Daryll Disa . Enna Seah . Nadiah Mohd . Nurul Shahidah . Sophie Hong

Globalisation, Activism & Digital Media

EARTH HOUR GONE GLOBAL ACTIVISM & DIGITAL ACTIVISM OF EARTH HOUR

MACRO & MICRO PERSPECTIVES OF GLOBALIZATION, ACTIVISM & DIGITAL MEDIA

About Earth Hour

Takes place on the last Saturday of March annually. 8:30pm to 9:30 pm according to the local time zone.

“60” represents the 60 minutes of the event that focuses on the impacts and take on positive actions to address global climate issues.

WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) started Earth Hour in Australia in 2007 to raise awareness about global climate change

About Earth Hour

2007 (Sydney, Australia): 2.2 million people participated

2012 (Worldwide): 152 countries, 7 Continents, 1.8billion people

Eiffel Tower (Paris), Sydney Opera House (Australia), Empire State Building (New York City), Great Wall of China and Marina Bay Sands (Singapore) switched off their lights during Earth Hour

About Earth Hour

Big digital corporations such as Google, Twitter, YouTube and Facebook participated in Earth Hour

Earth Hour was covered extensively on major television channels across the world such as The Oprah Winfrey Show (US), CNN (US), Discovery Channel (Philippines) .The National Geographic Channel even suspended broadcast during the Earth Hour

Singapore recently became the headquarter of Earth Hour

EARTH HOUR GONE GLOBAL ACTIVISM & DIGITAL ACTIVISM OF EARTH HOUR

Marshall McLuhan

Rapid developments in communication technology allows the instantaneous flow of information around the world...(making) possible the existence of a single, interconnected (but by no means standardized or harmonious) world.

“We have extended our central nervous system in a global embrace, abolishing both space and time as far as our planet is concerned.” (Understanding the media)

The internet functions as a vast extension of our abilities, as a long distance ear and eyes, and then as far reaching hands and loudspeaking voices.

McLuhan’s conclusion of this theory is that people become forced to be responsible for the effects of our actions on a global scale and beyond just their own communities

The theory positions itself around the involvement and inclusion of all mankind

Global VillageThe Gutenberg Galaxy, 1962

Earth Hour 2012. Serge Orru, General Director of French WWF branch, Isabelle Autissier, President of French WWF branch and Denis Baupin, Deputy Mayor of Paris work the lights of the Eiffel Tower during Earth Hour on March 31, 2012 in Paris.

Earth Hour & Global Village

The extension effect of this central nervous system - made up of rapidly developing communication technology - is evident in the way Earth Hour has been adopted by countries and cities worldwide.

What started out in Sydney in 2007 with just 2.2 million participants, has burgeoned into a global movement with more than 1.8 billion people in almost 7,000 cities and 152 countries turning off their non essential lights for an hour last year.

(This exemplifies the extension effect of how a movement in Sydney gained momentum worldwide and became a following since its inception in 2007)

Movement of extended senses (far reaching hands, loudspeaking voices, long distance ears and ears.) Organisers: Allowed them to talk to people everywhere and to tell them what the campaign is all about and what the campaign seeks to do. Receiver: Allowed them to hear what the organisers were trying to tell them and what the campaign symbolises.

The Internet allowed the organisers to transcend countries and rally more support. It gave them the power to “speak” to their participants. And participants in turn used the internet to take the movement to a larger scale. For example, starting an Earth Hour following in their countries, having Google, YouTube, Twitter etc to participate.

In essence, the theory of global village holds true with regards to earth hour; it involved anyone (whether they wanted to be part of it or not), it included any country willing to be part of it and it made people realise how their actions - both with regards to environmental awareness and doing their part in the campaign, would have an impact on the environment.

Role of Internet in earth hour

Earth Hour 2012. The Chillon Castle, Chateau de Chillon, in Veytaux, near Montreux and the Lake of Geneva, Switzerland on March 31, 2012.

EARTH HOUR GONE GLOBAL ACTIVISM & DIGITAL ACTIVISM OF EARTH HOUR

GLOBALISATION The world is becoming more uniform and standardised, through a technological, commercial and cultural synchronisation emanating from the West 

PIETERSE'S THEORY OF GLOBALISATION AS HYBRIDISATIONDisagrees with these interpretations as they are “narrow assessments of globalisation” Argues that globalisation should be viewed as a "process of hybridisation that gives rise to a global mélange".

nederveen pieterse

Globalisation as Hybridisation, 1994

My argument takes issue with both these interpretations as narrow assessments of

globalisation and instead argues for viewing globalisation as a process of hybridization

that gives rise to a global melange

“

”

Anthropologist Stephen Bede Scharper described Earth Hour as the “first globalised ritual”.

