Ladies and gentlemen, the time is upon us again…………….yes! Yet another show stopper of a night to gather and celebrate as a conscious collective for positive change. What am I on about? Er, Poetry Meets Art that’s what!
For those of you who haven’t heard about this amazing night, you’re really missing out! Not only is this night one of the best in poetry and spoken word in London that fuses live art with performance but also a platform to raise awareness on conflict minerals and our technology. What’s that you might say? Well come closer to fond out more………there are five minerals in all of our technology from bluetooth headsets to jet planes, that make our technology work; without them nothing would work.
Coltan is heat resistant and holds a high electric charge making our battery life on devices last longer
Tin is used in most household electronic items as it’s used as the solder for circuit boards.
Tungsten is a dense metal used in everything from light bulbs to TVs. Formula One cars to bullets. It’s also used in mobile phones.
Gold is the biggest source of conflict mineral trade in Congo and is most responsible for the ongoing bloody conflicts. Gold has soared in price on the commodity markets in recent years, and Congo is literally sitting on a gold-mine worth tens if not hundreds of billions of dollars. Despite promises by President Kabila to clean up the mining industry, corruption remains rife and thousands of small-scale unofficial mines scatter the country.Gold is used to wrap around the wiring in our devices.
What makes them conflict minerals is the way they are sourced. This is by using violence, brutal rape, horrific killings, child soldiers and more by rebels and the government who want to intimidate other groups in order to control the mines. They also need to get everyone off the land to dig up the minerals and free labour. A bit overwhelming, I know, so what do we do about this?
CAMPAIGN! It only takes a few minutes to sign a campaign or send a letter to technology companies and put pressure on them to change their ways, and could be the most important thing that you do, so go on, get campaigning today! GET STARTED!
AVOID COMPANIES! Money talks. If we were all to stop buying from technology companies and tell them why they would stop making money. Simple as. This would force them to act responsibly and ethically source 100% of the minerals they use because that is where the demand is. Take a look at this list of company rankings - GO!
SPREAD THE WORD! The genocide in Congo has been kept quiet, almost a secret for many years now and this has to end NOW! How? By breaking the silence and spreading the news so we can join together and play a key role in ending a deadly humanitarian crisis. Tell family, friends, put up a post on your local notice board, email, social websites…the list is endless. Just don’t stay silent!
STOP UPGRADING! The more we upgrade our technology and demand newer, faster, buzzes more, flashier technology with better connections to WiFi, internet, blue-tooth etc, the more we fuel the war in Congo. It sounds horrible but it’s true. The main reason the conflict has gone on for so long is because we are constantly demanding more so the rebels, governments, war lords, etc plunder and destroy Congo for more of it’s minerals. Can you see the dots connecting yet? So here’s an idea…..instead of upgrading your phone, buying a new laptop or whatever gadget you don’t really need, just keep it and carry on using it for a few more years. This will literally save lives which is more important than us keeping up our consumer, capitalist and materialistic lifestyles.
SUPPORT OTHERS! United we stand, divided we fall! These words have been heard throughout history for many a decade now and it’s never been as important as it is now for us to actually do this. Can you imagine how powerful we would be if we all got together and stood up against the technology industries and took the power back into our hands? It would be amazing but it won’t happen if we try to get things done by ourselves; there are many charities and organisations dedicated to helping Congo so get searching and supporting!!
There’s also another way to take action………come to Poetry Meets Art and be part of a creative and interactive event that uses performance as a way to raise awareness! You’ll also hear from speakers who will tell you more about the work taking place in Congo to source ethical minerals and be inspired to want to take action and meet a wonderful bunch of people!
So come on, don’t delay, get your tickets today (a bit of cheesy rhyme for ya - the poetry starts here baby!) Why not hurry and get the early bird tickets for just £5 now?! Click on the link to purchase and remember, don’t stay silent, spread the word - TICKETS!
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