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Across the world, sport generates some of the most popular and participatory social networks and events. Lots of media, lots of attention, and lots of fun! Right now the World Cup football competition is occupying the attention of sports fans worldwide: a great big international dialogue of alliances complete with facepaint, hoots, and hollers. A great place to publicize human rights? I think so, and so does the World Development Movement (WDM).
WDM has launched a website entitled "Who Should I Cheer For? World Cup 2010." On the site, WDM evaluates teams competing in the World Cup based on a range of social and political indicators including equality, carbon dioxide emissions, poverty levels, maternal mortality, aid levels, and military spending. Using a statistical formula (which you can read about on their website), WDM has ranked all the teams and in turn suggests we support teams that represent nations whose values and performances we would like to stand behind.
So if your favorite team isn't on the field, or your not sure who your favorite is, check out WMD's suggestions. Maybe you want to root for the underdogs (poverty), cheer on diverse political representation (equality), support sustainability (emission levels), or applaud international aid.
And if you have an alliance, look at the rankings anyway. Maybe you'll find you want to rearrange your favorites!
http://whoshouldicheerfor.com/about/
This campaign is also on facebook, twitter, and flickr, all of which can be accessed through the website.
