Over the last quarter of the 20th Century, technology evolved at an astonishing rate. With the advent of the internet, the cellphone and the ever decreasing size of computers, people began using technology for more than just games and business.
In the first 10 years of the 21st Century we saw cellphones go from clunky bricks to pocketsize touch-screen computers. We’ve seen the emergence of a whole new type of way to interact with other people and the world known as social media. From AOL Instant Messenger to MySpace to Facebook and all sorts of other websites and programs that allow you to connect to millions of people around the world with the click of a button, social media has grown exponentially to encompass nearly every aspect of our daily lives. The ability to record a video on your cellphone, upload it to YouTube and share it on your Facebook and Twitter account all in the matter of minutes has not only provided entertainment, but also a way to spread information quicker and easier than ever before. This ability to share information to millions of people around the world has made it easier for people to learn the truth about corporations and governments that before was always swept under the rug. This has led to the “Climate Gate” scandal, where leaked emails showed fraudulent data that lead to the Copenhagen “Climate Change” Treaty failure in 2009, and also led to the overthrow of dictators, such as Hosni Mubarak in Egypt in 2011 . With the ability to share information and organize, people the world over are starting to realize that this new technology is the newest form of activism.
The 2012 South by Southwest Interactive Show offers dozens and dozens of panels over the course of five days that explore the use of technology in every aspect of life. Included in those panels are numerous ones that deal with activism. Some have to do with politics, including the upcoming presidential elections, other have to do with people rising up against oppressive governments and others with philanthropy. Although there are dozens of amazing panels on activism worth seeing, below are five that should not be missed.
First up is “Philanthropy for Everyone: Community Grantmaking,” a panel that will explore how technology and social media are streamlining the fundraising process and giving more people access to contribute to philanthropy projects. According to the panel, governments are “downsizing” philanthropy projects and “traditional grantmakers can be hard to reach.” Technology is allowing for “crazy brilliant ideas” and providing innovative new models, according to the panel. Amy Kaherl, Co-Collaborator of Detroit Soup, Daniel Kaufman, Co-Founder of One Percent Foundation, Nathaniel James, Sunny Kim, Co-Director of Seattle Young People’s Project, and Rishi Jaitly, Director of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation are the presenters and will bring their years of experience in creating social change to the podium. For all those activists that are serious in making change in their community, this is one event that you don’t want to miss out on. It will be presented at 11:00am on Tuesday, March 13th and will last an hour. The panel will be located at the Austin Convention Center.
Next on the list is “How Is Internet Helping People Make Their Own Laws.” In Brazil, a law has been passed known as Marco Civil da
Internet; it regulates the rights and responsibilities of Internet users and service providers. What it does is interesting and controversial, but the way it was written was completely different than you would expect. Instead of a group of “wise” men and women getting together in private to decide what the law would be, it was put up on the Internet for public discussion. “Contributions were received through a website…with the goal to encourage the emergence of online communities for the discussion of public policies for the digital environment, according to Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV) law school. FGV is the school where presenter Ronaldo Lemos,PhD attended. Lemos and Sergio Branco, PhD, who also attended FGV, will discuss how the Internet is allowing for a whole new kind of democracy – one where everybody has a voice and a platform for it to be heard on. This kind of community involvement has the potential of making its way to other governments around the world. The panel will begin at 5:00 pm on Sunday, March 11th and will end at 6:00 pm at the Austin Convention Center.
For those of you who want to make a difference in your community but don’t necessarily want to get off the couch, “Turning Slacktivism into Online Activism,” might be the panel for you. Boyd Neil, a former political activist and trade unionist, will take you on a journey of how social media is getting more people to trade in their picket signs for keyboards. Neil will explain the pros and cons of the emerging trend of “online activism.” The event will be held at the Downtown Omni Hotel. It starts at 12:30 pm and runs to 1:30 pm on Sunday, March 11th.
If the Occupy Movement, the Tea Parties, and rise of the Libertarian streak with the Republican Party are any indicators, the American public is starting to drift away from the Left/Right paradigm and beginning to focus on the issues, rather than the party lines. With the discontent of the status-quo building and during a very critical election year, the internet might be providing the solution. Americans Elect is an online organization whose goal is to “is to nominate a presidential ticket that answers directly to voters—not the political system,” according to AmericansElect.com. People can go online and vote for who they want to be the nominee and according to Americans Elect, that nominee will be on all 50 ballots for the 2012 election. The top five candidates as of February 11th are Dr. Ron Paul, John Huntsman, Bernie Sanders, Barak Obama and Mike Bloomberg, with Paul having nearly twice as many votes at Huntsman. Also on the ballot are names such as comedians, Steven Colbert and John Stewart, as well as Gary Johnson, former New Mexico Governor. This is the first of its kind – a completely citizen controlled nomination process. At the “The Americans Elect Lounge”, guests will be able to “touch the technology, enjoy the Austin experience, and claim your place in the political process,” according to the panel. The panel is an all-day event on Saturday, March 10th from 9am to 6pm at the Austin Convention Center.
And finally, to top out the list of the five best activists panel at this year’s South by Southwest is “Iranian Outlaws: Satire vs. Censorhip.” This should be an incredible panel dealing with freedom of speech in a country that is not known for its protection of activists. Ever since the CIA overthrew the democratically elected president of Iran in the early 1950’s during operation “Ajax”, Iran has been in a constant state of turmoil. Violence is a part of daily life, and the threat of war from the United States is always on the table. This panel will discuss “Parazit,” a satirical show that has been called, “The Daily Show of Iran,” by Public Radio International. “Parazit” is a “hit in Iran despite the government’s strict censorship practices,” according to the panel. The show is distributed on alternative channels, such as the internet to reach a wide audience. Elizabeth Pfotzer and Saman Arbabi, both from Voice of America, will explore how the internet is allowing for such a controversial show to be possible in a country such as Iran. The panel is from 5:00 pm to 6:00 pm on Friday, March 9th at the Austin Convention Center.
Here is an episode of “Parazit” from season two (translating it is up to you!).
These are only a few of the many, many panels at South by Southwest that deal with activism, but are sure to be some of the best. To find out more about the schedule for the interactive portion of South by Southwest, click here.