For many aspiring or experienced aid worker there is often one element they have in common (apart from unhealthy bank accounts) and that’s isolation. Often aid workers will be posted to extremely remote locations in cultures different to their own and often without their families. It can be extremely stressful and emotional especially when working in places experiencing extreme poverty or natural disasters.

The guys over at whydev.org are doing something to support aid workers by developing a peer coaching network. In a nutshell, whydev are developing a matching service that links aid workers with each other so they are able to support and learn from each other via Skype, email or other methods.

Brendan and Weh from whydev have done their research and feel there is a real need is out there. As one aid worker said:

“I feel isolated, uncertain and a little forlorn about finding my way into development-related work, and would like to have someone to share my experience with, who is perhaps also experiencing the same thing.” – E, 18-25 year old male, Honduras.

But of course, like any good project they need support. To get this project off the ground they’ve launched a crowdfunding campaign over on StartSomeGood where people can chip in amounts of money, small or large, to help get the project going.

They are aiming for at least AUD $3000 in seed funding to dedicate a solid amount of time to building the platform, providing the right guidelines for peer coaching, and matching people together in the most effective way. Building the platform will involve spending time on infrastructure – website redesign, functioning and creating a space so that matching can occur. They also need to build the database of peer coaches from the ground up and create the resources to support peer coaches as the program continues. Not an easy task as you can imagine.

Whydev predict that if they reach their funding target they could get this peer coaching service up and running within a month, pretty awesome right?

So if you find yourself wanting to contribute a few dollars to something with substance then this is the project. Let’s face it $3000 bucks isn’t really that much money for a project that is going to support those people who work to improve the lives of millions around the world.

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This video is dealing with a really serious issue, human trafficking in Europe. A crime that continues right under our noses.

When you talk to most young people about Amsterdam and it’s famous red light district it is often a place where people go to let loose. They might get high, experience a sex show and possibly even engage in prostitution. I have never been to Amsterdam’s red light district and to be honest all red light districts ooze with the underbelly of human desires to control and exploit each other and not only does it freak me out, it makes me tremendously angry. This video confronts these issues and is clever in the way it does so. Here’s a few reasons why I think it’s effective:

1. Executing this action in the red light district makes it unapologetically confronting. It is directly targeting people who are in the thick of it and reminds them the women they see dancing in windows could well be victims of human trafficking.
2. Online/offline engagement – Digital trends highlight the importance of linking online activity to offline activity. Capturing this action on video makes that interaction really well. Not only did the action have an impact on the night of filming, but everyone online can experience it too.
3. Shareable – Video is one of the easiest and effective modes of sharing online content. Filming this action has made it easy to share and has broadened the reach of the campaign message.

Working to establish the world’s largest network of Marine reserves around Antarctica

What really has drawn me in about this campaign is its positivity. Did you know that the world still has amazingly diverse and almost untouched oceans? Well it does and it’s in the Antarctic Ocean. This campaign is not fighting against something it’s fighting for something, protecting something. The Antarctic Ocean is a magical part of the world that I think most people can identify with and would like to see protected.

I’ll be working on the digital campaign all around the world including in China, Russia, Norway, Germany and the US to spread the word and get people onboard. Check out this report on the Ross Sea (part of the Antarctic Ocean) to read more about this ‘Unique intact ecosystem’ and why it’s so important to protect it.

So I am also going to ask you to join in to protect the Antarctic Ocean and all the wonderful creatures that call it home. Go to our home page to Join The Watch and be part of the legacy. 

Also follow us for all the latest update on Facebook and Twitter.

