Social Movements on the Net
Osvaldo León, Sally Burch, Eduardo Tamayo
ALAI, september 2001
http://alainet.org/publica/msred/

The presence of social movements on the Net, both in Latin America and in other parts of the world, is already a reality that is acquiring importance. Not precisely for reasons that have to do with spectacular “impacts” – using that gauge, the phenomenon is only modest and might even appear insignificant – but rather in terms of sociopolitical relevance. This importance is grounded, not so much in the actual number of social organizations and coordinating bodies connected to Internet, as in the fact that they are stakeholders with social impact who are bent on making this technology their own, taking all the advantages it has to offer – volume of information, speed of transmission, etc. – to further their goals.

Accordingly, this is not a question of an anecdotal presence or a “gadget” of organizations who can afford this “luxury”, but rather a practical consequence of forces pushing for a place on the public scene, which, in contemporary terms, characterized by media networks, is increasingly symbolic and reticular. So, connecting to Internet implies not only raising socially significant topics and giving expression to their own thinking, but also reinforcing their inter-relationships and lending greater weight to their actions.

Taking into account the interactive nature of the Internet, the presence of social movements on it has brought up a central issue: to recover the historical linkage between communication and action. This bond has been breaking down gradually for the last century and a half with the introduction of the telegraph and subsequent communications technologies that, basically, have set the stage for the world of the mass media and the consequent “show-biz society.”

However, there is no point in expecting easy ways out because, to take advantage of these opportunities, the organizations with grass-roots constituencies that make up these movements are facing serious challenges to overcome obstacles, integrate new capacities and adapt their forms of operation. Moreover, at a general level, and even addressing these challenges, it may be that by that time the Internet will no longer be the free, open space that it is today; the circle is closing, under pressure from the sectors of economic power that want to impose regulations on it. As usually happens, when “anything goes,” the least opportunity will be seized upon to impose the rule of the most powerful.

The staggering spread of promotional hype on new information and communication technologies, and the emphasis on how they support development, have moved social organizations to take them into account and learn about them, though under the limited scope of using applications. But if they are approached from the social logic of technological appropriation, being such a new and unknown area, organizations will require a better understanding of opportunities, challenges and obstacles and their implications within a socio-organizational framework, if they are to optimize their use of these resources for their own aims and aspirations.

Accordingly, the proposal of information capital arises as an interesting analytical category to move forward in understanding processes of appropriating new information and communication technologies by collective social stakeholders in general. In this exploratory journey, this pathway has made it possible to unravel significant issues for the work of social organizations in the realm of electronic networks and communications.

On the practical level of access to Internet, the installed infrastructure conditions in Latin America still reveal a major gap compared to the developed countries, but most countries offer sufficient access to be able to get online in acceptable conditions, at least in cities.

The study has revealed that, in regard to hardware and access, the interest in being able to communicate better is the main initial motivation for organizations to connect to Internet. In many cases, this motivation comes from their participation in networks or regional coordinating bodies, which have incorporated e-mail as one of their main channels for inter-communication.

The precariousness of infrastructure is, however, one of the main hurdles. Even where an acceptable level of equipment has been achieved, needs continue growing faster than the answers, especially for organizations with broad constituencies that seek to incorporate electronic messaging in order to enhance their internal communication.

Nevertheless, examples show that, when an organization has clearly identified its communications needs, it will find solutions for its shortcomings, at least for the most essential aspects. In any event, although infrastructure is a requirement, the level of hardware and connectivity is no indicator of the degree to which Internet’s resources are being tapped, because that also calls for knowledge, language, training and management skills. For this reason, even with the most modern hardware, when there is no process to internalize the technology and information flows, the outcomes will remain minimal.

In regard to utilization of technology, although in general the incorporation of computing and therefore e-mail has been handled mostly with administrative criteria, organizations now generally feel that the new information and communication technologies enable them to streamline and strengthen their work in two main areas: networking and information/ communication activities.

E-mail is the first and main Internet service used, reflecting the fact that, for social organizations, Internet is above all a tool for networking and liaising. With e-mail and listserves, they have, for the first time, a resource to communicate with each other in a horizontal, decentralized network. In fact, the more they network, the more indispensable they find e-mail. Using the Web is on the increase, but remains secondary.

A limitation that has lessened the possibility of adapting technology to their own needs has been the fact that the approach to computing has been limited to applying pre-established software packages, encouraged by hardware and software suppliers.

In response to new needs and demands that are arising, some organizations have undertaken a process of appropriating technology, seeking to take better advantage of it, whether for internal operation, external relations, or information / communication work. This triggers internal adjustments – some planned and others more intuitive – that consist in a rearrangement of tasks and responsibilities, allocation of infrastructure and connection services, or allocation and training of human resources, as the case may be.

