Shortly following the conclusion of Th!nk3 approximately twenty bloggers will be heading off to Africa and Asia to get a view of the developing world. Another 10 will go to New York. It's an opportunity to obtain insight into an area that (for many of us) would otherwise remain impossible.
The trips will provide a fantastic chance to report back on development issues, and to continue the blogging fever of the preceding months. They could however, also prove an amazing opportunity go beyond talking and writing and actually achieve something concrete.
Amongst the dozens of blogs already posted on this forum there runs a common theme - "WHAT CAN WE DO?". From malaria nets, to food distribution, from micro-financing to social-media a vast range of ideas have been showcased.
When we walk away from this competition hopefully we will have generated awareness and inspired action amongst those who have read our blogs. Yet for those who are selected to go to Africa, Asia and New York there is a possibility to translate th!nking into act!on.
What if we committed to support a particular initiative (or initiatives) and use the trips to make a small contribution to the goals that we're blogging in support of? We could vote amongst ourselves to select a worthy cause, raise funds, and see how these funds are put into action.
This could mean building a house, digging irrigation, buying mosquito nets, or donating money to an organisation and visiting one of their projects... the possiblities are endless.
Whether you join the trips personally, or contribute via fundraising, it could prove a very gratifying way to close Th!nk3.
Anyone agree?
Image courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net - Michal Marcol
I do! This is just the beginning…
Well, that makes two! Whatever happens I think you should make a film if you get to go Lara. That would be valuable.
Fantastic. Absolutely, Jodi!
I agree too. We must transform our writing in actions. I think until august, we should raise awareness by speading the word about the website and then we will do some fundraising. FInally, a theme should be chosen collectively and we should think about something concrete that we could achieve together.
Great! I suppose if there were a even few people who were interested then we could take it on ourselves to organise things - i.e. speaking with EJC about logistics, a poll on what to do, fundraising initiatives etc. I liked Bart Knol’s blog on malaria nets for instance <http://development.thinkaboutit.eu/think3/post/twitter_nets_28_million_people_in_2_weeks/#comments>. It’s practical, effective and relatively in-expensive. Something like that could be great.
I agree. Think, plan and act is the way to get things done. Nice initiative, Jodi!
You can count on me, Jodi!
I’ll e-mail Ruth and see what she says…
Jodi, this is an excellent initiative. Our goal is to write about what the other has or has not done so far, but with real action we could make real impact, to develop world. You can also count on me!
Love this! Great idea. I ‘m working on a post (or a series of posts) about the things that people can do to help mend the world we live in. I’ll follow this with interest - great post Jodi. Keep us posted!
Hey Jodi - thanks for this post and your email. I think you’ve got a great concept here and I’ll be exploring how to incorporate something like this into the reporting trips. I’ll be in touch with developments as they roll out!
Hi Jodi - I like the initiative you take. I sure hope that all this blogging will have an impact, and that it will reach a much higher level impact than (some of) us undertaking an activity during trips to Africa or Asia. Although there is nothing against handing out nets or doing some little project, I secretly hope that we can opt for something on a much larger and longer-lasting scale. Impact, long-term impact—we talk about it, so let’s try to do it. Don’t ask me what this will look like, because I have no idea yet. I hope that something will emerge over time, as more posts come in, and more comments are submitted. Nevertheless, to start thinking now about what we really are after beyond blogging is spot on. Thx.
@ Ruth - brilliant news!
@ Bart - I’d like to do something more lasting as well, but I guess we’ll have to see what’s practical during the actual trips. That said, we have about 100 people here who are interested in the topic of development so there is no reason why we couldn’t organise something on a longer term basis. If you have any ideas I’d like to here them!
Great idea! Maybe we could focus on two different projects/initiatives: one in Africa and one in Asia! But for the practical aspects, let’s see where the selected people will go precisely! But anyway, yeah, it’s an amazing idea!
Please go to the video of Oliver Wates from the kick-off event and forward to 50 min 40 sec. Watch about five minutes of the discussion. Then reconsider this rather floppy “ACT!ON IT” idea you are tossing around.
One quote: “If you’re a journalist you are not there to help them, you are there to report about them. It is a different job.”
@ Benno… Thanks for your comment. I can’t forward the video to the point you’re talking about, but I presume you’re referring to his comments about the perils of giving something in return for a story. I.e. you’re unlikely to get an accurate viewpoint if you hand over a sack of rice to a person in return for a hardluck tale.
While this is definitely something to think about, I wasn’t suggesting that we give money/food/goods out in return for a report. There is no reason why we couldn’t work with an established organisation, and simply donate to them the funds we raise and get an an idea of how they’re used, or assist more practically in some other way.
Secondly, it’s also worth referring to two other points that were repeatedly made by the journalists at the kick-off were i) “be human” and ii) charity begins at home. Essentially, if you want to be a development journalist then you cannot always remain distanced from the issues you are reporting on. Again, that doesn’t mean trading aid for a story, but it does mean getting involved where you can.
Finally, not all of us see ourselves as journalists. I am a consultant and a student. I like to write, and I’m interested in development, but I’m more concerned about finding something concrete to do than simply pontificating on the subject. This for me looks like an excellent chance to do something substantive. 20 odd people are going over there regardless, it would be good if they had some initiative to take with them.
With all that in mind, I do think you’re right that it’s worth considering exactly what to do before lumbering in and throwing money around - but I don’t think there is reason for doing nothing.
That was a good reply, Jodi. My comment came off a bit more negative than intended so kudos to you.
The reason I adhere to Oliver’s staunch stance is probably that a) I come from a natural sciences background with as much distance between observer and object as possible and b) I got a bit annoyed about this idea being tossed out in a very non-specific way, very unclear what you thought of doing. However, I have read and heard of several approaches to working with people and “participatory research” so I’m not saying it can’t be done totally professionally, not at all.
Haha - yes it did sound a bit harsh. But no worries, I knew what you meant. Like I said, I think you have a valid point and it’s something that should be kept in mind. And I know that the idea needs to be more concrete, but at this point I simply wanted to see if anyone was interested and then we could work together to find an initiative that people supported. I’m not an expert in development and there are others who are already involved in aid/charity/relief work who could give more informed suggestions of what could be done.
Anyhow, I hope you end up getting involved if it does go ahead!
This is inspiring Jodi!