Apr. 29, 2008 - Peace Corps seeks older, experienced volunteers
The US Peace Corps for decades has been dispatching mostly young, well-meaning volunteers around the world to teach English or help out in other ways in developing countries. But the U.S. agency increasingly is tackling more complex issues, such as HIV and environmental problems, and per the requests of developing countries themselves, the Corps has launched a fresh effort to attract older, more skilled volunteers, including retiring baby boomers. Good story on this from the Christian Science Monitor, including a good comparison with the UK's VSO program. Want to volunteer for the Peace Corps or another organization seeking highly-skilled professionals as volunteers? See this resource.
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Apr. 29, 2008 - Electronic Waste is EVERYONE'S Responsibility (still!)
With people constantly upgrading their computers, TVs and cellphones, as well as ditching old tech (VHS players and CD players) for new tech (DVD players and iPods) electronic waste, or e-waste, has quickly become the fastest growing component of solid waste. Compounding the problem, e-waste is often extremely toxic. And e-waste is pouring into the harbours of Kenya, India, China and other developing countries. The Toronto Star has has an article talking about the growing e-waste problem, and mentions the work of StEP - Solving the E-Waste Problem, an initiative of various UN organizations with the overall aim to solve the e-waste problem; it's primarily focused on industry representatives. For more on what YOU can do, see this resource, which links to various initiatives.
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Apr. 25, 2008 - The Internet & public response
"It used to be that we put things in our newspaper, and we really controlled them. And we don't have that control anymore."
-- Howard Altschiller, executive editor of the Portsmouth Herald. For better or worse, the Internet has forever changed the way the public communicates not only with each other, but with the government and the press. Sometimes, however, we need to be reminded of just how different the public communications landscape is now:
A state representative in Maine sponsored a bill that would make it possible to bring charges against sexual voyeurs who target children in public places. Under existing law, such conduct must occur in a private place to be illegal -- therefore, a peeping tom in a public bathroom could not be charged (a situation which happened recently). But a newspaper article in early April gave some the impression that they would be violating the law if they merely looked at a child walking down a sidewalk. The article began, "Those who peer at children in public could find themselves on the wrong side of the law in Maine soon." The article did not fully explain the bill's provisions. Someone who felt the law went too far posted a link to the article on the very popular and powerful news blog, Fark.com. And then the angry online firestorm began. The newspaper is now trying to answer the online criticisms and explain the law more clearly.
I have been tracking how rumors and myth can interfere with community development activities and aid/relief efforts. This situation per the Maine law is a perfect example of both how quickly misinformation can spread as well as the importance of addressing it in a timely manner, and working with the press in addressing such.
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Apr. 20, 2008 - Back in print: "What We Learned (the hard way) about Supervising Volunteers"
What We Learned (the hard way) about Supervising Volunteers is back in print! Just as the official description says, it's "packed with the advice, wisdom, and experience of over 85 real-life, on-the-job supervisors of volunteers, this guide offers a crystal clear analysis of what works and what doesn't in supervision. It also includes comments from volunteers about what they need from those who supervise them, as well as excerpts from classic articles and books by experts in the field and a self-assessment survey covering the attitudes and actions necessary to be an effective supervisor." I was one of the contributors to this book, and own a copy myself, which I frequently reference. If you work with volunteers, this book is worth buying.
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Apr. 13, 2008 - involve nonprofits when creating services for them
It amazes me how often a software designer or corporate person or a politician decides a nonprofit organizations need a certain service, software or working model and spends much time and energy developing such and promoting their efforts to the press -- but without ever talking to nonprofits about what these agencies believe they really need. In the end, these initiatives disappear, as they do not speak to the needs of nonprofit organizations and, therefore, such organizations don't use them.
For instance, there have been at least half a dozen initiatives where the goal was for people who wanted to volunteer to input their qualifications, interests and availability into an online database, which nonprofits were supposed to search through regularly, finding volunteers for tasks. These web sites never lasted long, mostly because volunteers didn't keep their profiles up-to-date and were often unavailable on the rare occasion a nonprofit tried to contact a candidate. They also put more work on nonprofits: instead of volunteers searching through assignments and self-selecting regarding where and when they wanted to volunteer, nonprofits had the burden of searching through information and trying to find volunteers with correct contact information and who were available.
