This is it

This is it,

We are nearly done; this is the final curtain call for the bachelor. Some days back, I was being interviewed by a student doing PR techniques, and she asked me why did I choose PR?

I answered her that this is the most exciting unit I have done in my studies. You get to meet different people, share different ideas, participate, create and organize events, and you get to be in the action. This module has been of great value, and one which has brought to me the experience I did not have in the Public Relations world. Working for an NGO like Amnesty International which is known throughout the world has also been a chance for me to meet other persons, from different countries with different cultures. I hope to enjoy this experience again.

I did not remember exactly what my expectations were when I entered in the PR class for the first time, what I recall is that I wanted to learn, I was hungry for knowledge, hungry to be able to share and voice out my opinions, my ideas to the rest of the class.

I have put all what I learned in practice in this unit, and I have learned not to do the same mistakes that I used to do in class. Now I’m more serious and I feel more mature because I’ve been out there, in the real world; the job’s world.

It is with great pleasure that I say that this is my last blog post. For those who are done with their report, congrats and those who still need to finish it, good luck and best of luck for the rest of your life.

Roadtozion.

Launching of Centre Citoyen du Monde

Hi to you all

For the launching of ‘Centre Citoyens du Monde’ at the National Secretariat of Amnesty in Beau-Bassin, had the honor to have as guests who were present such as the leader of the opposition, one of the minister of the government and a representative of the United Nations Development Programme UNDP. The leader of the opposition the Honorable Paul Raymond Berenger, delivered an enthusiastic speech where he showed his appraisal of the work undertaken since years by Amnesty International. His speech enclosed words which were a real source of motivation for all those devoted to Amnesty.

On the picture from right to left: Paul Berenger, Michel Ahnee and Shakeel Mohamed.

The Minister of Labor, Industrial Relations and Employment, the Honorable Shakeel Ahmed Yousuf Abdul Razack MOHAMED during his speech offered his help for the courses of ‘Global Citizenship and Human Rights’ implemented among the various activities of the centre. These courses promote integrity towards ethical issues in the society and how human rights should be respected. The theoretical aspect of Human Rights is put into practice during these courses in order for citizens to understand their responsibility towards the society. The minister also expressed his satisfaction on the initiative undertaken by Amnesty whereby easy documentation is available to all Mauritian citizens at the center.

The objective of ‘Centre Citoyens du Monde’ is to blossom out the acknowledgement of Mauritians; they must understand the importance of contributing for the society. It is a mutual process of contribution between stakeholders and in the end, everyone benefits from it. A cocktail reception followed after the formalities with all the honorable guests and members of Amnesty. Members of the association could communicate about their perception of the initiative they undertook with the guest honors and voice out the accomplishments of Amnesty for the local community. I have been doing a check list and running schedule and as always been taking pictures which were later used for putting on the facebook profile of AIMS and on local newspapers. Again it was very exciting to be part of such events. There’s the big anniversary coming soon. I’ll keep you updated.

Concert in a College

Hello again,

Organizing a concert is always something exciting and the following post will try to explain to you how I organized a concert within one week. A very hectic week to say with the meeting of the organization board to decide what was the theme of the concert, and the venue. I can modestly say that I suggested the theme of the concert which was ‘Les jeunes chantent les droits humains’ (The youngsters sing human rights) and the venue was decided to be in the hall of the Saint Esprit College in Quatres Bornes, a relatively small hall when you look at it, but we were not expecting more than 300 persons. This concert was organized in order to raise funds for Amnesty International, gain new memberships and be able to show that there are talents within the youth club of Amnesty Mauritius.

I was to come up with a nice picture and to design the poster which would be used. I was also in charge of taking pictures of the concert. I did not do photography as a module, and for me it is a passion. I do not even own a professional camera, but sometimes I do take pictures with my friends’ camera, and I try to learn from them whether it is possible.

So there we are in this hall, after I created an event on facebook about this concert, we could feel the stress of the staff of Amnesty International, but for the artists who were relatively young with an average age of 18, they were at ease. I was expecting much more coverage from the press but I only got response from the local newspaper L’express who made coverage on their website. But the fact that there were no journalists did not discourage the enthusiasm of the artists present. Music ranging from Imagine of John Lennon to Poupee de Cire, Poupee de son from France Gall, the choice of songs did reach all the categories of age of persons there. The young artists during the whole concert had a connection with the public. The concert was expected to last for 3 hours but it went on for four hours, singing, dancing and ending with the local dance the ‘sega typique’ with dancers. I had the opportunity of taking pictures for my first event. I did post some pictures of facebook on the official fan page of the Amnesty. Pictures were also taken for the “Milles Visages contre la peine de mort” campaign of Amnesty International.

It was a really nice experience for me that I hope I will get the opportunity to do it again.