Global Culture

NetSquared is preparing for its 2007 Conference by allowing the public to vote on the projects that will be the focus of the event. As their tag line indicates they are “remixing the web for social change” so while the projects are very diverse they all share the spirit of this project: leveraging technology to advance social causes. Upon reviewing the list I found a few projects that may be of interest to the readers of this blog:

1. nabuur.com: the global neighbour network: by allowing volunteers to provide expertise needed by remote communities, they are leveraging the “energy of global citizens” to resolve real problems.
   

   Most villages around the world will never get outside assistance to solve some of their issues. Interestingly, the required knowledge, experience, contacts, goods, manpower or money usually exist, elsewhere. And millions of global citizens want to DO something concrete. But today’s institutions (governments, businesses and ngo’s), are not designed to connect the demand in the villages to the supply of the global citizens. Fortunately, for the first time in history there is a medium, the internet, that allows such direct communication of many to many. So imagine a reliable, moderated platform where VILLAGES in developing countries can get DIRECT help from committed INDIVIDUALS elsewhere. Person-to-person hands-on problem solving . Such a platform taps into the huge energy of global citizens, unavailable to today’s institutions.

2. change.org: a platform that connects social causes with the people and NGOs that care about them. Very powerful to create clusters of action.
   

   Change.org facilitates social activism through two types of overlapping networks: issue-based and organization-centric. Our issue-based networks are completely user-generated and allow any user to type in a change they want to see the world – such as “Stop Global Warming” or “End Poverty” – and create a grassroots network that mobilizes around this change.

3. TakingITGlobal.org: empowering young people to take action on larger global issues.
   

   Young people under the age of 25 comprise 50% of the world’s population, with the majority living in the developing world. Empowering youth as engaged learners and socially responsible citizens will contribute towards addressing many community development outcomes including improved health, reduced crime and violence, increased levels of literacy and employment. Many of the current generation of youth will be entering a workforce demanding new skills including technology literacy, creativity and cross-cultural perspectives. TakingITGlobal is contributing to a world where young people everywhere have the opportunity to grow up with the support and encouragement needed to develop their talents and knowledge, while contributing to shaping a more sustainable world.

All projects are described in detail and provide their sustainability model, some of their current challenges and resources needed to succeed. So if you’re feeling a true global citizen today, drop them a line and offer to help.

Via Beth’s Blog