Roundtable on contemporary citizen activism:the "Greens" and the "Reds"

Annabelle Sreberny, the President of the IAMCR and chair of this special session, opened the Roundtable on contemporary citizen activism: the "Greens" and the "Reds"  by introducing the key-concepts of the discussion.
Pokpong Lawansiri (Thailand), who has been active in the democracy and  human rights movement in Thailand,  discoursed about "The Red Shirt Movement" and the violent governmental response to their peaceful protests. The lecturer hailed the social proposes of "The Red Shirt Movement" and their political aims,  in addition to referring to their usage of the social networks and other internet-related tools as a way to divulge the message.
Shadi Sadr (Iran), a well known iranian lawyer and women's rights activist, took the example of her own arrest and exile to shed some light on the relations between iranian activists and official authorities. A protester in the "2009 Iranian election protests", which were not remarked kindly by those in power, Shadi Sadr criticized the role of the internet on the process, since it was not only an instrument for the dissemination of the protesters cause but also became a dangerous instrument on the hands of the oppressors, for they used Facebook pictures and Youtube videos as evidence for the arrest of many protesters.
In summary, this special session presented the internet as a "double-edged sword" for the activist movements and launched a question on the privacy policies and social responsibility of the social networks.

Diana Teixeira, Eduarda Fernandes, Laura Vilaça and Neuza Alpuim