A few weeks ago, Dinah from the Wizrocklopedia , Andrew Slack and myself from the Harry Potter Alliance came together with a podcast called Two True Freaks to talk about the Harry Potter fandom. We covered everything from the HPA to Potter Puppet Pals to fanfiction to Melissa Anelli and even a little Twilight. It’s a lively episode that tries, to the best of our ability, to give a broad spectrum to the HP fandom and its inner workings.

Two True Freaks is a weekly podcast that covers several geeky fandoms every month from Star Wars to comic books. It is run by two lifelong friends named Scott Gardner and Chris Honeywell and has had guests like George Krstic from Lucas Films on their show. They are very proud members of the League of Comic Book Podcasts and the Comics Podcasts Network.

For more information about the episode, please visit this website:

http://www.thehpalliance.com/profiles/blogs/the-hpa-is-featured-on-the

The following is an excerpt from a blog post by Tassana Burrfoot on Ning. To read the full post, click here.

“Imagine if your mother and father really believed that your magical actions brought about cancer or divorce. Imagine if your entire village believed you were a witch. A ~real~ witch. And they attacked you for it. Such is the lives of many children in Nigeria. And I’m not talking about a spanking on the behind or time out. Because, let’s face it, these kids in Nigeria have it much worse.

A man by the name of  Sam Ikpe-Itauma has, with the help of his wife Elizabeth,  fostered more than 133 children deemed witches by their community. Together, this dynamic duo has managed to not only foster, but reeducate these children and keep them safe from family and neighbours who would see these children dead. Because of these children, Ikpe-Itauma has founded a charity called Child Rights and Rehabilitation Network (CRARN). This charity provides medical attention, housing, food, and education to these children who have done nothing more than be children.

If you would like to read more about CRARN and what they are doing to help these children, please visit http://crarn.tripod.com/. To read more stories, including the one about Mary, visit http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2007/dec/09/tracymcveigh.theobserver and http://crarn.tripod.com/id4.html.”

In this season of gratitude, I will speak for the HPA Board and Staff in saying thank you for all of you that make the Harry Potter Alliance possible. This is a time when many are enjoying their friends and family, a time when many feel estranged and lonely for lack of friends and family, and a time when others feel incredibly frustrated with their friends and family – because some of our families create more dramas than all television networks combined. Regardless, each of you is part of a different kind of family with the Harry Potter Alliance – and each of us can be grateful that we are part of this. Thank you so much, every one of you for being part of the community, network of friends, and family that is the Harry Potter Alliance! Happy Thanksgiving!

Tomorrow is the first day of the internationally-observed 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence, running from November 25th, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, to December 10th, International Human Rights Day. Save Darfur has organized a version of this campaign specifically aimed at Darfuri women. Each day there is a new activity, from lighting a candle to writing a letter to the editor of a local newspaper.

You can find each of the sixteen activities here.

Click to view the original post in its entirety, or to watch a short video about the campaign.

Former President George W Bush passed the Leave No Child Behind Act – whose stated purpose was to make sure that all children, regardless of their race or class, are given a good education. Leave No Child Behind puts heavy emphasis around standardized tests in order to hold schools to a “higher standard.” Consistent with this theme is President Barack Obama’s recent call for better education in science and math in order to create more innovation and for American children to grow up to be able to compete in the global market.

I really can’t disagree with too much of this on paper. And certainly, it is important for most of us to increase our quantitative skills, etc. But I continue to be disappointed and somewhat amazed by the lack of emphasis on the “education” part of “education.” There is a difference between giving a child instructions versus giving a child a quality education.

Getting kids to do well on standardized tests is about forcing them to memorize and regurgitate instructions. It does not give proper emphasis to getting them to be smart and interesting human beings who will make dynamic contributions. The development of a society full of such people is just something that our culture of education is not terribly interested in making as the top priority. But is it better for Obama to talk about science and math than to talk about how we can truly engage with our nation’s (and the world’s) youth?

Harry Potter is an excellent example of something that has allowed kids to be engaged – and to then take learning into their own hands. Web 2.0 in general has allowed kids to do that. Traditional education does not emphasize that.

I believe that children encouraged to feel safe in a state of “childhood” are children who will not only be far more fulfilled on a personal level but will allow our entire country and world to be far more fulfilled. Daniel Pink has done a good job of demonstrating how the old technocratic style of the world is shifting dramatically. It turns out that living fully and creatively are far more practical than spending all of your time cramming in somewhat pointless information for the SATs. I’m going to propose a discussion around leaving no childHOOD behind. And

In 1962 an oil company that would eventually become part of Exxon bragged that it “supplies enough energy to melt 7 million tons of glacier!” That advertisement was far more accurate than any one would have guessed. Now there’s work to do stop this horror movie where a 1962 ad that says something totally outlandish comes to life and puts New York City under water.

I just wanted to reiterate Karen’s sentiments regarding how to start an HPA chapter. Being part of an HPA chapter is incredibly exciting – but I’m going to let Stephanie attest to that, as she does so well in our comments section:

As a current CO of a chapter, I have to say: I agree wholeheartedly with everything here. Being a part of the HPA is one thing, but being a part of the HPA as a part of a chapter is another. When you’re in a chapter, especially if you’re an organizer, it’s like… you feel like you’re a part of something huge. Even moreso than when you just participate as a member. It’s ridiculously awesome.

