saih.no

Vest-Sahara er fremdeles Afrikas siste koloni. Høsten 2011 er det 20 år siden FN-styrken MINURSO ankom okkuperte Vest-Sahara. Operasjonen hadde som mandat å avholde en folkeavstemning om territoriets selvstendighet. Men selv om saharawiene har folkeretten på sin side, er avstemningen ennå ikke avholdt. Hvor tok folkeretten veien? Er Vest-Saharas folk offer for at det internasjonale samfunn setter sine egne interesser først? De som svarer er:

Italienske Francesco Bastagli, tidligere spesialrepresentant og sjef for FN-styrkene i Vest- Sahara. Menneskerettighetsaktivist og Raftopris vinner Sidi Mohamed Daddach som kommer direkte fra okkuperte Vest-Sahara. Folkerettsekspert og lærebokforfatter Hans Morten Haugen, førsteamanuensis ved Diakonhjemmet Høgskole. Jennifer M. Murphy, doktor med fordypning i realpolitkken i Vest-Sahara-saken. Arne Øi, leder FN-Sambandet Vest.

Gratis servering av enkel lunsjmat, forutsetter påmelding til info@vest-sahara.no innen 26. oktober kl. 12.00.

Konferansen er på engelsk. Les mer om konferansen på www.vest-sahara.no og https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=117162548392193

27. oktober kl. 10.00-13.30 auditoriet på Dragefjellet DR:A2 arr. FN-Sambandet Vest, Støttekomiteen for Vest-Sahara og SAIH Bergen.

Students fight for democracy!

The focus this fall has been “students fight for democracy”. We wanted to highlight and debate the situation in various countries, and talk about why education is crucial for development.

We opened on Monday by showing the movie “Punam”, which shows the Nepalese girl Punam and her brother and sister, and how their lives involves both school and work.
Around 30 people attended, and with the creators of the movie present, Lucian and Natasa Muntean, we got answers to some interesting questions. People were interested in Punam’s aspects for the future, and we were told she would have the opportunity to get a good job since she was attending school. A good job would mean she could find something else than manual labor that we saw her do in the movie. It was very interesting to have Lucian and Natasa present, and we want to thank them for both making an important documentary and for showing it to us.

Wednesday it was time for a lunch seminar with Tor Halvorsen who is an associate in administration and organization science at the University of Bergen. He talked about national and global reforms in higher education, and what these reforms are doing to the educational system in these countries. The countries he talks about is mainly poor countries in Africa. He mentioned these reforms, which often is initiated by the World Bank and World Trade Organization, as destructive to the educational systems. They offer the country money to privatize the educational system, and that makes education too expensive for many young people in these countries, and education is therefore only available for those who are able to pay the student fee. In addition, the best and richest students get to go to Europe or America to work, and that also causes human capital flight, also known as Brain Drain. Another concequence is that the research in these universities is almost non-existance. The universities who is lacking their own research system is using research from America and Europe, and it would be more relevant for these countries to have their own research made in their own context.

On Thursday we had Randi Gramshaug from Norad and Sinisia Sikman from Canvas talking about education under attack. Randi has worked in a number of countries, for example Afghanistan. We learned how education often is one of the first things being attacked, because the regime is afraid of oppression. Attending school can be very dangerous and unsafe, and Afghanistan and Thailand has had several incidents of attack on school children. In Pakistan there has been a mass kidnapping of children who has been recruited into the army. It is also a problem that so few girls are getting an education.
Sinisia was active in the movement Canvas in Serbia, and shared his experiences working for freedom in a peaceful way. He believes you can solve a conflict without using violence.

In addition to this we have had cases from Malawi, Zimbabwe, Western-Sahara, Colombia and Chile hanging at the student center, telling about the situation regarding education there.

We want to thank everybody who have attended the campaign week and hope you both learned something and enjoyed it!

Karolis Banys, an exchange student from Lithuania, has been following SAIH-Bergen’s campaign week 2011. In this text he is summing up the meeting “Education under Attack”

” The guests of the discussion are a presenter from the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) and a presenter from the Serbian peace-organisation CANVAS.

