DigiActive.org

Campaign: Half a Million Kenyans to Unite

Description: It is an unfortunate fact that abuse of power particularly by politicians is normality in Africa. Most Africans feel disempowered by such widespread institutional corruption and unfair distribution of wealth. They are overwhelmed by a system that does not allow such injustices to be expressed, let alone redressed. Activism is the cause of much personal risk, not only to oneself but also to loved ones.

Yet they would do well to learn from the actions of their Kenyan brothers and sisters. Within months of the establishment of the coalition government, corruption amongst government officials has begun to become apparent. As a result activists are using on-line tools to challenge the system and raise international awareness.

Tools: blogs, facebook

How these tools are being used: The Sukuma Kenya project was launched in the aftermath of the humanitarian crisis at the beginning of the year. The project is an online donation blog that was launched to raise funds for the thousands of people displaced by the crisis. Within 24 hours of its launch the blog raised US$ 1,500.

The project has launched a Half a Million Kenyans Unite campaign to unite the people of Kenya against the corruption of the government. The campaign unites people through Facebook and through an on-line petition. The goal is to unite half a million Kenyans in a petition to reduce MPs salaries and privileges. The campaign was launched on the 5th of June 2008 and at the time of writing had registered 4,613 Kenyans.

Campaign:Online activists take on Beijing Olympics

Description: The Beijing Olympics are coming up in a couple of weeks, and this has not gone unnoticed by human rights activists worldwide. They are using the international event to spotlight atrocities thousands of miles away in Darfur, which campaigners say is indirectly due in part to the Chinese government.

Tools Being Used: YouTube, e-petition

What Are They Doing: Switch Over to Darfur is an international initiative to bring attention to the many Olympic corporate sponsors who have not spoken out against China continuing to finance the Sudanese government. Some of the sponsors include Adidas, General Electric and Coca Cola. The campaign is not intended to boycott the Olympics, but rather the campaign say they “are urging the Olympic corporate sponsors to join [them] in pressuring the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and China to, in turn, press Sudan to ensure that there is immediate protection for civilians and humanitarian workers on the ground in Darfur well before the Games begin.”

Supporters are asked to sign a petition on their website, pledging support for the campaign as well as read a message by actress Mia Farrow. The campaign has created the video below that speaks for itself, which can be viewed here.

Action Alert: Support a Kurdish human rights activist

What? Send a mail to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Khamenei to express your concern for the medical condition of the Kurdish journalist and human rights activist, Mohammed Sadigh Kabodwand.

When? Now!

Where? Email or fax the letter below the “more” tag to:

Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic:
His Excellency Ayatollah Sayed Ali Khamenei,

Faxes: + 98.21.649.5880 / 21.774.2228
E-mail: info@leader.ir or istiftaa@wilayah.org

How? Just copy the letter below and paste it to your email.

Why? There are serious concerns for the health of Iranian Kurdish human rights activist and journalist Mohammad Sadiq Kabudvand, who suffered a stroke in Evin prison on 19 May 2008 and has been denied access to adequate medical care. He has been held since 1 July 2007 on charges of “acting against national security”.

He was reportedly been denied access to medical help before and was held in very bad conditions in solitary confinement as well as being subject to torture.

Last month, two other Kurdish men (Kaveh Aziz Poor and Ebrahim Lotf Allahi) died while in government detention. It is suspected that both were beaten to death by government authorities. AKR again asks the international community to condemn these vicious acts.

Who is organizing the action? The campaign is lead by the lately relaunched Alliance for Kurdish Rights. The AKR is an independent and self-funded project started by a group of students and youth activists who wish to campaign for change and address the issue of Kurdish rights in the Middle East and abroad.

via Alliance for Kurdish Rights Read more »

Campaign: Stop the Deportation of Amdani Juma

Description: Amdani Juma left Burundi during the 1994 Rwandan genocide. When he returned after the conflict he was held captive, beaten, and put under surveillance. He fled to Britain in 2003 and applied for asylum, which he was denied last December. He had become a pillar of the community in Nottingham, working for the Refugee Forum and setting up his own organization, the African Institute for Social Development. For this reason, people in Nottingham wanted him to stay in their community and started a campaign to fight his deportation to Burundi, which was scheduled for June 4th.

Digital Activism tools: several different blogs (including an official blog), Facebook group, citizen journalism, e-petition

How These Tools Are Being Used: Online tools are integrated with offline tactics and organizing to intensify the impact of the campaign. While the official blog is a center for the latest information on the case, including press releases, and the Facebook group draws in new members, offline actions, like a protest in Nottingham’s town center, bring attention to the injustice. The e-petition is used in the same way as the protest - to make a visual popular statement of support for Juma. Because the story was not being covered by the mainstream media, citizen journalists from the site Indymedia UK covered the story to raise awareness, as did bloggers.

