Code is going to save the world: you do know that, don’t you?
Of course you do — you’re a coder for goodness’ sake. Coders know everything.
But, just in case you need a push: here’s where to get started.
Click any of the images to see them at a larger size.
MONITOR YOUR PARLIAMENT
Parliaments aren’t always the best placed to ensure that their work is being presented impartially, clearly, and accessibly — that’s why, in many countries, NGOs have taken it upon themselves to do it better.
Modern technology and the internet mean that it’s now relatively easy to set up a website that gives citizens easy access to everything their representatives are doing in Parliament, from what they say to how they vote.
And once those representatives see that they’re being watched in this way, it may have the knock-on effect that they start behaving a little more responsibly!
Image by Paul Peart Smith
BE PLAYFUL
People love online games and quizzes, so they’re a great way to get a political message across, or to educate people about the detail of a complex issue. If you’re a coder, you could make games for the general good.
Image by Maria Björklund
TELL STORIES
If you’re a great yarn-spinner, tell the first person stories that show the human side of the big issues. They really go straight to the heart.
Stick them online for maximum reach.
Image by Jessica Trevino
REPRESENT EVERYONE
If you’re an artist who includes characters in their work (from games writer to designer), make sure that you depict all kinds of people.
By showing characters who are disabled, non-heteronormative, from religious or ethnic minority backgrounds and so on, you can play a huge part in the public’s perception that all types of people as unremarkable or sympathetic.
Image by Kripa Joshi
HACK THE GOVERNMENT
In Taiwan, the government wasn’t being as transparent or making as much use of online technologies as certain hackers would have liked — so they created their own version of the government websites, just changing one letter of the URL (from gov to g0v).
With a single stroke of the keyboard, the public could access public assets and information as they ought to be, sharing open data and inviting collaboration.
Several years on, one of the primary instigators of this movement has become the country’s Minister for Digital.
Image by James Harvey
KNOW WHAT’S ON THE AGENDA
Subscribe to an online service so that you’ll always know when an important vote is coming up.
Contact your MP or representative and tell them how you want them to vote — even if you know they’ll be toeing the party line. Get your right-thinking friends to do the same.
If enough people make their feelings clear, your representative will convey that upwards to Parliament.
What if there’s no website like this for your country? You can set one up!
Image by Sarah Mirk
VOLUNTEER
For many charities and organisations, time is just as precious as money. Give both if you can; but if money is tight, see if you can offer hands-on help.
From making a website to running social media for an awareness campaign, there’s always plenty to do.
Image by Tom O’Brien
KNOW YOUR REPRESENTATIVES
Websites like TheyWorkForYou.com in the UK, and similar sites set up by NGOs in many other countries, allow you to subscribe to your MP so you get an email every time they speak in Parliament.
Keep careful watch and make sure you contact them if you’re displeased with their activity. And again, if there’s no website like this in your country? Time to get some people together, and set up your own.
Image by Hannah McCann
SHARE YOUR SKILLS
Run a workshop to share your practical knowledge. Could you show someone how to set up a campaign website, or even create an app for awareness around a certain topic?
Image by Jenny Drew
CALL OUT
Sites like Human Rights Watch’s “Call It Out”, Everyday Sexism, Bye Felipe and For Exposure use the simple but effective strategy of collecting real-life instances of bad behaviour (in these cases, hate crimes, sexism and non-payment of artists) and publicising them to the world via a website and Twitter account.
By sharing the incidents you witness, you’re contributing to a public database that holds the nation to account.
Also, it’s pretty simple to copy this model for any other areas of injustice, and set up your own website. One we’ve heard about recently is Beer Sexism, collecting examples of women-unfriendly behaviour in the world of microbreweries.
Image by Apila Pepita Miettinen
All artwork on this page is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
MONITOR YOUR PARLIAMENT
Parliaments aren’t always the best placed to ensure that their work is being presented impartially, clearly, and accessibly &emdash; that’s why, in many countries, NGOs have taken it upon themselves to do it better.
Modern technology and the internet mean that it’s now relatively easy to set up a website that gives citizens easy access to everything their representatives are doing in Parliament, from what they say to how they vote.
And once those representatives see that they’re being watched in this way, it may have the knock-on effect that they start behaving a little more responsibly!
Image by Paul Peart Smith
BE PLAYFUL
People love online games and quizzes, so they’re a great way to get a political message across, or to educate people about the detail of a complex issue. If you’re a coder, you could make games for the general good.
Image by Maria Björklund
TELL STORIES
If you’re a great yarn-spinner, tell the first person stories that show the human side of the big issues. They really go straight to the heart.
If you’ve got skills in writing, video or radio, so much the better — and if you haven’t, what better time to learn them?
Image by Jessica Trevino
REPRESENT EVERYONE
If you’re an artist who includes characters in their work (from cartoonist to scriptwriter to designer), make sure that you depict all kinds of people.
By showing characters who are disabled, non-heteronormative, from religious or ethnic minority backgrounds and so on, you can play a huge part in the public’s perception that all types of people as unremarkable or sympathetic.
Image by Kripa Joshi
Draw The Line 