United Citizens

Aim: Recruiting you to build a global democratic membership organisation of citizens to hold Facebook, Apple, Amazon, and Google to account

United Citizens

United Citizens will be the first ever democratically run global institution, by people for people. Our first focus will be holding tech to account.

Our story

The Fourth Group was established in 2016 to shape tech for all, leaving nobody behind. In 2018 we have run campaigns calling for Mark Zuckerberg to appear in front of UK Parliament and for Tim Cook to inform us whether child labour was used to produce the latest line of Apple products. These campaigns garnered the support of over 200,000 people. There is a clear desire for citizens to address new problems caused by tech and hold tech CEOs to account. We then organised a global listening campaign to understand what citizens believe are our rights and responsibilities in the digital age, what the biggest problems caused by tech are, and how we address them. The next step is to establish a truly people-led organisation, United Citizens. We have started this crowdfunder to build a membership organisation and build on the start of our campaigns.

Vision

We want to create a world where those who run it are democratically accountable, and where tech power is held to account. We want to work with Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook), Jeff Bezos (Amazon), Tim Cook (Apple), and Larry Page (Google/Alphabet) to shape the fourth industrial revolution for all, leaving nobody behind.

How will we do this?

We will unite citizens around the world to build a democratic movement. We will vote for our representatives, then vote for the campaign we want to run, then we will employ campaigning tactics such as lobbying, protest, and community organising to win change. To make this happen, first we must crowdfund.

What we want to change

We are unhappy with:

• The fourth industrial revolution is being shaped by the few, and is leading to new problems outlined in The Fourth Group's Global Inquiry into Citizens in the Digital Age (www.weareunitedcitizens.org).
• The fact that the digital world is run by a tiny tech elite.
• There is no democratically run global institution which represents our interests as citizens of the world.

What we will do

To change this, we United Citizens will:

• Build a democratically run membership organisation open to all citizens to represent our interests.

• Influence, campaign, and lobby powerful tech companies.

• Advocate on behalf of the public and help shape the world from as it is to as it should be.

What is our endgame?

We want to unite citizens globally around common interests for shared peace, privacy, security, freedom, and prosperity. We want to democratise global governance so that people have a say on who runs our world. We will work together to ensure that the fourth industrial revolution leads to progress for all, leaving nobody behind.

What is our plan?

We are an independent organisation to be run on democratic principles.

- Global Election

If we raise enough money, we will organise a global online election to elect our inaugural President and elected officials who will make up part of our inaugural Organising Committee.

- Global Campaign

We will launch a campaign based on the priorities set by our members and representative body.

- Global Community Organising

We will support you as members by providing opportunities to campaign on issues we care about. We will also share exclusive opportunities for training, events, networking.

We want to recruit you as a founding member

To achieve our crowdfund, we need 1,000 people to become founding members for a year. Can you help us make that happen?

What you get as a member

1. Campaign on global issues for social impact

2. Influence the global tech agendas

3. Be part of a global network of engaged citizens with access to an exclusive online platform

4. Run to be an elected member of the advisory board

5. Vote for campaigns and debate ideas

6. Discounted tickets to events, workshops and seminars

7. Exclusive content on our online media platform, Foreword

8. Monthly newsletter

9. Limited-edition digital Membership Card for first 1,000 founding members

10. Access to exclusive merchandise available to purchase (t-shirts, badges)

11. Resources pack on how to make a difference

Testimonies: Why I'm a member

- "Technology and social media platforms can't be left to be value neutral. We are in an ethical and regulatory race against time, but I am an optimist. That is why I'm joining United Citizens as a founding member. I urge you to join us too. It is time for us to come together to shape tech for good. If we do, we have a good chance of technology being trusted by the public and we can at the same time keep our democracy safe." - Lord Clement-Jones (Former Chair, House of Lords Select Commitee on Artificial Intelligence)

- “Facebook, Apple, Google, and Amazon shape so much of our daily lives, yet I alone don't have a say on how those companies are run. That's why I believe we need to come together to build citizen power to change that.” - Diana, 36

- “For far too long, the world has been run by an anonymous elite. It's time we changed that and opened global governance to democracy.” - Natalie, 31

- “They say democracy is dying. That's because the most important global decisions are still not made democratically. It's time for change.” - Jeremy, 18

- “This is not about a political left-right agenda. This is about the ideas of freedom and sovereignty of the people.” - Idris, 44

- “We all belong to and live on this earth. But who decides what happens is not us. It's time to change this.” - Vanessa, 27

- “The Fourth Industrial Revolution presents many challenges and opportunities. The biggest challenges affect all parts of society, but the biggest opportunity is the technologies that allow us to connect worldwide and organise using digital tools.” - John, 59

Money

What will we do with the money if we raise it?

