One Million Voices - The Event: Echo Events

The Echo: Taking OneVoice’s Mandate Global

For the past few months, students from Colorado to Calgary, from Scotland to Boston, from Ottawa to Washington have been planning events to take place on October 18th, 2007 simultaneous with the One Million Voices Peoples’ Summits to take place in Jericho and Tel Aviv on that day. We are committed to standing in solidarity with their counterparts, average Israelis and Palestinians who want to see a sustainable future for themselves and their children and grandchildren.

We call ourselves the Echo with the conviction that the role of the international community is not to dictate a policy for others to live the consequences of on a day-to-day basis, but rather to Echo the authentic, grassroots call for action based on points of consensus between the majorities on either side.

When the One Million Voices People’s Summits in Jericho and Tel Aviv were postponed, our response, the response of the OneVoice international student movement was nearly unanimous: we must persevere and show that our communities stand united in support of OneVoice’s mandate for conflict resolution in Palestine and Israel.

In Canada, a student-led gathering took place on Parliament Hill in Ottawa and garnered significant attention and support from the highest levels of the Canadian government. All five major parties in Canada’s government sent representatives to express the parties’ support for OneVoice and OneVoice Canada, and the head of the Palestinian delegation to Canada, Amin Abou Hassira, was joined by a representative from the Israeli Embassy to witness the proceedings. The statement read by students can be found here.

In Washington, DC, dozens of people from the local student and activist community were joined by students from as far away as Pennsylvania and New York for a public meeting featuring messages from Darya Shaikh, US Executive Director of OneVoice, Rabbi Scott Sperling, Imam Yahya Hendi, Dr. Tamara Wittes, AID founder Seth Green, and Derrick N. Ashong, an artist, activist, and lead singer of Soulfège. Those gathered then participated in a question-and-answer session and broke into groups to discuss future courses of identity and action for OneVoice International. The statement read by students can be found here.

In Boston, Students for Peace and Borderless Educations along with OneVoice hosted an event at the Middle East Club which included speakers highlighting a message of hope from Israel, Palestine and Lebanon as well as the comedy duo Standup for Peace, student and professional bands playing Arabic, Spanish, Jewish and American music, dancers and interactive art and peace exhibits. The meeting culminated with a statement expressing solidarity with and unwavering support of the brave Palestinians and Israelis who are working under very difficult circumstances to promote a fair and just resolution to the conflict. The statement read by students can be found here.

In Aberdeen, over 350 people gathered for a two-part event hosted by Article 12 and Constructing the Peace. The outdoor stage was well planned and presented by the young people of Article 12 in Scotland - the statement read by organizer Lynne Tammi can be found here. The event then proceeded to Cafe Drummond for a screening of OneVoice's Eye Opener video, and live performances by Mr. Gavin McGinty, Mr. Missouri, Kashmir Red, and the Vanzants. The Aberdeen's event aimed to raise awareness of the One Million Voice Campaign and to recruit more hands on activists to help us further promote the work over the coming year - both were achieved. Article 12 plans to hold further events in other Scottish cities in the coming months.

Echo events in other communities will continue throughout the year, to ensure that the people’s voice will continue to be heard. If there is no Echo event scheduled for your region, help organize one in your university or local community. Contact Miriam Asnes for more information, or download our Echo event toolkit for step-by-step instructions for organizers.

In a conflict of such global consequence, public displays of solidarity and support by those outside the region are extremely important. In joining one of the Echo events, you will have a chance to play a part in an historical change - to unite two so-called "enemy" populations and take a stand against violent extremism.