In an October 24, 2023 interview, Zimbabwean democratic activist and Yale World Fellow Evan Mawarire opened up on courage, leadership— and whether the internet can be a force for positive change.
In April 2016, Evan—then a church pastor— uploaded a selfie video. He talked about how the promise made in the symbolism of the country’s flag had been broken and stolen by the people running the country.
That video went viral, and Evan ended up making nearly 300 such videos, leading the #ThisFlag Citizens’ Movement to fight corruption, injustice and poverty in his homeland. For leading non-violent protests that brought Zimbabwe to a standstill, he was imprisoned in 2016, 2017 and 2019 on charges of treason.