Digital Activism:
A Tool for Change in Vietnam
A seminar for youth activists sponsored by Viet Tan
07-08 May, 2011 – Oslo (Norway)
Seminar description:
In recent months, Vietnamese authorities have waged hacker attacks against independent Vietnamese-language blogs and websites featuring pro-democracy content. Internet police working under the Ministry of Public Security have spread malicious software to steal passwords and spy on bloggers and human rights activists. The People’s Committee of Hanoi ordered all retail establishments offering internet services in the capital, including hotels and internet cafes, to install “green dam”-like software to monitor users. And local internet service providers in Vietnam remain under government order to block popular social networking sites such as Facebook and Multiply.
Yet, thanks to the Internet and social networks, democracy activists in Tunisia, Egypt and in many other countries around the world have been able to deal with authoritarian regimes and make social improvements in their societies.
We, the young generation of Vietnamese, born in free and democratic countries, how can we help and bring social justice and democracy in Vietnam? How can we use the tools of our digital generation?
This seminar will help you to better understand the perspectives of the democracy movement, its challenges, and its opportunities. It will help you to better understand the mission of Viet Tan and how young people around the world can become democracy activists. It will focus not only on the use of digital tools but also on the techniques to circumvent firewalls and to implement digital security. It will explain how a nonviolent struggle can be successful in Vietnam.
This seminar is open to all.
Registration fee:
The fees amount to 20 Euros.
These include accommodation and meals from Friday evening to Sunday afternoon.
Please contact vietnamreformeparti@viettan.org for more information.
About Viet Tan:
The mission of Viet Tan is to overcome dictatorship, build the foundation for a sustainable democracy, and demand justice and human rights for the Vietnamese people through a nonviolent struggle based on civic participation.