Carl Wilkens Named Changemaker by Change.org

As the only American to remain in Rwanda during the 1994 genocide, Carl Wilkens is responsible for having saved countless lives and reminding us all what a difference a single person can make when given a chance. Inspired by his acts of courage and commitment, Genocide Intervention Network named its Carl Wilkens Fellowship program after him. Carl spent much of the last year traveling across the United States for his World Outside My Shoes  speaking tour.

Carl was recently named one of Change.org’s Changemakers. This is a select network of prominent activists, elected officials, and community leaders that have demonstrated a superb ability to make changes happen in their area of focus.

Genocide Intervention Network would like to congratulate Carl for this recognition. As a Changemaker, Carl will be contributing written pieces periodically to Change.org’s site.

Launched in 2009, the Carl Wilkens Fellowship is a selective, 12-month program that provides a diverse set of emerging citizen leaders with the tools and training to build sustained political will to end genocide.

Carl Wilkens Fellows come from a rich diversity of professional backgrounds and skills sets. They are filmmakers; retired corporate lawyers; high school teachers and university professors; IT specialists and website developers; practicing nurses; graduate students of public policy, religion, and the law; public relations professionals; organizers around prominent social justice issues; fine artists; actors; and therapists.

These remarkable individuals share a long-term commitment to the anti-genocide movement, to their leadership within their community spaces, to their communities themselves, and to each other. In all of these respects, our Carl Wilkens Fellows bear out a respect for Genocide Intervention Network’s mission: to build a permanent anti-genocide constituency willing and able to protect civilians from genocide and mass atrocities.

Learn more about the Fellowship program here.