How to Start a Revolution
Sunday, April 7, 7:30 p.m. in ARH 302
So you want to change the world? Come see a film about and talk with activists involved in today's most important global non-violent struggles, from the Arab Spring and toppling Serbia's dictator to setting their sights on democracy in Burma and Belarus. Srdja Popovic will give a talk and have discussion about his own work and that of the retired Army non-world and world-renowned non-violent strategist, Gene Sharpe, shown in the film.
Come get ideas for how to change the world.
Sponsored by Cultural Films Committee and Humanities for Life.
ABOUT THE ACTIVIST
Srdja Popovic was one of the founders and key organizers of the Serbian nonviolent resistance group Otpor! Otpor!'s campaign to unseat Serbian president Slobodan Milosovic found success in October 2000 when hundreds of thousands of protestors converged upon and took over the Serbian Parliament, effectively ending Milosevic's rule. After the revolution, Popovic served a term as a member of the Serbian National Assembly 2000-2003.
In 2003, Popovic and other ex-Otpor! activists started the non-profit educational institution the Centre for Applied Nonviolent Action and Strategies (CANVAS) (www.canvasopedia.org). CANVAS has worked with people from 46 different countries, including Zimbabwe, Burma, Iran, and Venezuela, spreading the knowledge on nonviolent strategies and tactics that was used by the Serbian pro-democracy movement to other non-democratic countries. CANVAS has worked with the activists responsible for successful movements such as the Georgian "Rose Revolution" of 2003 and the Ukrainian "Orange Revolution" of 2004-2005. It also transferred knowledge to Lebanese activists in 2004 to address the crisis after the assassination of Prime Minister Harriri, and assisted participants in the Maldives' revolution in 2008. Recently CANVAS has worked with April 6th, a key group in the Egyptian nonviolent uprising, as well as other groups from the Middle East. In November 2011, Foreign Policy Magazine listed Srdja Popovic as one of the "Top 100 Global Thinkers" of 2011 for inspiring the Arab Spring protesters directly and indirectly and educating activists about nonviolent social change in the Middle East and in 2012 was nominated for Nobel prize for peace CANVAS' teachings are available in a documentary, "Bringing Down a Dictator," featuring Otpor strategies to topple Milosevic. Its manual "Nonviolent Struggle, 50 Crucial Points" was translated into 16 languages, including Farsi and Arabic, and was downloaded 17,000 times from Iran during that country's 2009 protests.
ABOUT THE FILM
His ideas have taken root in places as far apart as Burma, Thailand, Bosnia, Estonia, Iran, Indonesia, Zimbabwe, Venezuela and now in Syria, Egypt and elsewhere in the Middle East as old orders crumble amidst the protests of their disgruntled citizens.
Useful readings:
Foreign Policy Magazine: "Revolution U" By Tina Rosenberg
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/02/16/revolution_u
Associated Press: "Serbian ousters of Milosevic make mark in Egypt" By Dusan Stojanovic and Jovana Gec
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/feb/22/serbian-ousters-of-milose...
Financial Times Magazine: "Blueprint for a revolution" By Janine di Giovanni
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/0ad005b4-5043-11e0-9ad1-00144feab49a.html#axzz1L0r6Zy3g
