Wednesday, March 29, 2017

Mobile Technology Empowers & Educates Children
Non-governmental organizations or non-profits that are involved in education should take note of this interesting and beneficial project that I read about. It involves mobile technologies.
A series of initiatives to improve learning through mobile technologies were presented during the Mobile Learning Week 2017, a recently concluded five-day forum held at the Paris headquarters of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), according to the UN News Center.
Mobile Learning Week, which wrapped up last week, assembled hands-on education specialists, private sector and policy makers, and focused on the theme Education in Emergencies and Crises.
It showed that the wide range of mobile and online technologies, which are frowned upon by traditional educators and some parents, can benefit children – especially refugee and displaced kids.
The program of Mobile Learning Week was designed to present diverse initiatives and facilitate discussion and collaboration between stakeholders across different sectors of society. Participants were loaded with plans and solutions toward successfully integrating mobile technologies to aid education in crises.
While smartphone apps and interactive workshops demonstrated how mobile solutions could meet some of the challenges faced by displaced people, two tents set up by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) at the event facility gave participants an idea of the living and learning conditions faced by refugees, including the lack of Internet connection.
Interactive workshops, from a solar-powered digital audio player for teacher education in South Sudan, to smartphone games for Syrian refugee children, demonstrated how mobile solutions are able to meet the unique challenges of displaced people.
“While refugee learners face numerous obstacles, they also carry the potential to transform educational practices,” the Congolese university student and youth community activist Roland Kalamo said at the conference. Roland lives and studies at Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya, and was one of the presenters at the event.
He is also the founder of Movement of Youth for Peace and Change, an organization that teaches young people at Kakuma about human rights, peacebuilding and conflict resolution through arts like cinema and music, language, journalism and sports. Through his organization, he seeks to empower the youth to be part of the solutions to their own problems.
Imagine that such a mobile device, the ubiquitous small apparatus used by kids around the world, can enlighten and improve children’s lives. When children are educated, they will improve the lives of their peers and their children and grandchildren.
Although lack or unstable Internet connection can be one of the multiple obstacles to refugee learners, mobile learning – which enables, through mobile technology, learning anytime and anywhere – can be an opportunity for them to invest in their own lives and future.
“When a refugee is using mobile learning, they enjoy the same rights as a normal citizen and no matter the circumstances,” said Roland, adding that: “If they’re alive and have access to the Internet, nothing will stop them from learning.”
According to a report from UNHCR – which co-organized the event together with UNESCO and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) – only 50% of refugee children have access to primary education, while the global average is more than 90%.
As these children grow older, there is an even larger gap: only 22% of refugee adolescents attend secondary school compared to a global average of 84%. At the higher education level, just 1% of refugees attend university, compared to a global average of 34%.
The opportunities for NGOs, even those that aren’t directly involved in education, as well as small businesses that have a window for humanitarian work, are numerous.
First of all, you can contact educational institutions in developing countries or displaced centers. To do so you can contact appropriate UN agencies, UNESCO, UNICEF, UNHCR or the Red Cross. Then prepare a list of websites and apps that can help children learn about themselves and the world in which they live. You can also collect used or discarded mobile devices and then donate them to needy schools and children overseas. You can also ask OEMs, telephone companies, and other technology firms to donate the devices to your cause. Finally, you can research Wi-Fi and technology providers and ask them to install networks and sustainable energy stations for educational purposes.
By doing so, you will fulfill SDG #4 – Quality Education.
Don’t Forget to Promote
When you’re ready to launch your assistance campaign, don’t forget to promote your organization. Get in touch with local media, elected officials, educational institutions, other NGOs and small businesses, and stakeholders. Share your initiative and ask them to join. Promote yourselves on Twitter and Facebook, including as many photos as possible especially of the kids using your tech contributions.
All media love human interest stories.
If you have examples of how you’ve used social media to boost your outreach, let me know about it and I’ll help you spread the word about your success.
I’d also like to invite you to visit my Thought Leadership website:
http://thoughtleadership.yolasite.com/              
If you’re looking for advice on recruiting, company handbooks, immigration policies and other human resources topics, I’d like to suggest to you this interesting website:

