Lets start with the simple examples, since within the simplicity of these ideas lay the beauty of its achievement. Lets start with a few websites. Up first is DonorsChoose.org. At their site, they have a section where teachers from different places, schools list project proposals, for which they do not have enough resources to implement it fully. A price tag is usually attached to these projects so that visiting philanthropists can make better judgment on the commitment they can make to these projects financially. This goes with their tagline: 'Teachers Ask. You Choose. Students Learn'. And the resources listed can be simple things like books, dictionaries, to technical equipment like projectors. As part of the process, the receiving students also send back thank you letters and photos to the donor, which I am pretty sure makes for a very happy ending for everyone.
This site, in a nutshell, performs one very important task - it brings the right people together. There are many out there who have the intent of giving, but not sure how, and where, and schools are also struggling to find funds to finance all their needs. DonorsChoose.org is the place where these two parties shake hands. Similar websites are out there which also bring the right people together. Kiva.org is one such site, where micro-financing is given a lift. Micro-financing is usually associated with financial institutions like banks who give out the small loans. Here, the financier is an individual, and through Kiva's help, this donor can find another individual to loan his money out to. The individuals listed as seeking loans are from the developing countries, and in these countries, sums of money which might be considered small in developed countries, amount to a lot of money. Not to forget, its still a loan, and is at some point returned back to the lender. Kiva doesn't operate entirely independent of MFIs or Micro-Financing Institutions. The MFIs help Kiva pick out the candidates for loans. Similar to DonorsChoose.org, the visiting philanthropist can go through a list of these candidates, see which country they are from, learn their story, what they plan to do with the money, etc. The lenders can thus get a feel for the person they are borrowing out their money to. The actual handing over of the loan is handled by the MFI.
As long as we are on the subject of connecting, mention has to be made of TakingITGlobal.org. It has existed for as long as the most ancient of social networking websites, long before MySpace, or Facebook. Though not as popular (in terms of media coverage received) as the latter two, it does have an enormous number of members who are dispersed all over the globe and who interact with the aim of learning and pursuing social work. TakingITGlobal is a non-profit organization based in Canada which connects youth all over the world committed to social change. As stated on their website, their mission is to provide opportunities for learning, capacity-building, cross-cultural awareness and self-development through the use of Information and Communication Technologies, and beneath their logo are these three words - inspire, inform, and involve. With these goals in sight, the site is available in 12 different languages, has a good organization of information, and provides ample search facilities to locate kinds of social activities, organizations, discussions etc. The main navigating system is a menu with the following options (each with many sub options within):
Make Connections - with discussion boards, e-cards with social messages, user defined groups, search facilities for locating members, reading stories on social work or social issues posted by members, newsletters etc.
Take Action - contains guides to how youth can involve themselves in taking action in various fields like climate change, or HIV/AIDS related work etc. These are downloadable electronic documents and free. Other sub sections of this are projects (to create or browse through projects to which the viewer or other users can join depending on the vicinity), an open forum, petitions, commitments (where people can state a commitment, e.g. - to stop using non-biodegradable plastic bags, and others can take pledges to do the same, thus creating a kind of virtual solidarity for a cause). Each commitment gets a page of its own, where its acceptability can be tracked in terms of how many pledges it had targeted and how many pledges it received in reality, and also a blog for the commitment and more.
Browser Resources - with search capabilities to locate organizations, events, financial opportunities (scholarships, grants), professional opportunities (internships, volunteer positions, etc) and publications.
Express Yourself - with a global gallery (a potpourri of art, poetry, and other creative outlets that the members want to express themselves through), an online magazine called Panorama, and a printed publication called TIG Magazine, and the member blogs.
Understand Issues - with a list of internationally declared special days celebrating different causes, small games demonstrating different global issues, and whole sections dedicated to the following topics: Art and Media, Health and Wellness, Human Rights and Equity, etc.
Explore the World - Has data organized according to countries, and also a separate section on Aboriginal Canada.
The organization of information is multifold, in the sense that it is presented in many perspectives, tagged with appropriate categories. The categories in Understanding the Issues are also available for selection as search criteria when using the search facility under Browse Resources to locate organizations, financial opportunities, etc. Similarly, International Days is a sub category under Understand the Issues, yet, if someone is viewing an issue such as Health and Wellness from the Issues list also under Browse Resources, that page will also list the international days that are related to health and wellness. This makes sure that the readers are aware of all presented information from all angles on any topic.
TakingITGlobal sends a monthly dispatch to its members which outline the topics covered in its Panorama magazine, and other updates of the activities of its members. Its vast database of resources, plus its community approach, its creative outlets, make it, in my opinion, quite ideal for use even within schools and colleges, and maybe even universities to get them organized in social and community activities. TIG realizes the potential for use of its resources and toolkits for educating children about social issues, and thus one can find the link 'For Educators' right below its 'About Us' link. That outlines what they call TIGed ('TIG for Educators' made short), which has support for the issues presented as easy to understand lessons and also lets the teachers create virtual classrooms where students are taught to use tools to write and speak out on social issues. The tools are basically blogs, podcasting (audio/video content in digital formats that can be subscribed to) software, digital image galleries discussion boards, etc., put together to good use.
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