Syria - the Plight of Its Women and Children in the Arab Spring Uprising - Essay Example

?SYRIA – The plight of its women and children in the Arab Spring uprising Large countries have large problems. A large population is one of them. Andwith a large population comes more people to take care of, more people to look after. And many times, these people do not see eye to eye with the government, who are supposed to be their caretakers. Since the population is so large, there are varied opinions and groups of people that are willing to fight for their causes, many times creating scenes of conflict with the politicians and the government of the country. A similar scenario prevails in Syria, as part of the Arab Spring – a revolution that prevailed due to various factors such as – monarchy, human rights violations, corruption, extreme poverty, unemployment, and so on. People were not happy. This caused severe unrest and people began to revolt. All over the Arab world, including Syria. This revolution has done more damage than good, causing a lot of pain and suffering on the women and children of the country. (Jamoul 2012) This section of society hasn’t even had that much of a role in the uprising. But they have been tortured, abused physically, mentally and sexually, till all hope has been lost. Over 500 children have been killed in a year of the uprising. (United Press International 2012). Women and even young girls have been raped and killed, at the hands of authority – like policemen. (Women under siege Syria 2012) The rest are all miserable and scared, and it is time to do something for them. In an effort to make the lives of the victims of the uprising – especially the women and children, we shall organise a fundraiser on an international scale. An event that will show people just how much the uprising has affected this section of society and how badly they are affected. (Peralta 2012) The event will not only be a call for attention but also a cry for action to the privileged so that they can do something for those that have suffered. “Responsible events management will represent a holistic understanding of all core and support activities of planned events that raise awareness of the impacts of those activities.” (Raj and Musgrave 2009). The event will take place in December, to mark the two year anniversary of the beginning of the uprising and will be a get together of sorts of the who’s who of the nation. It will have different elements to it such as an auction by international celebrities of their favourite items, followed by live performances. There will be dances, songs, stand up and so on. But the focus of the night will be on the woman and children of Syria who have had to suffer so much. The night will not just be one of fun. It will be emotional. A rollercoaster of a night that will allow people to enjoy their surroundings and a jarring reminder that they have it easy, by showing them what the women and children are going through. We will show them videos and let them see what is happening. These people will be constantly reminded of the sad plight of thousands of innocent women and children who are suffering at the hands of authority. Strategic Aim The whole point of this event is to create awareness among the people of the world, of the plight of the women and children of Syria. That done, we feel it is our duty to aid them in any way we can. They have suffered enough at the hands of authority, and they need to be rescued. By this event, our objectives are threefold. One, to create an international awareness about the plight of the women and children in Syria. Two, to generate funds to aid these victims. And three, to set up trusts that will ensure that the victims are taken care of. All donations will be anonymous. The framework of objectives would need to be broad enough to include the large variety of event genres, but still be lean enough to work with. (Damm 2011). Research Management Events such as these happen all the time. Celebrities and the ‘big shots’ get together to support a cause, have a good time and donate what they wish to a charity of sorts. These are usually big social events and have the who’s who of in attendance. Our event will be of a global scale. That being said, it will be our responsibility to ensure that celebrities and the affluent from across the world find their way to our fundraiser. The biggest thing we must undertake for that is to ensure that our event gets the right promotion on the international scale so that we first create enough awareness of our event and then of the cause. (Allen 2009). Once that is accomplished, and people are directed to us, the event will flow smoothly. Also, what we do know about fundraisers is the amount of hard work and planning that goes into one. It is very obvious that in order to host a successful fundraiser, we must have our goal etched in our minds. Without direction, a fundraiser will go absolutely nowhere. (Garecht) Objectives In order to achieve our aims of generating awareness, collecting funds and putting those funds to use, we will have to take a four step approach to ensure our event is a success. These steps would include: Marketing and Publicity: Every event requires good and extensive marketing and publicity. This would also mean PR activities that would get the press interested in what we are doing, and keep the public informed and interested. Other marketing activities would involve extensive tele-calling to people who can afford to make big donations to meaningful causes, so that we can get them to attend our event and make sizeable donations. (Hoyle 2002). It will also set an example on others. Considering that our event is on an international scale, it would be very essential for us to ensure that all marketing and publicity efforts are taken on the grand scale as well. (Damm 2011). Operational Requirements: Our operational requirements would involve a task force that could put