Kony 2012, a documentary by the nonprofit organization Invisible Children, has received over 85 million views on the organization's YouTube channel since being uploaded March 5.
Miami University sophomore and former Invisible Children member Maria Richart is bringing the documentary to Miami Tuesday, April 10. She will be promoting it with help from Miami's International Justice Mission and Unified for UNIFAT organizations. Olunya Richard, a Ugandan who has lived through the conflict in Uganda and a team of Invisible Children representatives will also speak that evening.
Kony 2012 is about Joseph Kony and his rebel force, the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). The film aims to "make Kony famous" in order to gain enough support to stop him.
The editorial board of The Miami Student commends Richart for her efforts to bring a world issue closer to the lives of Miami students, as well as Invisible Children for raising awareness of Kony and the LRA.
While there has been skepticism and criticism over how Invisible Children intends to find and fight Kony and his child army and how the organization's funds are distributed, as well as criticism from Ugandans themselves, we must realize the true intention of the video.
The Internet video and documentary are meant to raise awareness of Kony and his actions in the hopes that students will become active in gaining the help of elected officials to stop Kony and the LRA.
Many of us may remember first seeing the video or hearing about it through Facebook or Twitter over Miami's spring break.
Invisible Children made an intelligent move debuting the video over social media, as this is what many students and people our age use on a daily basis. Social networking is arguably one of the best ways to gain attention in our fast-paced, connected world.
Overall, the video will by no means solve all the problems, but is indeed a step in the right direction. This is another way to find out what is going on in the world and to get out of our Oxford and university bubble.
The video allows people to take a step back and put things into perspective and to see the small efforts that add up to a solution for the bigger picture.
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