Tag: One Billion Rising

One Billion Rising (OBR) will once again be taking place in Second Life on Sunday, February 14th, 2016. The theme for 2016 if Rise For Revolution, with the organisers of the event stating:

Rise for Revolution 2016 is an escalation of the first three stages of our campaign – One Billion Rising, One Billion Rising for Justice, and One Billion Rising: Revolution.

We’ve danced. We’ve demanded justice. We’ve demanded changes.

This year we are enlarging, deepening and expanding the revolution.

And we need to focus on the most marginalised women and girls to bring about true, long-lasting change.

Change can happen if… Grassroots movements and marginalised communities are in the lead.

Change can happen if… We demand accountability – making sure our justice calls are realised
We will continue to demand justice, and we will continue to highlight the issues surrounding the social injustices inflicted on women, and to keep highlighting where these issues connect. We will continue to challenge institutions, governments, policies, laws – and make these systems, which are responsible for creating situations of poverty and violence, accountable.

Change can happen if… We harness our creativity and energy
We will keep highlighting, creating and envisioning new, brave and radical artistic initiatives to bring in the new revolutionary world of equality, dignity and freedom for all women and girls. THERE IS NOTHING MORE POWERFUL THAN ART AS A TOOL FOR TRANSFORMATION.

Change can happen if… WE ACT NOW. AND WE ACT TOGETHER.

In Second Life, we will be marking the occasion (as we did last year) with a twenty-four hour one day event that will allow women and men to gather. There will be music, there will be art installations and exhibitions, there will be poetry sessions, there will be storytelling events, there will be live dance  performances, there will be dancing – and there will be information kiosks that will share information about organisations devoted to promoting justice for women across the globe, and stories of events that will be happening around the world.

OBR in Second Life will once again focus on a four-region stage, all under a General maturity rating, allowing people to come together, and which will be surrounded by an area of art installations and informational exhibits on organisations that need funding. The stage areas will feature performers and music over the 24-hour period, enabling people all over the world to attend this virtual event no matter their time zone. Pictures are welcome on the event’s Flickr group.

About One Billion Rising

One Billion Rising was the biggest mass action in human history. The campaign, launched on Valentine’s Day 2012, began as a call to action based on the staggering statistic that 1 in 3 women on the planet will be beaten or raped during her lifetime. With the world population at 7 billion, this adds up to more than one billion women and girls.

• On 14 February 2013, people across the world came together to express their outrage, strike, dance, and RISE in defiance of the injustices women suffer, demanding an end at last to violence against women
• In 2014, One Billion Rising for Justice focused on the issue of justice for all survivors of gender violence, and highlighted the impunity that lives at the intersection of poverty, racism, war, the plunder of the environment, capitalism, imperialism, and patriarchy
• In 2015, millions of activists in over 200 countries gathered to Rise for REVOLUTION, to change the paradigm, demand accountability, justice and systematic CHANGE. We are rising to show we are determined to create a new kind of consciousness – one where violence will be resisted until it is unthinkable.

In 2016, the theme of Revolution continues with a call to focus on marginalised women and to bring national and international focus to their issues; to bring in new artistic energy; to amplify Revolution as a call for system change to end violence against women and girls; to call on people to rise for others, and not just for ourselves.

The campaign has been covered widely by media in all corners of world including The New York Times, The Guardian, NPR, and many more.

If you would like to be involved in One Billion Rising in Second Life, the OBR organisers invite you to do so in a number of ways:

• By attending the event – watch for more details on the One Billion Rising website to learn more
• By forwarding to them information about groups known to you that can be added to the informational kiosks. Email 1billionrisinginsecondlife@gmail.com or post on the OBR in SL Facebook page
• By volunteering to help organise and run the event. OBR is seeking greeters, security, stage managers, media liaison and information processors, who will help build the information that will go into the OBR displays. Full training will be given
• By adding your reasons for rising to the special Why I’m Rising page
• By applying to be part of the OBR in SL Press Day
• By helping  to sponsor the event – contact Samantha Ohrberg in-world to find out how.

Visit the One billion Rising in SL website to find out more.

Saturday, February 14th not only marks Valentine’s Day, but it is also the day on which the 2015 One Billion Rising (OBR) event will take place in both the physical and world worlds.

With the final days to the event counting down, the four regions for OBR in Second Life have been delivered, and the artists and stage hands are all hard at work, and installations and stages are rising.

As with previous years, the four regions, called Drum, Rise, Dance and Change, are arranged in a square, the central area divided into four stage areas. As well as the stage areas, each of the regions provides a landing point and information area which will provide guidance on organisations where victims of domestic and societal abuse and repression can find help  – and those wishing to give support to such organisations can do so.

Then, ranged around the outer edge of the square of regions are the art displays. Over 20 artists are participating in this year’s event, and they’ve been asked to create installations that are inspired by the region names, themselves evocative of core elements of OBR’s physical activities.