Another example of this "backward" thinking is the oh-so-many volunteer opportunities databases/web sites, that, starting in the 1990s, were built and promoted to potential volunteers instead of organizations, the assumption being that organizations would just magically know how to use them. The developers either quickly learned that nonprofits were the key to their success, since that's who actually provides the volunteering opportunities and involve volunteers, and therefore changed their business strategy to focus on such, or they disappeared, thereby creating hundreds -- maybe thousands -- of frustrated people regarding volunteerism.
For those who want to see an increase in volunteerism or want to improve the experience of current volunteers: please focus on the organizations that involve volunteers. Look at their needs, which is often NOT more volunteers, but more resources so they can involve such: their staff needs training on the fundamentals of volunteer management, as well as ongoing training regarding proven best practices and emerging, promising practices. They need funding for a trained volunteer manager who can devote all of her or his time to such (not do it in addition to marketing or fund raising or other duties). They need funding for volunteer management systems, and access to published resources and to continuing education regarding volunteer management. Also, to all you social entrepreneurs out there, please read the research that's already available before starting a volunteer-related initiative, particularly an online initiative. Attend nonprofit conferences or join nonprofit associations and listen to the challenges they are facing -- they are probably NOT what you think they are. In short: be customer focused!
For information on what prompted this blog entry, see this proposed volunteer-related initiative on NetSquared, including the comments underneath.
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Apr. 6, 2008 - online volunteering: the fundamentals never change
I've been serving as volunteer manager for the Aid Workers Network (AWN), an online resource for people working in aid and development all over the world. Most of the AWN users are professional aid and development workers involved with a variety of relief and development efforts all over the world. They range from security officers to health care workers to teachers to program managers to headquarters staff and just about any other task you can think of relating to aid and development agencies. Some work for small NGOs, while others work for huge organizations, like the United Nations.
After graduating to a more sophisticated web site and a brief stint with a paid staff person, AWN has gone back to being an all-volunteer organization in support of the AWN community. The reason was not to save money, but because AWN needs the support and investment of aid workers themselves in order to be sustainable and worthwhile, the kind of support and investment that can come only from AWN's target audience seeing the web site as their responsibility and worthy of their time and support.
I got involved with AWN about six years ago just a forum participant, per my work at UNV/UNDP. I was asked to set up a formal volunteering program for AWN in December 2007, and will be recruiting and supporting AWN volunteers through December of this year. My fellow volunteers are all online and quite remote from me, so it's an excellent opportunity to once again test the suggested practices regarding online volunteering, as well as new practices like using advanced tools (video). One concept I started touting back in 1997 that's been very much reinforced yet again during this latest gig managing online volunteers: the biggest challenges regarding online volunteering are still regarding issues that have nothing to do with technology and everything to do with the fundamentals of maintaining any successful nonprofit organization (an active board, for instance), and the basics of volunteer management that every volunteer manager faces (generating new, interesting assignments, for instance).
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Apr. 4, 2008 - If users can't use it, it's USELESS Part Deux
I'm on a discussion group for a type of volunteer I'm going to keep nameless. The national organization that manages these volunteers has recently been reminding them on the discussion group that many of the resources and information they have been asking for that were formerly distributed via a mega program managers manual, in paper, are on the very sophisticated, state-of-the-art web site. One member voiced her frustrations about these continued reminders, and I thought it said volumes about something that so many web designers seem to have forgotten about: USABILITY. I've changed some words below for clarity and to protect the identity of the organization: "Unfortunately, for those of us who have been around since the Dark Ages, it is was helpful to have a printed manual for quick reference (I still have all of the old ones!) It is very time-consuming (and frustrating) to search through long online listings - and to even try to figure out which ones to search - and how to access them! I was trying to search using a keyword recently and nothing came up. I then tried calling what I was looking for by a different term and *finally* found it. It is very stressful to wade through all of the info out there - kind of like taking a computer class when all I want to do is cut and paste. But I also eat ice cream at Dairy Queen instead of Baskin Robins (3 choices compared to 48!). Everything we used to need was in the manual - but, with all of this new and amazing technology, I guess we can't do that anymore. Thanks for listening to me whine and I'll have the other volunteers continue to try to help me with the technology! This program manager isn't stupid. She's probably got more experience than most of the people on the discussion group. One has to wonder why someone like her wasn't used in developing the web site that would serve her -- and if this organization will use this post as an opportunity to invite this long-time volunteer to improve the web-based portal to resources.