Monday, March 13, 2017

Twitter and Social Media Boost Outreach
Whether you’re an entrepreneurial small business or a non-governmental organization, in order to boost your outreach and promote your products, services and mission, you should take time to acquaint yourself with Twitter and social media – and take full advantage of them.
All indicators confirm that they can contribute to your success and all serious businesses and non-profits must have a presence in them.
Makenzie Bray, a marketing major at Auburn University's Harbert College of Business, observed that businesses and by association other groups use social media platforms to create a strong connection with clients, customers and other stakeholders that was not possible until the development of the ubiquitous and popular social media platform. “It enables customers to feel more connected with the businesses they interact with on social media when they can comment back and forth on Instagram or see behind-the-scenes snapchats. Social media interactions like these are creating a whole new level of customer-company relations,” Bray said.
These interactions and connections build traffic, awareness, followers, web visitors and ultimately sales. For NGOs, they can help your outreach and fundraising goals.
“Seeing first-hand how the use of these simple social media platforms can immensely affect the day-to-day operations and success of business throughout the world is of high interest to me. Every business looking to grow their clientele, boost their sales, and create more personal relationships between customer and company should pursue creating an influential social media presence. It is an ever growing form of business marketing and sales that will continue to gain important and influence in the coming years as the dependence of technology continues to grow,” wrote Bray, who sees the practical application of social media in the sales of a florist in which she works.
The blogsite Socialnomics.net opined that Twitter and social media today are far more than merely a tool for startups. “In 2017, social media will play an increasingly important part in how businesses connect with their customers.  Before, it was treated as just a way to build up a brand. Now, customers are finding and connecting with the companies they buy from as much as they can,” the blogger noted.
As much as 80% of social media users will buy something due to their social media experience with a business, according to GetAmbassador.com. New digital businesses appear overnight and the successful ones will last based on the strength of their social media marketing plans.
“Bigger brands such as Arby’s put a chunk of their marketing budget towards having an effective and continuously engaged social media presence. For a lower cost than more traditional marketing opportunities, the results and expansive reach pay dividends,” Socialnomics blogger indicated.
These trends and insights should not be lost on non-government organizations. Businesses have products and services to promote while non-profits have their missions. These actions deserve consistent engagement with customers in groups, pages or in comments. Businessmen and women as well as civil society promote their work by interacting with their audience, drawing them into a conversation, informing the public about what they are doing, researching trends, servicing customers and enthusiasts, raising awareness, sharing insights and ultimately reaping the benefits of these connections.
Test the environment with your Twitter handle and tweets. Create pages on Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, Blogger and others. Then create groups of like-minded businesses, clients, NGOs and stakeholders. All of them rely on discussions and interesting content to flourish. When they flourish, you will do so as well.
These groups and pages are valuable for boosting traffic, learning what is and isn’t working for other businesses and groups. You can refine or improve upon on their mistakes – or your own since you will have created the flawless blueprint for a fraction of the cost it cost them.
One word of caution. Once you agree that social media is right for your business or NGO, stay with it. Use it regularly several times a day to raise the odds of reaching as many interested parties as possible. If you’re asked a question, you must reply.
If you launch a social media presence and then belittle it by vanishing, you will discredit yourself and your business and NGO.
How do you use social media?
Join the conversation in cyberspace about social media boosting your outreach. If you have examples of how you use social media to boost outreach, let me know about it and I’ll help you spread the word about your success.
I’d also like to invite you to visit my Thought Leadership website:
http://thoughtleadership.yolasite.com/              
If you’re looking for advice on recruiting, company handbooks, immigration policies and other human resources topics, I’d like to suggest to you this interesting website:

