The Facebook event page showed over 21,000 people attending. Millions of tweets from around the world led up to last night’s event, yet – in Vancouver at least – controversial NGO Invisible Children’s “Cover the Night” poster campaign to make Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony famous failed in its attempt to go offline.
About 17 people met downtown at the Jack Poole Plaza early yesterday evening and went on to put up posters throughout the downtown core, according to Invisible Children representative Lindy Bateman who oversaw the event.
“I think expecting 21,000 to come out in Vancouver to help us cover the night – I wasn’t expecting that by any means,” said Lindy Bateman, head of a five-person volunteer crew that travelled to Vancouver for the event. “Since they clicked that button and said they wanted to be a part of it, a lot has happened to our organization as far as criticism goes.
“The kids that came were very passionate about what they were doing, I know we made a difference.”
Bateman said her group, who volunteer but have their travel expenses paid for by the charity, was one of 16 teams that fanned out across North America in anticipation of last night’s event.
The Kony 2012 YouTube video put out by the San Diego-based charity earlier this year surged to over 88 million views, but its creators became embroiled in controversy for their militant message and handling of funds. As well, last month the charity’s co-founder Jason Russell was caught allegedly masturbating in the streets of San Diego.
According to a recent budget report, last year the organization took in $13.8 million and spent $8.9 million, most of which went toward marketing, management and the production of videos. In their budget, $3.3 million was earmarked for programs in Central Africa.
Critics argue that Kony hasn’t been active in Uganda for several years and that he’s most likely somewhere in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Bateman said after the video went viral and controversy embroiled the charity the Cover the Night campaign’s focus switched to writing politicians and public service.
In an instructional video for last night’s event, Jedidiah Jenkins, Invisible Children’s director of ideology, said, “We want the whole world to unite so that people who think that this generation is full of slacktavists and self-centred social media junkies. It’s like, ‘actually you got us dead wrong.’ We want to earn the right to be heard globally by serving locally.”
For the handful that showed up downtown last night that meant handing out baked goods and thank you cards to several fire halls and police stations Bateman said.
The campaign’s online reception in Metro Vancouver was also muted as it failed to trend on Twitter or Facebook.
Burnaby resident Cathy Matusicky was on Granville Street around 11 p.m. last night photographing her daughter Molly and her two friends as they scrawled chalk pleas for help to stop the warlord on the side of the Sears building.
“I was really happy because my daughter got involved and got interested and she is 11,” Matusicky said. “It was the first time she really passionate about something, she was actually the one that told me about it.”
Though she had reservations about Invisible Children’s methods, Matusicky said overall she thought the campaign to catch Kony was good and could be a gateway for youth like her daughter to become more educated about world issues.
“Now that it’s fostered interest, I want to be able to teach them to do their own research on it and find out ways they can help.”
Matusicky said Molly had “adopted” an African child through the World Vision charity, though neither could recall where the child lived.
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