Resources on Uganda, the LRA, and Central Africa

ACAS resources

ACAS is producing materials to contribute to the public debate about the Kony 2012 campaign and the military solution it proposes. These documents, and the list of other resources below, are designed for use with high school and college students who are the main audience of the Kony 2012 video.

What Can We Do About Uganda and the LRA? March 27, 2012 | PDF

ACAS Statement to the U.S. Government about the Lord’s Resistance Army and Central Africa, March 14, 2012 | PDF

Press release: Africa specialists address risks of KONY2012 campaign and military solutions, March 15, 2012 | PDF

Other resources

         Note: Use the URLs containing “bit.ly”; they are “tiny URLs” that connect to the full-length web address.

1.    Kony 2012 Video and Invisible Children

2. Resource for teacher

  • React and Respond: The Phenomenon of Kony 2012, written on behalf of the Outreach Council of the African Studies Association by Barbara Brown (Boston University), John Metzler (Michigan State University), Christine Root (Michigan State University), and Patrick Vinck (Harvard University). April 17, 2012. | PDF

3. Analysis and Activism – Alternative approaches

  • Making Sense of Kony http://makingsenseofkony.org and on Facebook       “A group of scholars and activists providing information about LRA-associated violence in central Africa… Although divergent political positions and practical programs are reflected in the materials we present, all are founded upon a common commitment to the importance of critique, debate, and learning.”
  • Beyond #Kony2012: Atrocities, Awareness & Activism in the Internet Age, edited by Amanda Taub, April 2012. e-book published by LeanPub, available at: http://leanpub.com/beyondkony2012
  • Un-Cover the Night  http://uncoverthenight.tumblr.com/ and on Facebook    “Uses scholarly and local knowledge to inform our actions for truth and peace.” Aims to “end the militarization of Uganda by the United States.” Is conducting a petition campaign to President Obama and the Invisible Children.
  • Resolution Possible UK  http://www.resolutionpossible.co.uk and on Facebook    “Encourages and facilitates dialogue about neglected humanitarian crises. Our aim is to connect individuals, professionals and organisations who have expertise and/or interest in the issues concerned…  Our current focus is on the situation in Central East Africa involving … the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and the Ugandan government.”

 4.    Sources of continuing coverage about Uganda and the LRA

5.    African critiques of Kony 2012 video (from the continent and the diaspora)
               See also: Uganda Speaks http://ugandaspeaks.com/ (above) and sections 7 (below)

  • My response to KONY2012 by Rosebell Kagumire, Ugandan journalist.  6:21-minute video http://bit.ly/GTlv8T and transcript at http://lybio.net :  http://bit.ly/GQXHUd
  • Selling Old Newspapers Shouldn’t Be Profitable: Invisible Children and Kony 2012 by David Sangokoya, a Nigerian-American, creatively discusses stereotypes of Africa.  http://bit.ly/GUPJYu
  • Not a Click Away: Joseph Kony in the Real World by Dinaw Mengestu, an award-winning novelist. He explores the limits of awareness campaigns about complex issues.  http://bit.ly/H3fieh
  • The White Savior Industrial Complex by Teju Cole, Nigerian American novelist gives criticism in 7 Tweets and comments on response to it. http://www.theatlantic.com : http://bit.ly/GSsbe8
  • Kony screening provokes anger in Uganda by Malcomb Well, 2:40 minute video http://bit.ly/GRltBb
  • Women Civil Society Groups in Uganda: Kony2012 Campaign, Blurring realities! at:  http://www.isiswomen.org :  http://bit.ly/H5vrMr
  • “I’d Tell Anyone” – Food for thought about “helping Africans” by Juliane Okot Bitek, Ugandan poet and author. http://bit.ly/HBtCcE
  • Kony 2012 Video is Misleading by a Ugandan American teenager.  5:47 minute video viewed more than 3.7 million times on YouTube.  (There is one brief expletive.) http://bit.ly/GUbA8U

6.    Other Critiques of the Kony 2012 campaign

  • Unpacking Kony by Ethan Zuckerman, director of MIT’s Center for Civic Media and co-founder of Global Voices, discusses the simplicity of the Kony 2012 message – and its dangers – and the Invisible Children’s theory of change. At: http://www.ethanzuckerman.com/blog/ : http://bit.ly/GUiuWH
  • Juice Rap News with Robert Foster: Yes We Kony – An irreverent parody of Kony 2012 – a rap about the “white man’s burden” and the role of AFRICOM. 3:37 minute video  http://thejuicemedia.com

7.    History of the conflict with the LRA and policies proposals

  • A Letter From Uganda on #Kony2012 by Sara Weschler of Information for Youth Empowerment Programme in Northern Uganda. This is an excellent summary of recent Ugandan history.  At http://www.truthdig.com : http://bit.ly/GSK9w6
  • How Civilians Became Targets: A Short History of the War in Northern Uganda by Adam Branch. Chapter in Beyond #Kony2012 edited by Amanda Taub. http://leanpub.com/beyondkony2012
  • The downside of the Kony 2012 video: What Jason did not tell Gavin and his army of invisible children by Mahmood Mamdani, Director of the Makerere Institute of Social Research at Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda  http://pambazuka.org/en/category/features/80787
  • What will it take to end the LRA conflict? By Kennedy Tumutegyereize of Conciliation Resources, reporting on perspective of people in Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, and South Sudan who are affected by the LRA. At: http://www.c-r.org : http://bit.ly/HcK3z2
  • Beyond Kony2012 by Nicolas Tillon and Ernest Sugule Kangoyangala, April 14, 2012. Tillon works with Conciliation Resources, a peace-building organization working with people affected by violent conflict. They discuss whether military effort to capture Kony will lead to a wider war and what should be done. At: http://congosiasa.blogspot.com : http://bit.ly/HLyyAv
  • How Invisible Children’s Kony 2012 Will Hurt – And How You Can Help – Central Africa by Michael Deibert. At:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com : http://huff.to/HXLLTK
  • Obama Takes on the LRA: Why Washington Sent Troops to Central Africa by Mareike Schomerus, Tim Allen, and Koen Vlassenroot , November 2011. At:  http://www.foreignaffairs.com : http://fam.ag/HELi7R
  • Transitioning to Peace: A Population-Based Survey on Attitudes about Social Reconstruction and Justice in Northern Uganda, by Phuong Phem and Patrick Vinck, December 2010. http://www.peacebuildingdata.org/uganda
  • Conflict and Conflict Resolution: Northern Uganda– Books and articles included in syllabus by Adam Branch, Fall 2011 http://bit.ly/H1r993

