Love for Social Media Week

Last week was the second annual Social Media Week, gathering people in nine major cities around the world to join a burgeoning conversation about the emerging trends in online and mobile technologies. It's been an entire year since I was first slowly dipping my toes in this exciting and fast paced world! I remember attending a few events last year to broaden my mind on what social media was all about and to connect with the vibrant tech-savvy community in Toronto.

It's been quite the ride since then and this year I was lucky enough to have had the opportunity to actually host an event with Journalists for Human Rights. Of course, I stuck to my passion and what I know best and put together a talk about using social media to spread human rights awareness with my friend and education superstar Carissa MacLennan. We tried to keep our session as intimate, interactive, and hands-on as we could to really drive home our point that though social media is an incredibly powerful tool, there is no law that says it will inevitably produce good. When dealing with something as crucial as human rights, we have a responsibility to use social media in a critical, purposeful, and effective way and our Rights Media framework is a conceptual toolkit that is meant to do just that.

Below is a condensed version of our presentation (minus the many media analysis activities our attendees so brilliantly deconstructed!) to give you a sense of how exactly you can achieve this.

On behalf of jhr, a huge thank you to the SMWTO organizing team and the staff at St. Andrew's Club and Conference Centre for making the whole planning process of this event an absolute breeze on my part! You're all rockstars in my books. And of course, thanks to those who came out and engaged in this very important conversation...hope you'll keep the dialogue going!

Until next year ; )

Workshopping it out.Starting our talk. Photo from @amirad

Ripples of Hope

Woke up this morning to the euphoric messages and images coming from Egypt and words simply fail to capture the pure and unadulterated joy found on those streets right now. I've always been fascinated by similar revolutions of the past, many of which occurred before I was even born. But to watch the power of the people and their efforts unfold right before my eyes has brought a whole new level of meaning to what it means to fight for change. I simply stand in awe and admiration.

There is still much work ahead but today, let's just revel in this incredibly historic moment and celebrate the unwavering resolve of the Egyptian people. Can't help but pull up one of my favourite quotes that really speaks to what we've seen in the past few weeks:

“Each time a man stands for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.” - Robert F. Kennedy

Here's to Egypt and a better tomorrow!

Photo by Khaled Elfiqi

Changing the Picture

Get ready for some shameless self-promotion, people! Journalists for Human Rights is throwing its first ever art auction on December 9 at Propeller Art Gallery from 6:30-10:00PM. The event, in support of jhr, will feature the unique work from artists all across the country with each giving their own interpretation on the meaning of hope, empowerment, and change. We want to focus on and celebrate art's very real potential to influence positive change in society.

Proceeds from the event will support jhr’s projects in the DRC, Liberia, and Sierra Leone as well as the Canadian art community.  So on the eve of Human Rights Day, join us in culture, cause, and celebration!

For more information and registration, please visit: http://changingthepicture.eventbrite.com/

Cultivating Culture

In my ongoing mission to foster and cultivate a culture that is more open and embracing of social media at jhr, I held a "Social Media 101" workshop a couple of weeks ago for all of our staff members and interns. I set out initially to demonstrate what exactly this "social media thing" is and how our organization is currently using it to advance our mission. It was a great way to get everyone on the same page because oftentimes, we get so busy and caught up in our own individual departments that we forget to actively involve ourselves and work in synergy (yes, I used that favourite buzz word) with the other departments. Working in social media, I have the pleasure of working with all the various departments on a frequent basis. Synergy, not silos! Rah, rah, rah!

Many non-profit organizations are quickly capitalizing (though many more are still hesitant) on the potential that social media has to offer to expand their donor and volunteer base and to raise awareness for their cause. I follow the work of many charities and NPOs very closely, trying to learn from their successes and yes, more importantly, their failures. I wanted to share these teachings with my colleagues too to show them that social media does work and that it can have an impact. And really, what better way to demonstrate the success and failure of another NPO than to actually hear from another NPO? The lovely Erin Swanson, Communications and New Media Coordinator of water.org, graciously spared her time to tell us about her experiences with water.org and the many lessons she's learned from managing their online media channels. It was such a great learning moment for everyone (myself included!) and I know that our staff and interns left that boardroom feeling more inspired to join the social media bandwagon. In fact, I've been watching my "jhr team" list on Twitter and seeing a lot more activity from them. And in the past few weeks, there's been so much more dialogue on how to really amp up our social media efforts. I know it's geeky but I won't lie, it makes me feel oh so warm and fuzzy inside! ONWARD WE GO!