New Tactics | WK 416 Mass actions for public participation

WK 416 Mass actions for public participation

Simple action – like turning lights on and off, banging pots and pans, honking horn – can inspire millions of people to share their desire for change in a relatively safe but public manner. These simple actions, while they are often limited to a particular issue or point in time, can send a powerful signal about public sentiment.

Panelists

Featured Tactic: Ersin Salman, Darkness to Light Campaign, Turkey Complementary Presentation:

Bishop Paul Mususu, Oasis Forum, Zambia
Shaazka Beyerle, International Center on Nonviolent Conflict, USA

Featured Tactic

Mobilizing citizens to turn off their lights every day to protest corruption Ersin Salman, Darkness to Light Campaign, Turkey

View Ersin Salman’s PowerPoint presentation 1,267 KB (Turkish)
Read Ersin Salman’s presentation outline (Turkish)

The Citizen Initiative for Constant Light mobilized 30 million people in Turkey to turn off and on their lights to demand that the government act against corruption. The action resulted from public outrage after a car crash revealed connections between the government, the police and organized crime. The scandal offered the potential to raise a public outcry and push for change. The Citizen Initiative for Constant Light began planning a simple, risk-free action that could involve the largest number of people possible. Citizens throughout Turkey began turning off their lights off at 9 p.m. every night until the members of the crime syndicate in parliament were brought to justice. Spreading the word required media support and an alliance of grassroots organizations that would alert their members. A spontaneous chain of communication took advantage of all the formal and informal connections among different sectors of the population. On February 1, 1997, at precisely 9 p.m., the lights started to go out in Istanbul and other cities. By February 15, an estimated 30 million Turkish households were participating in the biggest public protest against corruption in Turkish history. Their actions forced judicial investigations, and contributed to a long-term groundswell of active concern about corruption.

Complementary Presentation

Bishop Paul Mususu, Oasis Forum, Zambia

View Bishop Paul Mususu’s PowerPoint presentation 31 KB

Oasis Forum mobilized a massive public response to the president’s attempt to change the constitution to grant himself a third term in office. Members of Parliament wore green ribbons and the public lent their support by honking their horns every Friday at 5:00 p.m. This showed the government that the population as a whole – not just NGOs or a select group of church leader – rejected his proposal to extend his term. This overwhelming public response contributed to his proposal’s failure and the president subsequently lost the election.