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Conference '17 - ideas generated on the day

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Conference '17

Ideas generated on the day

Morning debate

The morning was all about sharing ideas.

Pitch Your Passion
Three participants had the opportunity to present a global issue, idea or campaign that matters most to them. When applying to present, they were asked to consider three questions: What is your idea, concern or campaign about? What would your unique contribution to this issue be? What’s the change that you want to see and is it achievable?

The first presentation put forward a case to urge the UK government to support the UN process for creating a UN treaty to ban nuclear weapons and to promote the multilateral abolition of nuclear weapons. This was proposed by calling on the UK to play an influential role in persuading other countries to participate. 

The second presentation proposed the idea that the new UN Secretary-General should hold a conference on Peace. This meeting would explore the possibility of refining the mechanics of mediation between countries - and what sanctions can or should be applied to countries that act against the UN Charter.

The final presentation pitched for an educational initiative for the UN's doctorine of Responsibility to Protect, that would reach as many people as possible. The initiative sought to provide teaching material about R2P for schools and to the general public through TV documentaries and discussion groups.

The 'Face-to-Face'
Participants then got into groups to hear UNA-UK members, members of staff and other activists share their stories and secrets to good community engagement.

Here is a list of each of their stories and the ways in which they made a success of them.

David Wardrop, Chair, UNA Westminster - ‘We the Peoples’ film festival
For 12 years, the ‘We the Peoples’ film festival has screened films on human rights, development, security and the environment. The festival initiated the UK's first peace-themed film season, video-streaming workshops for Non-Governmental Organisations, and the world’s first festival of films on international development by young directors.

To keep the film festival fresh, interesting and relevant, David and his team ensure that a wide range of global issues are explored. He makes sure that the events are widely publicised to attract all audiences, especially students, and that events are mainly held in public spaces to maximise accessibility.

Natalie Saad & Melody Barreau Administrative Officer & Assistant, UNA-UK - Recruiting volunteers to expand the movement
Under-funded and under-resourced, Natalie and Melody have found creative ways of getting UNA-UK’s work done with the help of volunteers. To ensure UNA-UK get the right kind of volunteers, the Admin team advertise roles on multiple platforms to attract a diverse array of people. They further ensure that volunteers are clued up with the work of UNA-UK, their role and what they hope to achieve as a volunteer for UNA-UK.

Gian Clare, Chair, Warwick & District UNA - Leamington Peace Festival
Gian is one of the first organisers of the Leamington Peace Festival. Taking place each year on the weekend before the summer solstice, it fills the heart of Royal Leamington Spa with a mix of family friendly activities on the theme of peace.

Gian brings people together by encouraging international and local organisations and individuals to participate. He has a team of dedicated volunteers who are committed to the project and were able to take and carry out delegated tasks. By networking and advertising their aims, Gian ensures that the festival is known to the town of Leamington and the local community is fully engaged.

Richard Nelmes, Deputy Director, UNA-UK - Local press coverage of the UN’s 70th anniversary
Frustrated by his hometown’s lack of interest in the UN, Richard wrote an article for the local newspaper and worked to engage the Council’s politicians.

To make sure the council listened and his story got in the local news, Richard was proactive about establishing good relationships with the local media and authority. To make the subject relevant and relatable, he appealed to a local audience by using the city’s own historic links with the UN.

Laurel Hart, Outreach Assistant, UNA-UK - ‘Thank Ban’ initiative
The UN’s achievements are often unsung. Laurel led an online initiative which put the spotlight on the outgoing UN chief by asking people to thank him for his contribution to the United Nations. To make the campaign stand out, Laurel created a #ThankBan hashtag to track engagement.

She invited all of UNA-UK’s networks to get tweeting using the hashtag. To encourage people to get online, Laurel set up a competition to find the best #ThankBan tweet and sent the top five tweets a UNA-UK pin badge and UN charter poster. If you type #ThankBan you'll see a flood of tweets!

Keith Hindell, UNA Westminster - UN Secretary-General mock election
Spotting the need for more local engagement with the campaign to change the way the Secretary-General is selected, Keith helped organise a mock election for the role. Photos, CVs and manifestos were made available, and attendees were encouraged to vote for their favourite. To bring the subject to life, Keith posed questions facing the Security Council itself so it was as realistic and relatable as possible. 

Viv Williams, Chair, Chichester & District UNA - Festival of Chichester
In 2015, Viv brought the United Nations to Chichester by asking former UK-UN Ambassador, Sir Jeremy Greenstock, to speak at the City’s annual festival. 

To encourage people to sign up to UNA-UK, Viv asked festival goers to fill out UNA-UK's supporter card to enter a raffle for a bottle of wine. This was a simple and creative way to recruit new supporters and engage more people with the work of UNA-UK.

Fred Carver, Head of Policy, UNA-UK - ‘StandFor’ campaign
The need to re-engage people with the importance of international cooperation has never been greater. Fred worked with UNA as it launched its StandFor campaign which asked individuals to complete a placard stating the most important thing they stand for. A photo of them holding the placard was shared on social media using the #StandFor hashtag.

