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Digital activism, the WTO and international trade rules - III
Online action exchange
The Trade Justice Movement mobilized support in 2003 through a Lobby Marathon, when supporters lobbied over 500 MPs in their local constituencies over a 24-hour period the largest ever simultaneous lobby the UK had seen. An online action exchange was created for the public to find out about their nearest lobby and events, link up with campaigners in their area, publicize their events and share information and plans with other local campaigners. The site appeared on other NGO sites so users could use the interface on the sites they are familiar with.
In setting a new record for engaging with democratic representatives in this way, the action exchange became an essential tool not only for connecting supporters of over 45 coalition organizations but also to target support resources into constituencies for which no lobby had yet been established to extend the reach of the action. The event could not have happened at the level it did without using the Internet.
Multimedia
The Internet has revitalized video activism. And the injustices of the global economic system are one of the core themes of a lot of the content produced. A number of sites hold archives of films. Trade Justice has become a vibrant tapestry on OneWorld TV where films are screened that explore the trade trap caused by current rules and look at how fair trade arrangements benefit both producers and consumers. The collection includes many films made by NGOs on trade as well as footage of demonstrations. Importantly, online video provides a platform for people in developing countries to communicate their experiences of unfair trade views vary rarely heard in the mainstream media.
Humour is a hallmark of a great deal of online activism including many of the multimedia media offerings on the Web. The Fellowship of the Ring of Free Trade is one such multimedia gem that combines moving image on the Web and spoof techniques (you can view the film or download it here). It is a hilarious decoding of the hidden prophecies of J.R.R. Tolkien's classic epic, The Lord of the Rings, through a re-editing of the Peter Jackson's blockbuster movie.
Radio Cancun, an online radio station broadcasting news and events about the WTO meeting there, is just one example of how audio is being used to promote whats happening on trade. OneWorld Radio is another example. Its coverage on trade, packaged as a special campaign, is a platform for sharing audio between NGOs and radio stations who can them broadcast content over the airwaves thereby combining old and new media to extend the reach to audiences without Internet access.
Conclusion
These examples, by no means comprehensive, show something of the diversity of campaigning on one issue using the Web. There are plenty of examples of good Websites delivering the stock-in-trade news, actions, updates and information provision that NGOs and campaigners need to keep informed and connected to each other and the issue (e.g. Trade Observatory). And, behind the scenes, huge amounts of information sharing and collaborative work takes place using email and other information technologies.
Mainstream actions like letter writing and petitions (such as Oxfams Big Noise) have nearly all been adapted for the Web. They provide a quick and easy way for people to add their voice to the rising tide against obscene trade rules. And there have been demonstrable successes. For example, Nestle dropped its demand for $6 million compensation from famine stricken Ethiopia when Oxfam launched an Internet campaign as part of Make Trade Fair.
Campaigners need to use all the array of tools at their disposal. The resources that are being deployed against their aims on a daily basis by governments and corporations are considerable. These powerful interests do not, of course, call themselves digital activists but they use new technologies just as the activists do, and with huge budgets behind them for spends on PR and technology. Campaigners need to do more to learn more about their techniques just as they increasingly catalogue and copy activist tactics. More often than not, it is the campaigners that are one step ahead, ready to surprise and innovate.
Digital activism is still a new territory and the campaigning tactics of a global network fighting a version of free trade that leaves the poor in poverty are still being developed. The Internet is not a substitute for other techniques nor is it often used without integration to offline activities. But, as the examples above show, it is a medium that can be used effectively and with imagination, as we seek to bring about global justice through ensuring that world trade is a force for development and not the motor for environmental destruction and more inequality.
Back to Part II
Back to Part I
Glen Tarman is coordinator of the Trade Justice Movement, a UK campaign coalition calling for fundamental changes to the unjust rules and institutions that govern international trade. He was formerly Publicity Manager for OneWorld, and has coordinated UK activist networks for the World Development Movement and VSO. This article is written in a personal capacity and is based on a talk given at Digital Activism (Institute of Contemporary Arts, London), April 2003.
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