, part of the 2010 celebrations.
“New media has meant a new life for me,” said Smith, who has co-founded AHA Media, a fledgling startup that fosters new media learning among downtown eastside residents.
“Back in the day I, lived in and out of the most horrible places you could think of. I was living on the edge. It really has been the saving grace to do computer work and have a home where I can lock the door.”
The stepping stone for Smith came in the form of the Fearless City Mobile Project, an initiative in which residents and artists of the downtown eastside receive training in mobile media and use their new-found skills to document stories and issues in their neighbourhood.
“There was support for me that helped me change my life,” said Smith. “I’m now teaching basic media skills to others to help them make the transition, to go on to a different future.
“It opens doors for them.”
As a Fearless City Mobile project co-ordinator, Smith is participating in Fearless City’s CODE Live and Bright Lights editions. The projects will include streaming videos created by local residents and shown on giant screens at W2, a community media arts centre opening this winter.
It’s that community conversation – a dialogue – that separates social media from conventional media and it’s a transition that the International Olympic Committee is grappling with.
Martin Sorrell, chief executive of WPP Group, one of the world’s largest advertising companies, recently told the IOC that interactive online content is crucial in attracting young audiences today.
The Olympic movement is adding its own contributions to the social media offerings, but it is a step forward that is not without its stumbles. Most recently, the IOC sent a cease-and-desist letter to Richard Giles for sharing photos from his trip to the 2008 Beijing Games on Flickr.
While the IOC was quick to defend its position, the incident is a sharp reminder of the pitfalls and challenges facing both sides in adapting to new technologies.
“It really comes down to fair play,” said Graeme Menzies, director of online communications for Vanoc. “If somebody is trying to take advantage, then that’s not OK. But if people are saying we love this, we think it’s great, we want to talk about it and share it, that’s awesome stuff.”
Menzies said his organization is recognizing the popularity of social media tools and integrating them into its newly relaunched website.
While the global Olympic movement is starting to shift attention to social media, critics say progress is slow and opportunities to showcase Vancouver have been missed.
“Vanoc has been reaching out to the community to better understand social media, but it has been slow to adopt it,” said Kris Krug, a W2 director and Fearless City Mobile mentor, who participated in symposiums at both the Turin and Beijing Olympics on how new media is changing coverage of the Games.
“Citizens, athletes and corporations will all be making media, whether it’s part of Vanoc’s official strategy or not.”
Krug, along with Dave Olson and W2 executive director Irwin Oostindie and other new media veterans in Vancouver, is organizing the True North Media House, a grassroots campaign aimed at encouraging social media coverage of Olympic sporting and cultural events.
“I have done quite a few presentations on how grassroots media-makers can embrace the Olympics,” said Olson, who said the 2012 Summer Games and 2016 Winter Games organizers are already demonstrating a “more progressive” approach to social media.
“I have been saying, come on Vancouver we can help facilitate this sea change in the way media is consumed,” he said. “The motivation for me is because I work in this field here in Vancouver, but also as an Olympic enthusiast.”
Olson said the True North Media House has garnered international attention but it faces funding challenges.
“We have talked to the BBC, CNN – people from all over the world are contacting us,” he said. “There is a tremendous amount of interest in a grassroots project like this.”
Vancouver Sun
gshaw@vancouversun.com
RESOURCES
http://www.twitter.com/2010tweets: updates from the Vanoc communications team
http://www.twitter.com/CTVOlympics: updates from 2010 broadcast partner
http://www.twitter.com/TNMGH: Twitter profile of the True North Media House, a project aimed at giving social media practitioners a centre for the 2010 Games.
http://www.facebook.com/Olympics: official Facebook page for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games with link to Torch Relay interactive site.
http://www.twitter.com/W2Woodwards: updates from W2 Community Media Arts, a participant in the Cultural Olympiad.
http://www.youtube.com/vanocwebteam: Vanoc’s YouTube site
http://twitter.com/quatchi: one of many social media sites that have picked up on Olympic-related names, this Twitter profile named for Quatchi, a 2010 mascot, bills its bio as “NO GAMES ON STOLEN NATIVE LAND!,” but has been quiet except for a few tweets.
http://www.netvibes.com/studentslive: website for student social media participation in the 2010 Olympics.