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Mar. 26, 2008 - If users can't use it, it's USELESS
US Census officials are considering a return to using paper and pencil to count every man, woman and child in the USA because the handheld computers that were programmed especially for the 2010 census have proven too complex for workers who have tried to use them, and because the computers were not programmed to transmit the large amounts of data necessary. Technology problems could add as much as $2 billion to the cost of the 2010 census and jeopardize the accuracy of the nation's most important survey. Ofcourse, the contractor is blaming census officials for a poor job spelling out technical requirements, and is claiming that the computers are "as easy to use as a modern cell phone." All this according to a story from CNN.
Now, I'll tell you what I think, based on many years of experience being a part of or observing government organizations or nonprofit groups adopting new technology:
- The company thinks a modern cell phone is easy to use? Only if you are 14-years-old. Are they not aware that many cell phone shops are reporting returns from people who bought a modern cell phone and are so frustrated at not being able to do even basic things with it that they want to downgrade? This statement by the company speaks VOLUMES about how little they know about ease-of-use for the average user.
- It is not a tech designers place to ever say, "It's easy-to-use!" That's a statement that can be made only by users. And if users say it ain't, then it ain't. Period.
- The contractor gave the census bureau what the contractor thought would be best for the census bureau, and would look snazzy when shown off at an upcoming tech fair.
In short, the contractor is out-of-touch with users.
Yes, I'm making a wild guess based on nothing but a hunch and some very suspicious statements. But when it comes to the realities of a government or nonprofit organization adopting technology, I've got some darned good instincts...
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Mar. 24, 2008 - Wikigender
Wikigender is an online platform to find and exchange information related to gender equality. Users are invited to comment on or improve existing articles at Wikigender, and to create or upload new documents. Wikigender is open to everyone. You can access all resources provided on this website and use its contents for your own personal needs, be it a research project on gender equality or simply your own interest in finding out more about this topic. Wikigender was initiated by the OECD Development Centre. A special focus of this project is to collect empirical evidence and to identify adequate statistics and measurement tools of gender equality. In this respect, Wikigender serves as a pilot project for the OECD Global Project on Measuring the Progress of Societies. In particular, Wikigender aims to highlight the importance of social institutions such as norms, traditions and cultural practices that impact on gender equality. Examples of such measures are presented in the OECD Gender, Institutions and Development Data Base (linked from the Wikigender site).
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Mar. 20, 2008 - UK techies helping community orgs
UKriders, a networking group for United Kingdom circuit riders, recently held its 4th National Circuit Rider Conference in Birmingham (in the UK) on February 28th & 29th, 2008. "The conference was designed to be practical and accessible so participants could take the knowledge they gained and apply it to their work in the voluntary sector." Conference notes, materials, blogs, photos etc are uploaded to the conference web site, as are all the session notes along with the programme, delegate list and comments. For those of you helping nonprofits with tech issues, you might be interested in reviewing this site.
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Mar. 19, 2008 - When you merge, keep all URLs!
It's taken many days for me to finally find out whatever happened to Volunteers in Technical Assistance, a nonprofit organization with a more-than-45-year history of helping in the developing world (I've been wanting to link it from my page regarding international volunteering). The old VITA web site was VERY popular, and is still linked from hundreds (thousands?) of web sites, something that so many nonprofit organizations would love to have. But either someone forgot to renew that URL or decided, per VITA's merger with another organization, that the old VITA URL was no longer needed, and this oh-so-popular web address now goes to a site promoting dubious health products.
It doesn't matter if your campaign ends or your organization merges with another or you get rid of a program that has its own web address: keep those URLs! To not do so means that you not only throw away precious web links and miss out on potential supporters, clients and others, but even worse, the URL could be taken over by someone who will use the site to engage in activities with which your organization does NOT want to be associated.
You can always redirect old URLs to an expired campaign or program redirect to your new URL.
