A lot of dictionary definitions mention "campaigning for change", which lines up with what I mean. I perceive activism as trying to raise awareness or get atten

A lot of dictionary definitions mention "campaigning for change", which lines up with what I mean. I perceive activism as trying to raise awareness or get attention for an issue. I'd much rather work directly on the issues that an activist would raise awareness for. To use environmental causes as an example: doing activism to raise awareness or support for clean water doesn't interest me, but working with a team that is developing a new water filtering technology does interest me. There are also the negative connotations of extreme activism, which I find off-putting, like anger, riots, terrorism, etc. I want nothing to do with any of that kind of approach, even if it's supposedly "in support" of a cause I care about. But I don't think all activism is necessarily negative.