So much of history has been defined by the protest and the 21st century has not been short of popular uprisings. From the Hong Kong Umbrella movement, to the failure of Occupy, International Climate Change Marches to democratic protests for revolution, protests continue to capture our global attention. However, the power of the protest is still in question. Rather than the movements bringing about the change they desire, more often than not the despotic regimes persist, the hugely unpopular policies continue and the participants are seen as criminals.

Arguably, online activism has only achieved a fraction of its potential. Twitter’s biggest trends in 2014 included the hashtags #BringBackOurGirls, #BlackLivesMatter and #UmbrellaRevolution. Yet, the Chibok girls are still missing, Darren Wilson walks free amongst us and Hong Kong’s undemocratic electoral reforms continue.

Given these realities, should we continue to protest even when little change is effected? Can online activism achieve genuine long-term campaigns for reform? Is there any power in protesting in the 21st century?

These salient questions will be addressed in an upcoming event hosted by The London Globalist, Dare2Think and Shout Out UK. The ‘Power of the Protest’ Panel Debate will be a series of three 20-30 minute discussions on two-preset questions and followed by an open floor discussion. After an introduction to the event and supporting organisations, each speaker will be required to take five minutes to discuss each question, as organised by our Chair of Speakers. The questions will be as followed:

• Has the power of the traditional protest diminished in the 21st century?
A discussion on why contemporary protests have failed to replicate their past
success.

• Can online activism achieve anything beyond the hash tag?
A discussion of the changing the nature of the protesting the twenty-first century.

• Open the floor to audience questions…
Combination of roaming mic questions from the audience and Live Twitter
feed questions.

Event Details
• Location: Portcullis House at the Houses of Parliament
• Date: Thursday 29th January 2015
• Time: 6.00PM

Speakers will include:

Steve Crawshaw, Director of the Office of the Secretary General of Amnesty International.

Matthew Varnham, Lawyer of the Occupy London movement.

Carl Miller, the Research Director of the Centre for the Analysis of Social Media.

Andria Efthinmiou-Mordau, drugs policy campaigner who advocates policy of harm reduction.

We hope to see you there! To reserve a free ticket, please click here.