Host the exhibition

Background to the exhibition

The ‘My Rights, My Struggle’ exhibition shows the extraordinary bravery and determination of ordinary Zimbabwean people defending their rights. This exhibition was originally compiled by the Dutch section of Amnesty International, from materials provided by Zimbabweans operating in an extremely restrictive environment. Between August and December 2008 the exhibition toured South Africa, Namibia, Malawi, Tanzania, Senegal and Botswana, as part of efforts to raise awareness of the human rights abuses taking place in Zimbabwe. The photos, accompanying film and theatre scripts used in this exhibition were all made by Zimbabweans. The Amnesty International Zimbabwe group have since updated this exhibition taking into account recent developments in Zimbabwe.

Many groups have already successfully held the exhibition:

Kilkenny
The local Amnesty group in Kilkenny organised an event in October 2009 and used the exhibition also. A public meeting was held in the Ormonde Hotel in Kilkenny, chaired by Nora Walls, the coordinator of the local group. Moses Ali spoke very powerfully about his experiences in Uganda and the barriers he has had to overcome to gain access to his human rights. Joseph Mguni then spoke about his experiences in Zimbabwe and provided a very insightful analysis and link between his own experiences in the past and the current situation in Zimbabwe. Colm O’Gorman from Amnesty International then spoke about the need for each individual to take action and the need for mobilisation to challenge human rights abuses worldwide.

Letterkenny
In Letterkenny the exhibition was hosted in the local cultural centre. An event was held during this time and the film ‘Mugabe and the White African’ was screened and was extremely well attended. The film follows an unprecedented attempt by Michael Campbell to take Mugabe to an international court on charges of racial discrimination and violation of human rights over the controversial land seizure program, against the backdrop of the 2008 presidential elections. This was followed with a discussion on the film. The event was extremely succesful and well attended. The exhibition was accompanied by a petition and many signatures were gained also.

WATERFORD; TO FOLLOW:

We want YOU to host the exhibition either in your local area or school to help raise awareness of the difficulties faced by human rights defenders in Zimbabwe.

Contact Siobhan @ email