User:Tessa Lewis-Whitson/Pittsburgh Human Rights Network

The Pittsburgh Human Rights Network is a project in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania that uses new media and social networking to promote international human rights. The idea for the network originated with Tim Lessick, Program Associate at Global Solutions Pittsburgh, and the organization went on to develop the network in May of 2009. Since that time, it has served as a permanent, accessible interface which gives individuals, groups, and organizations the opportunity to interact and collaborate with one another in order to actively support human rights.

One of the primary objectives of the Pittsburgh Human Rights Network is to spread awareness of current issues related to international human rights. In order to do so, the network uses Facebook and Twitter to keep the community updated each day about recently released news reports that focus on human rights. These updates cover a variety of information, ranging from human rights violations, such as genocide and violence against women, to advances in the acquisition of equal rights for minorities. Additionally, members of the network can create blogs on the official website to further educate others about various topics in human rights.

Another aim of the Pittsburgh Human Rights Network is to promote international events and encourage members of the community to participate in or observe these events. For instance, on August 26, 2010 the network publicized Women's Equality Day through its Facebook and Twitter pages. The network is currently working on planning for events such as International Day of Peace on September 21, 2010 and Human Rights Day, which is December 10, 2010. The members of the project collaborate with organizations such as Amnesty International and One Life One World One Peace to inform people of the events they can attend, such as workshops and meetings, as well as ways they can contribute and donate to human rights causes.

Since its development, the network has helped arrange events around the local community of Pittsburgh as well. For instance, in July it supported the sponsor of a reading by Khet Mar, a journalist and writer from Burma who was arrested for public protesting and sentenced to ten years in prison. During the reading, Khet Mar discussed human rights issues in Burma, the mistreatment of journalists, and presented her writings on the interrogations involved before and during her imprisonment. The Pittsburgh Human Rights Network is working on organizing more events such as the reading of Khet Mar in the future in order to give local members of the community insight into human rights issues in a global context.