Social Media for Social Change: Virtual Technology, Real Actions

by Danielle Ravich, NYWSE Chief Blogger

April 19, 2010 - Today's Social Media for Social Change event was a testament to how modern technology, and our virtual networks can create real changes in our society. 

Panelists included Cindy Gallop of IfWeRanTheWorld, Esra'a Al Shafei of Mideast Youth, and Jerri Chou of All Day Buffet. The event was moderated by Jalak Jobanputra of New York City Investment Fund.

In the true spirit of virtual technology, Ms. Al Shafei participated via teleconference. Her organization, Mideast Youth provides opportunities for young people of all sects, socio-economic backgrounds, political and religious beliefs to engage in healthy dialogue. The network of Arabs, Iranians, Kurds, Baha'is and Israelis collaborate on a variety of projects to advance towards interfaith understanding and demonstrate that peaceful dialogue is possible. 

The site uses social media in a fun and engaging way to promote peace and stability through videos, cartoons, etc. The organization takes a playful approach because "we are surrounded by injustices, and this helps people stay engaged" said Ms. Al Shafei. 

This approach has proved successful in engaging and drawing community attention. Their very first YouTube video posting about religious options on country identity cards appeared in a well-respected Middle-Eastern newspaper the very next morning. After entering the public's purview, the law was changed to include other religious sects. Social media brought awareness to an overlooked issue, and facilitated real change in a country's human rights policy -- all in about one day. 

Cindy Gallop, another panelist is also a proponent of building collective communities to create change. She created IfWeRanTheWorld, a web platform aimed to tap into "our worlds largest pool of resources: human good intentions that never translate into action."

IfWeRanTheWorld connects people who care about similar issues, helps them find and create ways to take action, and get to work. "There is a huge amount of talking and not enough doing." said Gallop. With other platforms such as 'Facebook Causes' available, "it allows too many people to affiliate and not to act."

Once broken down to easy-to-digest pieces, or "micro-actions", some of the most seemingly impossible, large-scale goals can actually be manageable. IfWeRanTheWorld gives people the opportunity to take ownership of an issue, participate, and take actions that create a positive impact in society. Once a profile is created, any user can decide to launch his/her own initiative or join another. For example, part of a larger effort to set up clothing drives all over the tri-state area, some micro-actions could be making photocopies for flyers, finding local drop off points, making a call to schedule a pickup, etc. These "micro-actions" are designed to be so simple that one would ask themselves, 'why they wouldn't do it?'

With all of this transparency in being able to connect and collaborate with anyone, anywhere, at any time, privacy and security issues were brought up during the panel discussion.

Freedom of speech and from cesorship is something we often take for granted in the U.S. This is one of the major challenges to Mideast Youth's ability to achieve its mission. Ms. Al Shafei has been banned from her country, and due to censorship of various other technologies, some of her affiliated network members have been arrested. She encourages those in her region to be extremely careful with revealing identity, but remains upbeat about the issue because "The internet is the only gateway for freedom of speech." said Ms. Al Shafei

Ms. Al Shafie's organization "is a testament to what technology can do" said Jerri Chou of All Day Buffet, an organization that develops social innovation strategies for global brands. 

These remarkable stories have demonstrated that modern day technology and Social Media platfms provide opportunities for us to have our voices heard instantaneously around the world, build relationships, create communities, align our efforts, and take real action to create a better society and globe.

 
 

Danielle Ravich's passions lie in applying organizational change and best practices techniques to help organizations and communities become more environmentally friendly. She recently recieved an MPA in Environmental Science and Policy from Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs. She has worked with organizations in the private, public, and non-profit sector including the Audubon Society, Council of State Governments, and Initiative Media. In her current role at the Lower East Side Ecology Center, she is supporting environmental health and education initiatives. She is thrilled to be part of the NYWSE community and contributing to the organization's knowledge-sharing and outreach capabilities.

Comments

[Alan Morley]

Great post!!! Very informative and helpful to people like us. Thanks for sharing this post for everyone. I will share this link to my other friends.

[Joseph]

I think men have a lot to learn from women in terms of involvement, empathy and social impact, I admire this women who are commited to their causes, I will tell my friends about your site, this is a good article, a good example to follow.

[jalak]

i enjoyed moderating these incredible women and perhaps Esra'a's parting words of advice were the most poignant: remember to laugh and find humor in things, no matter how serious the topic at hand. Good advice for us all to follow given that she is protecting her life and those of countless others every single day...
thanks to the panelists, NYWSE, Green Spaces, and Echoing Green for a stimulating night of conversation.