India Fights Back

People, who have inflicted social change by using online tools, will take part in a summit in New York. If you have ever wanted to raise your voice against crime and injustice, then the internet can be a very effective medium to do so. An international summit titled Alliance of Youth Movements Summit sponsored by Howcast is taking place in New York from December 3 to 5 which will be represented by leaders of organisations that have inflicted social change by using online tools. The summit is taking place and is brought together by Facebook, Google, YouTube, MTV, the US Department of State and Columbia Law School. It is being represented by 17 different leaders of pioneering youth movements from over 12 countries and we have a proud representative from India as well.

It can be a proud moment for India when Zubin Driver, founder of an online community, www.fight-back.net, that supports the victims of gender violence, will represent the country.

Fight-Back has a network of resources which tell molestation victims how to go about the legal procedures of fighting abusers. It includes helpline numbers, incidents in cities, legal resources and comments and articles from users.

The website also has a special column called the Hall Of Shame where criminals like Manu Sharma of Jessica Lall murder case, politician Amarmani Tripathi who murdered 22-year-old poetess, Madhumita Shukla, are listed out.

As of now the community has 2000 members on Facebook and 1000 registers users on its website. The TV campaign for Fight Back has been aired and stars Dolly Thakore. Two more ads will include activist Teesta Setalvad and anchor Raghu from MTV Roadies.

The gathering has been inspired by the success of the Million Voices against the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), a group started on Facebook.com by young people in Bogota. The organisation brought 12 million people into the streets in 190 cities worldwide in protest against the FARC, an extremist group that has been terrorising Colombia for more than 40 years.

Other organisations that will be present are Save Darfur Coalition, Genocide Intervention Network (US), Burma Global Action Network (Burma), and Invisible Children (US).