Editor's note: According to Wikipedia [accessed September 6 2007], "Second Life (abbreviated as SL) is an internet-based virtual world launched in 2003, developed by Linden Research, Inc. (commonly referred to as Linden Lab). A downloadable client programme called the Second Life Viewer enables its users, called "Residents", to interact with each other through motional avatars, providing an advanced level of a social network service combined with general aspects of a metaverse. Residents can explore, meet other Residents, socialize, participate in individual and group activities, create and trade items (virtual property) and services from one another. Second Life is one of several virtual worlds that have been inspired by the cyberpunk literary movement..."

This initiative represents what LCMedia calls "the new public media," which allows viewers to "step through the TV/computer screen" and into a computer programme to participate in events, and is an example of how this new medium can be used to educate and create positive social change. On the one hand, it was a live event held in Washington, DC (United States). However, it was also filmed, substituting virtual characters (using the actual voices of the real panel participants) for viewing in the Second Life platform. (The 12-minute video may be viewed by clicking here). The event was held at The Infinite Mind virtual broadcast centre, and was simultaneously broadcast in two other locations in Second Life: Camp Darfur, and Global Kids, on the Second Life teen grid. In short, both face-to-face dialogue and new information and communication technology (ICT) is being used here to raise awareness on the part of the public about a humanitarian crisis, and to spur action around it.

Following an introduction by moderator Bill Lichtenstein, president of LCMedia, and Senior Executive Producer of the national, weekly public radio series The Infinite Mind, John Heffernan speaks on the video - while images of people in Darfur flash on one's computer screen. Heffernan has traveled throughout Sudan and the region, co-authored the 2006 report "Darfur: Assault on Survival" for Physicians for Human Rights, and serves as Director of the Genocide Prevention Initiative for the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum's Committee on Conscience, the sponsor of the programme. He discusses the unchecked hatred, anti-semitism, and genocide which is occuring in Darfur and Chad, describing this as an organised attempt to effect group anilhilation. He shares statistics with viewers - for example, he says, since winter 2003, over 400,000 people have died, 2.5 million people homeless, and 3,000 non-Arab villages have been destroyed. He explains that, having noted that the situation has continued to deteriorate, the Museum organised an outdoor photography exhibition called "Our Walls Bear Witness - Darfur: Who Will Survive Today?" For 6 nights over the Thanksgiving week period (November) 2006, the Museum projected images supplied by photojournalists who had visited the country to highlight the Darfur crisis. (The virtual event in Second Life allows visitors from around the world to experience the traveling photography exhibit, as well as to view video of the real life outdoor installation at the Holocaust Memorial Museum).

Mia Farrow - a well-known actress, activist, and United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) goodwill ambassador speaks next. She has traveled to Darfur twice (and planned to return in 2007) and has visited Chad as well. Based on her experiences there, she has written op-ed pieces in United States newspapers in an attempt to stir the public's consciousness; she has also taken, and shared, photographs from her time spent in refugee camps. She talks from her own perspective about the situation there, urging that the human community share knowledge about the situation, acknowledge our shared sense of responsibility, and move forward by taking the necessary action to help those who are hungry, terrified, and in need of help.

Photojournalist Ron Haviv, whose images of Darfur are part of the virtual event expands on Farrow's remarks by describing a specific brutal method of fighting that is leading to this society falling apart: rape. He tells of his experiences talking with and photographing girls as young as 12 years old attacked by militia when they leave their homes in the camps to collect firewood. (The men know that they cannot go, he explains, because they will surely be killed; the adult women know with certainty they will be raped...so they send out their daughters and hope for the best). He describes a proud and gentle, yet hurting, people.

Having raised awareness through these facts and stories, young panelist Ronan Farrow (a Yale Law School Student who has served as a UNICEF Spokesperson for Youth in Sudan as a representative of the Genocide Intervention Network, and has written extensively about the situation in Darfur (e.g., in Newsday and The Wall Street Journal) urges viewers to "keep up the noise" on Darfur. He discusses concrete steps that have been taken - particularly, the use of ICTs for advocacy - to alert people to the crisis and spur action. For example, he discusses an aggressive divestment campaign taking place in the United States which has involved, in part, students urging universities not to support the genocidal regime through the organisations they fund. Farrow cites (with URLs provided visually) several sources of information and action, such as the Darfur Scorecard, which enables people to view (US) legistators' performance with regard to Darfur-related legislation. Here, one can urge senators to take action and/or write in to commend, or express disapproval, for past voting records. Farrow and his fellow young activists hope to "generate traction" through such venues; he claims on the video that the tactic appears to be working. He also encourages people to push local and national media outlets to cover the Darfur crisis. Although a number of journalists have courageously engaged in this issue, he says that that are far too few who are working actively to raise awareness through their writing and broadcasting. Farrow also highlights the importance of supporting humanitarian organisations, and refers viewers to the Genocide Intervention Network.

The conclusion of the video features a list of websites to visit for those seeking to learn about how to make a difference in Darfur. Viewers also have the option of sending the video link to a friend and/or posting it to a blog or My Space page. To see how the US Holocaust Memorial Museum is using the video for outreach, and to access both a transcript and a series of discussion questions, click here.

Rights, Conflict.