Having a computer connected to Internet accelerates the rate of communications, which gives rise to new needs to communicate. Although this sometimes clashes with an organization’s customary rhythms, it gradually changes its organizational time-lines and forms. This is not a problem when these changes are channeled constructively, but being swept along by inertia can lead to conflicts.

Often, organizations begin implementing an internal reorganization when they perceive that they have to begin managing information, in order to avoid being overwhelmed by the overload that comes along with access to this technology.

That is, they seek answers through internal rearrangements, once they perceive, through practice, that this type of technology is more than just a technical and administrative accessory. In fact, when an organization gets on the Internet, it is not just connecting to a computer network to receive and send messages; it is also becoming woven into a fabric of flows and networking linked to social dynamics. This dynamic setting ends up influencing the organization and gradually entailing organizational readjustments.

As more people in the organization begin using Internet directly, training and capacity building needs increase. Training becomes a pressing need, both in specifically technical aspects and in handling information flows, as well as regarding criteria for policy-making.

In appropriating information, organizations find they need to develop new information management skills, so information can become a useful, timely input into their different work areas. Information overload is seen as the main new problem with Internet use.

Experience shows that, if appropriate measures are not taken to manage information, connecting to Internet can even entail more problems than solutions. Any information, obviously, becomes relevant only in regard to a stakeholder with a project. For many organizations, however, developing criteria and mechanisms that will make it possible to quickly distinguish between useful information and the rest remains an unresolved issue.

As for disseminating their own information, most feel that they produce very little, and acknowledge that one of the main obstacles is the lack of policies in this regard. In practice, information production fluctuates with the circumstances. A significant change is that, now that there is e-mail, they have found a mechanism to quickly appeal to national and international solidarity during emergencies. At least at such times, information tends to flow, which scarcely happened a few years ago.

There are great expectations among organizations regarding ways to start or broaden their dissemination on the Web, with an eye to greater public visibility. However, this is still viewed as a bigger more complex step than e-mail and distribution lists. Even when they do take the plunge, sustainability and regular updating pose difficulties. Here, also, they recognize that the problem is ultimately the lack of policies, and the lack of mechanisms to turn their organization’s experience and actions into information. There are, of course, significant cases of Web sites that have managed to establish regular updating and an appreciable audience.

The advantages of Internet for networking are appreciated early on by organizations, thanks to their participation in international coordination efforts. Many realize that, when information flows, procedures of consultation, opinion-making, consensus-building and collective decision-making are facilitated. So, they want to extend this use internally, which is not necessarily easy, not only because of the hurdles relating to costs and infrastructure faced by their affiliates, but also because of the lack of training and of familiarity with Internet among the leadership.

In practice, networking tends to flow better at the international coordination level than within national organizations. Even so, being interconnected on the network is not enough, in itself, to ensure participation, and decisions tend to be made by the more dynamic organizations.

A growing number of social organizations assume that a pending challenge is to develop communication policies and strategies, as a condition to be able to affirm their visibility and more powerfully influence public debate, as well as strengthening their organization in-house. In fact, this dual concern leads them to address communication activities on two levels: those geared for the grass roots and those oriented toward national and international public opinion.

Understanding that communication is not limited to media production, but is an inseparable element of human relations, some organizations have taken it as a cross-cutting issue throughout their activities, so that each action entails a communication component.

In general, they feel that an elitist criterion prevails among the mass media, which systematically ignore organized societal expressions. When this rule is broken, it is usually at times of conflict, but not for the purpose of broadcasting their achievements and proposals. In any event, the new element is that various organizations have assumed that complaining and condemning is not enough – the challenge lies in setting policies to gain presence in the media, without losing sight of the huge imbalance of power in this domain.

Accordingly, there is a growing appreciation of the value of the Internet as a way to communicate with society, without depending only on the goodwill of the mass media. Moreover, the Web opens their access to an international audience, who in turn sometimes help pressure national entities, for example in cases of repression or social struggles. Indeed, when an organization or its struggle becomes an international news item, the national media often feel pressured to include it.

In a nutshell, these are some high points that the study has gathered. They have been useful as inputs to collectively elucidate possible ways to overcome the obstacles and shortcomings that have been identified. The idea is to capitalize on Internet’s “virtues” as effectively as possible, so as to enhance the change agendas of social organizations. In fact, this study, driven by dialogue and exchanges, has been part of a continual learning process – sharing experiences, knowledge, successes and mistakes – that basically has sought to pose the relevant questions, since “no one looks for answers for unasked questions.”

