My first organised event: a success!
Tibet is Burning: Immolations Film Screening and Lecture
When I joined the Edinburgh University Tibet Society at the beginning of this year, it was a small society of about 4 people. Over the last few months we've built up into a sizable society.
I always felt that the most important thing for us to do was recruit. Actions such as demos and protests could only be effective if there was a large group taking part. At my first Tibet Soc meeting, we watched Tibet: Cry of the Snow Lion, a harrowing film which details the oppression suffered by the Tibetan people. I felt that if we could get more people to see this film, then it would be enough to motivate them to take action, and join the society. The DVD can be bought here http://tinyurl.com/cp2da7o , and is worth a watch.
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| Inspiring |
Over the next 3 months, a staggering number of Tibetans set themselves on fire in protest at Chinese policies in Tibet. The majority have died. I realized that this could be used to garner the Tibetan situation more attention. Our president, Amie, had been discussing the possibility of getting Dr. Martin Mills, an anthropology lecturer at Aberdeen University who has conducted extensive research in Tibet, to come and speak to us about this phenomenon. I decided this could be tied in with the film screening, and the ensuing event would attract a lot of students. I asked if I could take this on as a project, and began e-mailing Martin. I knew that it was very important to get as many people as possible to come to this, and began publicizing it. Posters were drawn , e-mails sent, facebook events and groups created, people harassed and a date (the 8th of November) tentatively proposed.
Things began to fall in to place. The first wave of emails (sent to other university societies and departments) were largely ignored, so I went round every school in the University, trying to get the event publicized on the subject student mailing lists. Secretaries proved difficult to deal with, but after much negotiating I managed to secure the email addresses of around 10,000 students. This was going to be big. I printed the posters, all 300 of them, as well as a 1000 flyers. I bought cardboard, cable ties and spray-on glue to stick the posters up around campus.
In the week before the lecture, I put up around 150 posters. The remaining 150 and the flyers were distributed among the rest of the society, and we assigned different people to them up in different places, canvassing the university. The next 7 days proved mercifully rain-free, and although a large proportion of the posters were taken down (presumably by an irate Nationalist Chinese student; I found a few ripped up) the Society began to have a tangible presence around the University areas of Edinburgh. Whenever I talked about the society to students, they would mention the posters. On the final night before the event, I cycled around the University, chalking an advertisement on walls and pavements: 'Tibet is Burning. Thursday. 7pm. Appleton Tower. Lecture Theatre 2.' When the time for the lecture finally came, I became sure that no one was going to show up. By 7, there were still only a handful of people in the lecture theatre. However, by quarter past Dr. Mills was speaking to over 100 students. In retrospect this was particularly impressive, as there were many other major events happening that night and it coincided with multiple coursework deadlines.
The feeling of satisfaction was incredible. The Society had put so much work into this, and it had paid off. We got about 30 people on to the mailing list, with about 10 people expressing interest in becoming strong members of the society. We got the message of a Free Tibet out to thousands of people, as well as giving the immolations some much-needed publicity. We also showed a very challenging lecture and film to over 100 people, including around 25 Chinese students. I feel the most important thing we can do as a society is try and educate as many Chinese people as possible about the situation in Tibet, as they are the ones who can truly make a difference there.
Bod Gyalo! Tibet will be free.
- E
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| Dr. Mills and Amie |
In the week before the lecture, I put up around 150 posters. The remaining 150 and the flyers were distributed among the rest of the society, and we assigned different people to them up in different places, canvassing the university. The next 7 days proved mercifully rain-free, and although a large proportion of the posters were taken down (presumably by an irate Nationalist Chinese student; I found a few ripped up) the Society began to have a tangible presence around the University areas of Edinburgh. Whenever I talked about the society to students, they would mention the posters. On the final night before the event, I cycled around the University, chalking an advertisement on walls and pavements: 'Tibet is Burning. Thursday. 7pm. Appleton Tower. Lecture Theatre 2.' When the time for the lecture finally came, I became sure that no one was going to show up. By 7, there were still only a handful of people in the lecture theatre. However, by quarter past Dr. Mills was speaking to over 100 students. In retrospect this was particularly impressive, as there were many other major events happening that night and it coincided with multiple coursework deadlines.
The feeling of satisfaction was incredible. The Society had put so much work into this, and it had paid off. We got about 30 people on to the mailing list, with about 10 people expressing interest in becoming strong members of the society. We got the message of a Free Tibet out to thousands of people, as well as giving the immolations some much-needed publicity. We also showed a very challenging lecture and film to over 100 people, including around 25 Chinese students. I feel the most important thing we can do as a society is try and educate as many Chinese people as possible about the situation in Tibet, as they are the ones who can truly make a difference there.
Bod Gyalo! Tibet will be free.
- E
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