RE: [DDN] Educating the philanthropic community
I agree with MIchael. Public policy making in the US seems to have been taken over by powerful, wealthy, special interest groups. In many ways, it is a dinosauer that most of us cannot influence. Those of us working in small charities and who lead intermediary efforts that connect people, knowledge and resources, are not even on the radar of most public leaders. My goal is to connect individuals from around the country (and the world) who want to help kids and families who need more help, and who understand the power of tutoring/mentoring to create a personal bond between those who can help and those who need help. Using the Internet we can connect people and ideas, into a grassroots movement that can a) solve some problems that government is not solving, using private sector resources more creatively and more efficiently than government programs; and b) elect representatives who will be more responsive and provide more leadership to the issues that we raise The result of point and point may make it unnecessary to have government involved, or it may provide motivation for government policies to evolve to a system that is more consistent in its support, and that distributes its help to all of the places where help is needed, not just to a few high profile places, and not just when the media is putting on the pressure. While this may, or may not, be the mission of the Digital Divide Network, or many of those who participate, it is the mission of the Tutor/Mentor Connection. Thus, my participation here is to share ideas that others might use and to extend and invitation to anyone who might want to participate in T/MC events and actions that focus on point . Dan Bassill Tutor/Mentor Connection http://tutormentorconference.bigstep.com Original Message: - From: Michael Maranda [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Sun, 9 Oct 2005 15:03:33 -0500 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: RE: [DDN] Educating the philanthropic community Thank you Mike G. for jumping in here. Your points are salient. I do agree and wish for greater meaningful public policy effort in the US on these issues, and don't mean for this conversation to be dominated by US perspective. But, still, will speaking from that perspective: It's my view that if the Philanthropic community began to take this (our issues) seriously, that would lead to a general shift in the policy climate, and our efforts to push for public (govt) sector involvement would have broader support. That's my logic on local and regional levels, where I think we need to push at present. Michael Maranda President, The Association For Community Networking (AFCN) http://www.afcn.org Executive Director, CTCNet Chicago Chapter http://www.ctcnetchicago.org Co-Chair, Illinois Community Technology Coalition (ilCTC) http://www.ilctc.org Vice President, CAAELII http://www.caaelii.org Vice President, NPOTechs http://www.npotechs.org Join us for Digital Neighborhoods: Connecting All Chicago to the World, October 20th!http://www.ctcnetchicago.org/event Attend the Illinois Community Technology Conference, November 16-17, 2005. http://www.ctcnetchicago.org/conference -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Gurstein, Michael Sent: Sunday, October 09, 2005 6:40 AM To: The Digital Divide Network discussion group Subject: RE: [DDN] Educating the philanthropic community Although the conversation has drifted away, I still find the title of this thread somewhat interesting. It is probably only in the US where such issues of broad public significance and interest as the Digital Divide would be seen as being a primary responsibility of private "philanthropy" (read "charity") rather than as a major element of public policy. For better (and sometimes of course, for worse), all of the other OECD (read Developed) Countries have approached these issues (with more or less interest and commitment) through public funding rather than through the privately administered consequences of a deeply flawed tax system. I would have thought a more useful topic of discussion (even in the US) would be how to educate the political community and more importantly how to influence the political process and public policy concerning these matters. As for the initial focus of this discussion, again in a properly and equitably funded public education system one of the necessary elements would be appropriately (and publicly) supported repositories of information and resources concerning the DD (as for example, is the DDN website) among other areas. Of course, and necessarily, maintaining the free flow of discussion, comment and critique such as is the content of this e-list should always be left to those most directly concerned rather than public officials. Mike Gurstein -Original Message- From: [EMAIL
Re: [DDN] Educating the philanthropic community
Hi everyone, I am really beginning to lose patience with these fights that seem to happen between the same people again and again. If people aren't willing to engage each other constructively and with civility, I may be forced to start suspending members' posting privileges. Please keep it civil or take it off the list. -- --- Andy Carvin Program Director EDC Center for Media & Community acarvin @ edc . org http://www.digitaldivide.net http://katrina05.blogspot.com Blog: http://www.andycarvin.com --- ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
Re: [DDN] Educating the philanthropic community
