Today, World Environment Day (5 June), Greenpeace Africa has launched an online campaign platform for ordinary citizens to run environmental petitions.

The Vuma.Earth (www.VUMA.earth) platform provides a space for Africans to start campaigns that address environmental issues affecting their local communities.

“It is important for African people to stand up against the abuse of the environment because it is our heritage at stake. Vuma.Earth is a tool to help facilitate this,” says Angelo Louw, Greenpeace Africa digital mobilisation officer.

Vuma.Earth is a campaign management tool that allows users to set up petitions, easily communicate with supporters and set up offline events. A useful function of the platform, within the rural African context, is the ability to capture signatures offline.

To garner momentum for this platform, Greenpeace Africa is calling on supporters to get friends and networks to support any of the environmental causes on the platform which they believe in.

“By choosing a cause you care about, signing and sharing on social media and tagging friends, you will demonstrate how simple it is to take action during this World Environment Day,” says Louw. “Using the platform will also demonstrate the potential of ordinary citizens’ networks to affect change.

“Many people think it is hard to get involved in protecting the environment because they feel that they can only do that by showing up at protests and clean-ups,” he adds. “While it would be amazing for people to commit to environmentalism at that level, taking a stand for the environment is as simple as signing and sharing an online petition.”

Louw explains that, using Vuma.Earth, a call-to-action is simple:

* Choose a cause you care about;

* Sign and share it on social media;

* Tag your friends.