Sense of Struggle

HERMES Center for Transparency and Digital Human Rights

Submitted by doug on Tue, 2013-10-29 19:10
in
Organization's slogan: 
Whistleblowing Technologies: Empowering Truth as a Human Right
Civic Organization Disclaimer: 
Possible disclaimer: This information has been entered by a person who isn't associated with the organization. It may be incomplete or contain mistakes. If you are associated with this organization and would like to maintain this information, please get a Public Sphere Project account and ask us to transfer ownership of this information to you.

Our mission is to promote and develop in the society the awareness of and the attention to transparency and accountability, be they related to the society-at-large or not. Our goal is to increase the citizens’ involvement in the management of matters of public interest and to boost the active participation of workers and employees to correct the management of corporations and companies they work for.

Organizational engagement: 
Active
Organization's headquarters: 
Milan, Italy
Organization's geographic focus: 
Worldwide

http://logioshermes.org

Internet Defense League

Submitted by doug on Mon, 2013-03-25 21:53
in
Organization's slogan: 
Make sure the internet never loses. Ever.
Civic Organization Disclaimer: 
Possible disclaimer: This information has been entered by a person who isn't associated with the organization. It may be incomplete or contain mistakes. If you are associated with this organization and would like to maintain this information, please get a Public Sphere Project account and ask us to transfer ownership of this information to you.

Beyond the blackout

The Internet Defense League takes the tactic that killed SOPA & PIPA and turns it into a permanent force for defending the internet, and making it better. Think of it like the internet's Emergency Broadcast System, or its bat signal!

The Problem

Internet freedom and individual power are changing the course of history. But entrenched institutions and monopolies want this to stop. Elected leaders often don't understand the internet, so they're easily confused or corrupted.

The plan
When the internet's in danger and we need millions of people to act, the League will ask its members to broadcast an action. (Say, a prominent message asking everyone to call their elected leaders.) With the combined reach of our websites and social networks, we can be massively more effective than any one organization.

How it works

First, sign up. If you have a website, we'll send you sample alert code to get working in advance. The next time there's an emergency, we'll tell you and send new code. Then it's your decision to pull the trigger.

Targets

We'll keep in close touch with groups like the EFF and Public Knowledge to identify threats and opportunities. We've also got a subreddit. This will get formalized more soon, but for now we're definitely targeting ACTA in June and CISPA as it re-emerges in the Senate.

Year the organization was founded: 
2012
Organizational engagement: 
Active
Organization's geographic focus: 
The World

http://internetdefenseleague.org/

Contact information: 
team@fightforthefuture.org

Street Music

in
Douglas Schuler
The Public Sphere Project
Celebration of Public Music
Version: 
1
Problem: 

(note that the Problem Statement is still in work.....)

Music, including singing as well as the playing of instruments, has been a key element of the human condition for millennia. Unfortunately -- at least in the United States -- music has become more of a commodity, to be enjoyed passively and non-interactively. 

The rise of mass media is probably at least one of the culprits. 

Context: 

(note that the Context Statement is still in work.....)

Discussion: 

(note that the Discussion is still in work.....)

Street Music blurs the distinction between producer and consumer of music as well as the distinction between formal and informal venues for music production and consumption. 

Although street bands, including many of those found at Honk Fests, can be found at protests (including the Infernal Noise Machine (image below) that supported the demonstrations against the World Trade Organization in Seattle in 1999), their actions are often political to a large degree by virtue of their publicness in an era of electronic or other formalized or mediated forms of music consumption. 

See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-MLvzLlou4 for Environmental Encroachment's performance of Hashia.

 

Thanks to a member of the Bucharest Drinking Team and to Bob of Environmental Encroachment for their thoughts on the current breed of "new street bands" including their history and motivation. 

Solution: 

 

Solution in work:

something about establishing and supporting street music. More and more and more of it....

Categories: 
orientation
Categories: 
engagement
Categories: 
social
Categories: 
products
Themes: 
Social Critique
Themes: 
Community Action
Themes: 
Social Movement
Themes: 
Media Critique
Information about introductory graphic: 
Photo of Church, a marching band from Santa Rosa, California. Shot by Douglas Schuler, June 1, 2012. Georgetown (Seattle, WA)
Information about summary graphic: 

Infernal Noise Machine, Seattle Washington

The Long Walk for Justice by George Lakey

in

"What do Native Americans, Costa Ricans, Thai villagers, Hispanic students in U.S. colleges, Indian independence activists and Maasai women have in common? They’ve all organized long marches as part of campaigns for justice. Their campaigns’ very different choices about how to use the tactic raises strategic questions for us today. In some campaigns the long march was used primarily to heighten awareness, while in others it was to gain new allies. Sometimes it was used to launch other kinds of direct action.

url: 
http://www.nationofchange.org/long-walk-justice-1333295330
Annotation description: 

http://www.nationofchange.org/long-walk-justice-1333295330

Small World News

Submitted by doug on Tue, 2011-12-13 10:24
in
Civic Organization Disclaimer: 
Possible disclaimer: This information has been entered by a person who isn't associated with the organization. It may be incomplete or contain mistakes. If you are associated with this organization and would like to maintain this information, please get a Public Sphere Project account and ask us to transfer ownership of this information to you.

