The South Asia ‘We Can’ has been the inspiration and trigger for other international social movements with a similar nature. It has enabled movements to connect globally, share strategies and learn from each other.

The growth of the campaign has been organic where people from other countries have sought out information about the campaign, visited campaign areas and made their own decisions on how to evolve similar campaigns. Oxfam’s ‘We Can’ team in South Asia and key allies from the region are providing advice and materials to groups in several countries.

A ‘pilot’ ‘We Can’ Campaign was launched in British Colombia in June 2007. ‘We Can’ East Africa launched in November 2008 in Tanzania and Kenya. The ‘We Can’ Campaign was launched in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2008.

‘We Can’ Netherlands launched on 8 March 2009. Work is currently on to explore the possibility of campaigns in Uganda, Niger, the United Kingdom, Indonesia, Guatemala, Brazil, Bolivia and Haiti.

Check out:

We Can BC
http://www.wecanbc.ca/

We Can Netherlands
http://www.wecan.nl/smartsite.dws?id=123205

for intersections and conceptual spaces with ‘We Can’
 

‘We Can’ British Columbia, Canada

The campaign was launched as an initiative with the South Asian community in British Colombia but has extended its reach to all population groups. The approach is that of ‘We Can’ with modifications to suit the Canadian context. There are now about 45 organisations signed up as allies in the campaign.

‘We Can’ Africa

‘Tunaweza’ Kenya and Tanzania

Over 2007, ‘We Can’ alliances started to come together in Kenya and Tanzania, with the support of staff in Oxfam GB’s Regional Centre in Nairobi. Members of the South Asia ‘We Can’ team made a number of trips to the region to give practical support and guidance. As much of the South Asia communications approach and materials was inspired by the work of Raising Voices in East Africa, these were readily adaptable to the East African context.

The campaign, known both as ‘We Can’ and its Swahili equivalent ‘Tunaweza’, has been planned as a five-year effort on the lines of its South Asian counterpart. The ‘We Can’ Kenya Alliance is made up of over 50 organisations drawn from across Kenya and the ‘We Can’ Tanzania Alliance is currently comprised of two regional coordinating organisations. Staff in Oxfam GB, Uganda, is working with a number of partners to launch the campaign.

‘Nous Pouvons’ Democratic Republic of Congo

The ‘Nous Pouvons’ campaign as it is known in Francophone Africa - was launched in three provinces of Democratic Republic of Congo in October 2008 and in a fourth province in January 2009. More than 200 organisations across the four provinces have registered as members of the provincial alliances and over 5,000 people have registered as ‘Change Agents’ (as Change Makers are referred to in the DRC Campaign) – in spite of the fighting and insecurity in three of the four provinces.

‘We Can’ Netherlands

The Dutch ‘We Can’ was launched in Utrecht, The Netherlands, on the International Women’s Day, March 2009. It is being led by Movisie, the Netherlands Centre for Social Development, with financial support from Oxfam Novib.

‘We Can’ in the United Kingdom

In early 2009, the Rape Crisis England and Wales have formally adopted ‘We Can’ to be part of their prevention and awareness raising programme that will soon give momentum to a full -fledged ‘We Can UK’.

Other ‘We Can’

The launching of ‘We Can’ in Bolivia, Brazil, Guatemala and Haiti are being planned.

Indonesia may also launch soon. The possibility of launching the campaigns in China and South Africa are being considered.