New Chapter for Global Survivors Network
On November 9, 2009, Global Survivors Network (GSN) was launched in Amman, Jordan under the patronage of Her Majesty Queen Rania al Abdullah. Since its creation, GSN is proud to have released the Academy-Award nominated Killing in the Name, to screen this and more than 15 other GSN-produced films in nearly a dozen countries and to have supported survivors of terrorism speaking truth to terror before audiences of thousands.
Nearly three years later, GSN is entering a new stage. With the release of our YouTube page and following the training we have provided survivors from 11 countries, we are proud to invite our members and the general public to add their voices and their stories to those condemning acts of terror. Whether this is a call-to-arms to join others condemning violence as our members did at Google’s SAVE event last summer in Dublin, the launch of a program in Indonesia, which we supported in 2010, or to comment on breaking news like the death of high-profile extremists, GSN’s Facebook page and YouTube channel are available for all to upload videos to and comment on. Sadly, the financial resources needed to underwrite these efforts are no longer available and GSN will not create new films nor plan future events.
Thankfully, the efforts of many of our colleagues and partners around the world will continue on their own initiative. GSN is proud to have inspired the creation of a number of organizations speaking truth to terror, including the launch last year of SCREAM Against Terrorism in Pakistan. Championing survivors’ efforts to reach out to more than 8,500 young people throughout Pakistan was just the beginning of the important work survivors can and should do.
Our supporters, including US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh, recognize the unique role victims and survivors of terror play in providing a counter narrative to that of the extremists. We hope that in this new stage GSN’s members will continue to speak truth to terror, voicing their desire for the safer, more secure world in which we all wish to live.
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