A creative call for change

Our craftivism success story

Every year, six million birds visit Doñana National Park in Spain. This large wetland area is a vital stopping point for them on their annual migratory journey across Europe. In early 2016, the Spanish government announced a project that would threaten their habitat: a river-dredging operation that would have had serious implications for the area’s biodiversity.

We launched a campaign to convince the Spanish government to cancel the dredging. We included an email-writing element; however, the UK team were keen to find a way of engaging people offline, something that didn’t involve having to craft a carefully worded email – something more human, more connected.

Luckily one of our team had come across the Craftivist Collective Manifesto and were inspired to create a craft-based activity. After talking to the Spanish office, we hit upon the perfect idea: the pajarita, a traditional folded paper bird design similar to Japanese origami. Simple to do, cheap to create, appropriate culturally and to the campaign. And so #OrigamiMigration was born.

We mobilised our supporters to create as many paper birds as they could and send them in to be a part of an exhibition outside the Spanish parliament. We wanted something where supporters could represent their own feelings and create a colourful, beautiful ‘gentle protest’ that would be hugely visual.

The initiative went global, with supporters sending in birds from all over the world and sharing their designs across social media platforms. The British Origami Society got involved, as well as celebrities like TV presenter and author Simon Reeve, and the project even gained coverage on Fox News. It was enough to get the attention of key decision-makers.

After the installation in Spain, the speaker of parliament came out and agreed to hold a meeting about the issue – something we hadn’t been able to secure before then. We were lobbying ambassadors to Unesco in Paris and we gave them some of the birds to remind them of their responsibilities. Twelve months later you could see the birds on their desks as a permanent reminder that people do care about the decisions made at Unesco.

The positive impact of the project was a huge inspiration for us. We launched it on a shoestring and hadn’t anticipated the engagement it would generate – the initial target was 500 birds, but in the end we got more than 2,500 in the UK alone. What I appreciate about Sarah’s approach to activism and what appeals to me as a campaigner is treating the people you’re trying to influence with kindness, understanding their motivations, and encouraging them to be better without calling them out.