1.    How could I support Project Aware?
2.    What dids ‘becoming Aware’ mean?
3.    What was Project Aware?
4.    What type of organization was Project Aware?
5.    How long did Project Aware exist?
6.    How did Project Aware come into existence?
7.    Why was Project Aware founded?
8.    What was Project Aware’s main goal?
9.    Was Project Aware involved in politics?
10.  How did Project Aware work?
11.  What happened to the donated e-mail addresses?
12.  What was the difference between Project Aware and other human-rights organizations?
13.  Why did Project Aware not ask for money?
14.  Could I donate money?
15.  What did Project Aware do with the profits from the Project Aware products?
16.  How was Project Aware run?
17.  What countries were of interest to Project Aware?
18.  Why did Project Aware, at first, emphasize the situation in Tibet?
19.  Had Project Aware helped many people?
20.  Was all this of any use?
21.  What was Project Aware’s target group?
22.  Who was the girl in the former Project Aware logo?
24.  Was Project Aware a religious (Buddhist) organization?
25.  Why was Project Aware based in the Netherlands?
26.  Why didn’t Project Aware have a quality mark?

1. How could I support Project Aware?
You could support Project Aware by becoming Aware Also see: how could I help

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2. What did ‘becoming Aware’ mean?
Becoming Aware, meant realizing that torture and oppression still occur on a large scale on a daily basis. Furthermore, becoming Aware meant donating your e-mail address to Project Aware as a token of your support.

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3. What was Project Aware?
Project Aware was a modern human rights organization which aimed to make people aware of human rights violations in the world. Also see: this was Project Aware

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4. What type of organization was Project Aware?
Project Aware was an independent, non-governmental, non-profit organization consisting of two initiators who gave leadership to a number of volunteers and interns. Also see: organization

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5. How long did Project Aware exist?
The idea for Project Aware arose years ago in Nepal and the north of India and it led to more serious and concrete plans over time. Project Aware became an official organization in January 2004, and started attracting media coverage halfway through that year.

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6. How did Project Aware come into existence?
Project Aware came into being in Nepal and the north of India, when two young Europeans came into contact with the friendliness of Tibetan refugees who told them about their spirituality and culture and about the hardships of their people. These two were the first to become Aware. Once they got back home, they discovered that the majority of people in Europe didn’t know the dark story of Tibet. Project Aware was born. Also see: introduction

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7. Why was Project Aware founded?
The past fifty years, the world has not done anything about it: the human rights situation in, for example, Tibet still had not improved. This should not be possible! Project Aware had thought up an entirely new approach by realising that an end should be made to worldwide torture and oppression.

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8. What was Project Aware’s main goal?
Putting a stop to torture and oppression worldwide, by making people Aware that things have to change. Also see: former mission and goal

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9. Was Project Aware involved in politics?
No, previously existing organizations have more experience in this field. Project Aware did not involve itself in politics. Project Aware wanted to start a process of Awareness and let people decide for themselves how deeply they wanted to get involved.

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10. How did Project Aware work?
Project Aware encouraged people to take interest in a contemporary way, and tried to get as many people from all walks of life to see that something should be done to improve human rights situations around the world. Then, we asked people to show their support by donating their e-mail addresses. The number of supporters was shown on a meter on our website, called 'the counter'. As the counter went up, many more people would be encouraged to become Aware. This is the power of numbers, and this was how Project Aware aimed to reach its goals.

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11. What happened to the donated e-mail addresses?
The donated e-mail addresses were kept in an internal database. The number of people supporting the project could be seen on a meter on our website. As the number grew, more people will be encouraged to become Aware. We called this the power of majority, and this was how we try to reach our goals. Supporters would also receive a news letter several times a year. Also see: how did the e-mail donation system work?

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12. What was the difference between Project Aware and other human-rights organizations?
A large difference between Project Aware and other organizations was that we did not ask for money. Other organizations involve themselves in a large range of activities, such as lobbying in politics, providing information, monitoring, and research abroad. Project Aware only tried to get media attention and build a bridge between the other organizations and the general public.

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13. Why did Project Aware not ask for money?
Project Aware did not raise funds, because Project Aware aimed to get Awareness and support through e-mail donations. The organization felt that companies were willing to support charities such as Project Aware, instead of charities supporting businesses. With this unique approach, Project Aware put the emphasis on its goal, and not on money. Project Aware also helped to show that there were plenty of people out there who were willing to do something for society without getting paid for it.

