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Capstone Project Proposal – Conflict Minerals

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The topic of my capstone project is going to be about conflict minerals. Conflict minerals include tin and tungsten which are used in technology production. These minerals are mined using coerced and child labor, and the profits often fund militias. Workers are given very little pay and are put in very dangerous environments. To educate people on what conflict minerals are and what products use these minerals, I will make a website that has links to my two media objects, and a link to another website that explains possible ways to end the cycle. I want my website to have bold and contrasting colors so I will be using black, white, grey, and red as my color pallet.

The first media object embedded in my website will be an infographic file that educates readers on what conflict minerals are, and what products contain these minerals. I will make the infographic as a flow chart that depicts the process of how the minerals make it from the earth into our technology. I will use the colors brown, green, red, and grey, and include simple imagery along with each point in the process. The images will be minimalistic and white, much like the apple icons we discussed in class.

The second media object that I will be embedding is going to be a video mashup. This video mashup will be using videos that depict people using technology, footage of African militias, the unsafe mines, and the manufacturing of technology. I will create a story with these videos that shows how so many people are unaware of the violence and human rights violations that go into making the products people use every day. My goal in making this video is to educate people and propose the question of how we can stop the mining of conflict minerals. The end of the video will include a link to Intel’s website here that includes their summary of conflict minerals and how they are one company that has taken measures to stop the cycle. I will embed this link to Intel’s website inside my webpage to give viewers a chance to gain additional information.

Inside my website I will include a couple paragraphs of text that summarize what the infographic and video remixes are conveying. These paragraphs will explain what conflict minerals are, why they are a bad thing, and what products these minerals are in. My goal in creating this project is to inform people about conflict minerals, and to raise the question about what ways we can stop the cycle. I will include a summary of Intel’s solution to the problem, and I will cite them at the bottom of my webpage along with all other material used in my projects.