AHA MEDIA were very proud to be interviewed by Gillian Shaw, Digital Life and Technology journalist for Vancouver Sun Newspaper
AHA MEDIA were very honored and proud to be interviewed by Gillian Shaw, Digital Life and Technology journalist for the Vancouver Sun Newspaper 🙂
Gillian Shaw will be highlighting AHA MEDIA’s style of citizen journalism with cellphones that have built in cameras to help create new media and social media content.
AHA MEDIA is very proud to say that they will also be camera operators for the upcoming W2 Fearless City Mobile projects with Bright Lights and with CODE Live (part of the 2010 Cultural Olympiad).
———————————————————————————————————————
Below is a photo of Bill Keay, Staff Photographer of Vancouver Sun taking photos of AHA MEDIA
In the following video, Bill Keay, Staff Photographer of the Vancouver Sun newspaper photographs April Smith together with Hendrik Beune, Peter Davies and Ken Glofcheskie of AHA MEDIA for an upcoming article in the Vancouver Sun about social media in the Vancouver Downtown Eastside, written by Gillian Shaw, who is the Digital Life and Technology journalist for Vancouver Sun Newspaper
This was filmed by April Smith of AHA MEDIA on a Nokia N95 mobile cameraphone. April is passionate and skilled in making Nokia films by exploring mobile media production through the camera lens of a cellphone. For a better quality version of this video, please DM April Smith@AprilFilms on Twitter or Facebook.com/AprilFilms
———————————————————————————————————————
Below is a photo of Bill Keay, photographing April Smith
AHA MEDIA thanks Bill Keay, Staff Photographer and Gillian Shaw,Digital Life and Technology Journalist for the Vancouver Sun for their excellent work! 🙂
April Smith of AHA MEDIA was very proud to welcome Canada World Youth to Vancouver Downtown Eastside
April Smith of AHA MEDIA was very proud to welcome Canada World Youth to Vancouver Downtown Eastside 🙂
A group of youth leaders from Canada, Kenya and South Africa came to discover what our community is like, ” the inherent value of people in the community, the very real struggles people face, and how brave, strong and beautiful the heart of our community is in the face of often enormous suffering”
http://www.canadaworldyouth.org
Canada World Youth (CWY) is a world leader in the development of international educational programs for youth aged 15 to 25. We work with countries in Africa, Latin America, Asia, the Caribbean, and Eastern Europe.
Since 1971, the CWY program has made it possible for more than 31 000 young people from 67 countries to have safe and meaningful international experiences, learn about other cultures, and contribute to the well-being of their own communities.
Internationally recognized expertise
The Netherlands, Sweden, Great Britain, and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) have all designed programs based on the CWY model.
A unique and innovative model
Non-formal education: The CWY program advocates learning by doing, a model in which young volunteers learn by getting involved in communities in Canada and in another country.
A bilateral core program: CWY is one of the few organizations in the world that offers a two-part program, with one phase in Canada and the other in another country. This is one of the most original aspects of the CWY model because it provides a perspective on how people live in both countries and fosters true dialogue between partners in the South and in the North.
Supervision, health, and safety: All CWY projects are supervised by highly qualified professionals who provide volunteers with a safe, unique, and enriching experience.
Peter Davies of AHA MEDIA is very proud to be an Honourable Mention Winner of 2009 Hope in Shadows Downtown Eastside Photography Contest
In the following photos and video, Peter Davies of AHA MEDIA is proud to be a Honorable Mention Winner in 2000 Hope In Shadows Downtown Eastside Photography Contest.
Peter Davies is very happy to be among the winners! Libby Davies – MP for Vancouver East congratulated him with a certificate.
This was filmed by April Smith of AHA MEDIA on a Nokia N95 mobile cameraphone. April is passionate and skilled in making Nokia films by exploring mobile media production through the camera lens of a cellphone. For a better quality version of this video, please DM April Smith @AprilFilms on Twitter or Facebook.com/AprilFilms
In the Hope In Shadows Contest, there were 200 cameras given out and 27 exposures – 5400 photos were taken of the community in 3 days!
Hendrik Beune, Director of AHA MEDIA will be selling the 2010 Hope In Shadows Calendar and Book this year. Please contact Hendrik directly at his email HendrikBeune@gmail.com or on his cell 778 – 869 – 2040
Follow Us!
AHA Media 