Cyber-activists ready for World Summit

With only days to go before the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, the mainstream press carries stories daily of the ring of steel being constructed around the summit venue and the stiff reaction planned for unruly protesters. What can`t be so effectively policed, however, are the online activists, many of whom have been unable to make it to the summit or have been denied access. For them, many of the opportunities for online activism are as powerful and equally disruptive.

Online actions are harder to shut down than their physical counterparts.

Alastair Otter, Journalist, ITWeb

At the top of the pile of expected virtual threats, "denial of service" attacks against summit sites are to be expected and there is little that can be done to protect against it. What the summit organiser can expect is a situation similar to that of the most recent World Economic Forum meeting, the site for which was brought to its knees within hours of the meeting being opened. It is a perennial form of action and Jowsco, the local organiser of the summit, has elected to host the main summit Web site offshore with a mirrored copy being run locally.

But cyber-activism is about a lot more than bringing down summit resources and interrupting the flow of information. For many, the Internet is giving a voice to those that will not be represented at the summit by market-driven leaders. Among these is the Friends of the Earth`s Radio Earth Summit, which streams reports from around the world that have a bearing on the upcoming summit. Most of these focus on irresponsible industrial development, health issues and the actions of giants in the genetically modified field such as Monsanto. Among the reports are stories from India, Russia, Ghana and even a couple from South Africans who suffer the ill-effects of chemical poisoning.

As far as online organisations go, Greenpeace is one of the leaders. The organisation`s current plutonium action off Cape Town shores includes a range of interesting related online activities for those that are too far away to show their support in person. Using a ship metaphor, activists can register their "ship" online, which joins the Greenpeace "virtual flotilla" which serves as a directory and resource for activists to co-ordinate activities around this and other actions.

Greenpeace also hosts a section that allows activists to mail or fax their comments to the relevant business and political leaders. The first action was for activists to send letters to the Japanese foreign minister opposing the plutonium shipments. The most recent action is a little closer to home with activists being able to mail their objections to president Thabo Mbeki.

For those that have made it to SA for the summit, many used the Internet and a network of online resources to prepare and plan their actions. During the summit, no doubt this network, which includes a host of sites as well as IRC servers and mailing lists, will be used for feedback and action co-ordination, as they were during the World Economic Forum protests.

The local and international policing forces may already have the best physical security possible in place for the summit, but the growing number of online activists, who are turning sites such as GlobalizeThis, IndyMedia, ZNet and Greenpeace`s virtual flotilla into new weapons against corporate greed, are a far harder threat to contain.