WHAT HAPPENED TO #BRINGBACKOURGIRLS?

VOLUME 9 | ISSUE 31

WHAT HAPPENED TO #BRINGBACKOURGIRLS? SECONDARY RESOURCES NOTE TO EDUCATORS g

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The following activities are designed to stimulate a current events discussion. Generative in nature, these questions can be a launching point for additional assignments or research projects. Teachers are encouraged to adapt these activities to meet the contextual needs of their classroom.

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Michelle Obama tweeted this photo in support of the #BringBackOurGirls campaign in 2014. Photo Credit: Michelle Obama’s Twitter Account.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION • During the night of April 14, 2014, 276 girls were kidnapped from their boarding high school in the town of Chibok, Nigeria. They were kidnapped by a military group called Boko Haram, which roughly translates as “western education is forbidden.” 57 girls were able to escape on their own. (AfricaCheck.org) • The hashtag #BringBackOurGirls first appeared on April 23, 2014 in Twitter posts from people in Nigeria. By May 9, 2014, the hashtag had appeared in more than 2.4 million tweets from people around the world. (www.reportr.net) • The photograph of Michelle Obama, America’s First Lady, holding a piece of paper with #BringBackOurGirls written on it, was retweeted almost 55,000 times. (www.reportr.net) • In the spring of 2014, the Ice Bucket Challenge spread around social media. Participants would video themselves having a bucket of ice water dumped over their heads. They would then challenge others to do the same, or make a donation to a charity. In July, the Challenge reached an American named Pete Frates who had a large network on social media and had recently been

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diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or “Lou Gherig’s Disease.” Frates dedicated his challenge to ALS. His video went viral, and the Challenge became connected almost exclusively to ALS. More than $15 million dollars have been donated for ALS research because of the Ice Bucket Challenge. (TIME Magazine)

• In February 2012, an organization called Invisible Children posted a video to raise awareness about the crimes committed by Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony. Over several decades, Kony’s army has kidnapped an estimated 66,000 children to become soldiers or sex slaves, and has driven more than 2 million people from their homes. The Kony 2012 video called on the world to take action to capture Kony and bring him to trial. Within three days, the video had more than 43 million views on Youtube. Celebrities including Justin Bieber and Nicki Minaj supported the campaign with social media posts. (KnowYourMeme)

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• Invisible Children was criticized for oversimplifying the problem and solutions. The video had called for a worldwide day of protests on April 20, 2012. However, reports from around the world indicated that few people had actually showed up for rallies. (KnowYourMeme)

In some cases, reading the article with students may be appropriate, coupled with reviewing the information sheet to further explore the concepts and contexts being discussed. From here, teachers can select from the questions provided below. The activity is structured to introduce students to the issues, then allow them to explore and apply their learnings. Students are encouraged to further reflect on the issues.

KEY TERMS Social media—Internet web sites or other digital applications that allow people to connect socially and create online communities. Hashtag—A keyword or phrase that is used to connect posts that concern the same topic on social media, like Twitter or Facebook. Hashtags get their name because they begin with the hash symbol - # Activism—Engaging in activities that are intended to create social or political change. Viral—In the context of social media, viral refers to an image, video, statement or idea that gets passed along and shared with a large number of people in a short period of time.

A N I N I T I AT I V E O F

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THEMES AND COURSE CONNECTIONS

• Themes: Activism, Education, Global Issues, Politics • Course Connections: The Arts, English, Interdisciplinary Studies, Social Sciences and the Humanities

chart paper. Allow each group to share their work and post their papers on the board.

MATERIALS

• Front board • Student journals or note paper • Writing utensils

On the board write down the word “slacktivism.” Provide students with the following explanation:

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SPECIFIC EXPECTATIONS AND LEARNING GOALS

Students will:

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Develop and express responses to issues and problems. Reassess their responses to issues on the basis of new information. Participate in active group work and class discussions. Communicate effectively in writing, orally or visually. Demonstrate the ability to think critically. Develop, express and defend a position on an issue.

MAP IT Have students find the location mentioned in the article in order to gain a deeper understanding of this issue.

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• Chibok, Nigeria


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Slacktivism is a combination of the words “slacker” and “activism.” It has been used to describe hashtag activism. Slacktivism is described as a lazy kind of activism done by people who feel good when they share and promote issues online but do not take any real action.

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Tell students to listen carefully to the following statements. After each statement has been read, tell students to stand up if they agree or stay seated if they disagree. i.

Hashtag activism or “clicktivism” is a form of slacktivism.

ii.

Hashtag activism followed by real-world action is not slacktivism.

iii. There is a limitation to “clicktivism” to advance causes. iv.

To be effective, online (hashtag) activism must be backed with real world activism.

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Hashtag activism can play a positive role in world events by drawing international attention to an issue.

vi. Hashtag activism oversimplifies complex issues and fails to achieve anything. vii. Spreading awareness alone is its own kind of protest.

DISCUSS

1. Before reading the Global Voices article, what did you know about Boko Haram or the #BringBackOurGirls campaign?  Where did you learn this? 2. What is “clicktivism”? Have you ever engaged in it? Why or why not? 3. What are some examples of ways social media could be used to promote a cause—something that is happening in the world or that someone feels strongly about?  Have you or your friends/family used social media to support a cause? If so, which one and why? 4. In what ways is using social media for a cause effective?  In what ways is it not effective?  What determines if a social media campaign is successful? 5. Another large-scale social media campaign in 2014 was the “ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.”  Did you participate in this campaign?  Do you feel that this campaign was effective?  Why or why not?  Did it raise funds for ALS research?  Did it raise awareness about ALS?  If so, what do you know about ALS? 6. Do you think a social media campaign is enough to support the issue behind #BringBackOurGirls? Are there other ways we can support the campaign?

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DIVE DEEPER Organize the class into three groups and give each group a piece of chart paper with one of the following words written in the centre: i. Hashtag

As a class discuss the connection between all three words and create a class definition for hashtag activism.

ii. Activism

iii. #BringBackOurGirls

Instruct students to work collaboratively to write as many different words as they can think of that connect to or define the word on their

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viii. Hashtags are effective only when they’re trending. Read the following statement last and instruct students to hold their positions:

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Hashtags are an effective tool for social activism. On the board create a T-chart with the headings For and Against. In the For column write down the names of students who agree with the statement. In the Against column write down the names of students who disagree with the statement.

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Share with the class that a debate will take place between both teams to dispute the statement. Have each team come up with three major arguments that support their opinion. Prior to the debate allow each team five to ten minutes to gather their thoughts and specific information. Encourage students to use the Global Voices article and any other available resources to build their arguments.

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Once resources have been collected, the For team will begin by saying “this statement is true because of A, B and C.” Team members will then take turns giving specific details that prove A, B and C arguments.

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The Against team must take notes while the For team is presenting their arguments and respond to each argument using specific information to disprove it. When all the arguments have been responded to, the teams will switch roles and repeat the activity. The For team should take notes and respond to the Against team’s arguments. Allow each team three minutes to speak at a time and as a class develop a new statement that is agreed upon by both teams.

A N I N I T I AT I V E O F

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