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One – Urban Survivors
One of MSF’s recent multimedia projects - Urban Survivors - is a great example of how to engage your audiences and provide educational information about the communities they are working with and the challenges they face. Urban Survivors allows you to take a virtual journey through five slums in Johannesburg, Port-au-Prince, Karachi and Nairobi, using interactive infographics, videos and imagery. Urban Survivors is a MSF collaboration with a photography agency and a production company. The virtual journey through the different slums highlights the critical humanitarian and medical needs of the communities. Urban Survivors allows various levels of engagement, you can delve deeper into each city through watching videos or listening to interviews. There is also information about how MSF approaches their development work in these slums and who works in their teams etc. The idea of collaborating with creatives such as photographers and production studios is a great way to  to make sure your message and what you communicate is compelling.

Two – Refugee Camp in your World
Refugee Camp in your World is a gamified experience of what it is like for MSF staff to work in a refugee camp. The interactive experience gives you the opportunity to walk in the shoes of four different staff members; a doctor, a midwife, a logistician and a nurse. As a doctor you are faced with decisions about where to place a predicted influx of refugees from across the boarder where there is intense rebel fighting. You are asked to make decisions about who you should treat first, how you should conduct a blood transfusion without any resources or how you should treat a gunshot wound. Gamifing is a known trend in advertising and digital industries and it is great to see MSF keeping up with these trends. Refugee Camp in your World does a great job at reinforcing the importance of MSF’s work and how vital their presence is in many locations around the world.

Often I think many NGOs and NPOs try to do a lot of important communication work (offline & online) without professional input, for obvious financial reasons. However in todays information soaked world and easily distracted donors, NGOs risk losing their audiences if they don’t realise the importance of effectively engaging them. MSF ‘get’ the importance of allocating resources to communicating what they are about and what they do. Both of the digital campaigns I’ve highlighted in this post are great recourses and I suggest you check them out and share them. The only issue with these examples is that they use Adobe Flash which is not viewable on mobiles or tablets which will reduce their reach. Making campaigns mobile friendly is increasingly important with mobile use for online search rising every year. In saying that, it won’t stop me from visiting MSF, I often return to their Australian site to update myself on what is happening in less reported areas of the world.

What awesome NGO digital campaigns do you know about?

This week over at Lane Change, we have launched our latest campaign ‘Give the Ladies Some Love’. My friend Monica and I started Lane Change last year. We build fun, creative and global campaigns that use positive messaging and compelling challenges to raise awareness about the big issues facing our world. Rather than standing against something, we stand for something: a healthy earth and fair society. Monica likes to describe Lane Change as if  ’action and change hi-fived each other!’ Which I think is funny and clever.

For our latest challenge, that is inspired by International Women’s day, we are asking people from all over the world to take some time out this week to think and/or act on promoting gender equality. As part of this campaign we want you to pledge to do at least one of the five actions we have created. I’m going to share with you what I’m doing to ‘Give the Ladies Some Love’ and I hope that you join in too!

Here are the five actions I’m taking:

1. Share with us your lady heroes

One of my many lady heroes’ is my previous manager and friend, Tamerlaine Beasley. She is a Managing Director, mother, lover, comedian, Thailand expert, high flying consultant… you get the picture right? Tamerlaine was my first real boss and also mentor. She would take me to meetings, teach me how to network, brainstorm my honours thesis when I was drowning in social theory, teach me how to negotiate and on the odd occasion, over a few glasses of white help me dissect the latest man in my life. Can one ask for anything more from a boss? I think not. I would not be where I am today without her.

2. Mentor a woman

Now, I don’t want to infer that I have a whole lot of advice to pass down to other ladies out there, in fact I would love another good mentor (hint hint!), but I do have experience none the less. I also think it’s important not to think of mentoring as a) a long process and b) a hierarchical one. I would consider a lot of my friends here in Beijing as mentors; often we provide each other with advice about work issues or how we should develop our careers. This week I reached out to a previous intern I had working on some research here in Beijing. She is now based in New York doing her masters in international studies. We have been chatting on skype about her classes on women’s studies and lots of other interesting topics like where she should do her summer internship. Hopefully she will find bending my ear of some benefit.