From the mission statement: 

 

Small World News focuses on developing the capacity of citizens to engage with the international community in crisis areas and conflict zones.

Our most recent project, Alive in Libya, showcased the potential of citizen media when combined with affordable digital technologies and professional training. As an organization our primary focus has been to guide local citizens through the entire process, from learning to produce professional media to distributing via social media and leveraging relevant technologies to broaden the impact.

We believe our unique body of expertise with media development in conflict areas such as Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya makes us uniquely positioned to provide training to existing media professionals, human rights and civil society organizations, as well as independent citizens. In the past year, in addition to our own projects, Small World News has conducted training in Iraq, Afghanistan, India, Rwanda, Bahrain, Libya, and Uganda. Training subjects included: new media tools for civil society, SMS and mobile technology, training for journalists in new media and multimedia, training and advising in online security, training and deployment of Ushahidi.

Organizational engagement: 
Active

http://

Civics of Modern Media

Submitted by Michael O_Neill on Tue, 2011-09-13 19:58
in

As the means of communication have changed over the course of American history, so has the way public discourse has been carried out. National radio was a revolution that could put the voice of the president in every living room across the nation for fireside chats. With the rise of television, the firm jaw of Walter Cronkite could relay the facts as millions of viewers tuned in every night.

Post Image: 
Image Credit: 
Tor Even Mathisen - CC: A, NC, SA

Street Newspapers

in
Douglas Schuler
Version: 
1
Discussion: 

The homeless newspaper movement is active in many cities around the world. Although it takes different forms in different cities, the basic model is the same: The newspaper concentrates on issues of homelessness and poverty, two subjects that are not likely to be covered sensitively or in much depth by mainstream media. Beyond that the newspaper is often actively engaged in the struggle for the rights of poor people and engages poor people and their communities in every aspect of the newspaper production and distribution. The Real Change weekly newspaper in Seattle is sold by people who are homeless or otherwise in underprivileged positions for $2.00 and receive $1.40 plus tips for each paper sold.

Categories: 
orientation
Categories: 
organization
Categories: 
engagement
Categories: 
social
Categories: 
products
Themes: 
Research for Action
Themes: 
Education
Themes: 
Economics
Themes: 
Policy
Themes: 
Social Critique
Themes: 
Community Action
Themes: 
Social Movement
Themes: 
Case Studies
Verbiage for pattern card: 

The homeless newspaper movement is active in many cities around the world. Although it takes different forms in different cities, the basic model is the same: The newspaper concentrates on issues of homelessness and poverty, two subjects that are likely to be covered sensitively or in much depth by mainstream media. Beyond that the newspaper is often actively engaged in the struggle for the rights of poor people and engages poor people and their communities in every aspect of the newspaper production and distribution. The Real Change weekly newspaper in Seattle is sold by people who are homeless or otherwise in underprivileged positions for $2.00 and receive $1.40 plus tips for each paper sold.

Information about introductory graphic: 
From Real Change Newspaper web site, <a href="http://www.realchangenews.org/">right here</a>

Witnessing

in
Pattern ID: 
397
Pattern number within this pattern set: 
397
Douglas Schuler
Public Sphere Project (CPSR)
Version: 
1
Problem: 

Every day throughout the world violence is unleashed against defenseless people, animals, habitats. Domestic violence, police or military abuse, neglect of children, the disabled, the poor

Context: 

genocide, environmental abuse, white collar crime, corruption, domestic abuse, prison, psychiatry, orphanages, old folks home, police abuse, violent crime, neglect. Occasionally these stories find public exposure. More often they do not. When they are revealed, positive actions can be -- but are infrequently -- taken.

Discussion: 

Witnessing, initially, requires presence at the scene of the transgression. Beyond that it requires making some type of record. The record can take many forms -- written, spoken, audio, video, drawings or photographs, songs, music, or theatrical presentations. The record must be conveyed because it gains significance when it becomes more public. Witnessing requires courage and perseverance. Exposing violence or criminal action exposes the perpetrator and hence the risk of retaliation is voluntarily assumed by the witness. Increasing the publicity associated with the crime increases the chances that the criminal will be prosecuted; ideally -- ultimately it would result in fewer instances of that type of crime. [it may also force the crime underground!] At the same time increasing the publicity can increase the risk to the witness. Witnessing is a legal as well as religious concept. Explain... Please note that this pattern submission is a draft at this point.

Solution: 

The act of witnessing must be supported and protected, it must have positive consequences and be prevalent if it's to be an effective tool in society.

Pattern status: 
Released
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