Guess who's back? Kony2012: Part 11 — Beyond Famous (which sounds like a title Kanye would come up with) is live. The nearly 20-minute-long sequel by nonprofit Invisible Children is less incendiary than its predecessor and will almost certainly get less pageviews, but critics will have a harder time arguing with its message — which, we assume, was Invisible Children's goal.
The first part of the video briefly addresses the criticism the movement has received, and reasserts the importance of awareness, which the campaign believes leads directly to action. "We have seen that stories change lives," says Ben Keesey, the video's narrator and Invisible Children's CEO.
Then, we learn what's happened since the first Kony2012 video went live: Invisible Children headquarters received (at least at one point) 200 calls every two minutes from eager supporters, two bipartisan resolutions supporting the effort to disarm the LRA were introduced into the House and Senate, and the African Union agreed to step up its commitment to hunt Joseph Kony down; its Peace and Security Council even assigned a 5,000 strong force to track him down. The LRA, which this video makes sure to acknowledge is no longer in Uganda, has reportedly abducted 57 people since the video launched.
Next, the video lays out the campaign's 4-step action plan: civilian protection, peaceful surrender (which involves sending fliers to members of the LRA about how to escape once the "5,000 strong force" finds him), rehabilitation and reconstruction, and — highlighted in bold — arrest of top LRA leadership.
So, what's up with this "Cover The Night" event we're all supposed to get excited for on April 20th? Invisible Children wants to "turn this digital revolution into something more," and "something more" is basically the biggest, vaguely philanthropically-inclined flashmob you could imagine. Of course, there's a four-step action plan for this, too: form a team with your friends, contact your policy makers, serve your community (by picking up trash and helping your dad load stuff into his pickup truck, apparently), and promote justice for Joseph Kony by postering the shit out of your neighborhood with Invisible Children's fliers. "Wherever your story leads you, go there," the video beseeches. "We can all do our part, where we are, with what we have. We are a new generation of justice."
We don't know about you, but we're not planning to don Kony2012 t-shirts on April 20th — or anytime, for that matter. So we put together a guide to effective giving for those of you who are similarly uninspired by the Kony2012 campaign but want to get more involved with philanthropy. Check it out here.