Symposium for Strength and Solidarity

The Coda #46: It’s gonna be all right Bill McKibben on songs that make a difference

When @billmckibben.bsky.social starts to feel overwhelmed in the fight to save the planet from climate catastrophe, he listens to two songs that tell him it's going to be all right - find out what they are! #climate #humanrights strengthandsolidarity.substack.com/p/the-coda-4...

A headline quote: 'There's no way to stop old people from voting' and tagline below that says: Bill McKibben on US seniors' appetite for activism. There is a head and shoulders shot of a smiling McKibben, a white man in his mid-sixties.

In 2021, veteran climate campaigner Bill McKibben founded Third Act, for the over-60s, focused on climate, democracy and racial justice. But do seniors really want to be activists? Bill tells Strength&Solidarity host Akwe Amosu how his bet on the boomers is working out. Listen: lnkd.in/eXWw5MUJ

If you live under authoritarian rule somewhere in the world and you're watching the US, what's your take on the best strategy and tactics? I asked Turkish human rights defender Murat Celikkan of @hakikatadalet.bsky.social. Check out Ep.55 of @strengthandsol strengthandsolidarity.substack.com

A picture of a smiling woman with short silver hair beside the words 'Azadi Network is working to build trust' and 'Negin Shiraghaei on organising in Iran's exile community.'

Ep.51 of the Strength&Solidarity podcast is up! Azadi Network's Negin Shiraghaei tells host @akwe.bsky.social that the murder by Iran's morality police of Mahsa Amini for defying hijab laws has paved the way for new activism in a fragmented exile community.

Photograph of gay activist, Hla Myat Tun on LGBT rights in Myanmar with the following quote "We had to go invisible after the 2021 coup."

There's still time to catch Ep. 49 of the S&S #podcast!

Hla Myat Tun, ED of Colors Rainbow, shares how #Myanmar’s #LGBTQ activists built a movement under military rule—from secret #HumanRights trainings to #Pride.

After the 2021 coup, they went underground—but the fight isn’t over.

Photograph of Gay activist Hla Myat Tun on LGBT rights in Myanmar with the following quote "We are getting stronger despite the military coup."

🚨 EP.49 OUT NOW! 🚨

Hla Myat Tun shares how #Myanmar’s #LGBTQ activists built a movement under military rule—through secret #HumanRights training, advocacy, and #Pride. Despite the 2021 coup, the fight continues underground.

🎧 Listen now: lnkd.in/ekqjSTS

Photograph of Hanna Song, ED of the Database Center for North Korean Human Rights with the following quote "Few leave saying 'I don't agree with this system- i'm defecting'"

🎙️ Ep.48 of the S&S #podcast is out!

Hanna Song of the Database Center for #NorthKorean #HumanRights sheds light on the complex realities of #NorthKorean escapees. Why don’t more describe their journey as defection, and what does that mean for #HumanRights #advocacy?

🎧 linktr.ee/strengthands...

Photograph of the Executive Director of the Database Center for North Korean Human Rights

In EP.48, Hanna Song, ED of the Database Center for North Korean Human Rights, explores the complexities faced by #NorthKorean escapees and shifting attitudes in the South. Why might escapees hesitate to embrace a clear #HumanRights narrative?

Listen here: strengthandsolidarity.org/podcasts/

Season 6 of the Strength&Solidarity #podcast launches with two veterans of human rights in the #MiddleEast on #Gaza; over 42K #Palestinians dead from #violence, an incredible 62k dead from starvation. Can the global #humarrights system survive such a failure?

🎧 Tune in: linktr.ee/strengthands...

Season 6 of the S&S #podcast begins amid the ongoing crisis in #Gaza — over 100,000 lives lost, most of them civilians. Akwe Amosu speaks with Hossam Bahgat and Nabeel Rajab about the devastating impact and the future of #humanrights.