Outcome: Juma’s deportation was moved back 6 days, to June 10th, though a final decision has not yet been made.

Read more »

Campaign: Iranians oppose renaming Persian Gulf

Description: In recent years, Iranians have launched a relatively successful digital campaign against the renaming of the Persian Gulf as the Arabic Gulf. Several magazines and sites have covered the news of this digital protest, including the BBC. The Persian Gulf is one of the most important national symbols for Iranians and any attempt to rename it creates strong reactions in Iran, both online and off. Here are some of the tactics used in the digital campaign:

Google Bombing

Pendar, an Iranian designer and blogger, shares how he started his google bombing campaign to oppose the renaming of the gulf:

In November 2004, National Geographic published a new edition of their World Atlas. In it, they had used the bogus name of Arabian Gulf in addition to the correct name Persian Gulf. So I made a mock page (+), resembling a 404 error message which said ” the gulf you are looking for does not exist“. I asked other bloggers to link to that page. The response was simply overwhelming. Within a week, hundreds of blogs and websites had taken part and the google bomb exploded, creating a frenzy of media hype. It appeared on an AFP article and Yahoo! News, It also made the first page of BBC news page.

You can go and check your self on Google and type Arabic Gulf and then see what is the first result: “The Gulf You Are Looking For Does Not Exist. Try Persian Gulf.”

e-Petition

In 2008 many Iranians got irritated while they discover the “darling” of the Internet , Google Earth made the same mistake and used the term Arabic Gulf and Persian Gulf together. A petition was launched on Internet which read:

We, the undersigned, through this letter, protest your irresponsible, unscientific actions, and demand an immediate and unconditional deletion of “Arabian Gulf” from Google Earth. Arbitrarily designating the Persian Gulf as the Arabian Gulf is an irresponsible violation of all historical and International standards and would undermine the integrity of Google Earth.

So far total signatures are 755,732.

Hackers

Iranians’ digital activity to protest against renaming of Persian Gulf recently entered a more dynamic phase of action: Hacking Arabic Sites that use Arabic Gulf term. Ashyaneh, a group of Iranian hackers, say that they attacked several Arab language sites that renamed Persian Gulf and call it Arabic Gulf. This group claims that they hacked around 100 different sites.

Blogs

Blogs also play an important role to write on this subject and inform about lastest development. Recently several hundred Iranians demonstrated in front of UAE ambassy in Tehran and bloggers covered it. Mojgan Jamshidi says it is pity that security forces repressed such a peaceful demonstration. She has published several photos of the demonstration. Read more »

Campaign: “No More Than 24!” Cabinet Ministers for Kenya

President Mwai Kibaki (l) shakes hands with Prime Minister Raila Odinga as former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan looks on. The power-sharing deal produced an expensive extended bureaucracy.

Description: In an effort to create a coalition government after the turbulent elections, President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga agreed in April to increase the Kenyan cabinet to 40 members. However, many Kenyans believed this was an unwieldy number, which only increase bureaucratic deadlock. There was a campaign to limit the cabinet to 24 members, a more reasonable figure.

Digital Activism tools: SMS, e-petition

How These Tools Are Being Used: There were two online elements of this campaign, but it is unclear whether they are connected. Mzalendo.com, “eye on the Kenyan Parliament,” promoted a campaign by Kenyans for Peace and Justice to send SMS messages to political representative urging the 24 member limit. The Mzalendo site hosts a list of 59 MP mobile phone numbers for people to use in the action. “Given the current impasse, there is still an opportunity to urge OUR elected representatives to stop being selfish and to put the nation’s interest before their personal interests,” states the site. “It adds strength to your sms if you personalize it by addressing the MP directly,” the site recommends. “e.g., ‘Mr. Saitoti, Kenyans want a lean, clean cabinet.’”

In addition to the SMS campaign there was also and online petition being promoted by the African human rights organization Fahamu, via their news service, Pambazuka News. The petition, which demands that the grand coalition government consist of no more than 24 ministers, was signed by 170 people. “As your employers we oppose the looting of our public coffers and demand that these monies go towards development of our schools, hospitals, infrastructure and post election reconstruction efforts,” reads the petition.

Outcome: Not successful. Earlier today, the cabinet met for the first time since being sworn in three weeks ago. There are 40 ministers and 52 deputy ministers in the coalition government. The cabinet is the largest in the history of post-independence Kenya and salaries alone for these new ministers will cost the Kenyan taxpayer $1.5 million a month.

Read more »

Tactic: Facebook used in tracking war criminals

Description: Anti-genocide group Aegis Trust created a campaign using the social networking site Facebook to find alleged war criminals in Darfur.