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Mar. 14, 2008 - I need Audacity help
I used Audacity on my old iBook with ease. But on my new MacBook, I'm having trouble with the upgraded version of such. The Audacity web pages have been no help for my relatively simple questions. Anyone out there use Audacity and willing to give me some help via email or iVisit or Skype? We could do a trade -- I'd be happy to review your CV, for instance, and give you advice on how to make it more attractive to nonprofit or international development employers.
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Mar. 13, 2008 - Grandma can run Umbuntu Linux
This is EXACTLY the kind of article that's needed to convince more people and organizations, particularly nonprofit organizations, that free and open source software (FOSS) is worth embracing: Yes, my grandma can run Ubuntu Linux by Matt Asay. It's an essay by a guy who "had sworn off desktop Linux and determined not to return" because of a bad experience a few years ago. He says that, based on his latest experience with Ubuntu, "it's clear that desktop Linux has come a long way. I found it extremely easy to use, including when I had to install a program (Skype) that wasn't included in the supported applications list. This is an operating system that my grandma could (and, in fact, did) use." It's written in mostly non-techie language, and uses real-world computing uses and examples, as well as non-techie language, that we can all relate to. For a more technical perspective, see the Wikipedia entry for FOSS.
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Mar. 12, 2008 - More use of video for & by volunteers
I've been talking about using real-time communications with volunteers for several years now (started back when I directed with the Virtual Volunteering Project, actually, but it seems that it's finally, really taking off among nonprofits -- and not just the tech-focused groups. Laurie Moy, a pioneer of online volunteering, provides good examples of BOTH how video can be used by volunteers as an outreach tool, and how video can be used to support volunteers, workshop attendees, whatever. Have a look at her video from her trip to Uganda through UN Volunteers back in 2001, as well as a post-workshop briefing she recorded on the Washington metro. Notice how *simple* and informal both are -- they were recorded on her laptop computer or via her video camera (and the Africa video was recorded on a camera from 2001), and she added titles and edited the video using her computer. I think the simplicity and informality add to their "punch." And, ofcourse, if you missed them the first time, you can see my videos, one on how to use video with volunteers, and the other an online welcome for volunteers for the Aid Workers Network, an initiative I've been volunteering with for several years.
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Mar. 9, 2008 - Got your green passport?
On March 7, 2008 the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) launched a ‘Green Passport’ campaign at the world tourism fair in Berlin, aimed at shrinking the environmental footprint of vacation travelers. The goal of the internet-based campaign is to raise tourists’ awareness of their ability to contribute to sustainable development by making responsible holiday choices. The campaign encourages tourists to choose responsible service providers, reduce the consumption of energy in transit or in hotels and buy locally made, environmentally-friendly souvenirs. It also offers tips for after your trip. And even though it's not an environmental issue, the site also emphasizes that sex tourism is exploitative and, usually, illegal. The web site is, IMO, way over-designed (I would have preferred something with less graphics and less download time), but the information is excellent.
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Mar. 6, 2008 - "Pimping" is NOT "light-hearted"
Recently, an event was held that resulted in a web site by a well known international organization being greatly upgraded. Given the work of this organization to bring to light the consequences of sexual exploitation and involuntary servitude in the developing world, as well as the efforts being made all over the world to address such, it is unfortunate that the organizers of this redesign proudly proclaimed to have "pimped" this international organization's web site. In reply to my post expressing disappointment at the choice in words, an organizer wrote, "We're really just trying to be a little lighthearted...we use it in the most recent mainstream definition of the word."
Were I to use a racial slur in "a little lighthearted" way, because "in the most recent mainstream definition of the word", it just means "friend" or "man", I have a feeling use of that word would cause quite a bit of outrage. Or what if I'd greeted the poster in an equally "lighthearted" and "mainstream" way, calling her "bitch" or "ho" or the dreaded "c" word? After all, those terms are used just as freely as "pimp" these days, and all the singers and actors and comedians interviewed about their use of these words swear they aren't being derogatory to women.
In my work and the world in which I work, the word "pimp" still means a person who engages in human enslavement, trafficking and sexual exploitation, and a show on MTV and increasing use by techno hipsters and rap stars doesn't change that.
For more information about th sex trafficking of women and girls, and to understand why there is NOTHING cool or hip about slave traders, also known as "pimps", please see
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Mar. 6, 2008 - 2008: International Year of...
