Story by
Martin SFP Bryant
FounderMartin Bryant is founder of Big Revolution, where he helps tech companies refine their proposition and positioning, and develops high-qualit Martin Bryant is founder of Big Revolution, where he helps tech companies refine their proposition and positioning, and develops high-quality, compelling content for them. He previously served in several roles at TNW, including Editor-in-Chief. He left the company in April 2016 for pastures new.
A neat combination of online and offline protesting took place in London today, as thousands of people who had signed an online petition were transformed into little cardboard characters and placed outside the Houses of Parliament.
The petition and ‘protest’ were organised by the Fairtrade Foundation, and called on Prime Minister David Cameron to prioritize the rights of smallholder farmers in his trade policy in the run up to June’s G8 Summit. The cardboard figures, one for each signature on the petition, were created using Mint Digital’s Foldable.Me service which, as we’ve previously reported, allows users to create a customized cardboard character in their own likeness.
The Fairtrade Foundation says the total number topped 8,000. Those of you with an eye for British celebrities may recognize a few in the swarming ranks in the photos below.
Sure, this was largely an eye-catching media stunt, but it does make us wonder what other ways technology could be used to make a point when protesting. We’ve already seen an app to help protesters avoid police ‘kettling’.
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