Culture Blog at be+cause, we think a lot about culture as a powerful vehicle and arena for change. It is also something we like to create--from producing the Tibetan Freedom Concerts to starting a clothing line to assisting other culture makers in their efforts to create positive social change. Being part of a lab (our parent company is C3 Lab), we like to innovate and experiment. This blog is where you can see it happen.
8.10.2007
Students for a Free Tibet -- Tech Saavy Activists
Recently my sister, Lhadon (Executive Director of Students For A Free Tibet) traveled to Beijing just in time for the one year countdown to the 2008 Olympics. Her plan was to travel and blog about how China is doing on improving their human rights record and try to meet with the International Olympics Committee president as he was visiting Beijing. By her being in Beijing and blogging her thoughts and feelings was testing China and their stance on freedom of expression. The second part of their plan was to document and release footage of a banner hang on the Great Wall of China.
With careful planning and technical savvy SFT was able to pass the footage to their New York office and release it to the world keeping it out of the hands of Chinese authorities and censors. The actions generated a lot of press around the world. I spoke to the CBC during the protests, and later, a great news story aired on Canada's national news, SFT Harnesses The Power of the Internet, to call out a few good ones.
As for how China is doing on the freedom of expression? Shortly after the banner action happened they arrested and deported my sister simply for writing and expressing her feelings.
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