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"Basically, I think we're all nutters, but somehow it works." -- Adam |
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"Basically, I think we're all nutters, but somehow it works." -- Adam |
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The Dream Out Loud Rally: Lessons Learned
@U2,
November 18, 2002
Here's a theory: the most committed fans of a band-not the casual CD shoppers, but the true believers-get drawn into fandom because something about the band's character resonates with their own. They have something besides musical taste in common. You could expect U2 fans to share values or traits associated with U2-a hunger for social justice, say, or a need to communicate on a large scale.
Case in point: U2 are ambitious. They are possibly the most ambitious band out there (given how so few others are vocal about their quest to be Best Band in the World). So, too, U2 fan Heather Beekink is ambitious. She spearheaded a campaign to get thousands, if not millions, of fellow fans around the world to take to the streets. They would all do so on the same day and force government leaders to do more for Africa's multiple crises by the sheer power of raised voices. Ambition doesn't always reward you with what you had in mind. It does, however, tend to get better results than apathy. The story of the Dream Out Loud Protest/Rally, which really did happen November 12th at noon (even if not quite as it was envisioned), can serve as a primer for others out there with a gleam in their eye. If you're thinking big, pay attention to the hard-learned lessons of this experience. 1. You need a passion. What has lit your fire? For Beekink, it was the G8 summit in Kananaskis, Canada. Expectations for this meeting of the world's most powerful countries were high for those concerned with Africa's future (especially after Canadian prime minister Jean Chretien promised to make Africa a top priority at the summit), but little tangible progress seemed to be made. Speaking to a Canadian interviewer afterward, Bono looked and sounded frustrated: "I just hoped they'd have had the imagination to make a giant, giant leap here." Beekink followed news about Kananaskis closely, particularly as it was taking place not far from where she lived in Edmonton, Alberta. She saw the post-summit Bono interview and read an article claiming he would engage in more populist activism if high-level diplomacy no longer proved effective. Wheels began to turn. 2. Do you have a big idea? It's not ambition unless you're thinking massive. This idea was huge. Through a website, Beekink would coordinate a protest which would see U2 fans making noise for Africa around the globe ("Not for Bono, but because of Bono," as she said on the site). Afterward she explained what sort of noise she was looking for this way: "I want to see all of the debt dropped, and the release of drug patents so that Africa can treat the AIDS pandemic with the drugs they need at a nominal price. I want the gap between the rich and the poor addressed. I want all the things that DATA and Jubilee have outlined in their mandates. And I want Fair Trade for Africa." Beekink put out a trial balloon for her idea on three fan websites in mid-July and immediately found her enthusiasm matched. Plans took shape for the Dream Out Loud Protest to take place on the 12th of November. Volunteers signed up to coordinate events in Edmonton, in London, in a city in Czechoslovakia called Brno, and many other places. A banner with elegant African symbols was designed and began appearing on multiple fan sites in a variety of languages. And Beekink started reading activist handbooks, papers about the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative, and anything else that would help her "to be able to hold my own if I had to discuss it with the likes of Dr [Jeffrey] Sachs, or Bono." 3. So when does soul-crushing reality set in? Throughout the course of planning. The strangest little details could, and did, act as barricades. November 12th had been picked as the date of the protest because it would coincide with the release of The Best of 1990-2000; then U2 changed the release date. Without that tie-in, November 12th was just a day when cold would be settling in on the Northern Hemisphere. And noon on a Tuesday? That would be when most people would be at work, but they couldn't very well protest at night or on a weekend if the government offices they wished to reach would be closed. Even calling it a "protest" became problematic. The word has a negative connotation and conjures images of rioting or other such misanthropic behavior. Nearer the date itself, Beekink began using a word with a more positive spin: this would be the Dream Out Loud Rally. Those who could not realistically commit to organizing in their cities backed off from their plans. There would, however, be a rally in Edmonton. 4. What does it take to make the big idea happen? Stubbornness, mostly. Beekink, having the mistaken impression that a rally requires the support of a pre-existing "activist community," began early on to contact non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that might be sympathetic to the cause. She discovered there was no "activist community" in the sense she expected-some groups wouldn't support the rally because they didn't know if it was actually going to happen, some never returned her calls, some were simply too disorganized to be of any assistance. (This latter set brought to mind a JFK paraphrase-"ask not what your NGO can do for you, but what you can do for the NGO"-with Beekink offering to help one group set up more effectively in Edmonton.) She also tried churches and government folk, saying afterward, "I have spoken to every Rabbi, priest and politician in this city" and reporting better results at the churches than the government offices: "Politicians had political reactions. Lots of rhetoric and interest but no major response...not that I expected one." 5. Besides stubbornness, what else? Attention to detail. The truth about any event planning, small or large scale, is that there's a reason it's often called "coordination." You have to move certain elements at certain times in order to make the whole thing work; it takes the dexterity of a juggler. A protest or rally is not really as difficult to organize as you might think, but it does require slotting in different tasks at different times. For the rally in Edmonton, Beekink had to contact the police to see about permits and just to let them know what she had in mind. She had to write and distribute a press release in advance of November 12th and make follow-up calls to news organizations closer to when the rally would take place. She had to make posters for participants to carry; she had to have a petition ready to sign. 6. Does the term "flexibility" mean anything to you? It better. As the date drew near and it looked like few rallies were getting off the ground, a different way of bringing fans together globally had to be dreamt up. Beekink posted to the Dream Out Loud message board November 11th a message titled, "What you can do if you can't get to a rally." It listed various ways to show solidarity, from calling a local radio station to play "One" at noon to sending emails to help the campaigns of DATA, Make Trade Fair and Amnesty International. In the end, Dream Out Loud existed at least in Edmonton (there has been no definitive word yet on what happened in London or Brno, Czechoslovakia), and Beekink has the pictures to prove it. Twenty or so people marched and chanted "drop the debt" slogans around Canada Place; there was also speechifying, a moment of silence for those continuing to die of AIDS in Africa, and media attention. Beekink says that "by 3 pm on Tuesday I was already thinking about what we could do NEXT time!" The statement betrays perhaps a chief lesson from the whole experience: 7. You may have ambition, passion, stubbornness and ability to focus on minute details. Against soul-crushing reality, however, nothing works like enthusiasm. © @U2/Pancella, 2002.
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