I am an avid supporter of the Avaaz campaigns and the organisaton as a whole. I find them relevant and flexible because they allow individuals to interact in whichever way suits them. You could simply read the newsletter, click to sign a simple and well explained petition, share with friend’s or donate towards the cause.
As compellingly described on their website:
Avaaz members' petitions have also been amplified by high-profile media campaigns, including a full-page ad in the Jakarta Post at the height of the 2007 UN climate negotiations in Bali. This ad was reportedly waved at the Japanese cabinet meeting that led to Japan's adoption of medium-term carbon emission targets: according to the Asahi Shimbun newspaper, the Environment Minister held up the ad and asked the prime minister, "are we letting the world see Japan as blocking targets for 2020?"
This viral video - Clash of the Civilizations - is an edited version of one that did the rounds a while back. It denounces the fear based perspective that people on either side of a war have of each other. It also questions a belief system that supposedly requires a full blown war as its defence.
It's a simple and effective concept that highlights the stereotypes surrounding both East and West, or in more specific terms, Islamic and Christian belief systems. It then dispels them and highlights the common elements that we share as human beings - regardless of where in the world we live and what we believe.
The sound track is pretty cool too, a well synched collection of global beats.
Change the policy, change the perception, change the world is the tagline at the end. It resonates with Obama’s victorious campaign and highlights that change is the word of the moment.





