Impacting Faster than Ever

I feel fortunate to be able to live in a world of transformation where digital technologies have dissolved all the national boundaries. Communication across nations regardless of your race and gender became easy than ever. Society is no more confined within the geographic territory. Now we build our own society through networking, and that is one of the key features of modern digital technology Web 2.0 that excites me most. It is marveling to see that how an online networking system can work as a national or international campaign for different issues.

The biggest reason that has multiplied my excitement and deepened my interest for social networking is the recent national youth movement it has created in my country against the war criminal. Over last couple of months, through using face book, twitter, blogging etc. millions of youth has gather in different parts of Bangladesh demonstrating against the war criminals and asking for capital punishment for the convicted. The whole movement forced the government to pass a new law that gives citizens the right of higher appeal against war criminals even after the final hearing. Even though, theses kind of acts of movement and campaign using social networking has been happening over the world, but experiencing this in my own country, being a part of it, and witnessing the impacts it can bring, elicited a different type of courage and believe within me.

I believe positive change can happen and it can happen faster than ever through digital media like Web 2.0. In the case of women empowerment movement we can generate a huge outcry through channeling and networking. Let’s take the example of One Billion Rising movement worldwide in last 14th February where women all over the world have rise together. Gladly, our university was also a part of the rising movement where we marched over the city protesting against women violence and struck an impact through “break the chain” flash mob. Moreover, we organized Vagina Monologue program on campus. We all made these happen in a conservative Muslim community of Chittagong, in a small country like Bangladesh. And this was only possible because we had access to online campaign of One Billion Rising through facilities of Web 2.0. The rising of women over the regions on V-Day bears the testimony of the success of Web 2.0 in women empowerment. Undoubtedly this also exemplifies how Web 2.0 is impacting my life and empowering me. Instead of living in a conservative community of a small city of Chittagong, Bangladesh, I am being able to have my voice heard by different people over the world, testifies that women empowerment can happen and it can happen more efficiently and rigorously than ever through technologies like Web 2.0.