"Break the Silence" Social Media Campaign

Amnesty International is making extensive use of social media with it's Protect the Human Campaign, which aims to develop extensive social networks among human rights activists around the world. One of its current campaigns, entitled "Break the Silence", aims to purchase and distribute 4000 radios to Burmese citizens in advance of elections scheduled for July of this year. The radios are to be distributed within Burma by local organizations in an attempt to empower Burmese voters and demonstrate the support of the international community that the junta works so hard to repress. It is hoped that the radios will become a critical tool in breaking through government censorship both during and after the summer's election, which will be the first elections to take place in Burma in 20 years.

Ang San Suu Kyi, the pro-democracy icon and Noble Peace Prize recipient who had been under house arrest for over 15 years, recently marked her 65th birthday. Her steadfast support of peaceful democratic reform in the face of years of oppression and censorship by the junta has made her the blank of the opposition. It has been said that during her years of house arrest she regularly spends 6 hours a day or more listening to the radio and keeping up-to-date on current affairs, so the use of radios by the opposition in Burma carries both practical and symbolic meaning for pro-democracy.

The use of social media in support of opposition to the junta in Burma has been widespread, with text messages, cell phones and social media sites playing well documented roles in documenting and drawing international attention to human rights abuses committed by the junta. They were also powerful tools in organizing public support efforts around the globe. The "Break the Silence" campaign is somewhat unique in it's extensive use of social media in promoting broadcast technology and tools, given that social media is often seen as a replacement, rather than a compliment to older, broadcast tools.

Break the silence, buy radios for Burma from Amnesty International on Vimeo.