Randi Gramshaug from NORAD was talking about the situation of students, academics and teachers, whose educational freedoms are under threat, due to the existence of the armed conflicts and insecurity in the world. According to Randi, basically if a conflict occurs in a state or between a number of states – process of education stops. International community prioritises sanitation and health rather than education, as the former ones save lives directly. Single states, such as Pakistan, spend seven times more of its annual budget on defence than for the education and just imagine a situation of war which lasts for 12 years – a generation without the education. In Afghanistan there are 12 million children and 5 million of them do not access education. 70% of the schools in Afghanistan are closed. Approximately 33 school attacks per month happen in this country, therefore parents fear to send their sprouts to schools. It is claimed that education is political and that in some countries, schools can be a symbol of alien culture or even westernisation. In case of Muslim regions, it is thought that schools are a part of western idea and that the Islamic teaching methods are not being preserved. Sometimes schools are attacked even because of the rumours in the community or even in order to have a new school built with new educational material provided after the old one is destroyed. Though we shouldn’t forget that school attacks also happen in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Thailand, Nepal, the Gaza Strip as well. In 2010, United Nations adopted a resolution claiming rights to education even during the conflict period for all children in the world. Schools should be a place for a peace, a safe place for the younger generation, rather than a part of the rivalries.

The second speaker Sinisa Sikman from the Serbian peace-organisation CANVAS was talking about their non-violent fight for democracy in Serbia and briefly introduced the reasons and the outcomes of the overthrow of the Slobodan Milosevic regime. According to Sinisa, the consequence of the World War I was World War II, the outcome of previous was Cold War and a number of proxy wars. The point is that violent conflicts do not bring sustained peace, while the non-violent movements, involving majority of the society can bring the change of the regime. According to the presenter, education is crucial. It plays an essential role in successfully subverting the exploitative political power and struggling for democracy. Previously the Serbian peace-organisation CANVAS used their experience for training the freedom fighter groups of Ukraine, Georgia, Maldives, Venezuela and Egypt, all of which afterwards dismantled the unjust regimes. Currently the Serbian organisation provides special education and trainings to over 50 different countries in the world. “

Quizkveld på Kvarteret lørdag 8.oktober er dessverre avlyst.

Men fortvil ikke, SAIH-Bergen har flere spennende arrangementer framover mot jul. Følg med på bloggen for videre oppdatering på hva høsten bringer med seg av foredrag, aksjoner og debatter.

SAIH-Bergen startar kampanjeveka 2011 med å syna dokumentaren “Big Sister Punam” i samarbeid med Oslo Dokumentarkino. Filmen følgjer den ti år gamle nepalesiske jenta Punam gjennom ein dag i livet hennar, med dei utfordringane ho står ovanfor. Du kan lese meir om filmen her: http://www.lunamdocs.com/. I tillegg er me så heldige at skaparane av filmen Lucian og Natasa Muntean vitjar oss denne dagen. Dei vil presentere filmen og svara på spørsmål til diskusjon i etterkant av syninga.

Gratis popcorn! Velkomen!

Congratulations! You are now reading a text about an independent student assembly and you ARE NOT going to be arrested for that. Yuppie!

On 9-11 September student activists of SAIH from all around Norway met at the Fall Gathering in Røyken, in order to discuss  Campaign Week’s program and other issues important for organization. And get to know each other. And have some fun. And jump to the ocean. And, maybe mainly, learn to appreciate what by know they’re taking for granted. And think of ways to help other people achieve a state, in which their children will also have a possibility to take it for granted.

If you were there, you may disagree with my view of gathering’s goals listed above. And you know what? You will not be expelled from the university for that! Congratulations!

This year’s Campaign Week, taking part during first week of October, is about education under attack and education for liberation. So, about what SAIH has been standing for last 50 years, since it’s been founded in 1961. During the gathering various workshops were organized to come up with ideas of happenings and stunts which we could hold during the week. I hope you will take part in, or at least notice some of them quite soon, so now I’ll just mention that it was fun.

Importance of students getting together to discuss human right issues was underlined during guest presentation about Отпор! (eng. Resistance!), Serbian students’ organization founded in order to put down Slobodan Milošević’s regime in that country. In general opinion, when communism collapsed 20 years ago in Eastern Europe, all newly independent countries got their democracy, free market, human rights and everything started to become better with every year. Well, not in Serbia. It’s citizens had to go through a nightmare of war and on the same time to struggle against their own government. In many fields they succeeded, thanks to opposition organized by students. That is sign for us that student solidarity with our friends in Africa and South America must not be just an empty slogan, but our obligation to act, and on the same time signal for them that hope exists and their struggle is not a waste of time and lifes.

SAIH is also working on developing new bodies, theme groups, which would enable activists interested in particular topics, coming from all around the country, to get together and do research/ do anything they found cool, with those subjects. Project is still in the sphere of ideas, so if you want to participate in its creation, let us know!

Being an activist is often connected with public speaking and having to persuade others. Everyone could practice such skills during rhetoric workshop and simulation of SAIH’s annual assembly. This part was held in Norwegian, but I suppose it was fun.

Of course, many other interesting things happened. New activists could learn what SAIH is about, about its structure and possibilities to engage oneself. Creativity workshops, outdoor games, discussions, debates and quiz made this weekend not only a very productive one, but also full of fun.

We are also proud to announce that record of number of people jumping into freezing water in the morning was broken, with 7 activists getting wet, chilled and as awake as never.

You also should realize that author of this text just exercised his freedom of speech and will not be prosecuted. Nothing bed will happen to you for reading it. Good job.

No one will be harmed, harassed and on the same time, no one will be thankful for that. And it’s good, because it’s natural. Remember, though, that in majority of countries in this world things are organized in a different way. And it’s our aim to change it.

Ferien er snart over, og nå er det bare en uke igjen til skolestart og fadderuke her i Bergen. Mange nye studenter vil ankomme byen på leting etter noe å fylle fritiden med, noe å engasjere seg i. Kanskje er SAIH-Bergen noe for deg? Møt oss på stands på studenttorget på studentsenteret tirsdag 16. august. Det vil være åpent fra 11-13 og 14-16. Fadderne til nye studenter vil også informere dere om dette

Hvis du er nysjerrig på hva SAIH-Bergen driver med kan du se innleggene her på bloggen, lese på www.saih.no eller komme og snakke med oss på studentsenteret tirsdag 16. august. I tillegg skal vi også ha et informasjonsmøte på kvarteret den 22. august!

Vi ønsker alle nye og gamle lokallagsaktivister et flott semester!

Høgtidleg opning av jubileet

I anledning semesterslutt tenkte vi det passet seg med en liten oppsummering av dette halve året. SAIH er 50 år i år, så det er et spesielt år for organisasjonen. Dette har vi også markert her i Bergen.

Året 2011 startet med hyttetur og årsmøte på Totland. Der ble et nytt styre på hele 8 stykker valgt. Resten av tiden spilte vi gitar og sang, spiste god mat og storkoste oss i snøen!

1. mars var det duket for feiring av SAIHs 50 år! Vi satte opp stand på studentsenteret og delte ut jubileumskake til alle som ville ha. Nestleder i studentparlamentet, Livar Bergheim fikk æren av å sprette kaka. Vi hadde også fiskekonkurranse, der en kunne fiske seg fine premier.

8.-10. april var vi en gjeng på fire stykker som reiste til Råde for å være med på årets vårsamling. Der fikk vi blant annet testet kreativiteten vår. Utrolig hyggelig helg med mange koselige aktivister fra lokallag rundt om i Norge.

13. april var semesterets store dag! Vi hadde planlagt jubileumskonferanse, og på programmet sto Frank Aarebrot, Astri Andresen, Rabab Amidane og ACEU. Temaet for konferansen var utdanning for frigjøring, og vi fikk satt lys på mange viktige temaer. Vi fikk også gave fra Universitet i Bergen, overrakt av Astri Andresen. Konferansen ble en suksess, og vi kunne vel fornøyde ta påskeferie.

Innimellom har vi også hatt våre faste Nord/Sør-seminar, der det har blitt satt fokus på blant annet sex og religion, og menneskerettigheter i Kina og Russland. Vi gleder oss til å kunne belyse nye viktige og spennende temaer gjennom seminarene til høsten, og er allerede godt i gang med planleggingen.

I tillegg har det i vår blitt vedtatt at tierne studenter i Bergen gir gjennom semesteravgiften skal økes fra 20 til 30 kroner. Det er vi veldig glade for!

Studvest har også fulgt oss litt gjennom dette halve året. Dette kan dere lese mer om ved å gå inn på disse linkene:

http://studvest.no/kultur/en-million-til-studentkulturen

http://studvest.no/nyhet/studentbistand-gjennom-et-halvt-%C3%A5rhundre

Vi gleder oss til å starte opp igjen til høsten, med forhåpentligvis både nye og gamle medlemmer med ny inspirasjon og mange gode ideer!

Takk for et flott semester!