Society is far from perfect. This can be seen in the many social justice issues we face everyday. These issues occur on both a global and local scale, and involve all facets of social, economic, and political matters. The hope for an equal and fair opportunity for everyone in society is the ultimate goal – but reaching it has become a difficult endeavor.
One of the biggest concerns facing social justice reform is not the lack of support from community members and society as a whole, but rather a lack of awareness and understanding of the issues involved. Not many people know about the pressing social justice issues that are hindering our society. Not many people realize how much inequality still exists in the world, and the extent to which this inequality plays into our everyday lives. Without the knowledge and awareness of these issues, we as society can never expect to change. But the question still remains: how do we inform the community of these problems in a way that will initiate change?
The website good.is, “a social network for social good,” recently ran a story about a way to tackle social justice issues through the notion of a storytelling hackathon. They have found a way to convey these issues in an engaging and informative fashion with the ultimate hope of structured change. According to good.is, “We set out to re-act, re-think and re-solve the way we tell the stories that matter.” A hackathon is an event in which people involved in graphic design and other creative fields get together and collaborate intensively on a project of some sort. Hackathon’s are intended for educational or social purposes. This hackathon is based on teaming up frontline advocates who are “struggling to make their voices heard” with creative and talented artists in the fields of design, filmmaking, writing, and technology. The objective is to create awareness by bringing the best storytellers to work on social justice issues in a highly guided and visible way. By producing “creative briefs outlining the specific issues, audience, and supporting evidence needed,” these creative teams will be able to immerse themselves onto the frontlines of social justice in a way that spreads knowledge and awareness on a broad scale and in a creative way. The end product, a compilation of ideas and designs to help promote information on differing social concerns, will be an open source and available for any and all organizations that want to help. The balance of activism and innovation will hopefully have some impressive results.
The meaning of social justice differs from one person to another, and from one society to the next. Social issues such as homelessness, gun violence, immigration detention, inequality towards women, and racial tensions have always been an unfortunate aspect of society; a constant reminder of what we have evolved from, and how much further we need to go. But with the help of organizations and nonprofits like this Storytelling Hackathon, we may be able to find a solution to the unfortunate social justice issues troubling our world.
