Communications Committee Update

The Communication Committee has undergone some changes over the course of this year. Michael Conner is now Chair of the Committee, taking over from Joseph Nnadi who worked diligently for many years to keep MARL’s members apprised of the important news. The Committee has also welcomed some new members, both volunteers and from the Board. We look forward to their fresh ideas and energy. In addition to putting together this newsletter and maintaining MARL’s website, the Committee’s mandate has expanded to take on the important role of fundraising. We are very fortunate to have key funders such as the United Way and the Winnipeg Foundation who financially support MARL’s goals. Not to mention the very generous support of our members. But there is much more work that MARL wants and needs to do to promote and educate about human rights and civil liberties. Of course, this takes money. To that end, the Committee will continue working towards increasing MARL’s membership. We hope to implement a new fundraising strategy to ensure that our presence remains strong. The Committee also wants to increase our emphasis on writing articles and letters to the editor of newspapers, including the University’s papers. Media coverage is essential to get MARL’s message out on pressing issues of human rights and civil liberties. Not only does this raise public awareness, it fosters debate on the important issues of the day. For example, MARL recently wrote a letter to the editor criticizing the City’s plans to use surveillance cameras in public (and see the article in this newsletter). We will continue to defend the rights of all Manitobans. And we always welcome input from our members. If you have a burning issue or an idea for our newsletter, please let us know.