Spaces for Talk: Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and Genuine Dialogue in an International Advocacy Movement

Mann, Alana

doi:10.5539/ass.v4n10p3

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 38 publications

(56 reference statements)

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“…The story of Via Campesina reinforces the ideas shared above, showing how movement actors have developed in the course of struggle and engagement with international institutions and movements. Not only has Via Campesina's strategy been shaped by the lessons from past movement experiences, making it wary of how it engages with UN processes where civil society voices become submerged beneath those of corporate and state actors (Mann 2008), but its ability to gain prominence in the field of transnational movement organizations results from global justice activism. Activists in Via Campesina used the World Social Forums to build their transnational activist connections, and to show how international trade policies impact small farmers and, by extension, everyone's access to food.…”

Section: Via Campesina and Peasant Strugglesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Making Other Worlds Possible: The Battle in Seattle in World-Historical Context

Smith

2020

Socialism and Democracy

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The protests against neoliberal globalization at the 1999 ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organization were significant because they represented the first large-scale resistance gaining wide visibility among a global public. The fact that the WTO ministerial was taking place in "the belly of the beast" increased its visibility and significance. It was far from the first mass protest against globalized capitalism, and it wasn't the most global in its representation. Nevertheless, it disrupted the idea that "there is no alternative" to the neoliberal agenda, encouraged dissent from governments in the global South, and created space for critical debates about the downsides of economic globalization. For the global left, it helped focus energy and inspire hope for a different kind of globalization. Seattle thus launched a movement-building process that gave birth to the World Social Forums, which in turn advanced new movement relationships and organizing that continue today. This article describes initiatives that have developed in the wake of the Battle in Seattle, illustrating how that protest episode contributed to ongoing movement learning and mobilization that fuels popular efforts to make other worlds possible. Preface/StandpointThe following account of the global justice movement is shaped by my social position, experiences, and analyses I've been able to develop through engagement with other participants, observers, and analysts. I'm a veteran of the Battle in Seattle and other protests at sites of global trade negotiations in Prague, Quebec City, and Washington DC, where I participated in street protests as well as many convenings of activist groups to develop analyses of globalization and refine the tactics and strategies of the movement. The rapid sequencing of protests meant that I encountered some of the same organizations, networks, and strategies and witnessed the learning that happened as activists discussed ideas about strategy and vision and confronted their many differences. By early 2001, these conversations led to an emerging consensus that mass protests at the sites of inter-state negotiations was not productive or sustainable, and that our movements needed a new approach if we were to sustain the momentum the Seattle protest helped launch.It was then that the call for participation in the World Social Forum meeting in Porto Alegre captured the imaginations of many thousands of global justice activists and provided a space for movement-building as well as resistance to neoliberal globalization. We were not merely protesting the global capitalist project. We were gathering to change the conversation and focus our energies on the projects and organizing work we knew was necessary not just to stop the destructive forces of capitalism, but to enable the birth of a unified movement for a different global system. Participants saw a direct link with Seattle's verbalization of a global "No" to the neoliberal project. The WSFs became a space for movements to articulate alternatives. That the first...

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Section: Via Campesina and Peasant Strugglesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Making Other Worlds Possible: The Battle in Seattle in World-Historical Context

Smith

2020

Socialism and Democracy

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“…Generally it has always been civil society organisations who have been at the 'sending end' of a campaign and consequently are able to determine which issues are given prominence and how the social narrative around those issues are framed. Mann (2008) argues that the Internet has given these CSOs even more power to shape the public discourse than ever before. However messages must appeal to wide and disparate audiences in order to galvanise support, and care must be taken not to alienate a support base through goals and targets that are incompatible with local imperatives.…”

Section: Redefining and Restructuring Of The Organisationmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Restructuring and Re-Orientation of Civil Society in a Web 2.0 World

Pillay

Maharaj

2015

International Journal of Cyber Warfare and Terrorism

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This study focuses on how civil society organisations strategically deploy Web 2.0 technologies for transnational social advocacy and the impact of this technology adoption on civil society organisations' roles, structure, and orientation. The global environmental justice organisation, Greenpeace is used as a case study. Greenpeace advocates for changes in environmental policy and behaviour, has been at the forefront of environmental issues, and has used the mass media as an effective campaigning tool. The key findings that emerged was that social media has become a key ingredient of Greenpeace's campaigning strategy and has been embraced at both a strategic and operational level. The emergence of a collaborative communications paradigm has necessitated a level of organisational introspection evidenced in both changes in the organisation's strategic planning processes and changes to the organisational structure.

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“…The Internet, and in particular the World Wide Web, has given civil society more power to craft their public image thereby 'altering the landscape of protest' (Owens & Palmer 2003). Social movements also run the risk of alienating their supporter base by defining campaigns based on what will resonate with the media and other global publics (Mann 2008). …”

Section: Perceived Attributes and Attitudes Towards Web 20mentioning

confidence: 99%

What drives Web 2.0 adoption in South African civil society organisations

Pillay

Maharaj

2014

S. Afr. j. inf. manag.

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Background: The impact and consequences of social media adoption on society are only just being realised and studied in detail; consequently, there is no universal agreement as to the reasons for the adoption of these services. Even understanding why some social media services are popular remains to some extent elusive. The practical use of Web 2.0 does not provide any answers either with, for example, a noticeable difference in the way social media was strategically used by Barack Obama and Mitch Romney in the lead-up to the 2009 American elections. However, recent studies that have focused on social media adoption within specific sectors have begun to shed some light on these emerging adoption patterns; two studies in particular are illustrative: a 2012 study on the newspaper sector and a study on social media adoption and e-government.Objectives: This study investigates why South African civil society organisations (CSOs) adopt Web 2.0 services and the perceived and actual benefits of such adoption.Method: A survey questionnaire was sent to 1712 South African CSOs listed in the Prodder database to explore why certain social media services were adopted and the perceived benefits thereof.Results: Internal reasons for the adoption of social media services by South African CSOs coalesce around organisational visibility and access to information. External reasons focus on organisations needing to become more relevant and more connected to like-minded organisations and initiatives.Conclusion: The pervasiveness of Web 2.0 technologies makes it inevitable that CSOs will have to restructure themselves to remain relevant.

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Spaces for Talk: Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and Genuine Dialogue in an International Advocacy Movement

Cited by 3 publications

References 38 publications

Making Other Worlds Possible: The Battle in Seattle in World-Historical Context

Making Other Worlds Possible: The Battle in Seattle in World-Historical Context

The Restructuring and Re-Orientation of Civil Society in a Web 2.0 World

What drives Web 2.0 adoption in South African civil society organisations

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