What is E-Activism?

E-activism?

A regular day of your week. While scrolling on your social media or checking the news, it is almost certain that you're going to face another post regarding a current issue. Hate speech, crimes, petitions, or even comments regarding imminent public concerns. Some people react by calling them spammers, some consider them as haters or anarchists. Some of them though, are e-activists.

You may have found yourself wondering... what is really e-activism?

To begin with, there is no certain definition for the term e-activism. It is best described as a form of activism that is conducted with the use of internet tools. Nowadays, there are a good many tools found on the internet along with a variety of jobs performed there. Activism could not fall far away from that. Following the diversity of options located on the internet, e-activism is found in many forms starting from e-mails, social media, platforms for petitions or even fundraising campaigns. Like the internet, online activism is diverse and constantly evolving, utilizing even hashtags and TikTok applications. But there comes another interesting question... who is an e-activist?

The answer is pretty easy: any person considering themselves to be one. By using information and communication tools, e-activists support, call for action, raise awareness and start campaigns based on activism in order to address issues of public or global concern. If the person is the one that has initiated the activity or is a member that is supporting it or part of an alliance that is actively showing support towards this activity - it is one and the same. As long, of course, as the person wants to call themselves an e-activist. Hence, for example, the initiators of a campaign against children abuse, the people that took part in the campaign by volunteering or other forms of participation, even the people that liked the campaign on Facebook or sent money. These people are all e-activists, as long as they took action in some sense online.

Examples of e-activism?

In this point, an essential characteristic of e-activism has to be clarified . Only an  action  that  has  the  purpose  of  supporting  the common good of a community, society, or the world as a whole,  asking for no financial exchange for the services provided (except if it is calling for support of a good cause) and calls a collective -from a small community to the whole world- in action can be considered as e-activism. An  e-activist  action  contains  within  it  an  online  call  for  action,  regardless  if  that  action  happens  online  or  offline;  even  if  an  offline  activity  has  an  online call for action, but that shares its methods of communication online. An offline activist project can also leave some kind of impact on the people that follow it online. No  matter  what  sort  of  online  tools  one  uses  (social  media,  platforms,  websites, online radio, etc.) as long as the activity follows the previous description, it is included in the e-activism spectrum.

There is a multitude of cases and examples that belong to the e-activism spectrum. One such form is the alternative information of a topic widely unacceptable to be spoken about or excluding voices from a wider audience. Such examples are found in the No-Hate-Speech movement (against the online hate speech) and in sharing and connecting stories which are empowering for other people who their voice is not being heard. As an example, there have been online video campaigns, namely "it gets better", where people of LGBT+ community are sharing their stories/thoughts on their experience of the declining discrimination they are facing.  A  call  for  action  internationally  through  social  media  (like  the  Arab  Spring),  community  building,  lobbying,  fundraising,  can  all  be  considered to be e-activism. The European Union is also supporting these kinds of projects with the aim of changing people’s attitudes and increasing tolerance.

Like  any  other  type  of  activism,  online  activism  can  be  illegal  or  even  fall  under  the  rule  of  law  as  a  criminal  offense.  For  example,  the  actions  of  the  Anonymous  group,  Julian Assange’s Wikileaks or the documents disclosed by Edward Snowden are famous examples,  which  despite  gathering  a  strong  public  support,  are  all  accused  of  either  acting  against  the  legal  rights  of  national  institutions  or/and  private  businesses or  threatening national security.

People might also wonder... why is there such a thing? In  general  this  question  is  more of  a  reflection  for  the  person  that  is  initiating  the activity. There is no clear guideline on how to find a concrete reason why e-activist campaigns start. Mainly, the purpose lies in acting for a specific issue in the fastest and widest way possible. There should also be in mind that some of the issues to be addressed are online. 

Keeping in mind all of the above, while you are either having a coffee, spending your time scrolling or reading and commenting on your social media, annoyed or even angry for those people disturbing you, think twice.. cause it's another day for you in paradise. 