Defined as a religious or solemn ceremony consisting of a series of actions performed according to a prescribed order. 

EARTH HOUR AROUND THE WORLD

5 countries from all seven continents picked up Earth Hour's practice during the campaign’s second year. Other than the design aspect, the trademark owners (WWF, Fairfax Media and Leo Burnett) retain almost no control over the way the brand is used, how it is advertised or how endorsements are picked.

earth hour First globalized ritual

Earth Hour 2012. The Great Wall at Badaling on March 31, 2012 in Beijing. About 124 Chinese cities joined the WWF worldwide initiative Earth Hour.

Switching off non-essential lights and switching off the lights of landmarks such as the Sydney Opera House, the Empire State Building, the Wat Arun Temple and the Forbidden City.

OTHER WAYS OF CELEBRATINGDenmark: Royal Palaces went dark at the Queen’s commandToronto: A free concert was held by Nelly Furtado, the Ontario Science Centre and David Dunlap Observatory held stargazing activitiesBolivia: Supporters of the cause wore glow in the dark bracelets and held paper lanternsTel Aviv, Israel: Every year, a free concert will be held and a group of cyclists will use pedal generators to provide electricity. Falafel oil (cooking oil) is also burned for power. Singapore: 60+ formation, Singapore Max Atria held an Earth Hour edition flea market with 20 per cent of proceeds going to WWF Singapore, free movie screening at The Lawn@Marina BayIndia: Supporters of the cause gathered on the streets of Mumbai to light candles

Pieterse’s theory of globalisation as hybridisation is clearly illustrated in the aspect that although the movement is global, different countries and cultures took that globalised practise and celebrated it in their own ways.

Earth hour Celebrations

Earth Hour 2012. St. Peter's Basilica in Rome on March 31, 2012.

EARTH HOUR GONE GLOBAL ACTIVISM & DIGITAL ACTIVISM OF EARTH HOUR

Steven beuchler

New Social Movement Theory, 1995

Steven  M.  Beuchler

“…new  social  movement  theory  underscores  symbolic  ac:on  in  civil  society  or  the  cultural  sphere  as  a  major  arena  for  collec:ve  ac:on  alongside  instrumental  ac:on  in  the  state  or  poli:cal  sphere.”  (Cohen  1985,  Melucci  1989)

New  Social  Movement:

Defined  as  a  theory  of  social  movements  that  aims  to  explain  the  emergence  of  new  movements  that  have  come  up  in  various  western  socie:es  roughly  since  the  mid-­‐1960s.

6,000 people gathered at Orchard Road for the event

400 organisations engaging customers and staff in support of the environment

1,500 people participated in “60+ Singapore” human formation

10,000 pledges made for “I Will If You Will” campaign

activism (Earth Hour in singapore)

EARTH HOUR GONE GLOBAL ACTIVISM & DIGITAL ACTIVISM OF EARTH HOUR

New forms of activism emerging online (online activism, cyber terrorism, hacktivism etc) with the proliferation of the Internet. Classifies the various functions of digital media used by activists.

1. Awareness/Advocacy

Activist use digital platforms to advocate or raise awareness about issues to be addressed in order to garner more support from citizens.

II. Organization/Mobilization

The use of digital platforms to form communities and organize or mobilize citizens to proceed with an action in online of offline contexts.

III. Action/Reaction

Lastly, activist groups uses digital platforms to encourage action or reaction from netizens to act on the issues/causes.

sandorveghClassification of Online Activism, 2002

Awareness/Advocacy

Use of social media to raise awareness around the world about the gravity of climate change as an environmental concern

E.g. Posts by Earth Hour on various social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube

earth hour &raising awareness

• Organization/Mobilization

Earth Hour harness the power of Social Media as primary organizing tool for citizens to take action and care for the future of the planet

E.g. Mohammad Nattah and Mohammad Bugashata used Facebook to coordinate Earth Hour initiatives in Kurdistan, northern Iran and Tripoli, capital of Libya

E.g. Earth Hour on Facebook created an event where 138,552 people stated that they are switching their lights off without having to be at a physical space

Action/Reaction

Earth Hour is more than just turning off lights.

