Invisible Children & Global Citizenship
Invisible Children is a non-profit organisation which—based on the documentary shot in 2003—has turned into a worldwide campaign to highlight the plight of children in Uganda’s long-running civil war. The film and campaign is much more than just about Uganda, though. It provides a wonderful example of highlighting neglected and unknown distant problems, the responsibilities that we might have to act, and the possibilities of social change. Invisible Children is the remarkable story of how 3 young college students made a film about the plight of child soldiers in Uganda.
The original documentary is an amazing and moving film highlighting the untold story of how the violence impacts on children in Northern Uganda. The film was originally made for and shown to the filmmakers’ friends and family; but they passed it on to their friends and so on until it was eventually picked up by the likes of CNN. This film came to be watched by over 5 million people and inspired an awareness, educational, fundraising, and sponsorship campaigns to help rebuild the war-torn communities in Uganda. Invisible Children is now running as a permanent campaign. It is the way in which the campaign has been organised through society’s grassroots, through the word of mouth, and the high uptake among young people that makes it so interesting and powerful.
University College London is hosting a film screening and discussion of the educational work of Invisible Children which campaigns and fundraises on the issue of child soldiers in Uganda. The discussion will focus on the concepts of global responsibilities and citizenship. UCL is pioneering the notion of ‘education for global citizenship’.
The event will be held on Tuesday 2nd February, from 6pm-8pm at The Bloomsbury Theatre, London.
The event is completely free to attend, but tickets will be limited to the theatre’s capacity and provided on a strictly first come first served basis.
For tickets visit here
The work of Invisible Children is specifically aimed at young people and has become a social, political and global movement using the transformative power of story to change lives. As such, it serves to raise a lot of questions about our role in the world. A short video on Invisible Children and more information on their work can be found by clicking here.
Some of the themes which will be addressed in the evening will include:
- Do we have global responsibilities and obligations to distant others?
- What does being an active and informed global citizen mean?
- How does globalisation affect our knowledge of distant others?
- Can young people directly engage with and take action on international conflicts and humanitarian issues?
- How does an effective global campaign work?
- In addition to a representative of Invisible Children, three speakers will reflect on the work of the NGO and the film before taking part in a Q&A discussion with the audience after the film:
Dr Alex Braithwaite – expert on human security and conflict
Dr Avia Pasternak – expert on global citizenship and justice
Dr Jennifer Hudson – expert on public opinion and attitudes
Invisible Children is a non-profit organisation which campaigns on the plight of children affected by the civil conflict in Uganda. The event is hosted by UCL’s Department of Political Science and School of Public Policy, in conjunction with UCL’s Outreach Office and the Bloomsbury Theatre, and will be attended by representatives of Invisible Children.