That is, the study has not searched out “best practices” or identified models to follow, because the speed of changes in this technology and the growing complexity of the world of communication quickly leaves any model behind. Anyway, applying one model in another context may entail no more than good intentions with useless results. This challenge calls for decoding logic and identifying overall trends, in order to make strategies that are on target.

At present, the public arena has become a place where different players who want to make their mark are striving to use communication strategies, seeking their own mechanisms and structures: public relations or communication departments, surveys, campaigns, information or advertising materials … and, of course, space on Internet. This has multiplied the voices that are vying for the public ear. The trick is to figure out who is listening.

In view of this situation, organizations are at a crossroads: they feel the need to communicate their viewpoints and proposals, but they also find that investing time and resources in a series of specific, operational interventions can easily wear them down, while achieving an impact that is barely better than silence itself. So, they increasingly admit the importance of defining policies and strategies, to achieve a greater effect with a minimum burden, so they can sustainably and effectively act in this complex world.

Another related aspect involves the dizzying changes that have been taking place at various levels of societal coexistence, which mean that yesterday’s knowledge is not necessarily good enough to cope with new realities. Acting in an increasingly interconnected world calls for new expertise, which can hardly be picked up through only local experience. Pressure to remain abreast of what is going on beyond one’s immediate circles is becoming, therefore, much keener than in previous times. And it is in this connection that Internet appears as an exceptional resource because of its capacity to broaden and accelerate information exchanges and flows. However, abundance of information is one thing and the capacity to retrieve that which is relevant is quite another. This entails not only search skills to match this exponentially swelling mass of information, but also clarity of purpose. That is, one needs strategies in order to optimally tap the potential that such a resource has to offer.

These issues are present in many social organizations of the region, but they realize that the answers will not mushroom overnight, but require a process that, among others, will include revaluing communication within their own actions. Those that have made the most headway in this process have also understood that creativity is fundamental. They know that a successful action, replicated ad infinitum, will ultimately run dry.

Here, social actors who are working to find longer-term answers, in view of the complexity of this new reality of communication, have benefited when these issues are tackled collectively within the coordinating bodies and networks that they participate in. They have discovered mutual reinforcement, learned from similar experiences, saved resources and efforts and achieved greater outreach. An example is CLOC, for whom communication has been an element in their goals and training programs, with a strategic approach from the outset.

Participation in collective dynamics is one of the key factors in assimilating and jointly developing new knowledge. This is enabling social organizations to act more effectively in today’s world. Exchanges implemented in networks with related organizations not only foster openness to new approaches and issues, but also contribute to consolidating the understanding that each member had formed on the basis of their own reality.

So, issues that an organization may not have considered from the outset or had not given due importance to within their own internal dynamics, are ultimately addressed as a result of participation in coordination activities, because they are valued by the network. For example, in the CLOC, this has happened with the issue of the dangers of pesticides and genetically modified seeds. Moreover, in these exchange processes, each organization also finds that its problems are common to others and thus each is enriched by other approaches and experiences; in this way, knowledge that is grounded in their own immediate reality becomes consolidated through a more universal lens. This ultimately helps lend greater weight to their actions in the public arena.

Face-to-face exchanges among organizations, which are rather sporadic, are now enhanced by more frequent information flows among them via Internet, complemented by other contributions, for example lists where other players take part. This has consolidated a process of mutual enrichment, both theoretically and practically.

For these organizations, the existence of a mass of information from unknown, indistinguishable sources, accessible via Internet, is not so important as their trust in sources they know. For this purpose, on-line exchanges within coordination dynamics are crucial and some are seeking the way to grant greater consistency and regularity to internal exchange flows. An option that has proven its effectiveness is to assign to one entity the responsibility of facilitating the lists and ensuring input of relevant information. This solution also offers the possibility of saving efforts, since much of the work of scanning for and selecting information is shared.

To turn these information flows effectively into useful knowledge for each organization’s development, what counts – more than hiring in experts – is to train people who have a clear vision of the organization’s purposes, to monitor and identify the useful information, channeling it toward the right people in a timely manner.

Participation in networks motivates many organizations to share their information and experience with others. Also, when they decide to establish a specific communication area, in the search for greater social impact, they grant new value to their own knowledge, as a motive and an input for communication activities directed towards society.

This reaffirmation process is particularly evident among indigenous organizations. In view of the worldwide interest in the indigenous worldview as an answer to environmental deterioration, they are working to systematize and disseminate the essence of their cultures, to contribute to enriching world knowledge with their own added value.

