FOTC Highlights

Organized students and community activists in over 50 countries and 200 university campuses and communities during Congo Week

Served as official international observers to the 2006 Elections in the Congo

Organized delegation of Journalists and Professors to the Congo

Secured resolutions from City Councils in the U.S. and major unions in Canada and the U.S.

Organized panel of Congolese Women Off-Broadway in collaboration with Pulitzer Winning Play “Ruined” and the Manhattan Theatre Club

Partnered with Japanese youth to host week of activities in support of the Congo at the University of Osaka, Japan.

Secured funding for Congolese health centers that treat women who have been victims of sexual violence

Support Congolese youth artists using Hip Hop to teach social justice to their peers

Toured the U.S. with renowned Congolese artist to raise awareness about the situation in the Congo


Select Friends of Congo highlights from 2010 include the following:

Organized the third annual Congo Week which has seen the participation of 55 countries and over 300 university campuses and communities since 2008. Congo Week has become an institution and platform to remind the global community about their responsibility to fellow members of the human family in the heart of Africa.

Partnered with Maysles Cinema to host the second annual Congo in Harlem film, lecture and performance series. Congo in Harlem is a series of films, panel discussions, and special events that celebrate Congolese culture art, music, performance and food.

Organized commemoration of victims of the 1999 - 2000 battle between Rwanda and Uganda in Kisangani, DRC. Testimonies were taken from the victims of the fight between the two foreign armies on Congolese soil in a battle for diamond concessions.

Mobilized communities via the Break the Silence Speakers Tour which grew beyond the United States and Canada to include South Africa. The highlight of the tour was a keynote delivered by Kambale Musavuli at the 2010 Digital Citizen’s Indaba (DCI) and the Highway Africa Conference in Grahamstown, South Africa. Archbishop Desmond Tutu gave the closing address.

Engaged stakeholders in the electronics and tech industries to expand the dialogue around the role they can play in helping to bring an end to the conflict.

Organized rally and forum in Kinshasa, DRC with ASADHO to raise awareness about the plight of the multitude of handicapped persons in the Congo.

Appealed to the global community to address the injustices being perpetrated in the Great Lakes Region. Most notably were press conferences held at the National Press Club with a broad coalition of organizations working for change in Central Africa, collaborating with Spanish Members of Parliament to deliver petitions to the United Nations and hosting the lead author of the 2010 United Nations Mapping Exercise Report at a panel discussion during Congo in Harlem.

Provided support to students in Vermont who launched the Dear Hillary Campaign to demand accountability from the State Department in implementing the Obama Law (PL 109-456) as a means for advancing peace in the Congo. The students sent thousands of post cards to the State Department which resulted in an invitation to the students to visit the State Department on December 15, 2010 to discuss US policy towards Congo.

Coordinated the trip of a film crew to the Congo to document the efforts being led by Congolese to bring about social justice change. Stay abreast for updates on the often overlooked courageous battles being waged by Congolese to bring about lasting peace and stability in the Congo.

Provided testimony in the Canadian Parliament at the invitation of the National Democratic Party. Bodia Bavuidi, the president of FOTC Canada made a presentation to members of Parliament on the nature of the injustices being committed in the Congo and the basis for a global appeal for justice on the part of the Congolese people.