Friday, April 12, 2013

Gather Around, All You Young Folk by Robyn Scott



So do you remember Kony 2012? That video that came out almost a year ago? A lot of people have forgotten about it. The video was released in order to start the movement and to advocate the capture of African war lord, Joseph Kony. Joseph Kony is the head leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), and is responsible for the abduction and murder of thousands of people. Most (especially those who dislike the organization promoting the capture and arrest of Joseph Kony, Invisible Children) think that the huge movement of justice and peace was a just a fad, and to be fair, many who supported it saw it as that. However that is not what the founders, and current supporters of IC want. 

The media with Invisible Children and Kony 2012 has burned out quite a bit. The videos that IC has released since Kony 2012 haven’t gotten near the attention. But that doesn’t mean that their fight is over. A lot of people think that since it’s 2013, that the Kony movement was a failure, and we’re just suppose to give it up now. That is hardly the case. 

Since the release of that video last May, the LRA has had two of their five main commanders captured. In addition, LRA killings have decreased 67%. That’s crazy! Invisible Children isn’t stopping here though. 

They are heading up a new project in relation to the takedown of Joseph Kony, and it’s called The Fourth Estate. The Four Estate is a Summit Leadership conference happening this August. This camp isn’t just for IC and their supporters though, and it’s not exclusively to stop Kony. It’s for everyone who has a passion for humanity and justice. 

They’ll be bringing speakers in from some of the most influential organizations out their, such as To Write Love On Her Arms, Do Something, Charity: Water, and so many others. Their goal is to inspire and teach the young minds of America, and encourage them to make a difference. By bringing new ideas to the table in order to advocate peace and justice throughout the world, we’re just getting that much closer to helping thousands if not millions of suffering families. If you’re passionate about bringing healing to the thousands of people struggling with self injury, they’ll have someone at the conference to talk to. If you want to bring awareness of the affects of bullying, homelessness, human rights, and others, there’s someone at the conference to talk to. And if you want to see clean water brought to every country in the world before you die, there are people at that conference who are waiting to talk to you.

There are a lot of great things that the young people (and old people, for that matter) of America can set their minds to. I believe that with the right knowledge, inspiration, and encouragement, we can do something amazing for our future. So gather around, all you young folk, we're going to change the world. 



If you’re interested in The Fourth Estate, or just wanting to know what happened to Kony 2012, here are a couple of videos to help with things. 







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