An important part of civil society actions against the pandemic are being carried out in a virtual way, driven by the need for isolation and distancing. Organizations and individuals have started to use more and better digital tools for activism.
National Shutdown of Application Delivery Men
The service workers of the applications made a national stoppage on July 1, 2020 in Brazil. The call material for participation of the stoppage, both of the delivery and users of the delivery applications, is being published on the Twitter and Facebook accounts of “Treta No Trampo“.
How Coronavirus impacts the lives of workers and workers in the periphery
Coronavirus has even more devastating effects in quilombola communities, where health services are lacking and lethality is high. To talk about this the executive secretary of CONAQ, Selma Dealdiana and the jurist, Deborah Duprat will address the topic on the Youtube channel of Oxfam Brazil. More information on the link.
Marajó Observatory
The Marajó Observatory works to build social technologies that serve the population, especially the Marajoara population, to guide the public agenda and political processes based on knowledge and information. The Observatory launched an initiative to bring data on the social context of the region and each of the municipalities, entitled Cadernos do Marajó, Special Edition – 40 days of Marajó with Coronavirus. The Notebook and other information can be accessed by the link.
We For Ourselves: Activists from the Peripheries Talk About Their Actions
In times of pandemic, new digital technologies are being used intensely by communication collectives and other organizations in the peripheries, to present demands, disseminate opinions, exchange ideas. It is possible to access the various interviews, lives and podcasts that have been made by the activists themselves. Take, for example:
Interview with Preto Zezé, National President of the Central Única das Favelas.
Videos that talk about the experience of Paraisópolis (SP), here and here.
Podcast “Quarantine”, the Mural Agency of Journalism of the Peripheries and Podcast Place of Quarantine, of the collective communication ARQUEPerifa.
Talk Wheel of Radio Ação Paramita, “Favela, Autoorganização and Covid-19“.
Thiago Vinícius, of the Solano Trindade Popular Agency, a collective located on the outskirts of Campo Limpo (South Zone of SP), Roberta Rodrigues (Vidigal, Rio de Janeiro), Max Maciel (Projeto Ruas, Ceilândia, DF), Neila Gomes (Movement for Housing, Belém), among others, are interviewed about their actions against the pandemic.
Petitions #LuteEmCasa against coronavirus
The site change.org is with several petitions and online campaigns created as a way of mobilizing to demand swift measures and assistance by the authorities. They are of various topics, such as cancellation of classes, postponement of events and temporary suspension of the payment of taxes. To learn about some of the petitions click here, subscribe and share!
In favor of the Postponement of the ENEM
A digital campaign was launched, using the hashtags #AdiaEnem and #AdiaEnem2020, for the postponement of the tests.
Against Gender Violence
There are several reports on the increase in domestic violence against women in the context of social isolation. Many groups and groups are making soundless videos – to protect the women who access it – in which participants carry posters with information about where to get help, as well as messages of solidarity. Take, for example, movielas’ Instagram page.
Against Police Violence
The Genocide Protection and Resistance Network created the “Broken Speech” campaign, in which, through an online form, it is possible to report actions for rights violations during the pandemic. In the form, it is possible to identify who practiced the action, insert images and geolocation.
App Against Misinformation
Voz das Comunidades, a newspaper created by residents of complexo do Alemão (RJ) in 2005, launched an application for mobile phones, whose goal is “to combat misinformation about COVID-19”. “Identifying the need on the part of residents of rio de Janeiro communities of reliable sources of information in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, Voz das Comunidades launches today (11) an application entirely aimed at delivering news about the new coronavirus.” See more information on the newspaper’s website.
March for Science 2020
On May 7, 2020, the Brazilian Society for the Progress of Science (SBPC) held the Virtual March for Science.
Throughout the day, activities were transmitted through social media, with the aim of drawing attention to the importance of science in coping with COVID-19. The University of Brasilia, as well as other universities and research centers, added to this initiative. The video of the call can be viewed above.
Online protests
In times of social isolation, old forms of protest are recovered (such as pots) and digital activism practices are intensified. We have already observed the multiplication of electronic petitions and electronic kitty, as well as the use of lives and podcasts to disseminate information and hashtags to create networks of discussion and solidarity. Some examples of hashtags are:
- #CoronaNasPeriferias
- #COVID19NasFavelas
- #CUFAcontraovirus
- #Favelacontravirus
- #PagaLogoBolsonaro
- #CoronNasPerifas
- #Covid19nasPeriferias
- #CovidNasFavelas
- #Covid19PeriferiasBelem
- #covid19nafaveladoaço
- #JacarezinhoContraOCoronavirus
- #DiarioDeUmFaveladoNaPandemia
- #CoronaNasPeriferiasEFavelas
- #FiqueEmCasa
- #maesdafavela
“Lives” allow you to see solidarity actions in real time
Many organizations are showing, in real time, the solidarity actions related to the pandemic, through lives on Facebook and Instagram pages. See, for example, the live of May 1, recorded in the Association of Residents of Peixinhos (PE), which discloses the joint action of mst activists, unions and associations of residents for the distribution of food, on the Facebook page of the Brazilian Association of Community Radios.
Manifesto for Transparency of Digital Action in the National Congress
In times of pandemic, the National Congress began to use digital technologies even more intensely. A collaboration between the Parliamentary Front for the Defense of Democracy and Human Rights (FDDDH) and dozens of civil society organizations led to the signing of a letter calling for “active transparency posture of the House of Representatives and the Federal Senate in the wide dissemination of their acts and deliberations”.
#redeEPI
The EPI Network (Personal Protective Equipment) has created a web page to link who needs masks, gloves, etc., and who wants to give them. It is an initiative of communication professionals and members of the health community
Financial Aid Campaigns
There has also been a multiplication of so-called “electronic kitty”, to raise funds to buy groceries and cleaning supplies for the poorest communities. On crowdfunding platforms Benfeitoria.com and Apoia.se can access several of these initiatives. It also has the https://combatecovid.org/ page, whose objective is to collect donations and give visibility to philanthropic hospitals and social organizations that are in the fight against COVID-19 in Brazil.
Matchfunding Face
The Face Collaborative Fund is an initiative of the Tide Setubal Foundation and other partners that seeks to complement crowdfunding initiatives to combat the pandemic in the Brazilian peripheries. On the site, there is information about projects in several Brazilian cities. The idea is to create a “matchfunding” system, in which resources collected in donation campaigns are complemented by partners.
Emergency Covid-19
The world of philanthropy has also brought together social investment funds and kitty to raise money for various purposes, from social assistance actions to the purchase of equipment for hospitals and research institutions.