Agata Pietron is an independent photographer, journalist, cinematographer and graphic designer currently based in Warsaw, Poland.  She received her Master's Degree from the Cultural Studies at University of Warsaw, and studied Photography in European Academy of Photography and Cinematography in Academy of Film and Television. She has worked on social projects in Eastern Europe, Latin America, USA and Central Africa (DRC, Rwanda). Her works have been exhibited in Poland and abroad. One of the works from “one degree of warmth” story was acquired by Princess Royal Anne collection. 

Here she examines the role of music among the younger generation on the eastern edge of DRC, where in the Kivu area, tensions are high, having been the site of conflict and current potential for rebellion against President Joseph Kabila's government. 

From the article:

Not surprisingly, the reality was that many of them were having a hard time. Some couldn’t afford the $50-70 per semester school fees and were being forced to drop out. Others were graduating, with little hope of finding a job. Some of them even had a fatalistic attitude that is chilling for me to think about as I listen to the news the last few weeks. Eimable, 20, told me that when the time comes, he will go to the forest to join military group and become a colonel, or general. “Other countries will have no power to stop me. When I will manage to seize territory, occupy few villages, learn to kill, rape, burn houses and destroy everything, others will start to respect me.” For the time being, he was studying pedagogy at the Institut Supérieur Pédagogique (ISP) in Rutshuru.

One of the only ways these youth found inspiration was through music: rap and hip hop. They listened to it on the local radio, and when the Institute’s Internet connection was working, they watched videos on Youtube of American and French rap groups. They said they felt a connection to the music because it is black music sung by blacks from the ghetto, from nowhere. The expression of anger on issues of social justice and rights resonates with them. Their clothing, ghetto celebrity style, started to make more sense.

Jared Genser and Irwin Cotler provide a comprehensive overview on how this contemporary principle of international law has developed and analyze how best to apply it to current and future humanitarian crises. Of use to staff at international organizations and NGOs considering use of the principle in a given circumstance, to scholars providing advice to governments, and to students seeking guidance on this still-expanding subject.

Other titles available in the MIPJ/Amazon Store.

Current R2P debate, via Foreign Policy:  Elie Wiesel: Why is Assad still in power?

Over the last few decades, we have been bombarded by the supposition that this is indeed the "Information Age" - from the pervasive presence of mass media, the 24 hour news cycle, the advances in technology that allow for instant data aggregation and communication regardless of distance across continents, to the recent effects of social media on international events.

The MIPJ was created to examine and ask crucial questions about the role of information as content--and its varying media of aggregation, analysis, dissemination, and reaction--in international relations and humanitarian affairs, particularly during heightened needs in crisis, conflict and disaster.

Inclusive of articles, editorials, interviews, content (book, television, film, multimedia) reviews, photographic, film, multimedia, and audio content, it is our hope to illuminate some of the inherent issues this increasingly dynamic and exponentially evocative Information Age presents in the examination of international issues and crises, including such issues as are not receiving sufficient coverage among the international press, in international  policy, and in humanitarian discourse.

With an international publishing and distribution partnership with Ingram for print and digital editions, and increasing content partnerships among some of the most respected sources, it is our hope to further define this area of international policy.

Inaugural Print/Digital Edition to be released June 1, 2012.