Blog Action Day - Conflict Free City Initiative

Today (10.16.13) is Blog Action Day, and so we take a moment to blog about our Conflict Free City Initiative Letter of Support Campaign. 

First, a bit about Blog Action Day.  The purpose of this day is to unite bloggers around the world to post blogs on the same topic, on the same day.  This year bloggers are posting about human rights. In fact, over 2000 blogs from 126 countries are participating. 

As we explained in our June 18, 2013 blog post, we are currently asking our coalition members and supporters to send letters of support with regard to our Portland Conflict Free City Initiative (CFCI).  For the past several months coalition member organization Never Again Coalition's postcard brigade has been sending postcards to each of the City of Portland's Commissioners, and Mayor, urging support of CFCI. 

October postcard to Portland Commissioner Steve Novick

CFCI, if passed, will signal to electronics companies that not only do consumers, but also cities, think it's important for a company to identify if minerals contained within their supply chains are sourced from the Great Lakes region of Africa, including eastern Congo. To understand the importance of this initiative, read more in this recent National Geographic article.

As a coalition, we believe that it is important to protect human rights, and so that is why we have made it our mission to identify and organize opportunities to help stop human atrocities using a solutions-based process.  We believe that CFCI provides this opportunity and will directly benefit the women, children and men of eastern Congo in the process. 

Send your CFCI letter of support to Commissioner Novick:

Commissioner Steve Novick

1221 SW 4th Ave. Room 210

Portland, OR 97204

Best,
Amanda Ulrich
OCH Co-Founder
CFCI Campaign Director