Sudan365: The Potential of Global Activism

Will drumming lead to peace in Sudan? No, but a global show of solidarity and support for international attention on Sudan's impending return to war might help.

Last Saturday, activists gathered in cities across the globe to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement that ended the two-decade North-South Civil War, and call for international actors to act quickly to prevent the agreement from collapsing in its last year of implementation. The Sudan365 campaign launched with an impressive video (see below) with celebrity and other drummers from all over the world, and, along with a major report released by a coalition of humanitarian agencies last week, helped draw a large amount of international press attention to the important anniversary and the challenges of the year ahead. The campaign even received a rare public show of support from Sudanese human rights defenders.

This is not a case of a group of naïve peaceniks convinced that if they drum loudly enough the war will end. The campaign cleverly used a public stunt to draw attention to the issue, direct that attention to the immediate policy needs of the situation, and link the grassroots events with high-level advocacy directed at world leaders. Many experts recognize the need for coordinated international action to avert crisis in Sudan -- both in the south and in Darfur -- and the unity of international activist voices brought a new level of attention to the insufficiencies of the current situation. A number of music and pop culture websites also covered the event, thus expanding the reach of the campaign's message to previously untapped audiences.

Any hope for real impact, of course, will require that activists sustain this coordination and visibility. Press cycles are short-lived and thus so are people's attention spans, and the initial big event must be followed by intense and concerted effort to move stubborn policymakers from a variety places, perspectives, and motivations. The many organizations behind the campaign are, without a doubt, aware of monumental task before them.

Photo credit: Sudan 365