Sources: The E-manual on E-activism by IYNF, International Amnesty

Links: https://itgetsbetter.org/   
https://www.coe.int/en/web/no-hate-campaign


Author: Antonis K.

Poster - Refugees

In this section, we are exhibiting the work of the YE's poster team. A collection of three different posters are presented, strongly expressing humanitarianism and opposing to any war. 

Activism - How to?

Ways of activism - Easy or not?

Are you an activist? Are you wondering how to go one step further? Maybe one step below?

Here we have the solution to your activism doubts and fears! Take a look.

People's principal problem related to activism is time. Working, sleeping, eating, chatting... Time flows and suddenly we find ourselves wondering how to make a difference, how to make some change in the world, compatible with our way of living... but actually it can be the other way around! Paradoxically, if we have plenty of time, we may feel overwhelmed because of it. People's lifestyle is constantly changing. You may have much time and strength to put or you may not. In any case, it's not a problem anymore! Let's talk about ways of activism that you can surely adapt to your way of life, no matter what yours is. Even by spending 10 minutes a week you can make yourself an activist!

Here are some ways of activism that you may not know :

• Sharing information: It's the fastest way of activism, but it doesn't mean it's less important! Nowadays, a success key for any campaign is the way it spreads. Activists are crucial for it.
• Petition Sign: As fast as sharing information once you create your account. Webs like Avazz or Change.org are good examples of petition sign places. You have a link below in which you can see some of their last victories achieved by this kind of activism. This is one of the greatest examples of the positive effects of e-activism and worldwide cooperation.
• Emailing public figures: By sending letters or emails either to persons or organizations you can put some pressure on any misconduct.
• Participating in awareness programs: Organizing events is a great way of spreading information, produce debates and give some informal education.
• Verbal intervention: Not keeping silent while seeing an injustice situation is a natural and important way of activism. 
• Physical volunteering: By being a volunteer, you support the reality you want to see. It requires much time but it also will make you learn either personally and professionally. There are many ways of volunteering, find the one that fulfills you the most! 

Activism Traps?

Being an activist is a very valuable asset to society. Posting, supporting demonstrations, etc are a vital part of a healthy democracy and of an active citizen. We should make ourselves be heard as a society. It's crucial we believe in the power of active people in order to change things and make this world a better place in which tolerance and solidarity are above economic interests and hate. But... sometimes we don't have as much time as we would like to have, we want to support the things we believe in, but it gets harder and harder combining them.

I have had situations in which, in order to keep supporting my principals, I have supported movements, associated with organizations, post things without even having read about them -without really know what their objectives are! It's possible -and we should understand that it can be tricky. By posting, we project an image that influences people we care about, an image about ourselves and reality. It's a serious issue. 

Sharing information can be dangerous to do it so lightly. For sure a big percentage of the times, we are posting what we really want to say, things that are really happening and have to be shown up. Sometimes we are not. Spreading fake news isn't an intentional thing normally. Anyway, it can happen so we should be aware. Checking what we want to post with some other sources and other points of view is an enriching and wise thing to do. By discussing and reading about it we should be able to understand reality in a better way, have a more accurate opinion -a critical way of thinking- and even be able to detect fake or subjective news faster. Sounds good, doesn't it?

Sources:
 https://en.reset.org/act/how-make-difference-%E2%80%93-tips-effective-activism
 https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/44000/act700032009eng.pdf
Links:
https://www.change.org/l/us/13-victories-that-changed-the-world

Author: Juan I. M.

Raising Awareness - Video - Alkyone Day Center

In this post we present the opinions formed from our youth exchange participants regarding the refugee issues after their visit to the refugee day care center "Alkyone". Sometimes as you can see, things are different than we think. It's better to inform ourselves regarding such issues before expressing false or semi-formed points of view.   

Link: https://www.facebook.com/alkyonedaycenter/

Memes - Activism and Refugees

In this section we present a more different approach to address issues and/or raise awareness. Many of you are familiar with  memes, you've seen them on your social media or even in TV. However, in this section we are going to indulge in a manner of criticism to present as many aspects as possible.  

