July 4: Bring out the balloons

July 2, 2009 at 4:30 pm (Campaigns, Green Balloon Campaign, Iran)

Since the unfortunate passing of two major celebrities in the past week, the subject of Iran has all but dissipated in the public eye and we are almost back at square one in terms of global awareness. The battle is far from over, but you wouldn’t think it if you’ve been watching nothing but mainstream TV news recently. The entire world does not use Twitter, and so does not have access to the same information as we do. The fact is that the entire world is not even on the Internet, and so still relies on the regular news channels to receive what we have so readily at our fingertips. We need to bring it back into focus.

What can we do?

We can transcend the American day of independence and share it with the world. Let’s celebrate liberty and freedom for all. Not only do the people of Iran deserve their freedom, they have a right to it.

In order to spread awareness and bring the subject of Iran back into the mainstream news and into the minds of the people, a group of us have decided that during daylight hours on July 4 2009 we will reignite the sea of green and fill the sky once again with balloons, each carrying with it a simple message to educate and inform any who might stumble upon one.

We ask that you join us, no matter where you are in the world in making this a global event: the more support we can get the more chance we have of making this national news and bringing the topic back into the public eye!

To facilitate this, with the help of @Kintay I have put together a PDF template that you can print out and attach to your balloons.

To download, right click the appropriate link below for your preferred language and click “Save as”:

• English
• German (provided by @hussypussy)
• French (provided by @hollyinfrance)

If you need the leaflet in another language then please send me the translated text here and I will create a template and publish it with the others.

The template can be printed in either color or black and white, and can contain either three double sided leaflets per page folded over and glued (to give the leaflets some durability and so that it doesn’t matter which way up they land), or six single sided leaflets per page which can be rolled up as miniature scrolls. In either case, ensure they reach their targets and fasten them securely.

Please video your launch by any means you are able, upload your videos to YouTube and then send the link(s) to me here, or to @CajunTechie and/or @unscannable on Twitter. Once collated, we will post a page on this blog to commemorate the occasion and to show our united support for the people of Iran, and then we will relay them to as many news networks as we can.

If you have any questions in the meantime, please don’t hesitate to contact me directly by email here, or post a comment below, or send a message to @unscannable on Twitter. All messages go directly to my cell phone (including comments on this blog) and I will endeavor to reply as quickly as I can.

You’re amazing!

It’s no secret that Iran would most likely have been plunged into complete darkness were it not for the sheer dedication and voluntary commitment of all those people both inside and outside who:

• Ensure the flow of real news in and out of the country, diluting the government propaganda the people in Iran are subjected to.
• Dedicate time and bandwidth for secure and anonymous proxies to ensure the people in Iran stay connected with the world.
• Watch Twitter and re-tweet important news, giving it weight and spreading awareness.

Even the smallest action has not gone unnoticed.  If you have done nothing more than change your Twitter location and time zone to Tehran, then you have helped.  Yes, I’m talking about you.  Even the fact that you have read this far shows you care enough to want to know.

We really can make a difference.

Thank you, and keep being you!

P.S. I apologise profusely for the short notice on this. The idea only came to me late July 1st and I have been working almost non-stop since with the help of my insanely dedicated girlfriend @athenagibson to produce and organize this.  Special thanks also to @CajunTechie, @MattBCardenas, @Kintay,@hussypussy, @hollyinfrance and @Samtagious for their help and support in helping to make this happen.