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Online International Declaration of Human Rights: Seeking 1 Billion Signatures!Tuesday, May 6. 2008 I just had the pleasure of hearing Mary Robinson, the first woman president of Ireland (1990-1997), speak tonight at the InterAction Forum, which is going on this week here in Washington, D.C. InterAction is a large coalition of U.S.-based non-governmental organizations working in international development and humanitarian assistance, and they've been a client for serveral years. Ms. Robinson is part of an elite group called 'The Elders' -- a group of 12 distinguished world leaders who 'work to support courage where there is fear, foster agreement where there is conflict, and inspire hope where there is despair' (Nelson Mandela). The group includes Kofi Annan, Desmond Tutu, and Jimmy Carter. At the end of her talk, Ms. Robinson promoted a modest web site with a huge cause: They are seeking 1 billion signatures on a Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Why not aim big? 1/6 of the world's population. I've never heard of such an audacious goal--but I love it. I'll certainly be watching to see how they progress. It would be fantastic if they would add some kind of tracking chart to show which countries show the most support. Sign on and help them spread the word!
LiveInterviewsOnline! Connecting New York, New Zealand, and the World - on Climate Change ModelingWednesday, April 23. 2008
Interview: MySpace for Nonprofit OrganizationsWednesday, April 9. 2008
I hosted a live online interview with Heather Mansfield earlier today. During a live interview, we take questions from whomever wishes to submit them. Heather is an expert on how nonprofit organizations can use MySpace to spread their message and recruit supporters. Here is the transcript of the interview.
Also, here are the slides from her recent presentation at our Web Executive Seminar at the National Press Club: Coming up tomorrow, April 10: A live interview with John Sebes on open source voting systems.
Global Development Commons: Wiki Launched to Shape the DiscussionMonday, April 7. 2008 Forum One Communications has launched a wiki (at www.developmentcommons.org) as a space for collaboration to define and start work on the Global Development Commons (GDC). The concept of the GDC is for a space / infrastructure / system to enable the virtual and physical sharing of information among people around the world working in international development. The GDC concept was first discussed, as far as we can tell, in 2007 by US Agency for International Development's Administrator Henrietta Fore, and is outlined on a USAID web page. USAID deserves a lot of credit for promoting the concept of the GDC. At the same time, for the GDC to take root and succeed, it cannot be an initiative launched (primarily) by USAID. The GDC is going to need to have the participation of a wide array of groups apart from USAID - NGOs, multi-lateral organizations, international organizations, non-US government donors, technology businesses, academic institutions, and others. So, we've set up and are hosting this wiki as a neutral space for any players in the development sector to share ideas about what the GDC could become and how it can grow. We outline on the wiki some initial thoughts on the structure and approach for the GDC, and other "commons" efforts. Excerpt from wiki:
Our ideas on the wiki are still developing, and we are eager to have others contribute! Please register and add your own ideas. And if you want to blog about this - use the tags gdc and devcommons Technorati Tags: Global Development Commons GDC DevCommons
Social Sites for Social Good - Presentation Slides/Audio Now OnlineWednesday, March 26. 2008 We had a great Web Executive Seminar on February 26th about "Social Sites for Social Good" - exploring how organizations are using social media and social networking for social causes.(The picture is from the event organized, largely using Facebook, "One Million Voices Against FARC" in Bogotá, Colombia. Feb 4, 2008. By: Alberto Acero Source: Facebook- and see news) The slides from the session - slides+audio - are now publicly available for viewing on Forum One's event web page. Some reflections on the session: * Ivan Boothe, Internet strategy coordinator of the Genocide Intervention Network - talked about use of Facebook to raise visibility of GIN work. * Qui Diaz, Ogilvy PR, and Stephanie Marshall, Director of Pandemic Communications at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services talked about HHS effort to engage flu bloggers to raise awareness of HHS efforts and messages. * Heather Mansfield, Online community manager for Change.org, talked about some interesting ways groups are using MySpace to drive interest in their issues. * Janice R. Nall, Director, Division of eHealth Marketing, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) - shared examples of how CDC is taking their messages to where the audiences are on social networks. * Jonathon D. Colman, Associate Director, Digital Marketing at the Nature Conservancy - shared his fascinating experiences in using social media services like Digg to raise the prominence of TNC's work. (Hint - takes some diligence!) We're interested in feedback about the presentations and the seminar - feel free to add below. Thanks!
Live Interviews Online! Jason Lefkowitz on e-ActivismThursday, March 13. 2008 Over at our LiveInterviewsOnline site, Jason Lefkowitz, Online Campaigns Organizer at Change to Win, just wrapped up offering some interesting answers to reader questions. Read more to see Jason's thoughts on: You need to figure out where those conversations are happening, and find a way to (respectfully) engage with them... Read the whole interview.
New Media Women Enterpreneurs: $10,000 Grants - Apply by May 1Tuesday, March 11. 2008 An exciting grant program will award to three women-led new media projects $10,000 prizes from the New Media Women Enterpreneurs project, supported by the McCormick Tribune Foundation. NMWE writes:
Get your good ideas in by May 1st!
"AIDSHELP" to replace PEPFAR?Tuesday, March 4. 2008 The Center for Global Development ran a fun - and valuable - naming contest to find a new moniker for PEPFAR, the Bush Administration's "President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief" program, which is huge - 5-years, $15 billion. CGD ran this to come up with a new name for the important program "to better reflect the long-term nature of the challenge and broad-based support that the program will need to survive." CGD got dozens of submissions from around the world, and put the best-and-final six entries to a vote. After some 200 votes, the winner was the "AIDS and Healthcare Leadership Program" (AIDSHELP), submitted by Nicolas Cook. I think contests like this are very smart communications strategies. What they can do - as in this case - is come up with a pretty creative solution, engage a wide (global!) audience on the topic, and bring some good visibility to the host, like CGD!
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