Activism drives social change.
The concept of activism is formed with the adjective active and the affix -ism . The origin of the term can be linked to the German Aktivismus .
Active , in this context, is used to describe someone who acts or moves constantly , or who has the capacity to do so. In this way, he or she tends to act quickly and effectively. The suffix -ism , meanwhile, enables the formation of nouns that can mean “movement” , “doctrine” , “system” or “tendency” , for example.
What is activism?
The first meaning of activism mentioned in the dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy ( RAE ) refers to the tendency exhibited by someone who acts in a very dynamic manner . The most common use of the notion, however, is not that, although it derives from that meaning.
Activism is the social or proselytizing activity carried out by an individual or a group of people . Activism takes shape in public life and aims to achieve some change in society .
There are several ideas that can be linked to activism, such as militancy or demonstration . The activist defends and promotes a cause and expresses it with the aim of gaining support and encouraging authorities or decision-makers to act in harmony with their ideals or motivations.
The role of the activist
An activist is considered to be someone who is part of a social movement, a political party, a non-governmental organization or a union , committing to its projects and actions and disseminating its ideas .
Activists can develop a formal or organic approach, following the guidelines of an entity, or perform in a more informal or spontaneous way. Both facets can even complement each other depending on the moment and context .
Activists carry out public work to achieve their goals.
Political activism
Political activism is associated with militancy. The activist or militant, therefore, follows the guidelines of his party and seeks to gain members and/or voters.
Propaganda for party slogans and campaigning before elections are two of the most common activities of political activists. Often, activists end up becoming candidates or government officials.
Work in civil associations
Social or civic activism is understood to be that which is developed through non-governmental organizations or civil associations. This activism can have different aims or objectives, with activists who intervene in different areas or who aim to achieve changes in various aspects of their community .
Unlike political activism, this work is not framed within a party structure. Nor is it carried out from within a government. In any case, there may be points in common between what a deputy from an environmentalist party hopes to achieve and what activists from an environmental NGO hope to achieve, to mention one possibility.
Virtual activism
In recent decades, a type of activism has emerged that appeals to technology as its main resource: virtual activism or cyberactivism .
In this case, the potential of the Internet is exploited to spread ideas and bring about change, leaving protests or demonstrations in public spaces in the background.