BTW, if you do ship one please feel free to take the batteries out. It will lower the shipping charge, and there is no need for it to be chittering away in transit.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Furby [Look here for photos]

I recall eight Christmas seasons ago when furry Furby's were causing parents to lineup at toy stores for hours and hours and spend over a $100 dollars each.

I had an infant at that time so I didn't participate and actually have never seen, heard or held one of these toys.

I checked wikipedia and found that was in 1998! They were discontinued in 2001 and re-released in 2005.

Will the media make this connection between an eight year old "toy story" and a current international crisis story? Perhaps.

Remember also that the name is a registered trademark.

Will it hook kids and parents to the Darfur issue?

Test it out. Jim

BTW, if anyone does not have a Furby in the back of their closet but still wants to help out, you can buy one here for under $10 (including shipping) and ship it to the address above. Thnx.

Fergie for Darfur?

Fergie (former Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson) for Darfur?

Mark - while you are creatively alliterating on Darfur, here is another possibility. This group is already working in East Africa.

She started and heads a charity of her own, Children in Crisis founded in 1993, and has spent time in Sierra Leone, meeting children wounded or orphaned by the civil war, and raising money and awareness of the cause.

http://www.childrenincrisis.org.uk/

for details and photo:

http://www.childrenincrisis.org.uk/pages/about_us.html

Jim, will look into it, thnx.

Cynthia Gentry just asked on the phone what happens when the Darfurby tour is "done?"

If the Darfurby tour goes to one new school each week, week after week...what does done mean?

Will need to try to get a Darfurby group photo or 2-3 minute video from each school for the site too...so people can see the Darfurby refugee camp growing with each school they visit.

mark what do you need to create darfurby.org home page?

what if we each post furby donation request to our local craigslist and/or freecycle sites?

All I really need for the home page is the copy that explains what is happening and some graphics. Want to keep this as simple and fluid as possible. Cynthia Gentry has generously agreed to help on the graphic side.

Love the idea about requesting old Furby's on Craigslist and Freecycle. Would you like to try your hand writing a quick explanation/request paragraph for craigslist and freecycle posts?

placeholder: http://www.darfurby.org/

Paper Clips movie trailer

Now that was an incredible movie, and this is nothing but a little idea.

But one could draw some possibilities in how a growing Darfurby school tour could be a small version of this to draw students attention to the issue and let them be a voice in trying to find a solution.

edit: link fix

Jim said >>Remember also that the name is a registered trademark.<<

Good point. Two thoughts. One, turning a companies simple toy into a cause for trying to do some good in the world...they should get grateful for such a thing.

Two. If they do want to sue, not only do I have nothing for them asset-wise, the media attention would only bring more attention to the cause, and the public backlash to their company could be massive. Plus no one is making money on this. I suspect there are others that might even desire legal action, because it could possibly draw the Darfur situation into our court system. In general, think we're within "fair use" here.

I guess if they sent a cease and desist I would do the prudent thing and speak with council.

>>Will the media make this connection between an eight year old "toy story" and a current international crisis story? Perhaps.<<

Good question. The 1/3 students writing letters to the media might not hit. The 1/3 to the president might not have initial impact. But the 1/3 to local government officials...maybe more so. And the visual impact of a picture of 100 (more?) Darfurby's representing a refugee camp in the middle of a classroom is fairly compelling to local TV and newspaper media (I think).

>>Test it out<<

Exactly, we have nothing to lose by trying.

Sent this to Freecycle Portland.

Wanted: Old Furby Toy

We're looking for your child's (or your) old Furby for a student project to bring attention to the current urgent situation in Darfur. (see darfurby.org for details). Will meet you at any Starbucks in your neighborhood (west side, east side, downtown Portland) to pick the Furby toy and thank you in person. Thank you.

This person okay'd sharing their message here:

Freecycle email #1: I have one, for sure, two if I can find the other. But I'm a little confused because the website you mentioned doesn't really say what you're doing with them. If you wouldn't mind expanding on it, then I might be willing to give them up. Thanks,

Freecycle email #2 to them: Here is a little more detail: http://www.omidyar.net/group/ned/news/17/

This is also somewhat related to draw attention for a friend who is making a return visit to refugee camps in Chad in the end of December: http://www.omidyar.net/group/sudancrisis/news/62/

Please let me know if you have any more questions, and I appreciate your thinking about helping the project.

Freecycle email #3: Mark, Wow, I think that's a fabulous idea. I would love to help. I'll look for my two creatures when I get home tonight and email you when I find them.

This is really stupid -- I suspect it will also be a HIT!

:D nmw

BTW: maybe whoever makes these things would like the idea (?)

Yeah, I've received three contacts from people in Portland wanting to add their Furby to the mix. Some even talking at least about getting involved in other ways too.

How about not sending them to you, but rather sending them directly to the president? And getting them to upload a home video onto, umm, myvideo.de? umm... -- you must have something like that in the US too, no? ;D

And then you link to the vids on http://Darfurby.ORG

Boy, this is really stupid... -- I love it!

