Fundraiser for Award-Winning Human Rights Organization at Twitter HQ
My team and I have been running Mideast Youth for the last 10 years. In the first 5 of these years, we had to support our projects by freelancing to a wide range of clients which took up 60% of our time. After that, we decided to focus our full energy on our nonprofit work, and we’ve achieved a lot considering the very limited resources we’ve had over the years, not to mention the censorship we continue to face from our regimes which made our work (and the physical security of our team) increasingly difficult to deal with.
What do we do? We build engaging platforms that amplify diverse and underrepresented voices in the region.
Our work includes Mideast Tunes, a platform for underground musicians in the MENA who use music as a tool for social change, Ahwaa, a discussion tool for the Arab LGBT community which leverages game mechanics to facilitate high quality interactions, CrowdVoice, which contextualizes social justice movements worldwide, and several more.
We’ve reached a point now where we really need your support to keep growing.
5 Reasons You Should Join:
- This will be the first time we get to showcase our history and work in public this way. For security reasons, we are rarely on the record when we talk about our work, and tend to work anonymously for the most part. So you are unlikely to hear our story anywhere else.
- Our team risks their lives on a daily basis working on various issues, such as the plight of migrant workers in the Gulf or providing a safe space for LGBT youth throughout the region. It would mean a lot for you to come out and support the work.
- Human rights abuses are often at the root of conflict — your support will help us give voice to critical issues before they become full scale conflicts.
- Your contribution will contribute to building tools that foster civic participation and freedom of speech. (A breakdown of exactly how the funds will be used will be shown in detail at the event.)
- The fundraiser will contribute to the longterm sustainability of our goals: To create engaging platforms that amplify diverse and underrepresented voices enabling marginalized communities to participate in critical dialogue.
Twitter has generously offered to host the event on the 1st of September. The details are below. There is space for up to 70 people, and we’re hoping to attract anyone who is interested to learn more about what we do and possibly contribute (not necessarily just funds, but any resources or skills that could be useful to us.)
Please do share this widely. The event is very laid back and informal, you don’t even have to wear socks. We promise to make it worth your time.
Venue & Details
What: A fundraiser for a Middle Eastern organization, Mideast Youth. Discover the platforms we’ve built in the last 10 years and the impact these tools and interactive campaigns have had in our societies, and why we need your support. Our small but solid team is mostly built of queer women in the Arab world.
Where: Twitter HQ (1355 Market St #900, San Francisco, CA 94103)
Where to RSVP: This form
When: Tuesday, September 1, from 6pm-8pm
Presenter Bio:
Esra’a is a recipient of the Berkman Award from Harvard University’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society for “outstanding contributions to the internet and its impact on society,” and is currently a Shuttleworth Foundation Fellow. Previously, she was an Echoing Green Fellow and a Senior TED Fellow. In 2011 she was featured in Fast Company as one of the “100 Most Creative People in Business” and awarded the Monaco Media Prize, which acknowledges innovative uses of media for the betterment of humanity. In 2014, she was featured in Forbes’ “30 Under 30” list of social entrepreneurs making an impact in the world. The same year, Mideast Youth received the Human Rights Tulip, awarded annually to an organization which promotes and supports human rights in innovative ways. She lives in Bahrain.
If you can’t come, you can still support us with a recommended donation of $100.
