Our roundup of links to innovative and interesting mobilisation campaigns that caught our eye (and yours) in the past few weeks:
Pakistanis hug to get YouTube back
A Vimeo video was released protesting the YouTube ban in Pakistan. In the video, a YouTube mascot moves through the city Karachi with a sign reading “If you want me back, hug me.” Citizens in the video express how they miss having access to the video-sharing site.
YouTube has been banned in the country for more than a year, though many Pakistanis use proxy or VPN services to use it. The hug video is part of an anti-censorship campaign called #KholoBC run by Pakistan For All. Via Global Voices
Translators for Euromaidan protests organize via Facebook
Volunteer translators following the Euromaidan protests in Ukraine have organized on Facebook, setting up pages to provide urgent protest news that require translation in order to reach a wider international audience.
The process is decentralized with volunteers suggesting fresh content in addition to carrying out translations. Pages called Maidan Needs Translators and Euromaidan Translators are used for news that require translation, and the translated content is published on the Euro-Maidan As It Is page. The translators also provide content for counterpart English-language pages.
The pages gathered hundreds of likes in a couple days, and Facebook volunteers played an important role during the mass Dec. 8 Euromaidan rally. Via GlobalVoicesOnline.org
Unexpected PSA video uses humor to fight violence against women
U.S. and India-based human rights group Breakthrough produced a 30-second animation that aims to urge men to stop other men from abusing or hurting women. The animated video shows fans at a NASCAR race. When a man raises his hand to slap a female beer vendor’s bottom his buddy grabs his hand and shakes his head, to the applause of other bystanders. The final screen states: “#BeThatGuy. Stop violence against women in its tracks.”
The clip popped up on the Jumbotron several times during races at the Miami Speedway in Homestead, Fla., last month. The concept behind the anti-violence video at NASCAR is line with the concept of bystander intervention, the latest public health approaches to violence against women and children.
Bell Bajao, or in English, Ring the Bell, has been Breakthrough’s largest campaign that includes clever stories via TV, puppet shows and other media that shows a man beating a woman in a home and a neighbor ringing the doorbell to ask for something irrelevant so the man stops. Via Aljazeera America
Greek school retrofitting project seeks to set example
A small elementary school in Stropones, Euboea, Greece is undergoing a retrofit through a crowd-funded campaign. The Greenpeace project is looking for public support to showcase an alternative heating method that does not rely on oil.
The old school building is drafty with heating oil requirements above its annual budget. The children spend most of the days with their coats on, both in school and in their homes, as heating oil is a luxury in their village.
The school project is intended to set an example to show the Greek government an energy upgrading solution for the country’s buildings. The school changes include heat insulation, replacing frames and glass panes, replacing the oil boiler with a biomass pellet boiler, and conducting an energy audit before and afterwards. Via sxoleiomas.org
Anti-Black Friday campaign urges repairing over buying
Retailer Patagonia hosted an “anti” Black Friday campaign that urged its customers to repair worn clothing rather than buying new. Black Friday Worn Wear Parties were hosted at stores in certain U.S. cities.
Earlier in the week leading up to Black Friday, Patagonia released a film called Worn Wear, which is described as an invitation to celebrate the stuff you already own. The parties included a screening of Worn Wear and iFixit repair guides for the clothing. Via TriplePundit.com
What’s Missing?
Have a people-powered campaign you’re tracking that should be here? Use and follow #CampaignSpot to share creative mobilisation campaigns.