Steve, I do not have the time to continue the discussion on your terms. Dr. Steve Eskow wrote: >Taran, > > -- Taran Rampersad Presently in: San Fernando, Trinidad [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.knowprose.com http://www.easylum.net http://www.digitaldivide.net/profile/Taran Coming on January 1st, 2006: http://www.OpenDepth.com "Criticize by creating." — Michelangelo ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
RE: [DDN] Educating the philanthropic community
Thank you Mike G. for jumping in here. Your points are salient. I do agree and wish for greater meaningful public policy effort in the US on these issues, and don't mean for this conversation to be dominated by US perspective. But, still, will speaking from that perspective: It's my view that if the Philanthropic community began to take this (our issues) seriously, that would lead to a general shift in the policy climate, and our efforts to push for public (govt) sector involvement would have broader support. That's my logic on local and regional levels, where I think we need to push at present. Michael Maranda President, The Association For Community Networking (AFCN) http://www.afcn.org Executive Director, CTCNet Chicago Chapter http://www.ctcnetchicago.org Co-Chair, Illinois Community Technology Coalition (ilCTC) http://www.ilctc.org Vice President, CAAELII http://www.caaelii.org Vice President, NPOTechs http://www.npotechs.org Join us for Digital Neighborhoods: Connecting All Chicago to the World, October 20th!http://www.ctcnetchicago.org/event Attend the Illinois Community Technology Conference, November 16-17, 2005. http://www.ctcnetchicago.org/conference -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Gurstein, Michael Sent: Sunday, October 09, 2005 6:40 AM To: The Digital Divide Network discussion group Subject: RE: [DDN] Educating the philanthropic community Although the conversation has drifted away, I still find the title of this thread somewhat interesting. It is probably only in the US where such issues of broad public significance and interest as the Digital Divide would be seen as being a primary responsibility of private "philanthropy" (read "charity") rather than as a major element of public policy. For better (and sometimes of course, for worse), all of the other OECD (read Developed) Countries have approached these issues (with more or less interest and commitment) through public funding rather than through the privately administered consequences of a deeply flawed tax system. I would have thought a more useful topic of discussion (even in the US) would be how to educate the political community and more importantly how to influence the political process and public policy concerning these matters. As for the initial focus of this discussion, again in a properly and equitably funded public education system one of the necessary elements would be appropriately (and publicly) supported repositories of information and resources concerning the DD (as for example, is the DDN website) among other areas. Of course, and necessarily, maintaining the free flow of discussion, comment and critique such as is the content of this e-list should always be left to those most directly concerned rather than public officials. Mike Gurstein -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: October 8, 2005 11:46 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [DDN] Educating the philanthropic community In a message dated 10/8/05 5:33:18 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: > > I don't think we can, but I am certainly learning a bit more about the > culture of 'the funded world'. > Everyone in the conversation is not funded. Unfortunately, or otherwise, some of us do what we do to help where there is no other way that those we work with can be assisted. Sometimes interesting things happen. I paid my way to go to a Global Forum, to which I was invited , and became the editor of a book, on the very ideas we are discussing. It took me a long time to get out of "America think" and then into global think,... and the forum was exciting because people were face to face and the conversations we had were.. well , sometimes a little more heated than here. Funders were helping in developing nations , and one person from a big funder, got up and said that there were no problem in such and such a country. His funder was creating the infrastructure for the whole country.. etc.. etc. Well, I had worked recently in that country and girls were not included in rural areas in the technology and the Queen had a project to help them. Then the people wanted to query content. Indian Schoolnet has, according to some, taken local content , and local languages to put on the net, and, follows up on the teachers who were trained to see if they can indeed, use what they were taught in training. There were many points of disagreement. One woman simply says that they will use old computers and explains why.. you can imagine that we had lively conversations. In creating the forum, there were invited people who think about "gender". Of course the majority of people in power were men, and some were new to ICT. It is good that we can sh
RE: [DDN] Educating the philanthropic community