🎧 Listen here: lnkd.in/ekqjSTS

'We're a US-Jewish group - our taxes support Israeli apartheid.' Stefanie Fox of Jewish Voice for Peace on the duty to speak up

Ep 40 of our podcast is live:

@akwe.bsky.social speaks to Stefanie Fox of Jewish Voice for Peace about rising Jewish activism in defence of Palestinian rights, and building a movement against the grain of mainstream US politics.

strengthandsolidarity.org/podcasts

'Making art - and justice - to restore a broken world.' Lawyer Carmen Cheung Ka-Man on finding a practice

📢Ep 40 of our podcast is live:

In our coda, @akwe.bsky.social speaks to Lawyer Carmen Cheung Ka-Man about reconnecting beauty with the struggle for truth and justice.

strengthandsolidarity.org/podcasts

#Palestine #HumanRights #Gaza #Solidarity

'Palestinians have called for Jewish allies - that's important to us.' Stefanie Fox of Jewish Voice for Peace on solidarity

📌Ep 40 of our podcast live:

@akwe.bsky.social speaks to Stephanie Fox of Jewish Voice for Peace about rising Jewish activism in defence of Palestinian rights, and building a movement against the grain of mainstream US politics.
strengthandsolidarity.org/podcasts

'We feel a gut-wrenching urgency every day, every night.' Stefanie Fox of Jewish Voice for Peace on Palestinian oppression

Ep 40 is now live:

@akwe.bsky.social speaks to Stephanie Fox of Jewish Voice for Peace about rising Jewish activism in defence of Palestinian rights, and building a movement against the grain of mainstream US politics

strengthandsolidarity.org/podcasts

#HumanRights #Solidarity #Palestine

'75 years after the UDHR, there's fatigue within the human rights field.' Podcast Discussion: Does the Universal Declaration of Human Rights work?

Happy New Year from the Symposium on Strength and Solidarity. Listen to Ep 39 of our podcast: On the UDHR@75, @strengthandsol moderators discuss with @akwe whether the UDHR can be made to work after its repeated failures during these challenging times strengthandsolidarity.org/podcasts/

'Yes, the UDHR was beautiful, promising peace, no more genocide. But look at what we're experiencing, 75 years later!' Podcast Discussion: Can we still rely on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights?

Ep 39 of our podcast now live: On the UDHR@75,
@strengthandsol moderators discuss with @akwe whether the UDHR can be made to work after its repeated failures during these challenging times strengthandsolidarity.org/podcasts/

A poem is not a political statement. It's about you, your struggle. Venezuelan Lissette Gonzalez on the power of poetry.

In the Coda of Episode 38 of our podcast, a Venezuelan rights investigator Lissette Gonzalez speaks to Akwe Amosu on what poetry can do that activists can’t. Listen here: strengthandsolidarity.org/podcasts/the...

#humanrights

"The strategy is - be a megaphone for your friends"

Ep 38 of our podcast is now live. Akwe Amosu speaks to Bahraini activist, Sayed Al Wadaei about the power and costs of direct action, and activism in exile. Listen here: strengthandsolidarity.org/podcasts/

So good to see that Nick Opiyo has been honoured by the National Endowment for Democracy with a 2023 Democracy Award for Individual Courage. We're not at all surprised - see his erudite and frank challenge to anti-queer hatred in Uganda - link below. #LGBTQ #Uganda #HumanRights

‘Shocking’ scale of UK government’s secret files on critics revealed Dossiers were compiled by 15 departments after scouring social media activity to vet people invited to speak at official events

www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

'This law is dangerous to everyone, not only LGBTI folks'. Lawyer Nicholas Opiyo on litigating for queer rights in Uganda.

> Episode 1 of our Season 5 is now out! In this episode, Uganda lawyer Nicholas Opiyo reviews the Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023 and litigation to reverse it. He explains the extraordinary role of actors behind the scenes, most notably US Pentecostal activists. strengthandsolidarity.org/podcasts/

As the Gaza crisis deepens, Palestinians in the West Bank are experiencing increased harassment. In this podcast repeat, rights activist @Issaamro discusses non-violent strategies of resistance to illegal settlement and armed forces abuse. Listen here: t.co/URr35HykBI