People: Together we pixel a better world
2010/10/09
KASMIAH MUSTAPHA
Pixel Project plans to raise US$1 million in a bid to end violence against women writes KASMIAH MUSTAPHA
(From left) Josiah, Skelchy and Yau are raising funds through the sale of cupcakes for the Paint It Purple campaignIT’S time men get involved in ending violence against women and be role models in raising awareness on this.
Based on the idea that men and women should stand together to end violence against women, the Pixel Project was born. The brainchild of Regina Yau, it was initially a way to raise funds for the Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO).
“Originally, my idea was to help raise money for the WAO, which had sent out appeals for donations but none were forthcoming due to the financial crisis in 2008. I had come up with several ideas but none worked. Then I remembered Alex Tew’s idea of selling pixels to raise money, and I thought I could give it a twist. We are going to sell the pixels to help raise funds and awareness on violence against women.”
In 2005, Tew, a student from Wiltshire, England, conceived The Million Dollar Homepage. Through the website, he was selling one million pixels for US$1 (RM3.08) per pixel to raise money for his college education.
The Pixel Project plans to raise US$1 million by getting a global audience to collectively unveil a million-pixel mystery collage of Celebrity Male Role Models. Each pixel is sold at US$1. Once the million pixels are sold, it will reveal a prominent Nobel Prize winner, a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner and a celebrated environmentalist.
Yau is working on getting another male role model for the project. Once all four are on board, the Pixel Project will be launched, hopefully by year-end.The money raised from the Pixel Project will be shared equally between WAO and the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV), a non-profit organisation in the US.
As founder and president of the Pixel Project, Yau says she cannot be more proud of everyone’s interest and participation in the project. To her, it is more than just raising money to help NGOs. It is also about getting them to recognise that ending violence against women is a concerted effort.
Admitting that she has been a feminist since 12, Yau says there are different types of violence against women. While domestic violence, rape and sexual harassment are the most prevalent, there are others which need to be highlighted. These include female genital mutilation, dowry murders and honour killings.She says the idea of having Male Role Models for the Pixel Project is to get men involved. This is because all this while, men had always thought of it as women’s issues, and are either reluctant or refuse to take part.
“But it is actually their problem, too. I asked them how they would feel if their mothers were beaten, their sisters raped or their female colleagues were being sexually harassed at work. Are they going to ignore it? Previously, men were made out to be the villains in this issue. But for the past five years, efforts have been made to change the perception because there are good men out there who believe that violence of any kind is not the way.
“That is the reason why we chose men as role models for the Pixel Project.
These are men with strong family connections with no history of violence. They are examples of men in relationships with women and children. It is also to emphasise that men have a major role in breaking the cycle of violence against women.”
When the project was launched early last year, Yau says it never crossed her mind that it would grow into what it is today. Through Twitter, Facebook and other online resources, friends and strangers started to spread the word about the project, and within a short period of time, it had turned into a global, virtual, volunteer-led non-profit organisation.
“Seriously, when I started this project, I did not think that it would grow into this huge thing. We started our Twitter and Facebook pages early last year and people kept latching on to it and it just grew from there.
“We now have volunteers from four continents, 12 time zones and more than 10 cities. Our chief financial officer is based in California, our Twitter team is in Hong Kong, our web designers are in Penang, and the PR people are in London.
I see it as a Malaysian-led global effort.”
Yau says the project has three objectives — to raise awareness, funds and the power of volunteers. In addition, it is also a tool for men and women to communicate about the issue.
“We are saying that they should no longer remain silent. Men and women need to stand together and say no to violence on women.”
WAO’s executive director Ivy Josiah says hopefully, the Pixel Project would be able to influence Malaysians, especially men, to come forward and make the effort to end violence against women. She says efforts to change the community’s attitudes towards the issue should also involve changing men’s behaviour, because they are both the problem and solution.
“Every year 3,500 women are raped. That means there are 3,500 men who are rapists. We need to turn the focus into changing men’s behaviour towards women.
For years, we have been telling women to empower themselves, to report any and all forms of violence. But every protocol, every protection and every device are run by men. And some of these men have made it difficult for women to come forward.
“So if men do not change their behaviour, if they do not condemn the act, we are not going to get anywhere. We need to start with boys in schools, in colleges and even with our community leaders.”
Josiah says in the 28 years that she has been with WAO, there are no integrated services to help survivors of violence, no concerted effort to end the acts, and generally, a lack of impetus to educate the public to get involved with the issue.
“They just do not want to get involved. To this day, we do not have the proper protection protocols. Rape survivors do not come forward because the whole system of filing reports, the ensuing investigation and trial, is basically ’raping’ the women all over again.
“In other countries, there is a joint effort by the hospitals, the attorney-general chambers, police and welfare officers when it comes to violence against women. We do not have this and that really makes me angry.”
To learn more about the Pixel Project, visit www.thepixelproject.net
Paint It Purple campaign
IN recognition of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, the Pixel Project is organising the ’Paint It Purple’ campaign this month. The campaign is a global effort to raise awareness about domestic violence and other forms of violence against women.
The Domestic Violence Month is celebrated every October in the US. It was conceived by the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV) and was first celebrated in 1987. Purple was chosen as the colour to help raise awareness on domestic violence.
Throughout this month, the online community is encouraged to help the Pixel Project paint the Internet purple with buttons, banners and blogskins across Twitter, Facebook, blogs and websites. ’Paint It Purple’ parties will be held to raise funds for the Pixel Project and its partners.
Funds will be raised through the sale of special cupcakes carrying the Pixel Project’s purple-and-white ribbon, which signify men and women working together to end violence against women.
The campaign will also include holding parties across the globe. ’Paint It Purple’ parties are social events designed to raise funds and awareness on the Pixel Project and partnering Violence Against Women’s organisations worldwide.
Pixel Project’s founder and president Regina Yau says the campaign is part of the efforts to build the audience for the project before it is launched.
Yau says ’Paint It Purple’ parties are being held in Cairo, Cardiff, Denver, Devon, Dubai, Houston, Nova Scotia, Singapore, Toronto and Washington. In Malaysia, the kick-off party was held on Oct 2.
For the campaign, Just Heavenly bakery is providing the special ’Paint It Purple’ cupcakes. Co-founder Nigel Skelchy says the cupcakes will be sold at its outlets in Plaza Damansara, Jaya One and Pavillion. A portion of the sale will be donated to the Pixel Project.
During the ’Paint It Purple’ campaign, the public are encouraged to record their YouTube public service announcements for the Pixel Project’s Wall of Support.
For details, visit www.thepixelproject.net/community-buzz/the-paint-it-purple-2010-campaign.
The Pixel Project plans to raise US$1 million by getting a global audience to collectively unveil a million-pixel mystery collage of Celebrity Male Role Models. Each pixel is sold at US$1. Once the million pixels are sold, it will reveal a prominent Nobel Prize winner, a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner and a celebrated environmentalist.
Read more: People: Together we pixel a better world http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/People_Togetherwepixelabetterworld/Article...