Taran, 1. Every culture has the right to know about possible solutions to their problems. Not informing a community about such possibilities on the grounds that the "natives" are happy as they are, or that the solution will alter their culture, is morally questionable. The community should make this decision for itself after being informed. 2. Every solution is a new problem, including the problem of unanticipated consequences. 3. Every divide that is crossed opens up new divides. 4. Computers, for example, are not biodegradable. Computers allow for global capitalism to enter the local economy. That is: computers are a potent force for the weakening of local cultures. 5. The only way to keep these culture-degrading forces out of happy communities is take pains to see that they do not learn about computers. 6. We need to have developed a computer that is made wholly of Krispy Creme, granola, and raisins: communicates only in the local language; and is programmed to reject any message that contains the words "dollars" or "euros." Steve Eskow [EMAIL PROTECTED] -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Taran Rampersad Sent: Sunday, October 09, 2005 10:47 PM To: The Digital Divide Network discussion group Subject: Re: [DDN] Educating the philanthropic community Steve, Dr. Steve Eskow wrote: > >Dr. Steve Eskow wrote: > > > >>According to Taran, >> >> >> >Hmm. According to Steve: > > > >>the Amerindians of Guyana are quite happy to hunt for >>wood to burn for light and for cooking, and would have it no other way. >> >>That may be. However, I would favor asking them, rather than having Taran >>speak for them. >> >> >> >> >On the matter of whether the Amerindians and the Ghanaians would welcome >solar light in preference to kerosene or other harmful alternatives, Taran >says this: > ><hearing something from the people from Ghana instead of you. So, your >word is as good as mine. I'm certain that we need not pursue that line >further.>> > >On the contrary, I think it important to continue to challenge your position >that the Amerindians or the Ghanaians or the folks in Trinidad should not be >offered the opportunity for solar lights or computers because if they said >yes it would destroy their culture. > > It would be wonderful if that were what I did write. It was, however, not what I wrote. Further, to clear up something for you, I did not write about the Amerindians in Trinidad. And to further clear things up for you, I did not say that solar energy could not work for the Amerindians. I said, instead, that it would impact their lives in ways that you and I could not understand. Frankly, you're not challenging any position I have taken - you are simply shoving words into my keyboard, and my keyboard is about to vomit. >I will provide you with direct evidence that there is strong positive >interest in solar light in Ghana, and if you do not trust the authenticity >of the email I will forward to you, or put out on this list, I will put you >in direct touch with my Ghanaian colleagues. > > I don't want to talk to your Ghanaian colleagues, or your email evidence, or what have you. I've seen enough of what evidence looks like on email lists in my region of the world, and I've also been on the ground where the people who are in the studies walk. There's a vast difference between the two, and I expect no different from other parts of the world. What I would like is half the respect that you are showing your own projects and perspectives. Simply half will suffice. You're debating me on a topic that I am not debating. My point, as others have noted, is clear. Responsibility for appropriate use of technology is not up to the 'providers', it is up to the users. Further, it is important that new technologies be something which can be supported locally, which means it can just be 'plug and play' technology as a trade subsidy. If you want to debate, debate me on those points. >The first village we would work with, which in turn will help other villages >acquire lights, is > >www.patriensa.com > >I will shortly send to you an email from Osei Darkwa, the leader of the >Patriensa project. (Patriensa is a small village some 35 miles from Kumasi.) > > You don't have to send me these things, Steve. In fact, unless everyone over there has access to email, the email describes people sympathetic to the project. In this case, I'm sure, everyone is happy with solar energy in these projects. But that isn't my point, and never has been. My point has been about addressing the negative aspects of technology, which below you accuse myself and others (wrongly) of neglecting. Further,
Re: [DDN] Educating the philanthropic community
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: >Hi Taran > >the NGO world is much like the corporate world. Some businesses are still >born, others have a short and troubled life and most have a short life when >considered within the span of human existance. The same holds for NGO's and >orgs which have, as their markets, the funding sources, governmental and >foundational. These customers must determine how and when to spend their >money also. And, in the world of international development, they are fickle >consumers, much like folks seeking the latest business management models. >If one method doesn't work, there is always another possibility. The >"digital divide" is the current darling of a certain community, much like >many of the business management books that have been on the tables of the >book stores. > > Yup, that much is true. Personally, I think it's worse than the corporate world at times because in a lot of smiles there are very sharp teeth. >As was mentioned on this list, Microsoft just did a massive project in >Jamaica. Public/private partnerships are an interesting model. Its hard to >keep one's heart pure (linux and the 100 computer vs the computer giants) >and, at the same time, meet one's development goals. So, maybe the best way >is to seek funds from a private sector partner who has similar interests. >After all, there was a massive conference putting the private sector and >the development community together. And, a corporate expenses account can >dwarf a foundational funding. With the growth of the SRI (sociall >responsible investments) and CSR (corporate social responsibility) >movements on the rise- maybe foundations and government agencies aren't the >obvious partnerships. > > Well, honestly, the projects I am working on don't require funding. In fact, I played that game for two years - trying to get funding, and even volunteering to do no-cost work for some NGOs. I work within my own funding now, and find that life is a lot less disappointing when I don't have to worry about fitting a project within certain parameters. Sure, I can't save the world, but the world has been doing pretty well without Taran. :-) I just focus on my 'backyard' like a good little hobbit. >And if there are concerns regarding these partnerships, maybe one should >reassess the idea of ICT4D (after all, there is probably "Intel Inside"). > >thoughts? > > One of the other things I do is challenge some of the ICT4D initiatives in the region, and participate as the ICT4D process and my budget permit. I don't sit around writing papers anymore, especially after the ARC project. I find that if I do not set my expectations on others, I am far less disappointed and therefore can maintain a personal commitment to the projects I am interested in instead of what is cool this season. I've been approached on projects as recently as last week by funders. One project has really caught my interest, though, and maybe I'll work on that one. Time will tell. But funding doesn't define what I do. I define what I do, and while that autonomy can be harrowing at times, I like who I see in the mirror every morning. In fact, a friend of mine (on this list) and myself were discussing on Thursday how rich we would be if we simply threw away our scruples. :-) But I'm a bit of an anomaly. There are some really great people in ICT4D with demonstrated thresholds of patience beyond my comprehension. I am not wired for red tape, there are better people for dealing with that. And I trust these good people to do what they can to affect that process (though at times I disagree with them) - in the meanwhile, I just do what I can where I am and try to learn from the people that everyone is trying to help. I'm finding that if we listen, they actually have a lot to say - but that requires our changing of our own worldviews to be more inline with their own as much as the other way around. I am fortunate in having met some great people who continue to help me do that. In fact, a lot of what I have been writing recently has been a lot of remixing of what I have learned on the ground in my travels in Latin America and the Caribbean. It's been very humbling. -- Taran Rampersad Presently in: San Fernando, Trinidad [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.knowprose.com http://www.easylum.net http://www.digitaldivide.net/profile/Taran Coming on January 1st, 2006: http://www.OpenDepth.com "Criticize by creating." — Michelangelo ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
Re: [DDN] Educating the philanthropic community
Steve, Dr. Steve Eskow wrote: > >Dr. Steve Eskow wrote: > > > >>According to Taran, >> >> >> >Hmm. According to Steve: > > > >>the Amerindians of Guyana are quite happy to hunt for >>wood to burn for light and for cooking, and would have it no other way. >> >>That may be. However, I would favor asking them, rather than having Taran >>speak for them. >> >> >> >> >On the matter of whether the Amerindians and the Ghanaians would welcome >solar light in preference to kerosene or other harmful alternatives, Taran >says this: > >word is as good as mine. I'm certain that we need not pursue that line >further.>> > >On the contrary, I think it important to continue to challenge your position >that the Amerindians or the Ghanaians or the folks in Trinidad should not be >offered the opportunity for solar lights or computers because if they said >yes it would destroy their culture. > > It would be wonderful if that were what I did write. It was, however, not what I wrote. Further, to clear up something for you, I did not write about the Amerindians in Trinidad. And to further clear things up for you, I did not say that solar energy could not work for the Amerindians. I said, instead, that it would impact their lives in ways that you and I could not understand. Frankly, you're not challenging any position I have taken - you are simply shoving words into my keyboard, and my keyboard is about to vomit. >I will provide you with direct evidence that there is strong positive >interest in solar light in Ghana, and if you do not trust the authenticity >of the email I will forward to you, or put out on this list, I will put you >in direct touch with my Ghanaian colleagues. > > I don't want to talk to your Ghanaian colleagues, or your email evidence, or what have you. I've seen enough of what evidence looks like on email lists in my region of the world, and I've also been on the ground where the people who are in the studies walk. There's a vast difference between the two, and I expect no different from other parts of the world. What I would like is half the respect that you are showing your own projects and perspectives. Simply half will suffice. You're debating me on a topic that I am not debating. My point, as others have noted, is clear. Responsibility for appropriate use of technology is not up to the 'providers', it is up to the users. Further, it is important that new technologies be something which can be supported locally, which means it can just be 'plug and play' technology as a trade subsidy. If you want to debate, debate me on those points. >The first village we would work with, which in turn will help other villages >acquire lights, is > >www.patriensa.com > >I will