Activist world forum:
Innovative applications of media emerge in every sector of life. It’s not just about blogs,Facebook and You Tube.
Session Chair:
Suzanne Turner, CEO of Turner Strategies was the session chairand she summarized the forum as a way of making changes using innovative tools that we have.
The forum was composed of four people who presented their projects.
Joan Peckolick, founder and executive director of Selfchec.org disclosed that she just turned 60 and is in a constant war against chronic diseases and cancer as the real enemies nowadays instead of Iraq. She explains that she gave up her career to continue fighting as she does not want to pass it to next generation. She thought that the new generation with new media is capable of changing things and she asked help for introducing Selfchec as a way of communication for the public on healthcare.
Deron Triff, CEO of Changents.com
Triff explained the concept of www.changents.com. as a reflection of the young people’s trends. “We want to be a storytelling platform for younger people who take challenges of social issues around world,” said Triff. He continued by saying that it was a way for people to tell their stories with edge and attitude.
The idea of the site is about the individual. Members tell stories and create network of fans called “superfans.’ People join virtual team and become backers. Triff gave the example of Brad Corrigan, a member who fights to “trash poverty in Nicaraguan landfill.” People who wanted to help him did so by such actions as sending medications, or offering translation services.
The website offers tools to build backers and connect people personally. Each individual produce stories and the backers follow them. Riff explained the development of the ripple concept: The chain reaction started after a story. Everyone in the ripple can see who responded to actions taken.
The website is an alternative for people who want direct relationships, as they feel cynical and doubtful about non profits organization and don’t want to write up a check and just donate without having deeper knowledge and connection to the issue.
Civic Space: James Carlson Executive Director of Bucketworks
The website Bucketworks is based on the concept of solidarity and the sense of community in a village. For example when a fire hits a village, people used to pass buckets of water between the well and the fire. Carlson explains that nowadays that chain is broken as people cannot find their place in it.
Bucketworks was described by Carlson as a “health club for the green and a local place with global strategies that connect people to make the whole world grow.”
Carlson explains that some people are afraid to share their values. Bucketworks’s facility is located in Milwaukee between the wealthy communities and the poor ones. It is a diverse community of members.
Bucketworks created ways of trading with each other. It has been opened for five years, has 700 members, organized film festival, art exhibits , performances, and galleries.
Carlson encouraged people to do the same in their community by offering tools on the website about the project that are meant to be “copied and pasted in your own community.’
The atmosphere at Bucketworks was described as fun and as a place of shared knowledge where everyone learned from another. Younger generation will teach older one how to use technology for example. “It has to be fun otherwise people won’t join it,” said Carlson.
Matisse Bustos Hawkes, Communication and Outreach. Witness
www.witness.org on human rights was well known among the people in the audience. Hawkes chose to concentrate on the new technology available to the public. The HUB has been launched in December and is still in the beta stage. It is a platform for everyone anywhere to upload videos, still messages and audios about human rights.
Hawkes described the Hub’s mission as “trying to build community globally.” The site is in three languages although it is not fully an open space. Once a member, you can upload as much videos as possible. The idea is less about being a You Tube for human right but to bring actions by using media as a catalyst. Hawkes hopes to bring people online first and feel compelled to take action afterwards.
The site also provides training resources on how to create media for advocacy.