The philosophy of Bermuda Is Love - Royal Gazette

Created: Apr 25, 2022 08:00 AM

Bermuda Is Love was formed in August 2020 by a group of friends eager to make a positive impact in our community. We organise trash clean-ups, blood drives, clothing drives, free clothing giveaways, upcycling events and community gardens. We volunteer at food programmes (Christ Church Warwick and the Cathedral), homeless shelters (Transformational Living Centre, Teen Haven and Home), WindReach, the Coalition for the Protection of Children, and Transitional Community Services; and we have recently announced our scholarship programme for 2022-23.

Our mission is to encourage collaboration, education, activism, advocacy, and love for our community and the environment.

Collaboration

One of the objectives of Bermuda Is Love is to bring like-minded people together and to promote collaboration. As a group and individually, we want to connect with others who are keen to improve our community. We want to create a positive network within our generation, which we hope will have long-term benefits. We believe that collaboration is the doorway to success, and that everyone deserves equal access to opportunities and resources in order to be whoever or whatever they want to be.

To achieve this, we emphasise community building by partnering with other groups and individuals within our community who share our ideals. We believe that we all have an important role to play in society if we want to create a Bermuda that is truly more equal and just. No one person or group can do it alone. We all have a social and civic responsibility to make Bermuda and the world a better place for all.

Education

Bermuda Is Love exists not only to bring people together but also to educate the public and bring attention to specific social, economic and environmental problems that we feel need to be addressed in Bermuda. Such problems include trash pollution, climate change, single-use plastic, fast fashion, consumerism, lack of blood donation and healthcare, food insecurity, homelessness, inequality, poverty and rights to higher education.

We release infographics, videos and interviews on our social-media channels and post articles on news outlets that highlight these specific issues, where we discuss and explore solutions, and talk about what you can do to help.

Activism

Bermuda Is Love organises various community events that target the said specific problems, as identified above, to bring about practical change. Each event is meant to raise awareness of the problem and then reduce the impact of that problem. For example, we hold clothing drives to:

• Raise awareness around the problem of fast fashion

• Reduce the impact of fast fashion by encouraging the public to buy less, shop second-hand and donate their clothing

We release monthly event schedules on all our social-media accounts. (Please check out our socials to see what events we have planned this month). Every event is open to participate from anyone. There are no requirements; simply show up if you wish to lend a hand.

Advocacy

Bermuda Is Love recognises that in order for any kind of systemic or cultural change to be sustainable, it must be turned into policy. Thus, we take a human rights-based approach to our advocacy. This means that every event and programme that we organise corresponds with a related human right:

• Trash clean-ups = the right to a healthy environment

• Blood drives = the right to healthcare

• Free clothing giveaways = the right to clothing

• Community gardens = the right to food

• “Home” = the right to housing

• Scholarship programme = the right to higher education

As a result, our advocacy is focused on recommending that Bermuda’s Constitution Order 1968 be amended to include the right to a healthy environment, healthcare, clothing, food, housing and higher education for every Bermudian.

The introduction of said rights into Bermuda's legal framework may provide a legal pathway for future climate activism, social justice and awareness in relation to the problems we identified above.

Moreover, the variety of our events indicates that we take on a broad human rights-based perspective, which ensures the sustainable protection of all people — especially the vulnerable and the environment.

The poorest and most vulnerable people are not only more susceptible to climate change but also to a lack of access to adequate food, housing, healthcare and clothing. Therefore, we believe in an intersectional human rights-based approach that can help everyone by ensuring that one’s basic needs are met as well as by ensuring that everyone is treated with equal justice and respect.

Love

Bermuda Is Love seeks to transform the hearts and minds of every Bermudian. We believe that Bermudians should strive to love each other and respect the environment we live in. We believe that love should be the guiding principle of our community. Thus, Bermuda Is Love is more than just a community group, but a movement — a movement of socially conscious individuals who have come together to achieve a common goal of making Bermuda a better place for all.

We are also more than a charity in the sense that we advocate for social and systemic change, and for the increased social and civic responsibility of every Bermudian person. We want to bring about a revolution within the hearts and minds of all Bermudians.

You do not have to attend any of our events to become part of the movement. If you can exhibit love to those around you and respect the environment that you live in then you give meaning to Bermuda Is Love.

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