In case you didn't know, the General Assembly of the United Nations has designated 2008 as:
and
It's not unusual for the UN to give more than one designation to any one year.
Why should your nonprofit care? Because these designations offer very easy opportunities for you to tie your organization's efforts, if you can somehow relate them, into international campaigns that are supported with public service announcements, billboards, special events, press attention, etc. The web sites associated with these International Years usually welcome press releases, articles and photos from other organization's efforts that are somehow related to whatever cause it is they are promoting. Passing your information on to them is a good way to reach a very large audience about your efforts. And if you put "In association with the International Year of..." in your press releases, Flickr photo descriptions, YouTube uploads, web pages, etc., you get even more attention to your efforts.
Here is where to find the lists of UN-designated days, weeks, years and decades, which provide even more ways to leverage your outreach activities.
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Feb. 29, 2008 - unskilled, at-risk British young people to volunteer overseas
The UK has launched a government-backed global volunteering scheme for 18 to 25 year-olds from "less advantaged backgrounds" to live, work and learn about life in poorer countries. "Platform2" is fully funded by DFID and implemented through a partnership with Christian Aid, Islamic Relief and BUNAC. Most overseas volunteering programs for young, unskilled volunteers require the participants to pay for all costs associated with the experience, so as not to take away any resources for the communities of the developing world. What makes Platform2 unique is that it is aimed at less advantaged young adults who wouldn’t normally have an opportunity to volunteer overseas in short-term assignments because of these costs. Volunteers will spend 10 weeks overseas. On return to UK they will engage in activities to raise awareness in the UK about issues in the developing world. There will be more information soon at the Platform2 web site. In the meantime, you can view the DFID announcement.
I'm torn about this program. On the one hand, I like the idea of young people who would not get the opportunity otherwise to get to go to the developing world. It could be life-changing experiences for the young people involved. It's nice, maybe even more than nice, for the young people that will be involved.
On the other hand, most development and aid workers are NOT fans of "volunteer vacations." These programs are focused primarily on giving the volunteers' experience rather than the needs of the community. Myself, I don't know of any communities in the developing world calling for more unskilled young Westerners to please come help them for a few weeks.
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Feb. 28, 2008 - A Remote Guest in a University Classroom (again!)
This week, I got to participate in a question & answer, online, with students in SOCW 6355: Advanced Use of Information Technology in Human Services, a Master's Degree-level class at the University of Texas at Arlington School of Social Work, something I also did in 2007. I have done similar guest spots for classes at the LBJ School of Public Policy at the University of Texas at Austin and for Volunteer Program Planning and Evaluation, a graduate-degree program at the University of North Texas, in 2001, 2003 and 2004.
I really enjoy lecturing, or just simply answering questions, online with students. It's great when live audio and even video can be involved, but instant messaging works well too (I'm a fast typer), as does a bulletin board setting where questions and answers happen over the course of several days.
Want to give it a try for your conference, workshop or class? Contact me! Also see this list of my workshops and classes to date.
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Feb. 22, 2008 - telecenters & cyber cafes: barriers for women
I love revisiting online discussions I participated in years ago, to see how things have changed... or haven't at all. A discussion on an online social network lead me today to revisit a topic I'm still quite concerned with: Back in August 2003, I had the pleasure of co-hosting an online discussion at TechSoup on Gender and the Digital Divide. It was a discussion of the barriers that keep women and girls in particular away from computer and Internet-related classes and community technology centers. These barriers are even more pronounced in developing countries, but certainly still exist in the USA, even today, almost five years after this TechSoup discussion. Have a look at the archived TechSoup discussion -- I think the points are all still valid and need to be kept in mind to ensure a telecenter or cybercafe is accessible for everyone. And, yet, I rarely see this topic discussed...
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About Jayne
This blog (web log) is by Jayne Cravens, and is primarily focused on resources and news regarding mission-based organizations: nonprofits, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), civil society, and public sector agencies, as well as development issues and humanitarian efforts. It promotes resources and opinions relating to volunteer management/community involvement, tech use by nonprofits, and outreach strategies for nonprofits. There are also some personal postings (such is the nature of blogs), regarding travel, causes I personally support (like women's empowerment, urban biking, etc.). To comment on this blog, you must register on forumer.com.
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