Fake news - Misconceptions?

Have you heard of Ramses the Great and the Battle of Kadesh, Octavian and the Egyptian Queen Cleopatra VII?  do you know they were perpetrators of what we now call (fake news)  ? , while their fake news led to massively bloody  battles and political gains in that era, today’s fake news purposes and consequences don’t differentiate much from those of the past. we will know together how it affects us personally, and those who are marginalized.  we will be left with questions of personal responsibilities and biases as well as those of ethics and perceived notions. So, let’s start this journey together and I hope my dark sense of humour doesn’t throw you off (preying emoji).  

{pseudo-news, hoax news} is what we call the deliberate disinformation that is spread with the intent to mislead and damage an agency, entity, a person and/or a group of people like minorities and ethnic groups. take this example { A land without a people for a people without a land } is widespread fake news used by the Zionists to justify the genocide and ethnic cleansing they committed and continue to, against the Palestinian people on their historic land of Palestine in order to establish their illegal state.  

 It has a colour too, and it is …….  Yellow, (yellow journalism) used to be spread by traditional news media like magazines and journals you know….. those papers your grandpa and grandma used to get from the little kiosk around the corner……yes that (wink face) , but now it is spread faster and wilder due to changes happening in the times we live in, and social media’s access to people around the globe, it is sensationalist, dishonest, or outright fabricated headlines designed to increase readership and views and not inform facts or evidence. Similarly, clickbait stories and headlines earn advertising revenue on social media outlets which is the main goal, and not credibility. so, who do we blame for this?  Well An analysis by BuzzFeed found that the top 20 fake news stories about the 2016 U.S. presidential election received more engagement on Facebook than the top 20 election stories from 19 major media outlets – ooooh don’t throw tomatoes at me just yet. this little fact I just told you done by BuzzFeed your looking down on, is cited in the American congress so ………. if it is good for the American congress you bet, I will put it in here. (wink face)  

 Confirmation bias and social media algorithms like those used on Facebook and Twitter -further advance the spread of fake news which makes it difficult for journalists to cover significant news stories, and maybe governments will do better in regulating those outlets,,,,,,  so they can spy on us themself (wink face ). 

I know what you are thinking, and I know you want the juicy part, ok…. ok I will say it (DONALD TRUMP) of course!  you are right, we can’t mention fake news without mentioning the 45th president of the United States of America Donald Trump and Kellyanne Conway -his counselor and the proud inventor of the term (alternative facts).  Trump has carried on a war against the mainstream media, often attacking it as "fake news" and the "enemy of the people” But the problem with his usage of the term comes from the fact that Trump uses IT for any news that is not favorable to him or which he simply dislikes. His usage of the term has increased distrust of the American media and humanitarian reports coming from American and international NGOs globally.  As the Russian deemed the news Regarding the atrocities committed by the Syrian regime against its own people in the usage of chemical bombs against people in the cities of eastern Gota, Aleppo and Idlib and about 8 other cities as (fake news )  . recently the term has a stigma attached to it because of the way it has been used by trump which resulted in it being banned from all official documents in 2018 by the British government after the recommendation of the House of Commons' Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee. 

After knowing all of that do you think that the Press Coverage of the Refugee and Migrant Crisis played a rule in the perceived notions in the mind of European citizens? to what extent and how ?!, let’s find out …. shall we 

According to the Council of Europe’s Media coverage of the “refugee crisis” report:  it was the European press that framed refugees’ and migrants’ arrival to European shores in 2015 as a crisis for Europe. While coverage of “the crisis” is characterized by significant diversity, overall, new arrivals were outsiders and different to Europeans: either as vulnerable outsiders or as dangerous outsiders ……. Others nonetheless labeled as a crisis. 