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14. Could I donate money?
No, you could not donate money to Project Aware. We decided against this, because Project Aware did not raise funds, and tried to handle things differently. You could support Project Aware by donating your e-mail address. Also see: do more

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15. What did Project Aware do with the profits from the Project Aware products?
Project Aware tried very hard to maintain the zero-costs method. All profits brought in by Project Aware products wouldl, after cost-deduction, serve as a financial back-up for unavoidable costs. Also see: zero-costs-method. Each year, Project Aware would make the financial records public in the annual financial overview. Also see: annual financial overview. However, these are not available in English yet.

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16. How was Project Aware run?
Project Aware ran on the goodwill of others, the media, idealism, and of course Awareness. The new and clear concept of Project Aware spoke to a growing number of companies and professionals who, sometimes just for the sake of their name being mentioned, cooperated with Project Aware for free. By having all Project Aware products sponsored, we aimed to keep all costs as low as possible. In the first year, the remaining costs were paid for by the two initiators, and later they were covered by the small profits made by our promotional products.

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17. What countries were of interest to Project Aware?
Project Aware felt that a stop should be made to torture and oppression everywhere in the world and was aimed at all countries where freedom is not obvious.

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18. Why did Project Aware, at first, emphasize the situation in Tibet?
Tibet, a country the size of Western Europe, has been occupied by a superpower for more than half a century. During that time, the Tibetan culture has been destroyed and the people of Tibet have been oppressed. The human rights violations there are gruesome and no one has interfered or tried to change the situation. It is now time to show this world-leading country that human rights should be respected. Furthermore, the two initiators of Project Aware came into contact with Tibetan refugees during their travels to Nepal and India, and were made Aware for the first time. Project Aware wants to end ignorance because it feels that the world has been acting passively for too long: it is time for recognition and action!

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19. Had Project Aware helped many people?
Project Aware did not aim to help individuals and did not spread aid supplies.
Project Aware tried to motivate everyone living in freedom to stand up for those who cannot stand up for themselves, in a completely new way. This way, the root of the problem could be tackled.

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20. Was all this of any use?
With all due respect to the ways other organizations work, Project Aware discovered that these organizations had not managed to inform the Western world sufficiently, and that media coverage on the subject of torture and oppression left much to wish for on daily basis. Everybody who became "Aware" helped to emphasize the importance of recognition opposed to ignorance. Project Aware, together with a number of supporters that grew each day, stood behind its goals and method 100%.

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21. What was Project Aware’s target group?
Project Aware aimed to reach everyone eventually, young and old. Everybody who lives in freedom, loves his freedom, and wants everybody else to live the same way should show their support by donating their e-mail address to Project Aware.

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22. Who was the girl in the Project Aware logo?
Her name is Pijo. Atreya and her partner met her in the Himalayas in the north of Nepal. Pijo suddenly appeared, in a small alley between some derelict buildings. Pijo lives in her own world. She cannot communicate, and just like the Tibetans, she is trapped in her own mind. People say she has not talked in two years. Atreya and her partner gave her a balloon, and as you can see, her face took on a fascinating expression. Pijo cries out for attention, because she is the voice of their silence…To capture her innocence for eternity, a picture was taken of her, and this was used as the basis for the former Project Aware logo.

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24. Was Project Aware a religious (Buddhist) organization?
No, Project Aware stood up for those who cannot stand up for themselves. Project Aware did not have a religion-based background, religion based ideals or goals.

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25. Why was Project Aware based in the Netherlands?
Project Aware was based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, because the two initiators live there. Furthermore, Amsterdam is internationally known as a tolerant and free city, and this is the direct opposite of of many oppressed countries in the world. We also felt that the Netherlands is the right country to test out new ideas, because of its multicultural society, before applying these ideas in the rest of Europe.

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26. Why did Project Aware not have a quality mark?
The quality marks existing nowadays assume that charities ask the general public for money or funds. Project Aware did not ask for money donations, and did not raise funds. Although there is a growing need of transparency and low costs, people who donate money can, in the Netherlands, only rely on two bureaus that carry quality marks for charities, and both of these bureaus assume that charities ask for money, and even though Project Aware did not ask for money, both these bureaus do.

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