avaaz.org – global Internet political action movement

[Sheila]

Avaaz—meaning "voice" in several European, Middle Eastern and Asian languages—launched in 2007 with a simple democratic mission: organize citizens of all nations to close the gap between the world we have and the world most people everywhere want.

Avaaz empowers millions of people from all walks of life to take action on pressing global, regional and national issues, from corruption and poverty to conflict and climate change. Our model of internet organising allows thousands of individual efforts, however small, to be rapidly combined into a powerful collective force. (Read about results on the Highlights page.)

The Avaaz community campaigns in 15 languages, served by a core team on 6 continents and thousands of volunteers. We take action -- signing petitions, funding media campaigns and direct actions, emailing, calling and lobbying governments, and organizing "offline" protests and events -- to ensure that the views and values of the world's people inform the decisions that affect us all.


http://www.avaaz.org/en/

[Sheila]

The Global Outcry That Saved the Amazon

Good News Network
22 Dec 11

Half a million citizens of the world joined with 1,000 indigenous protesters in demanding that Bolivian President Evo Morales halt construction on a highway that would slice through the heart of the Amazon.

Avaaz.org launched the petition that was delivered by staff to top Bolivian cabinet ministers during a long and stormy meeting.

"The pressure worked!"

"Our widespread solidarity strengthened the legitimacy of the indigenous protesters whom Morales tried to marginalize and threatened the president's valued reputation as an environmentalist," wrote Avaaz leaders.

Because of the campaign, Morales canceled construction. He repealed the decision granting permission for the project, and pledged to protect the impacted TIPNIS national park and indigenous territory -- the crown jewel of the Bolivian Amazon.

Avaaz.org is a 10-million-person global campaign network that works to ensure that the views and values of the world's people shape global decision-making. ("Avaaz" means "voice" or "song" in many languages.)


www.goodnewsnetwork.org
www.avaaz.org