Our world. Your move. A global campaign of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement
The year 2009 has great significance for the Red Cross and Red Crescent: it marks the 150th anniversary of the battle of Solferino and the 60th anniversary of the four Geneva Conventions of 1949. In observance of these anniversaries, the Movement has launched a campaign, Our World. Your Move, to remind everyone of his or her individual responsibility to lessen human suffering.
In images
Campaign film: Simple gestures
18-11-2009 Video Collection
DR Congo: giving lost children the chance of a new life In August 2008, hostilities resumed between the military of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and fighters of the National Congress for the Defence of the People. Over 250,000 civilians were forced to flee, sometimes repeatedly. In the chaos, families were separated, children were lost. The ICRC works with the Don Bosco centre, an orphanage in Goma, to reunite children with their families.
17-11-2009 Video Collection
Philippines: protecting the lives and dignity of detainees James Nachtwey, a well-respected war photographer, went to the Philippines in 2009 for the the ICRC. He witnessed the hardships of some of the country's most vulnerable people: detainees and people displaced by conflict. For more than 17 years, the ICRC has been visiting people detained in connection with armed conflicts and other situations of violence in the Philippines.
10-11-2009 Video Collection
Mines continue to shatter lives in Colombia In February 2009 Francisco, 20, and a friend from his hamlet set off to earn a day's wage and unknowingly stepped into a mine field. Francisco survived, but at a terrible cost. This is his story. In Colombia, many lives are broken in rural communities who continue to suffer due to the use of landmines.
5-11-2009 Video Collection
Haiti: the enduring cycle of violence and poverty Brice Osmer lost his arm in 2005 after being hit by a stray bullet near his home in Cité Soleil. Shortly thereafter, his wife was shot in the stomach and barely survived. Violence affects 98% of the population of this sprawling shanty town, one of the poorest in the Western hemisphere, hindering people's ability to work and thus put food on the table for their families.
13-10-2009 Video Collection
Afghanistan: sorrow beyond words - James Nachtwey's photos James Nachtwey, a celebrated war photographer, went to Afghanistan in 2009 for the ICRC. He witnessed the hardships of some of the country's most vulnerable people. This collection of his work gives a glimpse of the human cost of war through his eyes.
28-9-2009 Video Collection
Haïti: saving lives in Cité Soleil Violence is on the rise again as gang members struggle for power in Cité Soleil, the sprawling slum in Port-au-Prince. Haitian Red Cross volunteers put their lives on the line as they evacuate the sick and wounded from communities caught in the crossfire such as Martissant, the setting of this film.
27-8-2009 Video Collection
Trauma healing and reconciliation in Liberia Along with their children, the women of Liberia have borne the brunt of 14 years of war, enduring trauma beyond imagination. The Lutheran Church of Liberia's Trauma Healing and Reconciliation Programme provides free counselling to women to help them identify coping mechanisms to deal with past trauma and current hardships.
These eight contexts were chosen for the campaign as together they illustrate the many phases of conflict (war, transition, post-conflict reconstruction) and the long-term impact it has on generations of people.
Opinion survey
Our world. Views from the field. The ICRC has carried out different quantitative and qualitative research initiatives on the impact of armed conflict on civilians and behaviour during armed conflict. The results give a powerful insight into the experiences and opinions of civilians coping with some of the most harrowing situations in the world.
From the field
11-11-2009 Feature
A displaced mother who lost 2 sons: "you never get over it" Millions of people have been displaced over decades of armed conflict in Colombia, and tens of thousands are missing. Cruz del Carmen faces a triple tragedy: her husband was killed, two of her children are missing, and she was displaced from her farm twelve years ago.
21-10-2009 Feature
Former child soldier: "They would point a gun at me and tell me to kill someone, so I did" The testimony below is that of a 17-year-old former child soldier and current student of the Child Advocacy and Rehabilitation Centre (CAR) run by the Liberian Red Cross, which supports children who were affected by Liberia’s 14-year civil war. Students between the ages of 10 and 18 are provided with psychosocial counselling, skills training such as tailoring and masonry, recreational activities and accelerated learning programmes.
Caring for civilians caught up in war – the story of an ambulanceman in Sderot Avraham is an ambulanceman with the Magen David Adom in Sderot, an Israeli town near the Gaza Strip. He sometimes transports seriously ill Palestinians to hospital who cannot obtain the necessary treatment in Gaza. He believes that hoping is not enough; he says you have to act, because that is what gives life meaning.
Lionel Messi and other celebrities back Our world. Your move. campaign Geneva – Argentine footballer Lionel Messi is lending his support to the Our world. Your move. campaign – an initiative by the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement to raise awareness of today's humanitarian challenges and highlight the power of individuals to make a big difference.
22-10-2009 News release
Iran: photo exhibition opens as part of worldwide campaign to alleviate suffering Tehran (ICRC) – A photo exhibition entitled Humanity in War, organized by the Red Crescent Society of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), will open on 24 October at the Iranian Red Crescent's Peace Art Gallery in Tehran.
