New Tactics | Liberal Arts

notebook: Right to Know, Right to Live

This notebook shares how Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS) has been deeply involved in a collective process which has shaped and influenced the Campaign for the Right to Information in India. MKSS makes the case that without access to information and transparency there can be no genuine participation of all members of society, particularly the poor, in democracy. The right to know and actual transparency of information provides the ability to demand and access rights.

notebook: Using Popular Theater to Break the Silence Around Violence Against Women

In this notebook, theatre is used to break the silence surrounding violence against women in Senegal. Theatre provides an outlet for the public to talk openly about human rights abuses that were normally considered only a "familial problem."

notebook: The Dilemma Demonstration

In this notebook we learn about the dilemma-demonstration tactic that was used by a Canadian organization to convince the government to release information that the public had a right to see. They put pressure on the government by creating a climactic moment that brought media attention onto the issue and embarrassed the government.

notebook: Taking on Our Own Defense

The model raised by the Network of Community Defenders constructs a new tactic in the defense of human rights. It proposes that victims and their communities become involved by electing their own defenders.

notebook: Powerful Persuasion: Combating traditional practices that violate human rights

In this notebook, we learn about some of the most difficult human rights violations to eradicate–customary or traditional practices based on deep-seated beliefs, particularly those with a spiritual dimension. Respected leaders–at local and national levels–engaged in direct dialogue with perpetrators, victims, other community leaders, and the community at large to facilitate understanding of the practice, while providing alternatives and avenues for abandoning the practice without losing status.

notebook: Plan B: Using Secondary Protests to Undermine Repression

"Plan B" describes the tactic that Otpor!, a student movement in Serbia, used to break through the governments reign of fear and encourage activists not to be afraid. They accomplished this by turning government arrests of demonstrators into public spectacles that illustrated the governments repressive regime and turned the arrested into public heroes.

notebook: Human Rights Advocacy Utilizing Religious Perspectives and Opinion Leaders

The National Working Group for Human Rights Dissemination and Promotion (NWG) in Indonesia developed a human rights education curriculum for all age levels in both public and private schools. In order to create support for such a human rights curriculum that also encompassed religious educational institutions, an effective tactic was to engage key and respected leaders in the development and training of the human rights curriculum.

notebook: Engaging the Media: Building support for minimum wage reform

The Korean Women Workers Associations United (KWWAU) and its partners effectively engaged media to raise public awareness and concern regarding the minimum wage system, thereby assisting in the creation of a social movement that has succeeded in changing the minimum wage law to afford greater protections for workers, especially for women.

notebook: Breaking the Silence: Using popular culture to engage young people in human rights reporting

This notebook describes how Never Again (nigdy Wiecej), a Polish anti-racism group uses a number of tactics to attract volunteers and spread information about hate crimes and racism in Poland. Never again targets young people through concerts and football games and recruits them to join the cause. Some of these volunteers become correspondents that collect and publish information about racism in Poland and send this information to the media. This tactic encourages the spread of information for general education.