The Olympics are not just a place for athletes to explore the limits of human physicality, they are also a multibillion dollar entertainment industry. The ‘purity’ of the games — ensured through amateur requirements, drug testing — can’t hide the fact that it’s still entertainment content streaming through our media.
I have played sports my entire life and enjoy the thrill of a good contest. And I’ll admit that I love watching the Olympics, especially the sports that require totally bizarre training and skills.
But what is the human rights cost of such an event? It is clear that the human right to housing has been consistently violated for the past several Olympic Games and is currently being violated in Vancouver. Another sobering fact: no Olympic city has EVER turned a profit.
Check out this fantastic, well researched article by the Christian Science Monitor here.
–Deji Olukotun
Photo by tpower1978 on a Creative Commons License.
A new television drama about soccer will premiere in Kenya in May 2010. The Team will use the lens of soccer to help address the conflicts that erupted after the 2007-2008 election race between Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga, in which over 1,000 people were killed and more than 300,000 driven from their homes. (The International Criminal Court is currently investigating the post-election violence.)
The video was produced, written, and acted by Kenyans. The project was co-produced by the Search for Common Ground and Media Focus on Africa, a Kenya-Dutch non-governmental organization. Financing was provided by the UK Department for International Development.
–Deji Olukotun
Because it is unpredictable how any book or press release will affect any person, as a teacher I try to teach that the way we read can also affect how we interact with the world. We need to think about what was said as well as how things were said. Learning how to read things closely through the examples of novels helps us all become more ethical, concerned citizens.
–Kerry Bystrom
The past five years have seen an explosion in interest in the interplay between creativity and human rights. Kerry Bystrom is on the forefront of this swiftly evolving field. An Assistant Professor in the Foundations of Humanitarianism Program at the University of Connecticut, she also teaches at the University of Witswatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa. It’s rare to find someone so well versed in human rights and creativity.
I talked with Bystrom about how she got involved in the field, asked her for emerging trends, and picked her brain for some good reads.
READ THE FULL INTERVIEW HERE.
–Deji Olukotun
The Center for Social Responsibility at American University will host its 2010 Making Your Matter Media Conference next week in Washington, DC. A number of luminaries will be attending. Panels will feature creative artists, filmmakers, social entrepreneurs, and funders. The only thing that’s missing from this year’s conference: video games.
When will folks start including gamers in the discussion? It’s a multibillion dollar industry with an engaged audience. A Swiss study found that several games allow players to openly violate war crimes. Other organizations such as Breakthrough have created video games to teach about human rights. Oh well, next time.
–Deji Olukotun
A film festival celebrating the life and legacy of Nelson Mandela will be held in Cape Town, South Africa this February. A number of cutting edge documentaries will be screened at FreeatLast, featuring everything from the international movement to stop apartheid to Mandela’s own boxing workout routine.
Mandela is a modern day hero — he affirmed his beliefs in the face of events that should have filled him with doubt — and helped avert a civil war while providing moral guidance to a re-birthed nation. His achievements have been celebrated time and again in film and fiction, most recently in Invictus, starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon. (Two Americans, obviously.)
But the world will be watching South Africa closely in 2010. How much has changed since Mandela left office? Did he have any flaws? Some argue that the Nobel Peace Prize winner provided symbolic leadership while his successor, Thabo Mbeki, had to get down to the dirty work of nation building. What has changed? What remains to be done?
Mandela is a human being and I believe that it is unhelpful to fetishize him. For how can you emulate someone who is superhuman? This film festival should serve as a valuable launch pad for a much needed discussion.
–Deji Olukotun
