Individuals can make a difference
There are about 50 000 individual supporters of Amnesty International in Canada. Many of these are also individual activists who take action on their own for human rights.
The most common action for you to take on your own is letter-writing, but there are plenty of other things you can do. Check out our Factsheet for Individual Activists for some ideas.
As an individual member of Amnesty International Canada, you will be making a statement about your commitment to the universality of human rights. You will join a global network of over 1.5 million people who all share the same goal, and the same dream. You'll receive excellent tools to help keep you informed about the situation in the world around you. You'll become one more candle in the massive spotlight that illuminates the darker, scarier corners of the earth. Good for you. Sounds like a good thing to do, eh?
What you do:
Contact the national office (e-mail youth@amnesty.ca or call 1800-AMNESTY) to register. Pay $15 in "membership dues" (a tax-deductible donation that supports Amnesty's work and helps off-set the cost of your mailings). Donate more if you feel like it. Relax. Or get started right away. There is plenty of information on the amnesty.ca web site to get you started.
What you receive:
- A subscription to The Activist, Amnesty International Canada's bimonthly newsletter for Amnesty groups and members.
- Copies of our Youth and Student Network newsletter In the Mix, delivered to you twice a year.
- Monthly action sheets from the Youth and Student Program.
- You also receive the right to vote as an Amnesty International Canada (English Speaking) member at our Annual General Meeting.
THE LIFESAVERS PROGRAM: FOR THE YOUNGER ACTIVIST
The Urgent Action Network runs a special program geared toward younger activists (generally the under-15 crowd) and other specialized groups. Lifesavers are simply-written monthly appeals. Participants respond to this call-to-action by writing a letter to a government authority on behalf of individuals whose human rights are at risk of being violated. The Lifesaver is used by adults in literacy programs, by students in English-as-a-second-language classes, and by Canadian kids in their homes or classrooms.
Lifesaver participants often use creative forms of action (like sending keys along with their letters to request the release of a prisoner of conscience) and receive regular updates by mail or on the Internet.
Check out the Lifesaver's newsletter for more information or to learn how to join!