UNICEF Benefit Concert/Fundraiser for the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Partnerships for Social Innovation

The UNICEF at Cal club will be putting on a Benefit Fundraiser/Concert during the 2008-2009 school year. This event falls under the "Global Poverty Reduction" Category because all the proceeds from the event will be going to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to help women and child victims of the ongoing violence.

We begin this proposal with a plea for effective and feasible changes. We are optimistic that most people who can afford to would contribute to changing the plight of the developing world if they knew they would have an impact. It is easy to declare that people are lazy and just “don’t care,” but we truly believe in the compassion of the global citizenry. It is unfortunate that we live in an era that has desensitized us to the brutality of armed conflict. However, desensitization is just a by-product of a greater phenomenon: global journalism, which has given us both the opportunity and obligation to commit ourselves to making the world a better place.

Due to its own internal ethnic tensions and involvement in neighboring Rwanda’s 1994 Genocide, the DRC has been in a state of post-war conflict for the past several years. Disarmament has begun in the region, but is slow and not entirely effective. Conflict continues in the Kivu and Ituri provinces, making the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo an especially dangerous place for women and children.

Violence and rape are being used as weapons of war, and it is becoming clear that the perpetrators of these acts are not a single group. Women are attacked while they stay in refugee camps that are supposed to be sanctuaries from the conflict. They are attacked while in their villages, or on the run; the men who carry out these acts use rape and fear as a means of controlling the people. These horrible acts of violence must be taken seriously by the international community if we are to initiate any sort of change in the region.

The UNICEF club at UC Berkeley is committed to helping women and children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. We ask for the Bears Breaking Boundaries Grant so that we can hold a large-scale benefit concert/fundraiser on campus, involving the UC Berkeley and Berkeley City communities. The purpose of the event will be to raise awareness and funds for the women and children victimized by the ongoing violent conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. All proceeds from this event will be donated to UNICEF in the DRC.

Because the UNICEF at Cal club is strictly humanitarian, we rarely have the opportunity to raise money for ourselves. Our proposed event has the support of the head of the US Fund for UNICEF, and has already secured the CEO of UNICEF (Carol Stern) as a speaker. We are trying to find an additional speaker (UNICEF Ambassador) for the event. In order to hold this event (reserve the Greek Theater or Zellerbach), we will need a much larger budget than what we have at present.

Our tentative schedule of events will be:

Introduction to the DRC conflict
-History of conflict
-The cost of war: health, education, economy

Slideshow/documentary
-Photographs of the consequences of war and unrest
-How are women and children affected?

Keynote Speaker(s):
-What inspired you most to get involved?
-What have you seen, first hand, that needs to be accomplished? What can communities like ours do for people who are so far away?
-What positive changes have you seen over the course of your involvement in the region?

Conclusion:
-Why have we chosen to send money to the DRC instead of another conflict zone?
-Give the audience some ideas about what they can do to raise awareness, and contribute to the ongoing struggle faced by developing communities in conflict zones (the DRC as well as others)

This grant will allow us to obtain the resources (ie venue and accommodations for speakers) we need to put on such a large scale event.