together the event, right from the planning to the execution of the event. It is a very detailed job, one that will take months to plan and execute, considering the grand scale of our event. Celebrity Endorsement: Considering the magnitude of this event, an international celebrity will be a very good idea to drive the event, its meaning and its motive. For this, an ambassador such as Angelina Jolie should be considered. Not only is she a great woman, an icon to the world and a philanthropist, she is a woman with power and influence and might be the right choice for such an event. Sponsorship: Considering the magnitude of the event being planned, and the fact that all the donations will go to charity, we would need funds to even pull of the event – the creation of the event, the food, the operational set up and so on. So, we would need sponsors to get us started. For this, we would have to approach wealthy organizations, both local and international that are willing to spend money for a good cause. (Hoyle 2002). Opportunities and Risk Management For an event of this magnitude, especially one with such a noble cause, there are immense opportunities. The biggest one being getting such a large group or star cast that people will just have to attend it. Similarly, getting good items on the auction will also work well. The auction could also begin a few days prior on an online platform and be open to all, so that anyone may be a part of this noble cause. (Damm 2011). It will also give the general public an opportunity to be a part of something so big. Another opportunity will be to take advantage of Angelina Jolie’s upcoming movie PR activities for this event. It would show her in good light and also give us the leverage we need. The event does not come without risk. The biggest risk we face is from the crowd. When that many people gather together, no matter for what cause, there is always danger. Danger of fire, or other such causes that could make the entire crowd go crazy and turn on one another or begin trampling one another. Crowd management plays a very important role in such cases. “Crowd management enables participants at an event to enjoy the experience without feeling that they are being forced or controlled by the event managers.” (Tassiopoulos and Damster 2005). Also, apart from such crises, there is always the risk that there will be some technical difficulties at the event. Apart from testing all equipment and ensuring it’s all smooth sailing, there really isn’t much we can do. Measuring Success/Evaluation Pre-Event: Before the event, the biggest way to evaluate how successful the event will be is by checking off what all is done. Is everything going according to plan? Is all ready? Are there any unexpected last minute glitches that need to be fixed? Is there a ready fire exit or other exit strategy? Are there enough security guards around the place? Is there enough food? These are just some of the questions that we need to consider. If all is ok, then the event will be on time and be quite successful. Post-Event: After the event, the biggest measure of the event’s success will be the money collected for the cause. Other parameters to check the success or failure of the event will be to check if everything went off smoothly and on time. (Allen 2009). And if all crises were averted or taken care of smoothly. This is the best way to evaluate an event since a smooth event is a successful one. Summary and Recommendations The fundraiser event will be a grand-scale event since it is on a global platform. It will not only be a place of entertainment for people, but one with a great cause to support. By driving people to this event, we are not only ensuring they have a good time, but we are ensuring they support the cause – to donate to take care of the women and children that have been so badly affected in this war like scenario. This event might be the only chance for some of these victims to have a proper shot at life. They are physically and mentally scarred and what they mostly need is a shot at life – a new beginning, one so far away from their current state that it will make up for all they have been through. More than anything, this event will give them something that they have long since given up on – hope. REFERENCE: Allen, J., 2009. Event Planning Ethics and Etiquette: A Principled Approach to the Business of Special Event Management, John Wiley & Sons. Damm, S., 2011. Event Management: How to Apply Best Practices to Small Scale Events, Diplomica Verlag Garecht, J. The 10 Steps to a Successful Fundraising Event,, [Online] Available at http://www.thefundraisingauthority.com/fundraising-basics/fundraising- event/(Accessed on April 29, 2012) Hoyle, LH., 2002. Event Marketing: How to Successfully Promote Events, Festivals, Conventions, and Expositions, John Wiley & Sons. Jamoul, HA., 2012. ‘The Arab Spring: The Root Causes? [Online] Available at http://www.almanar.com.lb/english/adetails.php?fromval=1&cid=31&frid=31&eid= 45439 Peralta, E., 2012. Rights Group Says Syrian Security Forces Detained, Tortured Children, [Online] Available at http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2012/02/03/146346490/rights-group-says- syrian-security-forces-detained-tortured-children(Accessed on April 29, 2012) Raj, R and Musgrave, J., 2009. Event Management and Sustainability, CABI. Tassiopoulos, D and Damster, D., 2005. Event Management: A Professional And Developmental Approach, Juta and Company Ltd. United Press International., 2012. UNICEF: 500 children died in Syrian war, [Online] Available at http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2012/03/23/UNICEF-500- children-died-in-Syrian-war/UPI-69191332522535/(Accessed on April 29, 2012) Women under siege Syria., 2012. Former sergeant reports raping and killing women and girls in Idlib, [Online] Available at https://womenundersiegesyria.crowdmap.com/reports/view/31(Accessed on April 29, 2012) Read More