We will organise citizens around the world to run campaigns and hold tech firms and their leaders such as Mark Zuckerberg, Tim Cook, Jeff Bezos, and Larry Page to account.

Our first objective will be to organise a global vote and elect representatives of our members. We will then choose a set of issues we want to address based, and launch a campaign in response.

With £40k, we will be able to:

- Hire a part-time Executive Director to manage and organise operations for a year

- Hire a part-time Community Organiser to grow and support our membership for a year

With £80k, we will be able to:

- Hire a full-time Executive Director to manage and organise operations for a year

- Hire a part-time Community Organiser to grow and support our membership for a year

- Hire a part-time Campaigner to work with members to achieve change for a year

With £150k, we will be able to:

- Hire a full-time Executive Director to manage and organise operations for a year

- Hire a full-time Community Organiser to grow and support our membership for a year

- Hire a full-time Campaigner to work with members to achieve change for a year

If we are unable to raise £40k or more, we will use the funds to kick-start the first phase of United Citizens, which is to vote for our campaign priorities in 2019.

We are running this crowdfunder because we believe that a truly independent movement should be self-funded.

Why Us?

Here are some highlights of what we have achieved in the last two years:

- We have built a global community of 250,000 people from multiple countries around the world

- Developed new technologies via hackathons

- Raised awareness of the need for civic engagement in shaping of tech via press (Al Jazeera, The Economist, Forbes, WEF Agenda)

- Published new ideas to respond to societal problems caused by tech through online media publication, Foreword

- Campaigned for accountability from Facebook/Mark Zuckerberg, and Apple/Tim Cook through Change.org petitions and married it with real-world action (petition delivery to Facebook London office)

- Undertook a global listening campaign through Global Inquiry into Citizens in the Digital Age which gave an opportunity for ordinary folk to consider the social implications of technology, and put forward their views on what must be addressed (12 focus groups in 8 countries, 400 online survey responses from 32 different countries) (www.weareunitedcitizens.org)

- Delivered workshops on multiple issues (cybersecurity, political literary, etc)

- Put forward new ideas in the policy/politics/tech spaces (AI politician, political entrepreneurship, union of citizens for the digital age)

- Delivered talks at global/high-level events (TEDx, TOA Berlin, Web Summit)

- Invited to advise governments (UK Centre for Data Ethics, Pictfor), supranational organisations (OECD), politicians (Council of Europe)

- Invited to advise business (EACD, Google DeepMind, Wetherby’s Bank)

- Organised inaugural summit, engaging leaders in politics, business, and civil society, and organising Politics Summit 2018 (www.PoliticsSummit.org)

FAQs

- Who is the team behind this?

The Fourth Group is the organisation running this crowdfunder. It is run by an executive team, senior advisors, and volunteers with the support of partners. For more information, go to www.fourth.group

- Why do we need a new organisation?

The questioning of Mark Zuckerberg by US Congress and the inability of the UK Parliament to summon him to Westminster highlighted the limitations of national governments.

- Why is United Citizens a global democratic membership organisation?

We believe that people should have the power to decide how the world is run. Democracy gives people that power through the vote. It is global because people around the world are impacted by tech, and the problems demand a global response.

- What is different about it?

This is not a one-off campaign nor a fleeting movement. Our aim is to build a permanent and powerful institution whose purpose is to represent the interests of citizens on a global level. The organisation itself will employ campaigning and movement building tactics to achieve the goal of people power.

- Why should I become a member?

We are recruiting members who believe that tech should be accountable to the people. 1. Belonging: You will be part of a global movement, 2. Power: You have the power to vote for campaigns we take on and vote for representatives. You can also put yourself forward for election, 3. Impact: You can help change the world through campaigns, and 4. Benefits: You get exclusive membership benefits such as access to exclusive events and discounts to events and branded merchandise.

- What will I be able to do as a member?

There are many types of members. You could see your membership contribution as a donation to a cause you believe in. You could also be more active and campaign and help organise the community. You could also run for an elected position. 

- What campaigns might we run?

These will decided by members and elected representatives. Potential campaigns may be inspired by the findings of the Global Inquiry into Citizens in the Digital Age.

- How will we campaign?

This will depend on the campaigns members choose. There are an array of different tactics and strategies, but the main goal will be to employ actions which help achieve the intended outcome.

- When will we elect our representatives and when will we vote on the campaign we take on?

If we recruit 1,000 members or more by December 2018, these votes will happen in 2019.

- Where is the organisation based?

The Fourth Group is registered in the UK. The United Citizens community is intended to be a global community where citizens of the world can organise and campaign.

- How is United Citizens politically aligned?

United Citizens is a non-partisan organisation. We are not left nor right, we're forward.

Contact

If you have any questions or would like more information, please email [email protected].

This project successfully funded on 31st January 2019