Nevertheless, unblocking their capacity to systematize and share their proposals, achievements, knowledge and experiences sustainably is one of the steps that social organizations have found hardest to take. There are numerous obstacles: shortage of time, personnel or resources, undefined objectives, unsuited mechanisms, or even insufficient valuing of the wealth within their own experience and possibilities for contributing it to others.

Often, to produce information calls for a special effort that cannot be sustained. Many Web sites, for example, are created, but then not updated. In general, organizations that have started to overcome this problem are those that have internalized that communication is a programmatic element throughout their organization’s work.

In the last few years, there has been a significant change among social organizations in the region, regarding their perception of communication and the importance they give it internally. Initially, their vision was instrumental (i.e. restricted to media, as tools), but quite a few organizations have now begun visualizing the multiple dimensions of communication, among them, its role in human relations, in internal and external organizational dynamics, and the new spaces for communicating.

However, from this awareness to the concrete conditions and actual resources needed to implement policies and strategies, there is still a large step. Therefore, one lesson gleaned from this experience is that it will be a protracted, gradual process. In general, the greatest delay is in the start-up phase, because once organizations have traveled a certain distance, they are better able to assimilate new lessons and implement them.

Of course, drawing up a communication policy entails other issues, depending on the organization’s nature, background, purposes and agenda, surroundings and many other aspects. After all, each must duly dovetail its own specific reality, strategy, process and human and technical resources, if its policy is to attain its goals.

Agenda items
In the exchanges under this study, certain aspects have been identified that might be taken into account when preparing communication policies, incorporating use of ICTs. They include:
-- Identification of the organization’s different communication needs, both in-house and outwardly; setting priorities, allocating responsibilities and seeking solutions for the hardware needs of different work areas.
-- Defining criteria and mechanisms for monitoring, selecting and redistributing information within the organization; setting policies and mechanisms to share information among departments.
-- Identifying strategic audiences in society, both nationally and internationally: media, journalists and democratic opinion-makers; defining information to be sent to different audiences.
-- Strengthening the vehicles and products for news dissemination; regularizing internal media in response to the needs of organization-building; integrating or complementing Internet resources with other media. This includes producing and renewing Web sites, integrating this activity into daily operations to make it sustainable.
-- Ongoing human resource training, at all levels, as part of regular programming. This includes skills for using technical resources, as well as specific training for people managing information, communicators and leadership. Priority aspects that have been identified for training include: criteria, mechanisms and techniques for responding to information overload; management criteria for presence in electronic spaces, conserving credibility as an information source; criteria for preparing communication policies and strategies, which includes a more in-depth understanding of ICTs.
-- In coordination mechanisms and networks, setting policies and mechanisms to streamline and facilitate exchange via lists, establish mechanisms for consultation and collective decision-making, and the profile that the coordinating body will project on Internet.

One motivation for the region’s processes of social coordination has been the possibility for finding joint answers to common problems, and for congregating and multiplying – beyond the sum of the parts – dispersed energy. Communication and new technologies, with their particular qualities (interactivity, networking, public visibility, etc.) make up an area that is especially suited to building bridges, sharing, cooperating, exchanging and developing new knowledge, proposals and perspectives.

The Web Community of Social Movements is a practical response in this sense. The Web portal provides participating coordinating bodies and their members with an international showcase for their issues, accomplishments, actions and proposals.

In its concrete development, it has meant an opportunity to explore practical responses to many of the challenges and problems that arise on getting into this new medium: establishing common areas to affirm the collective nature and increase visibility; creating databases and interfaces to facilitate technical management; complementing Web pages with e-mail lists, to expand dissemination; designing classification and search systems; compensating organizations’ differentiated rates of production; disseminating information from those that do not yet have their own site; overcoming problems with list-based exchanges, among others.

Furthermore, this public display is also grounded in a collective venue for exchange, reflection, training and building, geared toward reinforcing the capacity of the different organizations to intervene in Internet – and in the realm of communication in general – in terms of their own goals. This first phase has helped learn how to learn from each other, from one another’s experiences, mutually reinforcing their strengths and compensating for weaknesses, encouraging that step beyond seeing communication as simply an instrument and, in general, better understanding issues through collective reflection on the implications of communication and technology in present-day society. In sum, this initiative of social actors affirms the right to communicate, fostering the construction of proposals and alliances for social change.

Although the triumphant discourse would lead us to believe that, with the spectacular technological development recorded in the field of communications, humankind has entered a promising phase of its happy future, any careful observation of what is going on in the world cannot ignore that the imbalances and inequalities have increased, as concentration of control over and ownership of such resources in the hands of the few has intensified. This is backed by the political and legal reforms that the centers of power are attempting, every way they can, to impose on every country on Earth.