;D nmw

interesting link nmw pos disc 5

funny link nmw pos disc 30

That was what I originally thought. (the direct to prez thing)

Lars brilliant twist on it was turning it into a learning and action based activity that tours schools and classrooms each week. Then there can be a teacher guide that offers ideas for student generated letters to local press, local government, and the whitehouse.

edit: trying to clarify my monkey-like ability to compose my thoughts

Yeah, like get them to make a movie about conflict resolution with the Darfurbies -- and thereby suggest "solution" alternatives....

and here all i thought i said was to have the kids dress them up like refugees before sending them on -- a bring your darfurbee to class day that could tie into learning, art, and letter-writing, etc.

is stupid just great!

That too. Well, hats off to taking the idea in a whole new and better direction.

So Pam walks in my office, and see the camera on..."did you know your camera is on" before I can answer she says..."it's pictures of Furby's" looking rather concerned. Suddenly her eyes dart to the side where sitting there are the first five visitors for the Darfurby project. These Darfurby's are starting in the shadow made from a stack of Ashoka DVD's. Also, meeting someone from a Portland Freecycle post tomorrow AM that is giving 1-2 Darfurby's to the project.

BTW, a search for Darfurby on Google brings back 98 results, many of which are caused by the word combination of Darfur and By next to one another.

What's next -- Darfurbay?

;P nmw

Met with Kina Willams today, a professional events photographer who responded to my post on Freecycle and offered up her Furby. She also offered to help with a logo design and photographing any local Darfurby event to help get this off the ground.

Kina Williams giving her Darfurby to the project. Also you will see a special gift given to her as a thank you on her wrist. (LiA bracelet)

And then there were 6

Internal brain volleying:

My mind immediately and gleefully goes to kids making Darfurby-populated movies on Darfur, conflict resolution, etc. and posting them on YouTube. But then I think, "Wait, stop having fun, this is serious stuff. It shouldn't be silly."

Would love to hear from some teachers on this. How do we make this engaging for the kids while impressing upon them the "realness" of the problem?

Help me see the process (just up and at 'em after a couple weeks in bed so the synapses are shorting out a bit):

• what are we hoping to achieve? (one thing/multiple?)
• the Darfurbies are sent traveling. What gets sent with them? Miniature refugee camp components? Instructions for the kids on how to build a refugee camp themselves (first step: collect sticks)?
• do we send all of the collected Darfurbies to a site together (100? 500?) or do we split them up? (Map on the Darfurby site showing their path across the country? Pictures of them like the gnome in front of the Eiffel Tower kind of thing?) I am reminded of a thing I did with my niece once. We hid a box with an inkpad and stamp in it in our park, marked it's coordinates on a website, and then strangers go to try to find the box. There are boxes hidden all over the world and the aim is to get as many stamps in your book from as many hidden boxes as possible. Of course, I can't remember the name of it, orhow it really applies here, just a jogged memory.

Anyway, just trying to wrap my brain about this concept. Done right it won't trivialize the situation although I think it makes sense to be prepared to respond to that initial response from a lot of folks. I know the intention is terrific.

Intention: teach children about Darfur and the plight of regugees worldwide. Is that right?

This thought is also sparked and may/may not relate: Doctors Without Borders had a traveling refugee camp this summer. (It was in Atlanta while I was out of the country, darn it.) A friend mentioned that the thing that had the most impact on his 8-year-old was seeing what the kids in the camps used for toys. He said they were ingenious. They would use a discarded can to make a doll and so on. ANYTHING they found could be turned into a toy. His daughter, a typical American child used to brightly colored plastic thises and thatses was blown away.

Sorry for the free-floating random thoughts. Let me know how I can be of service.

All good stuff, and I'm going to free flow back.

What we hope to achieve is awareness and action. Awareness in grade school children, teachers, administrators and parents, and action in kids writing letters to local media, politicians and the white house.

Regarding seeing the process I'm seeing something like this. A teacher signs up to be a participating school, name, phone number, school address, school web site.

The Darfurby's will then be shipped from the previous school to the new school so they will arrive on a Monday. Also other Darfurby's collected at the Portland address will also be shipped each Friday to the new school as well, so the population will be ever growing. Also this was if something funky happens from the shipping school, the recipient school will be in receipt of some Darfurby's if for some reason the shipment is delayed until Tuesday.

If that teacher wants to, they can coordinate with other local schools in the area Darfurby refugee camp visits, but that Friday the camp is packed up and shipped to the next city in line. Darfurby.com will provide the postage fees as to not burden the teachers or schools.

When the Darfurby's are in the classroom the teacher will already have a teachers guide handout, and support materials for the kids, target grades 4-6. The children will have 2-3 Darfurby black and white line drawings they can color in themselves if they wish (you could do those too). Breaking the class into thirds, the children will be given facts to draw on for their letters to local media, politicians and white house.

How else the kids in any school choose to participate with them will be up to them. You know Flat Stanley, maybe each child takes a Darfurby dressed as a refugee everywhere with them for 3 days. Many creative possibilities with young minds and teacher guidance.

The entire idea is to make this as decentralized as we can and let each location add their own flavor, ideas and actions.

Do you want to try a couple B/W line drawing kids could use to color in? Please make sure to include 1. darfurby.com, a place two write the 2. child's first name, 3. name of school, and 4. city is also on the sheets. If that sounds good. (and welcome back)

I'm going to contact a couple teachers in Portland and talk about what makes good teachers guides and student handouts.