Projects with Clear Long-Term Goals

These projects have long-term goals for change. Long-term goals tend to be things like: end racism; end homophobia; make the sun stand still in the sky. A campaign with a long-term goal also needs to have some kind of theory of change.
Rose Boy
Practitioner:
Singer Jolin Tsai
Date:
Dec 26 2018

“Rose Boy” (玫瑰少年) refers to Yeh Yung-chih, a 15-year-old junior high school student in Taiwan who died on April 20, 2000, after years of bullying due to his non-conforming gender expression. Though the official cause of death was ruled accidental—he allegedly slipped in a school bathroom—the circumstances surrounding his death, including prior complaints from his mother about repeated verbal and physical harassment, drew widespread public attention.

menstrual pad mutual aid boxes
Practitioner:
Chinese University Students
Date:
Oct 30 2020

Since 2020, university students across China have launched a grassroots initiative to combat menstrual stigma by placing “menstrual pad mutual aid boxes” in campus restrooms. These boxes, often accompanied by signs reading “Take one if you need it, donate if you can,” provide free sanitary pads to anyone caught off guard by their period—offering both practical relief and a symbolic challenge to the cultural silence surrounding menstruation.

21-Day Survival Challenge
Practitioner:
Artist Zou Yaqi
Date:
May 1 2021

In her 2021 graduation project from the Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA), Chinese performance artist Zou Yaqi staged a provocative social experiment titled “21-Day Survival Challenge.” For three weeks, Zou assumed the persona of a wealthy socialite, using counterfeit luxury items, strategic self-presentation, and social engineering to access elite spaces in Beijing—such as five-star hotel lobbies, first-class airport lounges, and high-end restaurants

Extravaganja
Practitioner:
UMass Student
Date:
Apr 28 1991

Rooted in decades of grassroots organizing, the cannabis reform activism at the University of Massachusetts Amherst is one of the longest-running student-led efforts for marijuana legalization in the United States. Led by the Cannabis Education Coalition (CEC), founded in 1991, this movement combined cultural celebration with political advocacy, using public festivals like Extravaganja to destigmatize cannabis and promote drug policy education.

Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge Suicide Intervention Program
Practitioner:
Artist Qiu Zhijie
Date:
Jul 8 2008

The Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge, completed in 1968, is one of China’s most iconic infrastructural projects and a potent symbol of national pride. Spanning over 6,700 meters across the Yangtze River, it was the first double-decked road-rail truss bridge designed and built entirely by Chinese engineers, without foreign assistance, during a time of intense geopolitical isolation.

My vagina says, “I want freedom.”
Practitioner:
Beijing Foreign Studies University Students
Date:
Nov 12 2013

In November 2013, a group of 17 female students at Beijing Foreign Studies University sparked national debate when they staged a bold social media campaign in support of an upcoming performance of The Vagina Monologues, a feminist play by Eve Ensler.

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