Ouf-of-Office Emails. A New Channel for Social Change

In 2021 Bulgaria has finally elected a government that went on a crusade against corruption.

However the opposition who were suffering from this were determined to stop it.

So in the summer of 2022 they announced they would hold a vote of no confidence and bring the ruling coalition down.

But this had an unexpected effect. Bulgarians were fed up with the corrupt state and the negative effect it had on their lives so they have spontaneously gotten out on the streets to support the government. An unprecedented act as historically all such events were against the people in power. The protests were going on for three days.

As the aim was to show that the majority of the population wanted the opposition to abandon its plan it was crucial to gather as much people on the streets as possible.

But how?

As the marches started during working hours this presented an opportunity.

To use the out-of-office email as a new communication channel.

Everybody who has left their desk to join the protest could download an open source template for their automatic reply. The template explained the situation and urged the receiver to join the sender on the streets.

This is a passion project.