shortly send to you an email from Osei Darkwa, the leader of the >Patriensa project. (Patriensa is a small village some 35 miles from Kumasi.) > > You don't have to send me these things, Steve. In fact, unless everyone over there has access to email, the email describes people sympathetic to the project. In this case, I'm sure, everyone is happy with solar energy in these projects. But that isn't my point, and never has been. My point has been about addressing the negative aspects of technology, which below you accuse myself and others (wrongly) of neglecting. Further, the way this conversation is going, I really don't want to read too much more about it tonight. Or tomorrow. >Will you now put me in touch with Amerindian leadership? > > Hehe. You don't understand much about Amerindians, do you Steve? Why would they want to contact you? Why would they want to talk to me? No, Steve, what I learned was from simply being a human being talking to other human beings - something which Amerindians respect. I did, however, meet and befriend a Carib chief at CARDICIS 2004 (and 2005 will be here in December), but the Chief and the members of the Caribs are apparently not big fans of the internet. I suppose the same could be said for the Amerindians - in fact, Amerindians who do use email and so on would not be representative of the greater whole. I don't know that the same could be said of Ghanians; I never claim to know what I do not know. >What subject--including the digital divide--doesn't get deeper before it >becomes clearer? > It certainly IS getting deeper. > It is of course true that closing the digital divide, and >bringing computer technology to Trinidad and Tobago and the Amerindians and >all those of wrong side of the digital divide will a)change the local >culture; and b)create a new environmental hazard in the form of all those >computers that are not biodegradable. fAnd yet Taran and many on this list >continue to try to help spread computers and computer culture around the >world, and talk very little about the negative environmental impact. > > If in fact you do read the archives, you'll note that myself and others have been hammering at that
RE: [DDN] Educating the philanthropic community
Although the conversation has drifted away, I still find the title of this thread somewhat interesting. It is probably only in the US where such issues of broad public significance and interest as the Digital Divide would be seen as being a primary responsibility of private "philanthropy" (read "charity") rather than as a major element of public policy. For better (and sometimes of course, for worse), all of the other OECD (read Developed) Countries have approached these issues (with more or less interest and commitment) through public funding rather than through the privately administered consequences of a deeply flawed tax system. I would have thought a more useful topic of discussion (even in the US) would be how to educate the political community and more importantly how to influence the political process and public policy concerning these matters. As for the initial focus of this discussion, again in a properly and equitably funded public education system one of the necessary elements would be appropriately (and publicly) supported repositories of information and resources concerning the DD (as for example, is the DDN website) among other areas. Of course, and necessarily, maintaining the free flow of discussion, comment and critique such as is the content of this e-list should always be left to those most directly concerned rather than public officials. Mike Gurstein -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: October 8, 2005 11:46 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [DDN] Educating the philanthropic community In a message dated 10/8/05 5:33:18 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: > > I don't think we can, but I am certainly learning a bit more about the > culture of 'the funded world'. > Everyone in the conversation is not funded. Unfortunately, or otherwise, some of us do what we do to help where there is no other way that those we work with can be assisted. Sometimes interesting things happen. I paid my way to go to a Global Forum, to which I was invited , and became the editor of a book, on the very ideas we are discussing. It took me a long time to get out of "America think" and then into global think,... and the forum was exciting because people were face to face and the conversations we had were.. well , sometimes a little more heated than here. Funders were helping in developing nations , and one person from a big funder, got up and said that there were no problem in such and such a country. His funder was creating the infrastructure for the whole country.. etc.. etc. Well, I had worked recently in that country and girls were not included in rural areas in the technology and the Queen had a project to help them. Then the people wanted to query content. Indian Schoolnet has, according to some, taken local content , and local languages to put on the net, and, follows up on the teachers who were trained to see if they can indeed, use what they were taught in training. There were many points of disagreement. One woman simply says that they will use old computers and explains why.. you can imagine that we had lively conversations. In creating the forum, there were invited people who think about "gender". Of course the majority of people in power were men, and some were new to ICT. It is good that we can share ideas and learn here. My point about women was only from experience. Carrying water in bronze vessels on the head.. not my cup of tea. