Amnesty UK Rise Up Update

So far, over three weekends full of workshops, inspirational speakers, and technical experts, participants from all backgrounds and walks of life have been developing action plans to make positive change in their local communities.

The third Rise Up session took place just before lockdown, and we caught up with Dionne Hossack, one of the young campaigners taking part to share her experience so far.

Dionne’s blog 

We have now finished our third Rise Up session and, with one to go, it’s fair to say it has been my favourite weekend so far. No cliché meant, but it gets better every time! During this fun, jam-packed weekend, we took part in many activities. One of my favourite activities was hearing from Catherine West MP. She spoke about her journey as a politician and how she started through activism.

On the Sunday, we heard from Hayle Chalke-Davies from Glitch about staying safe as an online campaigner, and I chose to go to a session with the social media agency, Jellyfish, about maximising your social media impact. From the session with Glitch, I personally learned more about safety online and my privacy settings on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. In the session with Jellyfish, I learned about what works best with certain social media platforms, which I found very helpful as I think going down the route of a social media campaign will work best for me. Having information from the sessions was very useful and helpful. It has made me more motivated to achieve change and to start planning my campaign.

One activity which was quite moving was near the end of the final day, when we picked a name from a hat and we had to write something positive about this person. Reading the one I received made me very emotional and seeing everyone read something positive about themselves was a lovely way to end the weekend. Across the weekend, we celebrated International Women's Day, which was a bonus to celebrate with this brilliant group. It’s fair to say that we have all become very close and especially now, during lockdown, we keep in contact with each other regularly.

This programme has made me grow confidence in myself, which I didn't have before, and has made me more determined to work hard and create positive change in the world. I have a clearer vision on what I want to achieve with my own campaign. I have loved working and receiving support through Amnesty and hope to work with them after this programme has finished.

A blog written by Dionne Hossack, an Amnesty International UK Rise Up participant 2019/2020.

For more information about Rise Up click here.