Asks digital community to inspire people from all corners of the world to take sustainability actions by sharing their own challenge on social media networks

E.g. I Will If You Will Challenge garnered more than 100,000 individuals who promised to adopt sustainability practices

conclusion

Earth&Hour&

Earth&Hour&Gone&Global&

Global&Village&Theory&

Globalisa5on&and&extension&effect&of&how&Earth&Hour&in&Sydney&gained&momentum&

worldwide&

Globaliza5on&as&Hybridiza5on&Theory&

Although&Earth&Hour&is&a&global&movement,&different&countries&and&cultures&took&the&globalised&prac5se&and&celebrated&it&in&their&own&

ways.&

Earth&Hour&in&Ac5vism&and&Digital&Ac5vism&

Ac5vism&in&New&Social&Movement&Theory&

Earth&Hour&in&Singapore&is&a&symbolic&movement&where&

ac5vists&gather&in&a&collec5ve&ac5on&to&protect&the&environment&from&global&climate&change&&&

Classifica5on&of&Online&Ac5vism&&Theory&

Ac5vists&of&Earth&Hour&harness&the&power&of&social&media&to&raise&awareness,&organize&and&take&ac5on&online&about&climate&

change&&&

Daryll Disa . Enna Seah . Nadiah Mohd . Nurul Shahidah . Sophie Hong

Globalisation, Activism & Digital Media

Thank you

Annotated Reference List

Symes, B (1995). “Marshal McLuhan’s Global Village”, Aberystwyth UniversityIn his article, the writer, Benjamin Symes, examines in depth the concept popularized by Marshal McLuhan’s Global Village theory. He identifies the key basis of the theory - that the world has become an interconnected place due to rapid developments in technology that allow people from anywhere in the world to communicate with one another, get information and effect changes all through the internet and communication technology. Following his extensive introduction to the concept, Symes outlines various aspects of it that could be looked into further. An intense desire to creat such a global village, he writes, would also threaten to erase the physical characteristics communities currently possess.

McLuhan, M (1962). The Gutenberg Galaxy: The Making of Typographic Man. Toronto, Canada: University of Toronto. p21-31, 36, 219.Marshal MaLuhan’s book explores the notion of a single, connected world brought about by rapid developments in communication technology. It is from this book, printed in 1962, that the idea of a Global Village, first emerged and was subsequently popularized further in his second book, Understanding the Media in 1964. McLuhan asserted that the boom in the way mass communication is happening will result in a world where anyone and everyone is interconnected to one another due to the flourishing of electronic technology. He also examines that concept of the Gutenberg Man, which revolves around the shift in awareness and existence of Mankind, as a result of the advent of the printing press.

Buechler, Steven M. (1995). New Social Movement Theories. Sociological Quarterly. 36 (3), 441. This article showcases an overview of the utility of the various new social movement theories used to analyze the relationship between collective action, social movements, and social change. Buechler also made a distinctive argument about the need to restructure the social movement theory towards the more defined and macro-level contexts in which movements are rising to.

(http://rhetorics-of-social-change.wikispaces.com/file/view/New+Social+Movement+Theories.pdf)

Annotated Reference List

Pieterse, J. N. (1994). Globalisation as hybridisation. International Sociology,9(2), 161-184.

This article disputes the general belief that globalisation is causing a standardised and uniform world through the influence and adoption of Western culture, erasing boundaries and unique local cultures in the process. Instead, this article promoted hybridity as a cultural effect of globalisation, which crosses boundaries and mixes one culture with another as opposed to complete eradication.

The author illustrates the points of his arguments with sufficient examples over extensive periods of time, which helps in the understanding of how he theorised globalisation as hybridisation by observing a societal pattern. Pointing out that globalisation is an intricate process that interlinks the various social perspectives, the author also cross-examined relevant theories from the different social disciplines to demonstrate the complexity of the issue and denounces the often overly-simplified view of globalisation.

The author is a Mellichamp Professor of Global Studies and Sociology in the Global & International Studies Program at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He has authored five books on globalisation, development studies and cultural studies

Vegh, S. (2002). Hacktivists or Cyberterrorists? The Changing Media Discourse on Hacking. First Monday. 7 (10-7)

The author, in his article, explores the role and function of online activism, which has traditionally been seen as being in the same sphere as cyberterrorism. Post 9/11, the author asserts that there has been a blurring of the lines when distinguishing the different forms of online activism. The writer explains that currently, as a result of 9/11, almost anything is categorised as being cyberterrorism, including online social media activism. This, he adds, put the voices of those who truly want to make a sincere change, to a disadvantage. Terminologies and the negative portrayal of online activism by the mainstream media has also proved a hindrance. This is because the media, the writer says, tends to use sensational words to magnify the way the Internet can be easily manipulated. In conclusion, the author examines the way online activism can further be explored and outlines the road ahead for cyberactivism.

NAD’S ANNOTATED REFERENCE LIST