The same 2017 published report also comes to the conclusion of 3 types of trends, firstly the Regional trends: where there was a massive contrast between media coverage on the West and on the East of the Old continent, especially, between media in the receiving and non-receiving countries of refugees. basically what they are trying to say is that if you were living in one part of Europe and your relative in the exact opposite one,  geography won’t be the only opposite thing you would have regarding the refugees crisis,,,,,, those family gatherings will get awkward  ( wink face ),   secondly  Temporal trends: a fancy term referring to narratives of the coverage of the refugees in 2015 from being sympathetic and empathetic across Europe in the summer and especially early autumn of the same year, to it gradually replaced by suspicion and, in some cases, hostility towards refugees and migrants. so maybe it was a weather thing (wink face) ………. Thirdly Media trends: this trend is stereotypical because the report had found that “the crisis” and in a significant section of some countries’ right-leaning press in the East and West Europe alike, were coverage that promoted hate speech and hostility towards migrants and refugees and it was systematic and persistent especially in some parts of Eastern Europe (esp. Hungary),,,,,,,,,  so we won’t be inviting any Jobbik members to the friends party anytime soon  ( wink face ). 

When it came to the marginalized group AKA our fellow human beings, the report had found that refugees were given limited opportunities to speak directly of their experiences and suffering, they were spoken about and represented in images as silent actors and victims in most cases. sure, there were some significant exceptions, but it was time and place-specific. And with that limited to nearly nonexciting chance if you were a woman then those chances are slim to none,  refugee women were never given the opportunity to speak (e.g. Hungary) while in other cases (e.g. Germany) they were only occasionally given this opportunity. So basically, the media in Europe is the gossiping granny of the neighbor nobody can talk to her or about her, while she is up in your business. (wink face). 

I know you are tired and you are not a bad human being you just want to live your life, and there are so many things you have to do and maybe people in your life to take care of, university to attend, or a job to go to. your just busy and don’t have the time to keep up with all of this,  moreover, you might even ask yourself why? which between you and me is not a good look for you, but seriously back to the point  how can I not fall for fake news ?! how can I help ? and obviously, my blog is amazing and you are asking when am I going to publish again ?! the answer is very soon ( wink face ). 

We are all going to fall for fake news but maybe we won’t be fooled by it for long, here are my personal go-to guidelines when reading something: 

- Come on if your elders believe it and start to tell you about conspiracy theories maybe take it with a grain of salt,,,,,,, a lot of salt.  

- Try and fellow the sources of the news and know what kind of speech or political views they are promoting , is their coverage fair ? how is the overall language of the reporting ? and if it lines with the ethical code of journalism which we can discuss and know more about in next blogs ( wink face )  . 

- If it promotes hate and fills you with negativity towards someone based on their religion , nationality , language , ethnicity ex  ,,,,, essentially based on who they are , then maybe report the idiots and close the stupid window and stop reading ! 

I am sorry this is not working for me, I know your smarter than that, right? I mean you made it this far without me boring you to death so………

my personal advice to you based on my experience as a marginalized minority is this: be kind, find the mercy that is in your heart to connect to others suffering and try to put yourself in their shoes. Feel how you would want to be treated and looked at. If you believe you are a free human deserving of happiness and life just remember so are others. there is enough in this world for All of us as different as we are, as colourful as we are, as we dance flamingo /zorpa/Dapka/ štajeriš/ Zeybek/ Partalos/ we deserve to find safety and prosper. We deserve happiness. And of course, if you want to do more you can always become an e-activist…… what is that?! Stay tuned for the next blog to find out (wink face ). 

Sources: 

*https://www.unhcr.org/56bb369c9.pdf 

 * https://sciences.ucf.edu/psychology/mmlab/wp-content/uploads/sites/82/2018/11/PresentationCW.withoutnotes.pdf  * https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/16/business/media/vladimir-putin-moscow-press-trump.html

* https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/fake-news-stories-make-real-news-headlines/story?id=43845383 

* https://www.aljazeera.net/encyclopedia/military/2017/4/4/أبرز-هجمات-نظام-الأسد-بالكيميائي-في-سوريا 

Author: Reem H.

Leaflet - Migration/Refugees

One of our youth exchange team's work is presented here in the form of a leaflet. In this section, we can inform ourselves regarding the migration phenomena and refugee situation in connection with the Aegean's historical background.