Dear friends,
Wow! In the last three months, members of the Avaaz network have taken more than two million actions on urgent global issues -- signing petitions, sending messages, making phone calls, and donating funds. Our community is growing like wildfire (more than 50,000 people a week!) -- and we've made an unmistakable difference.
Scroll down for quick updates on some of our recent campaigning. Then keep going to answer a quick survey about what to focus on next.
Save the oceans a huge win! The UK announced its plan to double the total global area of protected ocean with a massive new conservation zone bigger than Germany and Italy combined. In the public comment period before the decision, Avaaz members contributed more than 85% of the responses, urging a ban on commercial fishing and support for the island peoples' rights.1 It's a huge victory, and the Foreign Ministry cited the "over 221,000 responses co-ordinated by Avaaz... from 223 countries" in its announcement.
Elephants - with elephants at risk, 500,000 of us worldwide empowered the African Elephant Coalition with our support -- and, after a nail-biting close vote and final push with partners on the ground, won protection for elephants at a UN Endangered Species session. The head of the Species Survival Network said “the petition, no doubt, made a difference and helped achieve the right result for elephants everywhere."
Standing with Haiti - thousands of us contributed more than US$1.3 million for relief and recovery from the Haitian earthquake, helping outstanding local organizations provide life-saving food, shelter, and medical care for thousands of people, and powered a global push that secured $1 billion in debt relief for Haiti. (Watch the amazing video about our impact in the "Sources" section below).
Uganda - in an unprecedented show of public opposition to the proposed law that would sentence gay Ugandans to death, Avaaz worked with church leaders and human rights activists to deliver a 450,000-strong petition to the Speaker of Uganda's parliament in an hour-long meeting and a press conference that made headlines around the country and the world.
Parliament had been expected to begin debate in February -- but in the face of local and global pressure, Parliament still hasn't begun formal discussion. Some say the bill may be left to die in committee, potentially a quiet but extraordinary victory for human rights. Avaaz continues to work closely with allies to monitor the bill -- and stands ready to take action once more if it regains momentum.
Brazil anti-corruption - took a giant leap against political corruption in Brazil, adding Avaaz members' voices to a national push that will bring to a vote landmark legislation banning individuals convicted of serious crimes from standing for public office.
And much more!
launched a drive for a million-signature Citizen's Initiative in the EU to ensure genetically modified crop regulation
raised almost $700,000 for an intensive, long-term campaign to fight the "rape trade"--the sexual enslavement of women and girls around the world
pressed Chevron's CEO to clean up his company's toxic legacy in the Amazon
defended human rights and judicial independence in Spain in the face of three controversial lawsuits against judge Baltasar Garzón and a fierce political campaign to destroy his career
mobilized support for a just two-state solution in the Middle East and against settlement construction in East Jerusalem
stood for civility and genuine debate in Israeli media -- and in U.S. media coverage of Israel and Palestine
... the list goes on!
Through these campaigns, members of the Avaaz network--each of us--have made headlines, shifted policy, and changed lives. But in each of these campaigns, and on many other issues, the work continues.
Help shape our next steps. Since January, more than 50,000 people have answered an Avaaz survey on where to go next -- click here to add your views:
http://www.avaaz.org/april_2010_poll
Avaaz launched in 2007 with a simple, deeply democratic mission: to close the gap between the world we have and the world most people everywhere want. Since then, we have grown to link millions of people in every country on earth -- connecting to one another and taking action on urgent global issues. Each of us might only be able to offer a few minutes a week, but small actions add up -- and when hundreds of thousands of us, or even millions of us, join our voices together, we can change the world.
In fact, that's what Avaaz means in many languages: voice. (In others, more poetically, it means "song.")
Thanks for all of the efforts that got us here. And thanks in advance for helping write our next chapter -- for our collective story, the story of Avaaz, has only begun.
With hope,
Ricken, Ben, Alice, Pascal, Veronique, Paul, Graziela, Raluca, Luis, Benjamin, Milena, Paula, Iain, David and the whole Avaaz team.
P.S. Help set the course for more amazing victories -- take a moment to answer the Avaaz member survey, and then see the results: http://www.avaaz.org/april_2010_poll
SOURCES
Oceans:
• BBC story on announcement of conservation area: http://www.avaaz.org/oceans_annoncement_BBC
• official announcement and consultation report citing Avaaz: http://www.avaaz.org/save_our_oceans_decision
(also see footnote at bottom of message)
Elephants:
• Read the AFP article about the close vote and victory for elephants: http://www.avaaz.org/cites_decision_afp
Haiti:
• See the video of how Avaaz support made a difference: https://secure.avaaz.org/en/haiti_report_back_2/
Uganda:
• Bill was to be debated in February or March http://www.avaaz.org/uganda_law_AAP
• Read this front-page story from one of Uganda's biggest newspapers: http://www.avaaz.org/daily_monitor -- or this BBC story: http://www.avaaz.org/BBC_Uganda -- to get a sense of the global press coverage.
Brazil:
• Avaaz campaign referenced: http://www.avaaz.org/Correio_Braziliense (in Portuguese)
1. Some members wrote in to ensure that the rights of Chagossians and the nation of Mauritius would not be undercut. Avaaz raised these issues in its delivery of the petition, and Foreign Minister Miliband emphasised a commitment to those rights in his announcement of the protection area. It's a major step forward, but continued pressure is needed to ensure a just outcome for Chagossian Islanders and Mauritius -- and to further protect oceans from overfishing.
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