8. Recommendations and commentary on current U.S. policy

  • Kony: What’s to be done? by Alex de Waal, Executive Director of the World Peace Foundation at the Fletcher School, Tufts University, discusses the military and non-military framework proposed by the International Crisis Group, at: http://africanarguments.org : http://bit.ly/GQzbaf
  • “Do no harm: assessing a military approach to the Lord’s Resistance Army,” by Ronald R. Atkinson, Phil Lancaster, Ledio Cakaj & Guilaume Lacaille (2012),  Journal of Eastern AfricanStudies, 6:2, 371-382. This article argues that the U.S. decision to send special forces to Uganda and Central Africa in October 2011 was not based on a serious military assessment of the LRA. http://bit.ly/MfNYKt
  • KONY 2012, and a military solution to the LRA crisis by anthropologist Richard Vokes, a detailed discussion of the LRA and dangers of a military solution, at:  http://theafricanist.blogspot.co.nz : http://bit.ly/H6giiY
  • Contractors run U.S. spying missions in Africa, by Craig Whitlock, Washington Post, June 14, 2012. An investigative report about U.S. military engagement that found “American contractors have been secretly searching for Kony … at least since 2009, under a project code-named Tusker Sand.” http://wapo.st/KQM9Bi
  • #Kony2012 and the Warping Logic of Atrocity by Scott Edwards of Amnesty International USA, regarding human rights concerns in Uganda and Central Africa. At: http://blog.amnestyusa.org : http://bit.ly/GTwXCk
  • Kony 2012, Save Darfur, and the US’ place in the world by Rohit Negi, Assistant Professor at Ambedkar University, Delhi. http://bit.ly/GUxrbb
  • Interview with Ethan Zuckerman by WBZ NewsRadio 1030’s Suzanne Sausville, discusses difficulties of capturing Kony and need to listen to Ugandans about solutions, 2:20 minute audio at: http://cbsloc.al/GSQYOb
  • AFJN Opposes Military Language in Northern Uganda Bill, statement by Africa Faith and Justice Network in response to the Lord’s Resistance Army Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act of 2009. June 23, 2009. http://bit.ly/Jn90p4

9. How KONY 2012 went viral and issues of ethical advocacy

10. Invisible Children’s mission, structure and budget

  • Invisible Children – Questions and Answers  http://www.invisiblechildren.com/critiques.htm
  • Visible Children – Blog by Grant Oyston, a political science student at Acadia University in Nova Scotia, which he began right after the release of Kony 2012 to share research findings about the Invisible Children organization and its budget. http://visiblechildren.tumblr.com/
  • Invisible Children Presentation Report to The Barnabas Group Ministry, Concise statement by Invisible Children of its mission, audience, and priorities. May 24, 2007. http://bit.ly/INX3YW
  • Kony 2012 Video Sends Mixed Message to Young Activists – Public statement by the Better Business Bureau explaining its communications with Invisible Children, March 12, 2012. http://bit.ly/J0Qab

11. Films and videos about Uganda and the LRA

  • Uganda Rising, 90-minute documentary film directed by Pete McCormack and Jesse James Miller, April 2006. Includes interviews with Betty Bigombe, Mahmood Mamdani, and Noam Chomsky.   (Contains some disturbing descriptions and images of LRA atrocities.) http://www.ugandarisingmovie.com
  • A life without Kony, 13-minute video by UgandaSpeaks about rehabilitation and development activities by northern Ugandans and NGOs there. April 2012.
  • Uganda: The Challenge of Forgiveness. 20-minute documentary filmed in Northern Uganda by Jason Cohen Productions. January 2011. Contains interviews with Angelina Atyam, co-founder of the Concerned Parents Association, and Bishop McLeod Baker Ochola and Archbishop John Baptist Odama of the Acholi Religious Leader’s Peace Initiative (ARLPI). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BOeQyKcbVo
  • The Governance Gap 42-minute documentary by Marjoke Oosterom, 2012. “Demonstrates that the legacy of the conflict with the LRA is undermining of the capacity of the Acholi to act effectively as Ugandan citizens and decreased their confidence to re-engage in post-war democratic processes.” Sound quality is poor. http://bit.ly/J7Ae2i

12. Central Africa

  • Crisis in the Congo: Uncovering the Truth 26-minute video produced in 2011 http://congojustice.org/
  • Africa Canada Accountability Coalition (ACAC), a group based at the Liu Institute for Global Issues at the University of British Columbia that focuses on ethical advocacy regarding the Great Lakes region – DR Congo, Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi. http://www.acacdrcongo.org/ Blog: http://blog.africacanada.org/
  • The Democratic Republic of Congo: Taking a Stand on Security Sector Reform, by a group of 13 Congolese and international civil society organizations. Proposes specific actions by a variety of international actors. April 2012. http://media.soros.org/files/drc-ssr-report-20120416.pdf

                                                                                                                                                                                          Last updated: June 16, 2012