This actually shows us that, as the Charter of Cuscatlán, issued at the end of the International Forum on “Communication and Citizenship” (1998), put it, “dominant trends are subordinating the social character of communication to economic power and countering one of the most important conquests of humanity: the right to information and freedom of expression, the full exercise of which requires plurality of sources and of media, and their democratic and transparent management.”

Since these trends are not inexorable, although they are powerful, a new current emerging from social and citizens’ movements has been forming, that seeks to revitalize the struggle to democratize communication vis-a-vis the new realities. It is no longer a question of just seeking alternative ways to “give a voice to the voiceless,” working against the exclusion by the establishment’s communication systems, but also to challenge values and projects by formulating alternative proposals regarding the legal framework, conditions and regulations in the economic sphere, citizens’ rights and guarantees, development programs, media codes of ethics, among other aspects.

We are witnessing, then, an endeavor to prepare a social agenda in the field of communication, which under these circumstances implies critically addressing new information and communication technologies, not only to de-mystify the seductive rhetoric of promotional discourse about them, but also to go further into understanding their nature and the implications of the so-called information society.

This is a current that is following on – from a critical standpoint – from past initiatives that have pursued this cause, and is therefore precipitating ruptures and reformulation. The main innovation is doubtless in the effort to integrate with the social movement striving to recreate the public sphere – recovering autonomy with relation to the traditional oversight of the State – on the basis of recognition of the diverse, different societal stakeholders, without any exclusion whatsoever and, therefore, with full exercise of citizenship. This entails recovering the sense of communication as an open, interactive process, – we repeat – without exclusion, for building social consensus.

As a backdrop for this emerging social movement, there has been an important change within a growing number of organizations with social constituencies: incorporation of demands regarding communication into their platforms for advocacy. Not long ago, communication was viewed as a remote problem, reserved for specialists and players working directly in this sector. This image was also reinforced by an emphasis on the pressure group status that has characterized the actions of such sectors.

These circumstances made it difficult for the significant efforts that have been made in advocacy for democratizing communication – instigated by players ranging from alternative and community media, to those who are concerned with helping society appropriate ICTs, and associations and federations of the communication sector – to transcend their immediate circles.

However, the convergence that has begun to emerge between social organizations and the groups directly involved with communication opens up new prospects for defending the right to communicate. If the former can benefit from this alliance by enriching their actions and proposals in this realm, for the latter it could mean broadening their range of dialogue. But above all, this rapprochement has laid the foundations for drawing up a social agenda for communication, geared toward building another, possible world.

Agenda items
The following are highlights from the agenda items that were raised in two events on communication and citizenship in this region^¹, which were a meeting-point and an opportunity for dialogue between the two sectors:
-- recognition of the right to communicate as a fundamental element of democratic governance and necessary to the exercise of all other human rights;
-- the need to open up a public debate on the impact and consequence of monopolistic concentration in the field of communication and priorities for developing ICTs;
-- development of actions to curb the process that is monopolizing the media and communication systems, and making information a market commodity;
-- development of diverse, plural and gendered information content;
-- support for the creation of public media oriented toward the citizenry; under civil-society control and funded according to the principle of economic solidarity.

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ALAI - Agencia Latinoamericana de Información (Latin American Information Agency)

ANAMURI - Asociación Nacional de Mujeres Rurales e Indígenas (Chile – National Association of Rural and Indigenous Women)

ATC - Asociación de Trabajadores del Campo (Nicaragua – Association of Rural Workers)

CLOC - Coordinadora Latinoamericana de Organizaciones del Campo (Latin American Coordination of Rural Organizations)

COCOCH - Consejo Coordinador de Organizaciones Campesinas de Honduras (Coordinating Council of Farmer Organizations of Honduras)

CONAIE - Confederación de Nacionalidades Indígenas del Ecuador (Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador)

CONIC - Coordinadora Nacional Indígena y Campesina (Guatemala – National Indigenous and Peasant Coordination)

FCOC - Frente Continental de Organizaciones Comunales (Continental Front of Communal Organizations)

MST - Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra (Brazil – Landless Workers’ Movement)

REMTE - Red de Mujeres Transformando la Economía (Network of Women Transforming the Economy)

RMAA - Red de Mujeres Afrolatinoamericanas y Afrocaribeñas (Network of Afro-Latin American and Afro-Caribbean Women)

1 These were the International Forum on Communication and Citizenship (San Salvador, September 1998) and the Workshop on Communication and Citizenship (at the World Social Forum, Porto Alegre, January 2001). Both events were attended by participants representing social- and communication-sector representatives, mainly from Latin America.