3. Support women overcome adversity

There are some shocking statistics out there about the inequality between men and women, one is that despite the fact that women make up 50% of the population, they comprise of over 70% of those living in extreme poverty. It is also important to realise that disadvantage and adversity exists all over the world. Considering this, I have decided to donate some money to an Indigenous Australian NGO called, Yorgum, that “provides an alternative and cultural approach to healing Aboriginal people who have been affected by family violence, sexual abuse and the underlying causes associated.” This is an important cause for me as an Australian and locally run organisations like Yorgum provide vital services to support Indigenous women overcome adversity.

4. Don’t be afraid of the F-word

I admit that I am often afraid of using the F-word. Which is why I need to get involved with this campaign. I find it difficult to stand up for women’s rights, especially in relation to the workplace, without the sense of being perceived as ‘one of those feminist’ i.e. a hysterical feminatzi. So I have set up some rss feeds from some of the top feminist blogs to learn more about this issue and to stop being hesitant to indentify myself as a feminist.

5. Speak out! The world is listening

I think I’m doing this now!!

Now it’s your turn, head to our Facebook page or website and pledge, that this week, you are going to Give the Ladies Some Love.

This is cross post to Herb & Lace

Think about this piece while/after watching KONY 2012

Engaging people online to interact with campaigns is an ongoing challenge. There is so much noise that it is no longer easy to draw people in just based on a good cause or a worthwhile project. People have become desensitised through the use of increasingly shocking visuals e.g. starving children or dead polar bears. The shock factor is becoming less and less ‘shocking’ and people are losing their motivation and interest in world issues.

To date we have largely relied on people supporting campaigns by dragging them in with their conscious. This has worked to a certain extent but what we haven’t been so successful with is communicating the ‘why’ behind campaigns. Why do children live in poverty? Why does it matter that the earth’s temperature is increasing? More importantly we are struggling to package messages in a way that works in today’s environment that is saturated with information and distractions.

Unfortunately, advocacy campaigns aren’t selling a product that has a clear storyline or a million dollar advertising budget. For example, selling a new pair of running shoes is relatively straightforward. You should buy a pair because you will look good, they will help you get fit and healthy and they’re (hopefully) great quality. Then you pay a superstar athlete a million dollars and film him running on a deserted beach. Selling climate change is another story. To start with, unless you have studied and/or worked in the industry for at least a few years most of us are going to struggle to explain ‘climate change’ to our best friends let alone ‘sell’ it as an issue of public interest.

Luckily there are some really creative people out there who are working out new ways to actually educate people and get them onboard with global campaigns. I want to share with you four of my favourite video campaigns that demonstrate the direction we need to move in order to ‘re’engage people with the key issues of our time.

All of these videos have different messages and these are the things I like about them:

1. They are emotive without inciting ‘compassion fatigue’
2. They tackle the complexity of the issue and aim to educate viewers
3. They are not depressing and they don’t leave viewers feeling helpless
4. They keep the viewer interested and get them asking questions
5. They are online, short, easy to share, inspirational and are great design

I recommend you watch these clips fullscreen.

Number One
My number 1 favourite is a clip developed by the project ‘Mama Hope’ that aims to “Stop the pity and unlock the potential” of poor communities. The project advocates that telling the story of connection instead of contrast is an essential first step in ending poverty. The clip is fantastic and features Paul Simon’s hit song You Can Call Me Al. Watch the clip below or here.

Number Two
WWF’s latest clip – ‘Change the way you think about food’ is a great example of how to use animated infographics to start to explain the complexities of why we need to balance and manage the finite resources of the earth.

Number Three
This Miss Representation Trailer is a hard hitting clip about how “American youth are being sold the concept that women and girls’ value lies in their youth, beauty and sexuality”.

 Number Four
The Climate Reality Project’s (founded by Al Gore) latest stop motion video ‘Climate Change 101’ is a pretty sterling effort to engage and educate viewers in under 4 minutes about why climate change is important.

What is your favourite campaign video?

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