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With 2013 slowly coming to an end it's also time for the annual donation spree in which we are allowed to put our wallet where our mouths are - to show our appreciation for the heroes out there who are doing work without which the world would be a much worse place to live. Below are the ones I've donated to this year - what does your list look like? Let's tweet and tag our lists with #donationspree
THE YES MEN
Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonanno, aka. The Yes Men, are my favorite activists in the whole wide world. No others manage to combine humor and action better (except perhaps the next one on the list, Reverend Billy) than these two and I admire greatly their ability to setup compelling tactical media strikes and go head-to-head with The Man again and again. If you've never dived into their backlog of awesomeness before, do so now and regain your faith in humanity.
Donate link
REVEREND BILLY
Actor Billy Talen and his crew of New York activists (known collectively, among other, as the Church of Stop Shopping) are legendary and, alongside The Yes Men, world class pranksters on a serious mission to inform citizens in New York and the rest of the world about the fallacies of banks, chain-stores, consumerism and much more.
Donate link
OPEN KNOWLEDGE FOUNDATION
(Disclaimer: I work for them! But have been a keen donator for 3 years now). I think it is safe to call the Open Knowledge Foundation (OKF) the world's most broadly encompassing and widely reaching proponent of open culture and open information. Being engaged as a leader (among many other specialists) in practically all fields of the open movement and acting not only as an advocate, but also an infrastructure builder (for instance with tools such as CKAN), the OKF plays an incredibly important role. Additionally, the focus on being a global network and empowering citizens locally across the world is highly appealing to me.
Donate link
CREATIVE COMMONS
Passing the 10 year mark a couple of years back, Creative Commons continue to expand the framework for which sharing can happen in a world that is increasingly being locked down by intellectual property rights management. Although it is fair to criticize the fact that parts of the infrastructure is based on non-commercial licenses, I still think that Creative Commons help lead the global transition towards a more sharing-based mentality. The open movement wouldn't have existed today if it wasn't for the mindset that they've installed in so many people across the world.
Donate link
MOZILLA
Mozilla has, in recent years, managed to popularize the interest among citizens (particularly youths) to not only co-create the Internet, but - most importantly - to do so with an open source approach, in order to ensure a free, neutral and non-proprietary framework for creativity. This is incredibly important!
Donate link
INTERNET ARCHIVE
The Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of ensuring "universal access to all knowledge." It archivesvast collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly three million public-domain books. In addition to its archiving function, the Archive is an activist organization, advocating for a free and open Internet. An incredible resource
Donate link
ELECTRONIC FRONTIER FOUNDATION
The EFF are, indeed, the first line in the battle against unjust copyright abuse, patent trolling, privacy violations and they deserve any support we can give them. No other organization keeps government and major companies in check in regards to injustice in the digital realm as much as the EFF.
Donate link
CHELSEA MANNING
Since leaking the many incriminating documents and videos to Wikileaks a few years back (including the horrifying collateral murder video), Chelsea Manning has gone through hell. I cannot imagine how hard it must have been for her to be locked up and tortured for simply acting as a compassionate human being and exposing war criminals. If it wasn't for Manning, whistle-blowing activism surely wouldn't have reached the top of the global agenda to the extent that we see today. We owe the world to her and hopefully donations can ease her daily life in prison a little - and push forward a presidential pardon.
Donate link
WIKILEAKS
No other organization have managed to continually challenge corrupt and criminal government practices as Wikileaks, and I cannot imagine us ever knowing about all the terrifying war atrocities, illegal surveillance, corrupt politicians and scrupulous government practices if it wasn't for Wikileaks. It's as important today as it ever was.
Donate link
EDWARD SNOWDEN
The last, but definitely not least, information freedom fighter to receive praise and support is, of course, Edward Snowden. I needn't explain the incredible significance of his actions, but will simply link to his recent video message and give praise to his unimaginable courage. I sincerely hope that his sacrifice will lead to real political change in 2014.
Donate link (Bitcoin) - or regular donation
