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Description
In our daily work, we can observe an increasing wave of activism among people all over the country, manifesting itself during protests organised to fight for the rights of women, the LGBT+ community or for the climate. Nevertheless, even though young activists have enormous potential, they have often been engaged in such initiatives for a short time only and have no factual support, resources or tools allowing for long-term and effective actions. They usually have no efficient, grassroot organisation they can turn to or no tools that would help them make a change. At the same time, the pandemic times have considerably limited fieldwork activities. Therefore, we can see an enormous need for developing and promoting online tools for social campaign generation, especially among those who have little experience in activism. We will address this need by preparing a list of most interesting and most innovative online campaigning methods across the globe, with particular focus on local and grassroot initiatives. Individuals who are engaged socially but have limited opportunities and knowledge (who come from smaller locations or have only recently engaged in activism) will be invited to a Bootcamp – a cycle of workshops on how to plan and run social campaigns. They will meet with experienced activists and/or will have a look at interesting activist inspirations from all over the world. Selected individuals will be supported in their own social campaigns reaching various communities. We will create a repository of good practices in online campaigning in the form of a public website featuring easy-to-use online tools and tactics.
Summary of project results
In our day-to-day work, we could observe the rise in citizen activism among people across the country – they got actively involved in protests and campaigns around women''s rights, LGBT+ rights or climate issues. However, we also saw that young activists, while having great potential, often lack the necessary support, resources and tools for long-term effective action. At the same time, Covid19 pandemic have significantly limited opportunities for direct actions, so we identified big need to develop and promote online tools for social campaigning, especially among those who have little experience in activism.
We responded to this need by describing 10 interesting and innovative online campaigning methods applied in different parts of the world, with focus on local and grassroots efforts. These methods were gathered in a digital repository available online, and information about it was sent by mailing to almost 50,000 people.
Those who were already engaged but had fewer opportunities and knowledge (because they came from smaller towns or had little experience in activism) were invited to a Bootcamp - a series of workshops on planning and implementing effective public campaigns. During the Bootcamp, they met experienced activists and learn about inspiring initiatives from all over the world.
We also provided selected individuals with one-on-one consultations and financial support allowing them to conduct their own public awareness campaigns, which reached a diverse range of communities. This resulted in 11 campaigns involving more than 30,000 people. These campaigns included a variety of activities, such as collecting signatures for petitions, organising community events and conducting social media communication activities.
We also organised Summer Academy - a three-day gathering for 29 people to share experiences, network and further develop campaigning and organisational skills.
The project''s target groups are primarily its participants - those taking part in the Bootcamp, individual consultations and the Summer Academy, but also the general public and NGOs.
One of the results of the project was the development of social and organisational competences of its participants - through participation in Bootcamp and individual consultations they gained new skills which enabled them to engage more effectively in civic activities.
We have also contributed to raising public awareness of a variety of social issues - the project''s online campaigns have engaged thousands of people and helped raise awareness of important social issues.
We were also able to build a network for collaboration and exchange of experiences - the Summer Academy and moderated communication platforms enabled the participants to network and exchange experiences with other social activists and NGOs. This contributed to building stronger relationships and collaborations in the future.
The digital repository of good practice, which includes proven innovations in online campaigning and organising, can be used by other organisations and community activists in future activities.