Invisible Children at SXSW!

Hey Austin friends, Invisible Children is excited to announce that we’re heading to this year’s South by South West (SXSW) music festival! That means we need you! We’re currently recruiting a giant street team to help us co-ordinate a massive undertaking called the Mustache March. Yes, mustaches are involved. Along with our friends at Causecast, we’ll be hitting the streets of Austin, Texas spreading the word about child soldiers to tens of thousands of people. We’ll also be setting up at some very cool shows around Austin. If you’re in the area- come join us!

Check out the event on Facebook:

www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=53377123735

We’ll be updating you soon with more details. Spread the word, it’s going to be huge!

Watch this video and get excited:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFP-cxIkGZI&fmt=22

The Rescue: Of Joseph Kony’s Child Soldiers – Watch it Right Now!

Our new film, ‘The Rescue: of Joseph Kony’s Child Soldiers’ is now streaming on our brand new website! This powerful new piece of media profiles rebel leader Joseph Kony and the untold story of child soldiers under his reign. It speaks of the urgency to end the war and rescue the child soldiers.

Check it out, and sign up to receive updates, and start spreading the word about The Rescue Event on April 25^th. Since the website’s launch a few days ago, over 5000 people have already signed up for The Rescue. When you sign up, you choose the city you will be at on April 25^th, and you’ll receive updates about your specific city. With over 100 cities worldwide hosting the Event, you’ll be sure to find a city in your area.

When you click the ’sign up’ button on the main page, you’ll be directed to the three ways you can take action. You can buy the Gray Rescue Bracelet DVD, the two Rescue tshirts, and sign up for TRI to help fund the event.

We’re really excited about The Rescue, but we need your help. We’ve got 60 days to make history, so watch the film and sign up today.

Los Angeles Friends: Join Us Tomorrow Night!

Premiere of ‘The Rescue’

Hey everyone, if you’re in the LA area looking for something to do tomorrow- Invisible Children has an idea or two. Tomorrow is the premiere for our new film ‘The Rescue: of Joseph Kony’s Child Soldiers’ at Cinespace in Hollywood. It’s going to be huge, we’re anticipating a ton of people, and some very cool celebrity supporters. We can’t wait to watch this incredible piece of media that will kick start the World Event. This is a 21+ event, so if that doesn’t mean you, we’ve got you covered:

Invisible Children show at the Key Club

We’ll be hosting an all-ages show at the Key Club with Jack Left Town, Wicker, The Jakes, After Midnight Project! There will be a $5 raffle for the following prizes:

Squire Guitar, KROQ Snowboard, Wellen Surf Prize Pack, Draven Shoes Prize Pack, Red Bull Energy Drink Prize Package/Skate deck and more! 

And stick around the show afterwards for an afterparty/meet and greet DJ’d and hosted by Adam from Story of the Year for all raffle ticket purchasers! Oh, and special guest Dane Cook will be there. Yes, we’re serious. Dane Cook. 

The World Tour has Officially Launched

The IC Fleet, Prepared to Depart

And they’re off! We have officially sent the Roadies out in our trademark black vans, packed high with new merchandise and the most relevant piece of media we have produced so far: The Rescue. Make sure to check and see if they are coming to a town near you.

Taking it to the streets

Yesterday, Bobby took the Roadies out of the office and into the streets (and roofs) of San Diego to film our latest World Tour Podcast. With backpacks and sleeping bags in hand, they walked down the streets, and stood collectively on the rooftop of our office. Bobby directed the group as a giant crane floated above them. It was a pretty cool thing to watch, not only was it a powerful illustration of what our big event on April 25^th will look like- but it would be the last time the group stood together before they spread out across the country, correction- world on the World Tour kicking off tomorrow. (more…)

It’s time to MEND

My first week in Uganda was all about getting to know Invisible Children and its programs in depth, and I was taken on many site visits and orientation sessions. It was incredible to see all of the work on the ground that IC is doing, and what a difference all of the funds raised have made.

But one project in particular moved me more than any other.

MEND is the most up-and-coming venture of IC’s Economic Development Initiatives. As quoted by its mission statement, MEND “designed to seam a personal connection between products and their makers, while repairing the lives of women in distressed regions of the world.” Currently, thirteen young women, who were formerly abducted by the LRA rebel forces, are employed by IC as seamstresses and assemble fashionable handbags to be sold around the world. Each girl has a unique story: she has been abducted and has lived in the bush for anywhere from six months to seven years. Some girls came back as child mothers, meaning they’re still children themselves but now must take care of children of their own.
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LAUNCH WEEK!

Monday News Roundup:

So It’s raining in San Diego.

You could say this is the ‘calm before the storm’ except instead of calm, its more like controlled chaos. This is the start of: LAUNCH WEEK. For those of you who have witnessed the insanity that roars in the bleachers after a hyper-caffeinated group of roadies speak at your school- you can only imagine what a room filled with 60-something of these roadies could look like as they scramble to load their vans, pack their bags and google-map their way to you.

This is a pretty exciting week at the HQ, and not even a little rain could get us down. The momentum is building as the roadies prepare for weeks and weeks in a van with three of their newest best friends. There’s a ton to get done, oh and a war to end. But this group of roadies are ready for it! Their enthusiasm has blown us all away, and we can’t wait to hear the stories.

Band Tour Update:

The guys are out on the road with Delta Spirit. Today, they’re hanging out in Boise Idaho- you should hangout with them! They’re really cool, and their hair continues to marvel us. We miss them.

Roadies in Uganda Update:

The Roadie ‘alumni’ as we like to call them (ie- Roadie class of ’08) will be returning from Uganda on Friday! They are having a blast out there, checking out all of our programs on the ground, and getting a chance to see some of the schools that are being rebuilt. More on their trip soon!

World Event Update:

We’ll be filming the World Event podcast tomorrow! So let’s hope the rain holds out. It will include backpacks and sleeping bags. Or… maybe they just want us to start sleeping in the office? Either way, we’ll keep you posted on it’s release.

Invisible Children on Itunes

IDPs rate of return to ‘normalcy’

Asked to investigate the rate of return by the still staggeringly large amount of persons living in displacement camps across northern Uganda, IC’s newest intern on the ground, Aida Aguado, did a bit of research and came up with these results:

In the short time I’ve been in Uganda I’ve learnt one thing that has surprised me above anything else: how much people smile. I’ve never met such a friendly culture before, and it is almost hard to believe that I am living in a place where just four years ago military escorts were required for foreign NGO personnel. Now, northern Uganda, in theory, has peace. With the current hiatus in fighting and the persistent peace talks, the stability of Gulu has enabled the return to habitual life. People walk the streets at night without fearing abduction and an extraordinary level of security has been reached. However, certain remnants of the conflict remain unchanged.
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The Premiere of the New Documentary: ‘The Rescue’

If you’re in the Los Angeles area on Feb. 20^th, we’ll be premiering our new film ‘The Rescue’ at Cinespace in Hollywood. This is an exclusive opportunity to watch our groundbreaking new film about Joseph Kony and his child soldiers, and listen to some of the filmmakers speak about this transformative year, and the potential one story has to end a war.

This is Invisible Children’s newest piece of media and will highlight the current crisis in central East Africa, and the urgency for international attention, specifically for the rescue of child soldiers from rebel army leader, Joseph Kony. 

The night will start at 7:30pm and tickets are available for $10 before 9pm and $20 afterwards. This new piece of media will be shown in nine countries worldwide on our international tours (see below), so join us as we watch history, and celebrate [by that we mean- party!]  the start of something big. 

* This is a 21+ event!