Thank You!

I just wanted to thank everyone again who came out last night for jhr's #tweet4rights. I realize that there were many discincentives to attend what with the less than optimal weather and the much anticipated hockey game on. But the fact that you still came out really means a lot and shows a lot. I hope you all enjoyed the evening and learned something new about our organization and our effort to raise and spread human rights awareness all across the globe. It's a huge goal that will require an incredible amount of work but we hope you will join us in making it a reality. Create and share media pieces that highlight human rights related issues through the various social media outlets whether it is Twitter, Facebook, or your blog! And don't forget the core elements of PANEL that you all learned last night, which you can review here. 

We'll be posting photos and the presentation material within the next week so I'll be sure to keep you all updated on that.

And on behalf of jhr, once again, thank you all so very, very much!

Countdown to #Tweet4Rights

How can we use social media to raise and spread awareness? Find out this Friday for jhr's first ever tweetup! If you haven't already, be sure to register as there are only a few spots left!

#Tweet4Rights: An Evening of Rights Media

So it's the hot topic that everyone seems to be talking about these days: social media. It is completely transforming, if not fundamentally challenging the media landscape of today and it only makes sense for Journalists for Human Rights to be active participants in this ongoing dialogue. It seems that more and more, ordinary citizens all around the world are using social media tools like blogs, YouTube, and Twitter to reach out to a global audience to report on and expose the rampant human rights violations that are occurring every single day. There are tons of examples that have recently been capturing the headlines. Just think Iran, think China.

But it is all too easy for us to be swept away by this new frontier, overly confident of what it is capable of. This is not to say, of course, that we should not embrace its potential benefits or the wide range of possibilities that it has to offer. The complete opposite actually. But we must proceed with caution and with a conscious mind. As panelists Andrew Coyne and Shirley Brady of last week's "Traditional Media Meets Social Media" session at Toronto's Social Media Week agreed, the rush to be the first to break a story on Twitter (or any other social media site for that matter) is often at the expense of accuracy, context, and relevance. That's why we at Journalists for Human Rights are hosting #tweet4rights - A Night of Rights Media on February 26 from 6-10PM, where we are hoping to educate and inform our online followers of how to effectively and, more importantly, responsibly tweet, blog, or whatever the case may be, about issues dealing with human rights in a way that will encourage an ongoing dialogue.

We're at the cusp of something really great and there's nothing more we would love than for you to join us on this journey. For more information and to register for the event, click here - http://tweet4rights.eventbrite.com

Online Outreach on a Budget

This month IssueLab hosted the Non-profit Blog Carnival, compiling a great collection of resources on how nonprofits can effectively reach out to their existing and potential supporters on a budget. It includes some insightful pieces from a wide and diverse range of nonprofit communicators. And I'm just thrilled that my piece made it on to that list! There's still lots to learn and this compilation is truly contributing to the complex conversation that seems to be taking place more and more these days...

Check out the list here Online Outreach on a Budget: January Non-profit Blog Carnival.