Global Justice for Burma 8/8/08 (B8 Campaign)

CHALLENGE

Burma in 2008 was living under a brutal military junta that, just that year, had intentionally kept aid from communities in need after a major cyclone and later, shot at peacefully protesting monks, killing dozens in plain view of the world. The dictatorship had never been held accountable for the crimes committed under its rule, After four decades of migration to flee the brutal dictatorship, a disparate community of organizations and people working to affect change in Burma were in need of a common message to push for accountability and new leadership.

SOLUTION

A global campaign working with a diverse range of groups under the common message of seeking accountability for dictatorship crimes in Burma.

OVERVIEW

A coalition campaign on the first day of the Olympics in China and the 20-year anniversary of 8/8/88, the largest student massacre in Burma that led to elections for the first time in 35 years. On this symbolic date, just after a blatant attack on Monks by the military Junta in Burma, Abby, in collaboration with the Global Justice Center, led a coalition of legal and media organizations, the Organization of Monks in Burma (a several hundred thousand person network in countries across the world), and others joined forces to call for criminal accountability for the leader of Burma’s military Junta, Than Shwe.

Variant Strategies Founder, Abby Goldberg, conceived of the campaign and successfully pitched the Global Justice Center to take it on as a major project. Abby solicited support and partnership from a diverse range of influential organizations, producing simultaneous events in four countries across the globe with large Burmese populations, press outreach, video production, and campaign branding.

Abby led and coordinated events in New Delhi, London, San Francisco and New York with Burmese Monks and other activists seeking accountability for crimes in Burma at the UN, the International Criminal Court and in civil society globally. The ultimate result: Than Shwe stepped down from power in 2011, in part to avoid criminal prosecution.

Impact

The B8 campaign brought greater visibility to the monks in Burma, and the crimes of Than Shwe. The ultimate result: Than Shwe stepped down from power in 2011, in part to avoid criminal prosecution. Significant media coverage in: the Times of India, and other global outlets.

Campaign Conceptualized, Led and Coordinated by Abby Goldberg in Collaboration with Global Justice Center, International Burmese Monks Organization (Ibmo), Serene Communications, All Day Buffet, Ritinjali, Eli Klien Fine Arts, the 88 Generation Students of Burma, U.s. Campaign for Burma, Frey Noris Gallery, India Habitat Center.

SELECTED PRESS COVERAGE

Times of India, Burma Digest, Asian Age, Buddha Channel, Howrah News Service, Mizzima News, The Huffington Post, Mycochit, Myanmar Blog, Burma Justice Digest, Build Burma Blogspot, Please Help Burma Blogspot, Golden Color Revolution Blogger, Sans Frontiere Collective Lens Blog, The Sponge, Sphere