This post is a summary of two articles, the first one with the title above, published at http://www.bbc.co.uk/, on November,5th 2012 and written by Sean Coughlan. The other has the title " The joys of online activism," published at http://www.guardian.co.uk/, on January,18 2011, and written by Jonathan Glennie.
An international training institute to teach online tactics for human rights campaigners is being set up in the Italian city of Florence. This training centre, set up by the European wing of the U.S. based Robert Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights, wants to combine academic study with practical skills, with an appropriate simbolism is based in a former prison building, donated by the city of Florence. Frederico Moro, the director says,"the intention is to use technology to promote democracy, human rights, and justice." He adds, "campaigners might have passion and belief in their struggle, but they also need practical knowledge." These students will be blog writers and campaigners. Recruiting will be complicated by the need to protect the privacy of people who might be put at risk even by applying. Mr. Moro says that the institute will not be partisan in supporting either right-or-left wing causes, but will act in defence of individuals facing violations of their human rights whether it is political oppression or violence.
But what does a digital activist need to know? There are some websites that allow for anonymous internet access. There are also means of circumventing censor`s attempts at blocking websites. There are also "work around" to make online video and phone calls more secure from surveillance. A NGO from NY called Witness is working with YouTube on a dedicated human rights channel, it is already hosting hundreds of videos from a wide number of countries. Rana Husseini, a Jordanian activist and journalist who uncovered stories about killings, says the internet has given voice to public opinion. She also concerns that digital tech can be used as tool for surveillance and control as well as openness and investigation.
There are many worrying trends in this modern era of globalisation, most notably the ease with which companies can operate, apparently outside any democratic parameters set by international community, but I never been part of the "anti-globalisation" movements because there are so many positive aspects to globalisation. The most important are those related to the incredible improvements in communication that the world has witnessed in the last two decades, largely down to the internet. If governments are falling to keep the excesses of capital and corruption in check, these new global communities could be an important part of the answer. There are many examples today of when people in one part of the world realise that suffering and injustice thousands of miles away is of concern to them. Nowhere is this more evident than in an internet campaigning phenomenon that in the space of four years has announced a new vision for what kind of world community is possible: Avaaz. I have clicked in this website in support of campaigns ranging from banning cluster to boycott Ivory Coast until Laurent Gbagbo steps down. Some have criticised this kind of "clicktivism", claiming that this is a shallow form of protest compared with the interlocked arms of marchers of the last century. But Avaaz gives its 6.5 million members a chance to say we care as well. Last year, the Brazilian congress voted on a measure to bar politicians convicted of corruption from standing for office, most thought the measure would fail, as so many of those in congress were themselves corrupt ( estimated at 25% ) but in the largest internet campaign in Brazilian history, 2 million people signed a petition supporting the legislation. It passed. What is attractive about engaging in this way is that it combines surprising perspectives ( not the same old gripes ) with a stark understanding of the reality of politics. This is not about giving, is about participating. While charity fatigue is a well-known phenomenon, I have yet to come across solidarity fatigue.
I have signed four petitions at Avaaz: 1) Defend the human rights in the Americas. 2) Congressmen to reject the PEC 37/2011, limiting the power of public ministry. 3) Save the Guarani-Kaiowá tribe. 4) The end of secret vote in the congress. Today Avaaz has more than 21 million members being Brazilians its greatest community with more than 3,6 million. Besides Avaaz, there is also Change.org
Thanks to the good job done by the police, my motorbike has returned to me.