Student local UNA groups were equipped with StandFor cards for their Freshers' Fair stalls and used them to ask people on campus what they care about. 2,000 new students signed up to UNA-UK as a result of the campaign.

Pat Irvine, Chair, UNA Northern Ireland - Presentation of UN Charters
In recognition of the seventieth year of the United Nations, UNA-Northern Ireland invited all their local councils to receive a copy of the UN Charter at special receptions. Pat, along with other committee members, helped to organise this.

To make sure every council participated, committee members were persistent in making contact with councils. To make it relevant and appealing, Pat and her team emphasised the symbolic importance of presenting UN Charters to local councils on the seventieth year of the UN. 

Ben Donaldson Head of Campaigns, UNA-UK - 1 for 7 Billion
Until last year, the way the UN Secretary-General was chosen was outdated, secretive and unfair. Ben was fundamental to the ‘1 for 7 Billion’ campaign, which created the momentum that saw this process transformed.

To get people talking, Ben kicked off a social media campaign by asking the question: Who should the #NextSG be? He used the hashtag to track engagement and equipped students at universities with #NextSG placards for their Freshers' Fair stalls. This got students talking about the UN candidate selection process and tweeting their views.

Afternoon action

The afternoon was all about putting ideas into action.

£500 challenge
Participants were given an imaginary £500 and a choice between challenges. They were asked to consider how they would stimulate action on the ground and ignite debate about global issues where they live.

Here are some of the key ideas generated: 

Challenge 1: Create a buzz on social media

  • Simplify your message to make it digestible for all audiences: Avoid using lots of jargon and technical vocabulary. You can use statistics to strengthen your overall message too.
  • Use Twitter: Create a hashtag that is easy to use and communicates your message clearly. If you're holding a hustings, encourage people to share their views and ask questions to candidates on Twitter. 
  • Live stream it on Facebook: If you're holding a hustings in your local community to hear candidates’ views, live stream it on Facebook so that more people can watch it. Invite comments and questions to get people talking about it online and in their local area.
  • YouTube it: Put the video on Youtube so people can view it at a later date. You will have a record of the event and what was said on the day.
  • Advertise it: If you have financial resources, invest them in buying adverts on Facebook and Twitter to bolster your post and attract more attention. They're not as expensive as you think.
  • Get in your local news: Use an engaging and exciting message, photo or video to draw attention and coverage. Make sure you publish it on Twitter and Facebook to increase exposure.
  • Blog it: Create a blog where you can share your views and views of local candidates. You can use this as a reference point in the future when holding candidates to account for what they've said.
  • Stay politically neutral: Remember to present views of all parties to stay on the right side of the law and get as much coverage as possible.

Challenge 2: Share candidates’ views

  • Come up with a set of strong questions to put forward to all candidates: Use UNA-UK’s stock questions to give you some ideas.
  • Get on social media: Use Twitter and Facebook to post views of candidates and invite comments and questions.
  • Follow up with candidates: This is a great opportunity to to see if candidates have stuck to their pledges.

Challenge 3: Fundraise for change

  • Get online: Use crowdfunding websites to fundraise. You can easily share these pages on Facebook and Twitter to attract people to your event or campaign.
  • Get local: Target businesses, local media and non-government organisations to seek support and endorsement for your event or campaign. 
  • Take to the streets: Get your hands on some donation buckets and talk face-to-face with members of your local community to attract attention to your events and campaigns.
  • Get celebrity endorsement: Try and contact a local celebrity who could be interested in your event or campaign. They are likely to have a large following on social media and could be willing to share your campaign or event with their networks.
  • Get students on board: Reach out to students at universities who are passionate about engaging with global issues and are excited about fundraising for the cause.
  • Re-invest: If you've generated income from your event or fundraising, use it for your next bigger and better event or campaign. 

Challenge 4: Bring candidates together

  • Be selective: Choose a topic you’d like to discuss and make sure you’ve got all of your questions prepared to ask the candidates.
  • Get a suitable venue: Find a venue and location to hold a hustings that is accessible and in your budget. Be realistic about the capacity. It looks better to pack out a small room than have people floating around a big space. 
  • Invite all candidates to the hustings: You want to remain politically neutral so that you can obtain views from all candidates. 
  • Get creative: Hold a ‘coffee with a candidate’ morning to get people in the local community interested and to make it easy to come along to.
  • Be innovative: You could even hold a hustings at halftime at a football match to stand out from the crowd.
  • Make some UN goody bags: At your event, bring along some ‘take away’ packs on the United Nations with UNA-UK leaflets so that they learn more about the UN and get involved with UNA-UK's future campaigns. 
  • Invite a local celebrity: Celebrity endorsement is a great way to attract attention to your event or campaign. Get in contact with a local celeb who has already expressed interest in global affairs and invite them to attend your event or spread the message on social media.
  • Bring people together: Invite businesses, local media and other organisations together to report on the event and share it with their networks.
  • Share the candidates’ views on social media: You can then track engagement and follow up on this to keep an eye on what candidates are saying.

The presentations were followed by comments from the panel.