Tuesday, March 7, 2017

NGOs, Social Media, Technology and Statistics
First a couple of thoughts about statistics:
Mark Twain: “Facts are stubborn things, but statistics are pliable.”
W.C. Fields: “If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bullshit.”
But the long and the short of it is that without statistics we can’t chart a course to the future.
An interesting website about technology and not-for-profit organizations, www.nptechforgood.com, recently listed 27 statistics about how nongovernmental organizations worldwide use online technology. The numbers were gleaned from a report that included responses from 4,908 NGOs.
According to the reviewers, the primary goal of the report is to set a baseline of benchmarks for success for NGOs worldwide in their use of web and email communications, and social and mobile media.
The survey shows that NGOs are deeply embedded in their web usage and devote as much time to the Internet as they do to promoting their missions, contacting stakeholders and fundraising. Indeed, their success with their projects is closely tied to their web presence.
Following are the 27 statistics:
1. 92% of global NGOs have a website. Of those, 78% are mobile-compatible.
2. 66% use the .ORG domain for web and email communications. 3% use .NGO. 12% use .COM. 22% use other domains, predominately country code domains.
3. 38% regularly publish a blog.
4. 71% regularly send email updates to donors and supporters. Small NGOs have an average of 6,203 subscribers. Medium NGOs have 44,768. Large NGOs have 169,339.
5. 67% accept online donations. Payment methods accepted include credit cards (78%), PayPal (50%), direct debit (42%), and digital wallets (6%).
6. 15% regularly send text messages to donors and supporters. Of those, 40% also accept text donations. Small NGOs have an average of 2,451 text subscribers. Medium NGOs have 19,415. Large NGOs have 160,433.
7. 92% of global NGOs have a Facebook page. Small NGOs have an average of 4,246 likes. Medium NGOs have 30,133. Large NGOs have 172,132.
8. 72% have a Twitter profile. Small NGOs have an average of 3,755 followers. Medium NGOs have 12,815. Large NGOs have 80,371. 17% have participated in or hosted a Tweet Chat.
9. 39% have an Instagram profile. Small NGOs have an average of 1,465 followers. Medium NGOs have 2,999. Large NGOs have 28,392.
10. Other social networks used by global NGOs are YouTube (55%), LinkedIn (51%), Google+ (28%), and WhatsApp (16%).
11. 52% have used social media to report live. Of those, the top three live reporting tools are Facebook (79%), Twitter (56%), and YouTube (23%).
12. 30% of global NGOs assign the responsibility of social media management to a communications staff person. 6% to a fundraising staff person. 15% to an executive staff person. 18% depend solely upon volunteers and 11% have a full-time or part-time social media manager. The remaining 20% assign the responsibility to program, administrative, and other staff.
13. 28% have been using social media for two years or less. 37% for 3-4 years. 30% for 5-9 years. Only 5% have been using social more for 10 years or more.
14. 32% of global NGOs have a written social media strategy.
15. 34% have paid for advertising on social media.
16. 80% of global NGOs agree that email updates are effective for their communications and fundraising strategy.
17. 77% agree that blogging is effective for their communications and fundraising strategy.
18. 74% agree that text messages are effective for their communications and fundraising strategy.
19. 74% agree that Facebook is effective for their communications and fundraising strategy.
20. 51% agree that Twitter is effective for their communications and fundraising strategy.
21. 42% agree that Instagram is effective for their communications and fundraising strategy.
22. 95% agree that social media is effective for online brand awareness.
23. 71% agree that social media is effective for online fundraising.
24. 80% agree that social media is effective for recruiting volunteers.
25. 78% agree that social media is effective for recruiting event attendees.
26. 88% agree that social media is effective for creating social change.
27. 66% say that executive staff support prioritizing social media in their online communications and fundraising strategy. Of those who say that executive staff do not prioritize social media, the reasons cited are (1) that executive staff have insufficient knowledge about social media (49%); (2) that executive staff do not want to invest financial and staff resources in social media (26%); (3) that executive staff do not think social media is useful to the organization (16%); and (4) that executive staff are fearful of legal problems resulting from using social media (9%).
How do you use social media?
Join the conversation in cyberspace about social media boosting your outreach. If you have examples of how you use social media to boost outreach, let me know about it and I’ll help you spread the word about your success.
I’d also like to invite you to visit my Thought Leadership website:
http://thoughtleadership.yolasite.com/              
If you’re looking for advice on recruiting, company handbooks, immigration policies and other human resources topics, I’d like to suggest to you this interesting website: