Syria – Generation Change https://blogs.dw.com/generationchange Whether they are campaigning for free press in Zimbabwe, helping provide clean water in India, or offering free music lessons to underprivileged kids in the UK, young people all over the world are making a difference. Wed, 16 Nov 2016 16:49:27 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 Techno for the children https://blogs.dw.com/generationchange/2013/08/techno-for-the-children/ Tue, 27 Aug 2013 12:11:27 +0000 http://blogs.dw.com/generationchange/?p=4023 As the crisis in Syria continues, NGOs are calling an end to the conflict that has killed over a hundred thousand people and displaced millions.

Dan Cole co-founded a Berlin-based collective called It’s Bigger Than, which is doing its bit to raise awareness about the crisis and to raise money to help those in need. Their method? Putting on a party with some of the finest DJs and electronic producers around.

All the DJs play for free. The club donates the space and the party is being put on by a group of volunteers. Party number 2 raised money for Save the Children and featured the likes of Marcel Fengler, Nick Höppner, Iron Curtis, Deep Child and Barbara Preisinger.

The next It’s Bigger Than party will take place in Berlin on September 1, 2013 and this time the money is going to the Mercy Corps.

Listen to the report by Cinnamon Nippard in Berlin:

Techno for the children

Dan Cole

Dan Cole says raising awareness can make a difference – a little bit at a time (Photo. Katrina James)

Crowd at It's Bigger Than techno event

Berlin is a hotspot for techno (Photo: Michelle O’Brien)

DJ at It's Bigger Than Techno event

Some come for the DJs, others for the cause (Photo: Michelle O’Brien)

Zaatari Camp in Syria

Children are most affected by war, says Dan Cole. The last It’s Bigger Than event supported children in Syria through the Save the Children NGO (Photo: Save the Children)

It's Bigger Than even poster

The next It’s Bigger Than event takes place on September 1, 2013

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Syrian Arab promotes Kurdish culture https://blogs.dw.com/generationchange/2013/05/syrian-arab-promotes-kurdish-culture/ Tue, 28 May 2013 13:13:36 +0000 http://blogs.dw.com/generationchange/?p=3645 Kurds, an ethnic minority in Syria, suffered oppression under the “Arabization” policy of the Assad regime. But the Syrian revolution has brought along change. With a strong political and military presence in northeast Syria, Kurds are putting their past behind and working towards a better future. They have transformed from being underdogs to the ones in power. This newfound influence is not just political or military, but also cultural, and Kurdish culture is experiencing a sort of revival. Young Syrians, like Sameer Shaiyer, 28, are doing their bit to spread the word about Kurdish art forms. And what makes Samir’s job challenging is that he’s Arab.

Listen to the report by Gayatri Parameswaran and Felix Gaedtke report from Qamishlo, Syria:

Syrian Arab promotes Kurdish culture

Sameer Shaiyer

Sameer Shaiyer has been singing Kurdish songs since he was a child (Photo: Felix Gaedtke)

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Young German voice for Syria https://blogs.dw.com/generationchange/2012/08/young-german-voice-for-syria/ Tue, 21 Aug 2012 12:15:08 +0000 http://blogs.dw.com/generationchange/?p=2247 When Philip von der Wippel, a 16-year-old German exchange student in the UK, met Ibrahim, a fellow high-school student originally from Syria, neither ever guessed their friendship would lead them to Nr 10 Downing Street, the iconic office of Britain’s Prime Minister. Now, the campaign they started – to raise awareness about the atrocities taking place in Syria as the country slips slides towards civil war – is going global, thanks in part to the support of Prime Minister Cameron.

Listen to the report by Anja Küppers-McKinnon in London:

Young German voice for Syria

Philipp von der Wippel

Philipp and friends in front of Nr 10 Downing Street

Philipp von der Wippel and MP David Morris

Philipp with British MP David Morris

Here is the Facebook page for Philip’s organization, Together We Can for Syria.

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Syrian activist uses mobile phones to campaign for freedom https://blogs.dw.com/generationchange/2011/10/syrian-activist-uses-mobile-phones-to-campaign-for-freedom/ Tue, 25 Oct 2011 14:32:27 +0000 http://blogs.dw.com/generationchange/?p=573 Syria is not experiencing a Facebook Revolution; it’s more of a mobile phone uprising. And 24-year-old activist Rashid is risking his personal safety to fight for democracy in his country.

Syrian activist uses mobile phones to campaign for freedom

Ciwan Rashid

From reporter Reese Erlich:

Erbil, Kurdish Region, Iraq

I wasn’t sure what to expect when setting up an interview with a grassroots leader of the Syrian opposition. We were both staying in the relative safety of Iraq’s Kurdish Region, far from the long arm of Syria’s Mukhabarat (military intelligence).

But still, Ciwan Rashid didn’t want to meet me at home. We agreed to do the interview on a crowded Erbil street with a shopping mall and restaurants. He gave me his name, but it’s a nom de guerre.

Rashid lives in the predominantly Kurdish region of Syria. Kurds have long faced discrimination at the hands of the Syrian government. Rashid says all Syrians face repression, but “Kurds in Syria faced even more repression than others.”

Rashid, like many other Syrians, watched the Tunisian and Egyptian uprisings with great anticipation. In Syria, demonstrations started in Damascus in March, caught fire in the southern town of Dara and ultimately spread to the northern Kurdish cities as well. Rashid immediately joined the protests.

“I wasn’t afraid,” he told me. I asked why not. After all, people were being arrested, tortured and killed. “There are two choices,” he said. “One is to escape and survive. The second is to die. If I survive, I will have my freedom.”

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