• Topics▼
  Books Design / Art Events Misc. Movies Music Sunday Roundup Toyz TV Shows Video games Works / Projects

• Archive▼
  February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007

• Websites▼
  Max Dana, Official Site The Sama Gazette The World of Sama da-eYe

• Blog Anniversary Posts▼
  2010: Third anniversary 2009: 2nd time's a charm 2008: First anniversary 2007: Here we go!

It has already been a year. Time goes by so fast… The “60 Signers for the 60th Anniversary” Initiative is a year old but it is like it was yesterday. It was a great experience and I had the opportunity to meet with very interesting people. The heads of the organizations who signed the initiative such as Mary Robinson (Member of The Elders), Geneviève Garrigos (President of Amnesty International France – AIF), Jacques Hintzy (President of the French National Committee for UNICEF), Stéphane Hessel (Ambassador of France, Participant in drafting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights), François Zimeray (Ambassador for Human Rights), Jean-Marie Fardeau (Paris Office Director, Human Rights Watch – HRW), Souhayr Belhassen (President of the International Federation for Human Rights – FIDH), Pierre Sané (Assistant Director-General for Social and Human Sciences, UNESCO), Francisco Galindo Velez (UNHCR Representative for France), Yves Berthelot (Chairman of the French Comité for the international solidarity – CFSI, President of the World Organization Against Torture – OMCT), Jean-François Julliard (Secretary general, Reporters without Borders – RSF), Jacky Mamou (President of the Collective Darfur Urgency), Pierre Lévy (Founder and President of Planète Urgence)…

Everything started with a modest idea and it became something much bigger. This personal project has become a collective one, aimed to make people think about Human Rights and make them realize how important it is to fight for them. There were the important people from the organizations but also the ones you don’t see on television. The ones who work in the field and for whom I have so much respect for. Some of them also signed the artwork I created and I was very proud they accepted to. They know what Human Rights are about, they know what is happening when they are not respected, ignored. They tend wounds, they give hope. So many people are suffering in the world, it is sometimes hard to realize we (and I count me in) don’t do muchenough to change what we see. Some courageous ones deciced to act and we should be respectful of their strong desire to make a better world. It may sound banal and stating the obvious but if we seriously think about it, isn’t it much easier to do nothing and criticize than take our responsibilities and take action? We all know it is.

A few days ago, the Sama Team posted an article on the Sama Gazette: International Human Rights Day 2009. The many comments prove this is a hot topic. This year the Every Human Has Rights Campaign was not as active as it was last year for the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights but it is still up to date. CIVICUS has taken the lead of the campaign initially launched by The Elders. I hope they will keep it alive, last year showed us how people can mobilize themselves to support Human Rights; we should never stop!

Note: Comments for this post are open on the Sama Gazette Website.