Technology for Action

I recently stumbled upon a very interesting documentary film that explores the use of communication technology in social accountability and anti-corruption efforts. "Ten Tactics for Turning Information Into Action" features real-life examples from around the world (35 projects from 24 countries) that have used ‘open source’ and ‘free software’ online technologies, such as Facebook, Twitter, You-tube, BlogSpot, Google Map, Google Earth, Adobe Illustrator, CiviCRM, Frontline SMS and Xapian database along with mobile phones and video cameras in facilitating grassroots activism and advocacy campaigns.

The documentary was created by the NGO, Tactical Technology Collective with the objective of providing aspiring civil society organizations with a “selection of tested tools and materials” that they can explore in carrying out civic actions.  In addition to the documentary, the project has developed a set of complementary tool-kits and cards that provide guidelines to strategies ‘info-activism’ - a term that has been used to define the project.  Both the documentary and the cards can be easily downloaded from the  project website.  Nevertheless, here's a compact summary of the 10 tactics illustrated in the video, as presented on the project website.

1. Mobilizing People: Case stories include the use of community-made video that mobilized 700 people in rallying and filing complaints against the local government for land rights in Gujarat, India. Similarly, the Pink Chadi (panty) campaign in India used Facebook and blog posts to retaliate against a political party that organized attacks on women in drinking establishments.

2. Witness and Record: Features among others, the work of the “Targuist Sniper’ in Morocco who documented repeated instances of traffic police bribe-taking from passing vehicles and published it on You-Tube.  This led the government to not only take action against the policemen, but also to use the same technique to catch police abuse in the future.

3. Visualize Your Message: Provides examples where messages were simplified to avoid backlash, capture public interest, and enable communication across language and literacy barriers. This includes i) an animation video that translates Arabic myth from a feminist perspective in Egypt, ii) gathering of information on bombings in Lebanon and updating it on maps, which were later used for humanitarian relief and post-conflict reconstruction work, iii) plotting of human rights videos in Google Earth that opened concurrently with the opening of a touristic attraction to protest the banning of You-Tube in Tunisia.

4. Amplify Personal Story:  Illustrates the power of personal story in conveying messages and garnering support.  One successful example includes the video documentary on child soldiers in Congo that caught the attention of the international criminal court, and led to the bringing charges against those that were involved in this atrocity.

5. Just Add Humor: Features examples of the use of humor in repressive regimes. The use of cartoon, film-posters, music (Karaoke Videos), Blogs, and You-tube is featured.

6. Manage Your Contact: Introduces tools such as CiviCRM and Frontline Software that have been used in managing and building networks and contacts.  During the Tsunami crisis, Mercy Crop used Frontline to customize group contacts and send different information to different people through the use of mobile phones. 

7. Using Complex Data:  Provides examples of, among others, the work of FarmSubsidy.org in Sweden that used the Freedom of Information Act and the Xapian database tool to plot farm subsidy payments on a Google Map to allow concerned citizens to follow the distribution of taxpayer money.

8. Use Collective Intelligence: Citizens in Mumbai India used social media to find and share information during the 2008 terrorist attacks, which contributed to the relief efforts.  In Madagascar, citizens used SMS to report incidents of violence during a political riot.  The NGO that received the information plotted it on its website, which in turn helped alert citizens to trouble spots and gave a fuller picture of the crisis. Tools such as FrontlineSMS and Ushahidi were used in the process.

9. Let People Ask Questions: The work of the NGO Kubatana in Zimbabwe particularly caught my attention.   Kubatana is developing open-source software called the “Freedom Fone to “promote interactive voice response (IVR)” and empower citizens to generate “call-in information-on-demand” in different languages.

10. Investigate and Expose:  Provides information on the effectiveness of collaboration in identifying, sharing, and acting on evidence that is concealed to or overlooked by citizens. Examples of Egypt and Tunisia are demonstrated.

One important feature I noticed about the documentary is that it talks about challanges and obstacles in the use of the electronic technology at the same time as it talks about its opportunities and strengths.  In a world where methods in both policy and technology seem to be constantly improving, Tactical Technology Collective is to be commended for its efforts in tying the latest developments in these two fields together.
 

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Content Credit: www.informationactivism.org

Photo Credit:  Birgerking (Flickr)