Social Media and Human Rights

Exploring how rights advocates use information and digital technology to create positive change ... Great video.

Skills Building Workshop - Web4Good

For those that are attending the People's Forum Web4Good workshop, here is a recording of the virtual event that was created in London on Noivember 3rd.  this will give you a bit of insight as to what we will be discussing.

The Skills Building Workshop, sponsored by the British Council, will be on Thursday, November 26th from 9am until 1pm. The theme is Web4Good.

I plan to take the participants through the process of understanding what they can do with social media, how to use it, and what are the benefits for their organization.

New media, new networks, new democracies

It was an interesting discussion with some very interesting points brought up by the participants.  An update is posted here on the British Council blog.

The objectives of the session were to:

• To examine the implications of new and social technology for civil society’s and the Commonwealth’s established focuses and ways of working to promote development and governance; 
• To make policy recommendations on good practice in new media regulation and engagement; 
• To explore the interaction of new media with identity, particularly amongst young people; 
• To identify how civil society can address negative consequences of new media (e.g. extremism, loss of linguistic diversity).

Participants were very active and had several question like:

• To what extent are new forms of interaction and expression in new media helping to expand civic space in Commonwealth countries?
• In what ways are new spaces opened up by technology vulnerable to uses that harm free speech, democratic debate and diversity? 
• What are the implications of recent moves in some countries to regulate freedom of expression in new media? For Artists? Digital rights management?
• What employment opportunities may new media offer, particularly for young people facing underemployment and livelihood challenges? 
• What infrastructural investments still need to be made in developing countries to open up web accessibility, and what new partnerships can be developed to enable then? 

As well, issues such as language and the digital divide are also important.  I hope to continue the conversation on Thursday morning at the People's Space where I will be doing a workshop.

Plan to attend and expect to get involved,

People's Space - Update

Thank you to everyone that came out to the people's Space yesterday (Sunday) to get involved with the Social media discussion.

As promised, here are a few links and documents that you can use:

1. Urban Sprouts 
2. 350.org 
3. Case Foundation 
4. 1 Sky 
5. NetSquared

Tools:

1. Institutional Blogs: Different Voices, Different Value ... from Museum 2.0
2. 10 Ways Nonprofits Can Use Blogs and Bloggers to Support Their Cause 
3. 5 Tips to Start a Nonprofit Blog
4. 10 Tips for Asking Bloggers to Write About Your Cause

People's Space Presentation

I will be having an open dialogue at the Web4Good Seminar at the People's Space.  This is located at the Queen's Park Savannah between 1:00 and 3:00 on Sunday, November 22.

All are welcome - it will be an open discussion so come with questions and problems.  We'll try to solve them!

I will upload a few hand-outs later that you can print out and work through.  See you there!


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