Citizens for Global Solutions Technology 2.0

The last two years have marked a period of dramatic change for Citizens for Global Solutions. With a number of new initiatives and campaigns, the organization is moving into exciting new territory in grassroots outreach.

This period of transition began with the implementation of experimental, cutting edge advocacy strategies, such as the highly acclaimed Flash Movie Contest. The runaway success of this competition pioneered new outreach tactics in the field of grassroots advocacy aimed at targeting diverse audiences.

Our organization’s growth has been the catalyst for the development of a next generation website. The new site, which will be launched this fall, will be structured in a way in which all audiences can interact. It will reach out to both grassroots and policymakers and incorporate a 21st Century design and dynamic graphics.

As a solutions-based organization that combines substantive policy analysis on global issues with unusual, cutting edge outreach strategies, we have become aware of the importance of targeting multiple audiences while not detracting from the substance of our message. The new website will be more user-friendly and make it simple to navigate and search for information. The original website has served the organization well, but through recent modifications we are discovering new ways to engage our members and activists online.

By incorporating Flash movies into the web pages of our specific programs, and effectively linking the movies to current and proposed legislation, we are offering a multi-layered resource that will appeal to grassroots activists as well as policymakers. Furthermore, the individuals that enter our contests can learn more about how their entries tie in with the global issues we advocate. This also helps to facilitate their continued support of our mission. This is one of the most challenging aspects of youth outreach and the new website will play a critical role in making this a reality.

Aside from the website development, we have also developed an even edgier youth outreach initiative. Encouraged by the success of the 2006 Flash Movie Contest, we launched a smaller and highly experimental competition this fall: The Citizens for Global Solutions Virtual Poetry Slam 2006. The Poetry Slam theme is focused on the environment.

In the Poetry Slam we are challenging people to creatively explore the links between the environment and social justice – specifically the issue of environmental justice – and record their poems on digital video. A poetry slam features performance poetry and traditionally involves audience interaction. Poets harness the energy of their audience and use this to enhance their performance. To ensure that our contest is as close to a live poetry slam as possible we will stream the videos on the poetry slam website www.virtualpoetryslam.net. The top 20 submissions will be judged by a panel of five experts. The panel is comprised of grassroots representatives, environmental experts and individuals actively involved in the spoken word community. One of the judges is Buddy Wakefield, the two-time poetry slam champion of the world. Submissions will be judged on content, performance and adherence to the theme.

With a strong sense of social justice activism, the spoken word community is an engaged and politically savvy demographic. The issue of social justice is closely linked to environmental justice as lower income communities suffer disproportionately from both social segregation and environmental hazards.

These new outreach initiatives reflect the evolution and expansion of Citizens for Global Solutions. As the organization continues to grow, we must not only continue to engage new demographics on global issues, but critically link each new initiative directly to the organization’s initiatives and campaigns. The Virtual Poetry Slam 2006 achieves this through its focus on the environment. It will engage and inspire social justice activists, but also those people involved in the more traditional environmental movement. Second, this contest links effectively to the Connecting Global to Local initiative, as environmental justice is an issue that must be addressed at both the local level and globally.

The Virtual Poetry Slam website features an interactive blog and a specialized upload function. Entrants will be asked to upload their poems directly to the website. Poems will then be reviewed for content and posted. Through the blog, the public will be able to post comments on the entries. This facilitates a sense of community within the contest itself, providing a channel through which artists and activists can exchange information and inspire one another.

These innovative methods are increasing our citizen outreach capacity. The Flash Contest tapped into new territory by reaching out to the animation community. The positive results challenge the arguments of those critics who believe that American youth are tuned out to the world around them. New polling, funded by the Hewlett Foundation, examined the American public’s responsiveness to and engagement on issues of global development. It was discovered that the best age to target new activists is youth in middle school and high school. Targeting social justice campaigns to young people presents a unique opportunity to instill and affirm positive social values and raise social consciousness. Placing global issues on their radar screens can create a generation of socially aware and active adults.

With the annual Flash Contest and Poetry Slam, we are tapping into demographics that are well versed on issues that directly impact their lives and communities. Over the last couple of years, the implementation of progressive outreach strategies has mirrored the progress of the organization as a whole. These dynamic advocacy initiatives are proving their worth in complementing complex policy analysis and campaigns in fun and ground breaking ways, ensuring that we maintain a fresh approach that is appealing to a variety of diverse audiences.

Contributing Writer: Tom Moran

Updated October 10, 2006