Within these art installations will be an area devoted to artists representing 2Lei, the arts-led project also aimed at raising awareness of the plight of women who face violence in their lives, and which takes place in Second Life as part of the global International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, which takes place on November 25th each year.

In addition to the main main 2D and 3D art installations from the participating artists, OBR 2015 will also feature a sculpture garden, a picture gallery, and a poetry and performance stage. The full schedule of events can be found on the official OBR in SL website, but be aware that at the time this article was written, it was still subject to update.

Related Links

• About One Billion Rising
• One Billion Rising official website
• One Billion Rising in Second Life website

I recently reported that One Billion Rising will be taking place again this year, on Saturday, February 14th, and will this year carry the theme of revolution.

As with recent years, the event will be marked in Second Life, with music and dancing,  information on the OBR movement, and more.

However, in order for the event to run smoothly, the organisers are seeking organised, enthusiastic and dependable volunteers to fill a range of roles, including: Stage Managers, Greeters,  Press Liaison, and people to collate information for the OBR in-world kiosks.

If you would like to volunteer your time, whether for just a couple of hours or for longer, please complete the application for below.

In addition:

• If you are interested in writing about the event, or filming it, please complete a press application form
• If you are interested in sponsoring the event, please contact Samantha Ohrberg in-world.

 

The press release for One Billion Rising in SL 2015 has been posted to the One Billion Rising in Second Life blog,  announcing the event will take place on Saturday, February 14th, 2015, and will carry the theme of revolution.

The release reads in full:

On 14 February 2013, one billion people in 207 countries rose and danced to demand an end to violence against women and girls.

On 14 February 2014, we escalated our efforts, calling on women and men everywhere to Rise, Release, Dance, and demand Justice!

Now, on February 14th 2015, we are calling for a revolution for change.

Change can happen if grassroots movements and marginalized communities are in the lead.

Change can happen if we demand accountability – making sure our justice calls last year are realized. We are going to continue to demand justice, and will continue to highlight the issues surrounding the social injustices inflicted on women, and to keep highlighting where these issues connect. We will continue to challenge institutions, governments, policies, laws – and make these systems, which are responsible for creating situations of poverty and violence, accountable.

Change can happen if we harness our creativity and energy. We will highlight, create and envision new, brave and radical artistic initiatives to bring in the new revolutionary world of equality, dignity and freedom for all women and girls. There is nothing more powerful than art as a tool for transformation.

Change can happen if…WE ACT NOW. AND WE ACT TOGETHER.

In Second Life, we will be marking the occasion (as we did last year) with a twenty-four hour one day event that will allow women and men to gather. There will be music, there will be art installations and exhibitions, there will be poetry sessions, there will be storytelling events, there will be live dramatic performances, there will be dancing – and there will be information kiosks that will share information about organisations devoted to promoting justice for women across the globe, and stories of events that will be happening around the world.

The Second Life event will feature a four-region stage where 200 people can dance together, surrounded by an area of art installations and informational exhibits. A variety of performers will play over the 24-hour period, enabling people all over the world to attend this virtual event no matter their timezone. The regions will have a General maturity rating to allow all residents an opportunity to participate. Pictures are welcome on the event’s Flickr group.

This is not an event to raise money – although you will find information about organisations that need funding. But our primary goals are to draw people together and to raise awareness.

What can you do?
You can attend the event!

You can send us information about groups known to you that we can add to the informational kiosks. How can you do this? You can write to 1billionrisinginsecondlife@gmail.com or post on our Facebook page.

You can spread the word about One Billion Rising in Second Life amongst your friends, your communities and through social media.

You can volunteer to help us organise the event – by completing this form. We need greeters, security, stage managers, media liaison and information processors, who will help build the information that will go into our displays.

You can add your reasons for rising to our special Why I’m Rising page.

If you would like to be a sponsor for the event, contact Samantha Ohrberg.

If you would like to be part of our special Press Day, you can complete this form.

We look forward to seeing you all in 2015!

About One Billion Rising
One Billion Rising was the biggest mass action in human history. The campaign, launched on Valentine’s Day 2012, began as a call to action based on the staggering statistic that 1 in 3 women on the planet will be beaten or raped during her lifetime. With the world population at 7 billion, this adds up to more than ONE BILLION WOMEN AND GIRLS. On 14 February 2013, people across the world came together to express their outrage, strike, dance, and RISE in defiance of the injustices women suffer, demanding an end at last to violence against women.

Last year, on 14 February 2014, One Billion Rising for Justice focused on the issue of justice for all survivors of gender violence, and highlighted the impunity that lives at the intersection of poverty, racism, war, the plunder of the environment, capitalism, imperialism, and patriarchy. Events took place in 200 countries, where women, men, and youth came together to Rise, Release, and Dance outside of court houses, police stations, government offices, school administration buildings, work places, sites of environmental injustice, military courts, embassies, places of worship, homes, or simply public gathering places where women deserve to feel safe but too often do not. The campaign was covered widely by media in all corners of world including The New York Times, The Guardian, NPR, and many more.

Visit www.onebillionrising.org to learn more.