International Campaigner: Judges 2010

Sponsored by SMK.

This award is for campaigners outside the UK working to achieve social or environmental justice in their home countries. We work with the successful applicant both in their home country and here in the UK to help them make best use of the resources available to them, build their networks and alliances in the international community, and develop a successful strategy to achieve change.

Winner

Benard Wakoli

‘Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity Advocacy’ - Kenya

Benard is campaigning to raise awareness about the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in the Mumias community in western Kenya.  Benard started his campaign in 2008, having witnessed the suffering experienced by young people who were perceived to be gay. Working with a wide range of individuals, groups and grassroots organisations, Benard highlights the systematic human rights violations the LGBT community faces.  

 

Finalists

Jamils Richard Achunji Anguaseh

‘Global Welfare Association’ - Cameroon

Jamils is working to combat child trafficking in vulnerable communities in the north west region of Cameroon. Using survivors’ stories and working with children as peer campaigners, the campaign places children at the centre of the issue and seeks to provide vital information on trafficking scams to potential victims. He is advocating for the reform of employment sectors which perpetuate the demand for domestic child trafficking.    

Musenge Musomali

‘The Vicious Cycle’ - Zambia

In her role as a Community Health Worker, Musenge campaigns to address a range of HIV/AIDS related issues at the community level in Zambia, including: HIV prevention through reducing risky behaviour; the importance of adhering to antiretroviral treatment; benefits of early HIV testing; and tackling the myths and misconceptions that surround HIV/AIDS.  Musenge talks of the vicious cycle of HIV/AIDS whereby even if people are not infected they are still affected.  

Igor Pivovar

‘Typical Roma?’ – Moldova

Igor has been working on the Typical Roma? Campaign, which seeks to highlight the marginalisation, discrimination and poor social situation that Roma people suffer in Moldova.  By working with both the Roma and non-Roma population, and raising awareness of these issues and their implications, Igor hopes that the Roma will be able to fully integrate into Moldovan society.  

Benadette Chandia Kodili

Climate Justice – Uganda

Benadette is concerned about climate justice in a global context but is focussing on what individuals can do about this in their own community. Her focus is on schools, where she wants to set up workshops so that students can debate climate change issues and how it relates to them individually, and therefore the role they need to play in tackling this issue.  

Judges

Gill Amas

Gill Amas is Head of Communications and Campaigns at CARE International UK. Her team campaigns for better protection of women in conflict and for changes to the international aid system in order to achieve sustainable development.  Gill has worked for Labour’s National Press Office and played a central role in the 1997 general election campaign. Since then, Gill has held campaigns and communications management positions in a range of sectors, including disability rights, health and housing.

Mulat Tadesse Haregot

Mulat Tadesse Haregot is the Director of the Evelyn Oldfield Unit, which is one of the key second tier voluntary organisations working with refugee and migrant community organisations in London. Over the last 19 years, he has worked for a range of voluntary and community organisations and government agencies, including Hammersmith and Fulham Racial Equality Council, London Refugee Learning and Skills Network, the Home Office National Refugee Integration Forum and the Mayor of London’s Refugee Integration Advisory Group.

Alison Marshall

Alison Marshall works with UNICEF UK’s Put it Right initiative. She leads a team working across policy, research, lobbying and public campaigning on both international and domestic child rights issues. She is Chair of the UNICEF National Committees’ Advocacy Network and on the boards of Practical Action and the Child Rights Alliance of England. Previously, Alison has worked for BOND and CAFOD as well as with networks like the Trade Justice Movement, Jubilee Debt Campaign and the 2005 Make Poverty History campaign.

Lyndall Stein

Lyndall Stein is the Chair of the SMK Board of Trustees. She is a leading authority on campaigning, income generation and communications. She was Executive Director of Concern UK for four years. Prior to that, she was International Marketing Director at ActionAid. Lyndall developed the first individual fundraising program for the African National Congress in the 1980s and chaired Votes for Freedom. She is the Founder and Editor of Positive Lives, a ten-year photographic project showing the global human response to HIV/AIDS. In addition, she is the Co-Founder of HIV International.