EQUALSHOT

A few years ago, I worked on an op-ed with the human rights activist Rafael Marques about abuses against local populations in Angola carried out on behalf of large international diamond corporations. The Wall Street Journal just helped take this a step further, exploring the role of the Angolan military in these abuses. In September, to name one instance, Angolan soldiers buried 45 miners alive.

Here's my latest article from On the Issues Magazine, including the story of how I ended up working with President Obama's mother to promote the field of microfinance:

Dispatches from the Road: A Travelogue of True Stories
by Barbara Becker

I wanted to share this radio interview I did regarding the latest on the human rights situation in Western Sahara. In this piece, I speak about Aminatou Haidar, the "Sahrawi Gandhi," and the courage she demonstrated while she was on the hunger strike that nearly killed her.

My colleague in the strategic communications program at Columbia, Simon Sinek, has a new book out. “Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action” focuses on the key to how leaders think, act and communicate.

Those who inspire, Simon says, always start with the WHY.

But don’t I already do that, you ask yourself? If you do, hats off to you! But the vast majority of people don’t.

Here's my latest piece on Western Sahara, published in On The Issues magazine:

When I was in college, I had a small book of questions meant to serve as conversation starters for social gatherings. There was one question in particular that I had no idea how to answer, and not having a response seemed to indicate some form of personal shortcoming in my young and idealistic mind: “Is there a cause for which you’d be willing to sacrifice your life?”

I wrote this entry for Huffington Post to call attention to my colleague, Aminatou Haidar, who is in the 3rd week of a hunger strike. Scroll to the end to take action & watch my Twitter account for updates. 

Say the words "hunger strike" and many will recall images of an
emaciated Mahatma Gandhi enduring several famous fasts to protest
British rule of India.

I like this post by Bill Rice so much that I'm re-posting it. Try it out and let me know how it works for you!

What, an Endless List of Writing Ideas?

...I am going to point you to the treasure. The really good news is it’s free and sitting right in your backyard.

On a daily basis, your Web traffic is giving you a running list of new, fresh, and original topics. That’s people searching for answers, searching for new solutions, searching for your services are leaving you bread crumbs

It’s been nearly a decade since Kerry Kennedy and Eddie Adams released their coffee table book “Speak Truth to Power.” Fifty essays about human rights defenders and the torture and harassment they have endured does not seem like a likely topic for a book you’d want anywhere near your coffee table. But there are several reasons why you may want to go out and buy it (or at least check it out of the library)...

When EqualShot launched in 2002, our first assignment was to produce a video about world hunger for the humanitarian aid organization Action Against Hunger (AAH). The video was meant to draw in and educate donors, and I was looking for someone with star power to narrate.

Frank McCourt had recently been awarded AAH’s annual Humanitarian Award, and I was nominated to call him and ask if he would participate in our video. He agreed without a moment’s hesitation.

The New York Times took a very creative step this week in commemorating the 40th anniversary of the moon landing. It’s a good lesson for all communicators in how to bring events of grand proportions down to a personal, meaningful level.

“Readers’ Moon Memories” is a slide show of 41 NYT readers’ photographs and a quote about what they were doing when astronauts first walked on the moon.

I first learned about it when my friend Deb sent me an e-mail excitedly announcing that her dad’s 1969 photo (pictured right) of her and her mom was front and center on the NYT site: