Movements.org is an online platform working to connect activists worldwide. It was founded when The Alliance for Youth Movements rebranded itself in 2011. It is an online marketplace that connects

dissident A dissident is a person who actively challenges an established political or religious system, doctrine, belief, policy, or institution. In a religious context, the word has been used since the 18th century, and in the political sense since the 20th ...

s in closed societies to individuals in open societies with experience in such areas as legal work, mathematics, science, media, PR and technology. When activists post requests for assistance, experts and professionals respond with offers of assistance.

History

In October 2008,

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, the

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Google Google LLC () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company focusing on Search Engine, search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, software, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, ar ...

, Howcast Media and other media companies sponsored the inaugural Alliance of Youth Movements Summit. This event brought together digital activists, technology and media leaders, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and governments to convene, share

best practice A best practice is a method or technique that has been generally accepted as superior to other known alternatives because it often produces results that are superior to those achieved by other means or because it has become a standard way of doing ...

s, and create a network of socially responsible grassroots activists using technology for their movements and campaigns. Following the inaugural summit, Jason Liebman (CEO and co-founder of Howcast), Roman Tsunder (co-founder of Access 360 Media), and Jared Cohen (Director of Google Ideas at Google) co-founded the Alliance for Youth Movements. This organization was dedicated to identifying, connecting, and supporting digital activists at the annual summit and throughout the year. In December 2009, The Alliance for Youth Movements hosted its 2nd annual summit in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...

. This summit was sponsored by the

as well as other sponsors. The event convened activists and supporters interested in how

social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...

and connection technologies were helping to combat violence, with a special focus on

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

. In March 2010, The Alliance for Youth Movements hosted its 3rd annual summit in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, which was sponsored by the UK Home Office and other media companies. At the end of the summit, it was announced that the Alliance for Youth Movements was launching a new online hub for digital activism, Movements.org. In February 2011, Movements.org officially launched and the Alliance for Youth Movements re-branded itself as Movements.org. In June 2012, Movements.org formally became a division of

Advancing Human Rights Advancing Human Rights (AHR) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. AHR's stated objective is to "leverage the tools of democracy to support those fighting for human rights in closed so ...

(AHR), created in 2010 by Robert L. Bernstein (the founder of

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...

and former President and CEO of

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for twenty-five years). AHR focuses on freedom of speech,

women’s rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...

and promoting the freedoms outlined in the

Universal Declaration of Human Rights The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN committee chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt, ...

, particularly by leveraging the power of the Internet. In 2016 Movements.org separated from Advancing Human Rights and is an independent project managed with the help o
Democracy Council
In August 2012, Movements.org in collaboration with ''

Al Jazeera Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a state-owned Arabic-language international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazeera ...

'' launched an interactive tool that tracks the defections of senior Syrian military officials, members of parliament and diplomats of Assad's regime. The tracker was released on ''Al Jazeera''. On July 9, 2014, Movements.org launched as a marketplace site, where dissidents in closed societies could connect to legal, PR and technology experts in open societies.^1]

Natan Sharansky Natan Sharansky ( he, נתן שרנסקי; russian: Ната́н Щара́нский; uk, Натан Щаранський, born Anatoly Borisovich Shcharansky on 20 January 1948); uk, Анатолій Борисович Щаранський, ...

said of the platform, “Too often, leaders of the Free World have proved to be a disappointment to today's dissidents. The citizens of free nations don't need to.”

Mission and activities

Movements.org enables the exchange of skills and resources between activists and experts. Activists can post short descriptions of their projects and needs, while legal and other experts provide assistance using their special skills. Movements received support from Google Ideas in its start-up phase, and from Ronin Analytics in the design of its digital security perimeter. Since its launch in July 2014, Movements.org has announced partnerships with SaferVPN - a software provider, which has committed to make free VPN subscriptions available for activists in closed societies, and Youth Service America who run events to empower young people to engage in volunteer work. Dissident users of Movements have regularly published original content in ''The Daily Beast''. Movements.org currently has over 20,000 users from up to 140 countries. The website is available in English, Arabic, Chinese, Ukrainian, Russian, Persian language, Persian and French.

References

External links

* {{Official website, https://movements.org/
More Tech Tools for Egypt's Protesters: Movements.org, an Online Hub for Grassroots Activists
February 3, 2011)
Magazine: AYM summit: A meetup for the world's youth activists
(March 10, 2010) Activism by type Non-profit organizations based in New York City