Monday 15 October 2012

Power of We #bad12

A while ago I posted about my armchair activism. In this way I am but a small part of the Power of We. This is the theme for this years Blog Action Day; a celebration of people working together to make a positive difference in the world, either for their own communities or for people they will never meet half way around he world.

For as long as there have been poor and hungry, disadvantaged and dispossessed, oppressed and censored there have been those who will try and work to make the world a better place for them. Now it is not just the people of the world who need help but the animals and our planet itself.

The Power of We is a mighty tool. Communities still come together, as they have always done; but now there is a greater force. The internet. The internet can bring people together in a way that has never been possible before. People from opposite sides of the planet, from all walks of life, from disparate communities, who don't even share a common language. Even in countries where the internet is censored and monitored, people will still find a way to find a voice.

The internet allows everyone to be heard; not just the rich and powerful, not just the great and good. Everyone has a voice. Social media brings together like minded individuals to join together - instead of one voice in the wilderness there are instead many joined together. The internet starts campaigns, it promotes campaigns, it runs campaigns. The internet allows resources to be shared, to be pooled and to be distributed.

Now whenever there are poor, hungry, those in pain or suffering, risk of disaster or need of action the internet can mobilise not just a few, not even many but multitudes.

That is the Power of We.