Activism Guide

In other languages:

českyfrançaisPortuguês

Activism Guide en en

Individuals and LibrePlanet Teams are all working to further the ideals of software freedom and related issues concerning digital rights and free culture, and effective activism is essential for this cause!

Please take full advantage of this How-to Guide for software freedom, digital rights, and free culture activism!

See Also: FSF Campaigns

Tips

• Be assertive
  • Take initiative. If you come up with a good idea, you still need to nurture it until it takes off.
• Be creative
  • Sometimes you need to be unconventional. Innovative solutions require thinking out of the box.
• Be persistent
  • Don't give up. Expect unexpected obstacles, and work to overcome them.
• Be polite
  • Being persistent should not ever require rudeness. Respect will earn you a good reputation.
• Be inquisitive
  • Do your research and find the resources you need to be heard and organize.
• Be offline
  • Use the phone and even go out in the real world :)

Deliver the Message

ACLU Guide

Convert Friends

Converting friends might not reach out to the most people, but it certainly has a high rate of success. Doing this allows you to get really personal with the person who is switching instead of letting people know about the existence of free software and leaving it up to them to acquire and figure it out on their own.

Hit the Streets

This may not immediately convert as many people to switch, but it will raise awareness. Awareness is essential.

See: Hit the streets

Petitioning

See: Petitioning

Personal outreach

Personal communication like letters and phone calls are very effective for influencing anyone from club leaders to politicians.

See: Personal outreach

Lobbying Government

See: Lobbying government

Educational Institutions

Talking to local schools about free software and formats can make a huge impact and are excellent targets since they have a lot to benefit from these.

See: Schools

Organizations & Clubs

Talking to groups like parent clubs, parent/teacher/student organizations, librarian unions, activists, etc is also very effective. They can be very helpful allies to us. Just get in contact and let them know what we have to offer.

See: Libraries

Gain Industry Support

Talking to businesses and companies to support GNU/Linux.

See: Gain industry support

Press & Media

Getting media attention can bring us into the public view.

See: Media coverage

Donating or Fundraising

See Fundraising

Issues

• Free Software Foundation | Campaigns
• Free Software Foundation Europe | Campaigns
• Electronic Frontier Foundation | Action Center
• The Open Rights Group
• Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility | Issues
• End Software Patents | What Can I Do?
• The Family Guide to Digital Freedom

Resources

References

Please use these resources to help create a customized how to lobby government guide specifically for GNU/Linux, Free Software, and Open Document Formats. (We do not necessarily agree with any of the organizations, these links are just resources to use on how to lobby government)

• http://ctb.ku.edu/tools/EN/index.htm#partI
• http://consumerist.com/consumer/unscrewed/the-ultimate-consumerist-guide-to-fighting-back-308361.php
• http://www.sierraclub.ca/national/activist.html
• http://www.ehow.com/how_2123770_lobby-state-government.html

Why you should start a solidarity network, gives advice on starting a group/organization and planning out actions.

Advice on running an effective meeting

This page was a featured resource in March 2015.