I am fascinated by the daily and unstoppable growth of Internet social networks. Facebook, for example, recently reached 400 million users. Twitter, the wonder of the moment, today has more than 100 million registered users. However, it is not only the high volume of users that is significant, but what occurs within these networks.

At a crucial moment when pain and anger dominated the people of Colombia, I had the historic and accidental opportunity to start a movement via Facebook against terrorism and kidnappings in my country. From one day to the next, my endeavor grew enormously, so much so that with my new friends from the Facebook group, I organized an international protest against the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia). One month later, this protest took place in the streets of more than 200 cities in 40 countries, with more than 12 million participants. For those of us who organized the march, this day changed our lives forever.

Since then, social networks have taken on a greater significance, not just in my country, but also in many other regions of the world where the Internet is the vehicle used for promoting causes for liberty and against violence and oppression. Since December 2008, the giants in these networks – Facebook, Google, YouTube and Twitter, among others – united to promote the Alliance of Youth Movements, which has now conducted three conferences in New York, Mexico City and London. These meetings brought together dozens of organizations and movements led by young people who, thanks to the Internet and social networks, are succeeding and advancing fantastically in their missions.

We are in the era of information. Now it is the people themselves, without external intervention, who are using these same social networks to advance their causes, to tell their stories, to empower themselves in a sort of journalism on the streets. More and more, dictators are finding it impossible to fool their populations, to cover up their abuses. People have finally understood the value of using technology as a means to amplify their voices, whether they go against oppression or they create supportive solidarities toward causes that promote our most basic rights.

Slowly, the young people of today are breaking through the apathy and indifference that some years ago seemed immovable. The newest generations have demarcated the difference, voluntarily and spontaneously committing themselves to causes that are transforming their surroundings. The power of the masses is a poignant reality, thanks to the plenitude of young people that have finally understood that it is they who have the power to alter their society — there is no need to wait for anyone else. And so it is the young person that is the protagonist in this story of change and impact. The passion for liberty is stronger today than ever before, whether it’s the liberty of expression, of thought, or of assembly. In Moldova, for example, a protest organized through Twitter was directly responsible for bringing about new elections. In Cuba, Yoani Sanchez, a single blogger who lives on the island, is the person with the most followers in the Cuban American and Hispanic blogging communities. She was also named one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People. In Miami, a young person decided to start a MySpace page to support a suicidal friend. This page was transformed into a movement of unbelievable proportions that has provided similar support to thousands of young people regarding suicide, and has saved innumerable lives.

These few examples are symptoms of a change that is occurring in our society. They are proof that we are tired of waiting for someone else to solve our problems. We have opted to make our own decisions, becoming agents of change, and with the power of social networks and the Internet, we are, slowly but surely, making a difference in our societies.

This article was translated from Spanish to English by Adriana Martinez, Opinion Editor. Oscar Morales Guevara is a Visiting Fellow on the Human Freedom program of the George W. Bush Institute. Oscar was appointed as a fellow by former President George W. Bush on Nov. 10, 2009, thanks to his outstanding work as a freedom activist in his country, and for his efforts to unite the worldwide youth around causes through the use of social media and technology. He can be reached for comments at [email protected].