I strongly recommend that everyone find a chapter where they are, and if there isn’t one nearby, start one. It’s one of the best things I ever did for myself. And don’t be afraid if you have only one member besides yourself– welcome to my world, and you’ll find other active people who want to be a part of this soon enough. Everything falls into place when it’s supposed to.
Plus, you can get a LOT done with just two people. :]”

Many of you know from my liveblogging that I recently spoke at Pledge 2 Protect: the largest anti-genocide conference in history. At the conference I met so many wonderful people, artists and student activists who are getting involved with the HPA and our future work. Among them was a first year college student named Ashlee. Ashlee is someone whose intelligence, passion, and enthusiasm is contagious and I am very excited that she will be joining us soon. I was so incredibly honored and humbled to have her write us the following, reminding how much our work does to bring more people into the work of important human rights activism:

“July of 2007 was a momentous month for the Harry Potter fan community. As fans of J.K. Rowling’s series, we saw the emotional debut of the last book and the premiere of the fifth installment in the synonymous film adaptations. But for me, July 2007 has even more significance. As I made my usual rounds around Harry Potter fan sites, I came across the Harry Potter Alliance and their first podcast. As I was in the height of Potter mania, I listened to the podcast simply because of its association with the book series. By the time I had finished listening, my entire perspective on the world had changed. Through the podcast, I discovered the horrendous genocide occurring in the Darfur region of Sudan. I couldn’t believe that these atrocities had been taking place since 2003, and that I’d known nothing about it. The Harry Potter Alliance’s determination to be the Dumbledore’s Army for the real world inspired me to action like nothing ever has, and I’ve been a devoted member of the anti-genocide movement since listening to the podcast in July of 2007. I’m writing now at Pledge2Protect, the largest anti-genocide conference in history, and its incredible to think I would never have been here without the HPA. Without the HPA’s amazing work, I wouldn’t have even known about the plight of people halfway across the world, much less be attending a conference devoted to improving their situation. Six years since mass atrocities began to occur in Darfur, the fight to end genocide is far from over. Conflicts in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burma are escalating as well, and at times it seems impossible that crimes against humanity will ever stop. But with organizations such as the Harry Potter Alliance working to stop these atrocities, I have faith that one day our world will be genocide free. One day, we can all live in a world of acceptance and peace, if we care for our fellow human beings and embrace the ideals set forth by the wonderful Harry Potter Alliance.”

It has been an intense month of campaigns around the Harry Potter Alliance! In the last six weeks, we worked on Magical Acts of Kindness, Wrock for Equality, America’s Giving Challenge, and the larger 9 and 3/4 campaign. As usual, the amount of excitement and passion and determination this community gave to each of those projects was amazing to witness and be a part of.

With such a busy month, our chapters program also saw a huge increase in interest. We’ve been getting a lot of questions about how to start an HPA chapter, and so I thought I’d go ahead and put some of the basics here.

Why Be involved in a Chapter?

If you love HPA campaigns, you’re going to love being part of an HPA chapter! Our chapters are, in essence, local groups of the Harry Potter Alliance – they are taking the work that we do online and making it happen in their schools and communities. Some examples of that include:

• a “Chapter Cup” during Wrock for Equality to see which chapter could phonebank for the longest time
• 9 and 3/4 fundraisers like penny drives, bake sales, and quidditch tournaments
• Accio Books! Book drives for local schools and libraries
• Magical Acts of Kindness week projects
• Particpating in a variety of local events

And so starting a chapter is a great way to take your work with the HPA a little further and spread it to your local school or community.

Check out the Chapters Gallery for pictures from local chapter events

How Can I Join a Chapter?

You can search for HPA chapters on our Find a Chapter page.All of the chapters have links to their chapter websites, where you can find out more about how to get involved.

If there isn’t a chapter near you, you can start your own!

How to Start an HPA Chapter

It doesn’t matterhow much you’ve thought about starting a chapter or how many people you think will be involved – if you want to start an HPA chapter, we can help you make it happen!

Our chapters staff (Jenni, Amanda, and myself) work individually with Chapter Organizers to help them plan interest meetings, find a faculty advisor, and advertise their chapter. We also have a strong network of Chapter Organizers (more than 50!) in the HPA Common Room that can help you as you get started.

If you’re interested in starting a chapter, fill out the “Start a Chapter” form and we’ll help you get started.

And, as we Chapter Organizers like to say…Welcome to the Room of Requirement!

In December 2008, the HPA participated in STAND Fast, where raised enough money from all of you, to protect families in Eastern Burma by giving their villages the capacity to communicate via radio (we also raised money at that time to protect Darfuri civilians).

A few months before that, during the 2008 Olympics, we discussed the military junta that controls Buram and how they continue to commit ethnic cleansing against minorities in Eastern Burma. We used the parallel of Voldemort’s regime rounding up all of the Muggleborns. The parallel goes further. Like the Order of the Phoenix and Dumbledore’s Army fighting Voldemort’s regime, Burma has a strong pro-democracy movement nonviolently fighting the military junta. Many of them are students who in 1988 fled to the jungle the way Harry, Hermione, and Ron fled to the English countryside in order to destroy horcruxes.

And like Voldemort’s regime framed Harry Potter as “public enemy number one,” the military junta in Burma has done the same to Aung San Suu Kyi. The story of Aung San Suu Kyi is one of the most inspiring stories of endurance, patience, and wisdom in the face of horrific oppression that I have ever heard. To this day, she remains the only winner of the Nobel Peace Prize to be imprisoned within her own country. Further, she is Burma’s democratically elected leader. The military junta fears her and keeps her imprisoned in order to bring down the morale of those who wish to fight back against their takeover of the government.

The anti-genocide movement has begun to incorporate Burma as one of it’s leading causes alongside Darfur, Northern Uganda, and Congo. It is truly of profound importance that the military junta in Burma end and that the Burmese people are able to realize a sense of dignity that has been denied them for too long.

Today President Obama has asked Burma to free Aung San Suu Kyi. Please stay tuned with the HPA, not only on this blog, but through our Twitter, Ning, email list, and Facebook for important updates on what happens with Obama’s request and how we can be involved.