Is Facebook Changing the World?

March 02, 2011 by Helene Slessarev-Jamir

Continued from Page 1

These new forms of organizing have already taken root in the United States among several newer justice and humanitarian organizations. For example, Invisible Children, which raises awareness of the atrocities committed by the Lord's Resistance Army in northern Uganda and the Congo, has consistently used YouTube to activate their local supporters to organize imaginative events designed to maximize media attention on this issue. Interestingly, Invisible Children's staff members do not describe themselves mainly as activists or organizers but as storytellers who seek "to inspire young people to end the longest running war in Africa." Similarly, the Save Darfur Coalition, which has 1.2 million Facebook members, encourages local activists to create their own events in opposition to genocide in Darfur, which the national organization then publicizes on their website. The use of social media has enabled both organizations to successfully engage large numbers of high school students and young adults on issues that are far removed from their own life experiences. Indeed, Facebook is changing the very face of justice organizing as the other increasingly becomes a person "just like us."

This piece originally appeared at Sojourners' God's Politics blog.

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