Tools used: Facebook, Google Maps and e-petition

What Are They Doing: Aegis is asking Internet users to provide updates on their Facebook page about the whereabouts of suspects � Sudan�s Humanitarian Affairs Minister Ahmed Harum and Janjaweed leader Ali Kushayb. The International Criminal Court has indicated both men for over 40 counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur.

Aegis Trust is also using Google Maps to track the last-known movements of the suspects. Users can also go to Aegis� �Wanted for War Crimes� webpage to sign a petition that will be automatically emailed to members of the United Nations Security Council.

�The men on the watch list are suspected of hundreds of thousands of murders,� said Dr James Smith, chief executive of the Aegis Trust in a recent statement. �Someone, somewhere, knows where they are. They shouldn�t be allowed to live out their last days in luxury. Their futures lies in a courtroom. That�s what their victims deserve.�

Campaign: E-petition Saves Rainforest in French Guiana

Description: The French government was scheduled to start gold mining in a nature reserve in French Guiana, but an email campaign started by a concerned scientist and his student made all the difference in saving the ecosystem in this South American protectorate. The duo started the campaign with organization Ecological Internet weeks before the French Government gave the final contract to Canadian gold corporation Cambior.

Scientist Pita Verweij and her student Liesbeth Fontein researched consequences of gold mining, like deforestation and water pollution and took action.

Digital Activism tools: website, e-petition campaign

How These Tools Are Being Used: An action alert was post on Ecological Internet�s website in September 2006, describing the detrimental effects of industrial mining on the area�s environment and indigenous people. Below the action alert is space for activists to co-sign their names to a pre-generated protest letter that would automatically be emailed to then French President Jacques Chirac.

Outcome: According to Verweij, tens of thousands of protest mails were sent to the French government. The project stalled in October 2006 due to the volume of emails. The government finally decided not to grant the contract and cancelled the project in February 2008.

�The world needs to stop looking for easy answers to failing global ecosystems; and commence radical, even revolutionary, means to protect our atmosphere, land, water and oceans,” said Ecological Internet president Glen Barry in a statement.�The Earth and humanity�s very survival � being � depends upon protecting and restoring intact ecosystems, ending burning of fossil fuels, reducing human population and consumption, and other sufficient actions to avert global ecological collapse.”

Campaign: “Justice Now!” for a Girl in El Salvador

Description of Campaign: In 1999 a 9-year-old girl named Katya (also Katia) Miranda was raped and murdered. Charges against the suspects, all members of the country’s military elite, were dismissed in 2000 and there is a feeling that judicial corruption was at play. Now bloggers are taking up the cause in order to bring the case back to court before the 10 year statute of limitations runs out.

Digital Activism Tools: digital images, blogs, YouTube video, count-down timer, e-petition, offline action

How These Tools Are Being Used: This campaign uses a range of digital activism techniques, some more familiar, and other more creative and unusual. Among the more familiar tactics, supporters of the campaign posted a YouTube video in which Katya’s mother explains the details of the case. There is also an e-petition demanding that attorney general of the province of La Libertad, where the murder occurred, bring the case to trial again.

The campaign also uses images effectively. They have created a logo for their campaign (image above) which bloggers can post to show their support. The graphic is well-designed in that it is simple yet has a clear emotional message, showing only a picture of Katya with the words “justice now!” below.

The campaign also uses some more creative and unusual techniques. The campaign is also asking people to take a picture of themselves in their town or city with a picture of Katya. These images will be used to create a “virtual mural” to be posted on the causes official web site (which I could not locate) and will be presented with the attorney general via CD. Participants are asked to send these images to the e-mail address comunica.idhuca@gmail.com with name and location in which the photo was taken.

text reads “time remaining to prosecute the Katya Miranda crime”

Another creative element of the campaign is a count-down timer which marks the exact time, down to the second, before the statute of limitations runs out on Katya’s case (see above).This is a particularly pertinent to this cause because of the critical element of time.The campaign must succeed before the clock runs out, or Katya’s case cannot be brought to trial.

Significantly, the campaign also includes offline action, a “Day of Roses”, Read more »

Con: “Nothing Can Substitute for the Street”

Although this site is about how technology empowers activists on a global scale, we must not be blind optimists or think of digital activism as a panacea. For this reason we include thoughtful criticism of digital activism. If we want to make truly meaningful change we must address the Pros & Cons of digital activism.

The following quote is from a profile in the New York Times of Jessie Cagan (pictured above), the leader of the anti-war coalition United for Peace and Justice. She is talking about the use of the Internet in protesting the Iraq war.

�On the one hand, it�s a terrific tool,� she said. �We are able to get word out to massive numbers of people like that.� She snapped her fingers to make the point. �But the downside is that some people think that if they sign an online petition, that�s it.�

Whether one is for or against the war, nothing can substitute for the street.

�When you do something online, you do it in your home or your office,� Ms. Cagan said. �It�s not public.

Read more »