Cyber Strategies

Electronic activism is rapidly growing in popularity as an effective, quick and inexpensive method to raise awareness and create change. The ease and ever decreasing cost of internet access allows people to use this medium to facilitate a more democratic, politically participatory society. The internet allows us to overcome political, geographic, censor and communication barriers, and has proven itself as a successful method to gain substantial victories against social injustice and environmental degradation issues. The use of cyberactivism is not limited to developed countries. Environmental groups in developing countries use the internet to collaborate with international partner NGOs or to receive information that is censored through other sources in their countries. Most international NGOs offer online campaigns that we can play an active role in.

If you are organising an event, you can create a web page and when sending emails direct people to a hyperlink in the email to the web page for more details. Create listservs so people can subscribe easily.

Listservs or electronic mailing lists are a way to gain discussion on issues or to organise or share ideas and resources within a group of people. You can either create your own listserv for a particular campaign or you can join an existing listserv to stay informed about issues.

The following web sites provide more information about cyberactivism and have resources for cyber organising:

Political representatives respond better to the traditional activist methods of letter writing, phone calls, faxes and postcards, than they do to emails, but it is worth trying a variety of methods to see which one works with your representative. When writing emails, do it as you would a letter. It is important that it conveys your message in a format that will give credibility. Always include your name and postal address, just as you would in a letter. This is the only way your representative knows you are in their electorate.