|
Now Lebanon Movements.org: people for the people A new online platform that crowd sources human rights Movements.org is a new online platform that crowd sources human rights, putting activists from various societies in touch with skilled people who can help them in their struggles. It enables activists in closed societies to get the help they need and allows professionals to play a more active role in human rights endeavors around the world. With this new online tool, human rights activists can access networks of skilled professionals such as lawyers, publicists, journalists, and human rights advocates, and ask for their help with numerous tasks ranging from seeking asylum, to legal advice, helping to raise public awareness about particular issues. NOW talked to Movements organizers about how this site is expected to be a game changer in the field of human rights activism. NOW: What is Movements.org? Movements: Movements.org is a part of Advancing Human Rights, a New York-based human rights organization. Movements.org is a platform that connects human rights activists in closed societies and dictatorships with people around the world with the skills to help. We are crowdsourcing the fight for human rights. NOW: How does it work? Movements: Any dissident or activist can log in and request whatever he or she needs: press, PR, training, a song, policy meetings, and much more. People from around the world with those skills can brose the requests and connect directly with activists. NOW: Who can ask for help? Who provides the help and what help is being provided? Movements: Anyone can ask for help provided that they are from a dictatorship or want to open a closed society. We have started with large states that are not free and have more than 15 million people. Thus far we have had comedians offering to make fun of dictators, technologists who have helped unblock Facebook pages, German officials connecting with dissidents, and more. NOW: Who has control over the information that is being shared? Movements: The information is public and meant for activists who are already open about their work – the type of person that posts on Facebook and Twitter pleading for the world to hear their stories and help their struggle. We make very clear that nothing is un-crackable in today's age given enough time and resources. We ask users to approach everything with caution and to only share what they are comfortable with. We also have a ranking system which shows how much an activist or provider is trusted based on the information they provide. NOW: Are requests and users verified or vetted? Movements: Anyone can sign up and the only people we will remove are those who are not advocating basic human rights or who call for violence, racism, terrorism or xenophobia. Regarding our rating system, if a user has no corroborating information, they won't get any stars. If we know them, have spoken with them and trust them, they will get five stars. The ratings in between are based on how much information is available. There are also community ratings so as to encourage good behavior and discourage bad behavior. Anyone who abuses the system can be reported to us. NOW: Are users protected? Is the site secure? Movements: We've built tough security to protect peoples' identities. That said, nothing is 100% protected on the Internet. The Chinese government and the Syrian Electronic Army, among others, have proven very effective in breaking through many systems. We make this clear on the platform and encourage activists to use it responsibly. NOW: What changes does Movements.org hope to bring about? Movements: Movements.org hopes to tip the balance of power away from dictators and toward democratic dissidents. We hope to empower activists fighting for human rights by providing them skills they might not otherwise have. Dictatorships pay hundreds of millions of dollars to whitewash their image. Why shouldn't every political prisoner also have PR agents revealing the true nature of these tyrannies? Dictators send an army of lobbyists to represent their interests. Every human rights activist should have access to the same things. We want to make life a little harder for dictators and a little easier for dissidents. NOW: Any success stories so far? Movements: We've had some great successes so far. We've matched Syrian activists seeking asylum with lawyers in New York. We've matched Saudi activists with German officials, Iranian dissidents with technologists, and much more. Activists wanted a song to commemorate Sergei Magnitsky, the Russian tax lawyer who died in prison after exposing Putin's corruption. A New York City-based songwriter wrote a beautiful commemoration song and activists in Russia are almost done with a music video. A Syrian dissident who spent 10 years in prison under Bashar Assad wanted to publish an article in America and after the request was placed on Movements.org a short time later it was placed on The Daily Beast. There are journalists, lawyers, policy-makers, artists and PR experts standing by to help. NOW: It is argued that providing information alone is not enough and that it does not guarantee that action will be taken. Is Movement.org geared toward action? Movements: Movements.org is geared toward taking action because it is a marketplace for needs, crowdsourcing human rights. We hope that every activist looking to spread their message or enhance their work meets someone who can help. NOW: It has proven quite difficult to stand up to dictators in places like Syria, Iran and China, etc. How can Movement.org help provide justice and hold perpetrators of rights violations accountable? Movements: Movements.org is a platform to strengthen human rights activists and give them access to skills. Every time a dissident is helped, a crack is made in the wall of tyranny. No one knows which one of these cracks might lead to a dictator's demise. But each crack is important to advancing freedom. It can also help give dissidents the feeling that they are not alone – that there are people around the world who stand with them.
|
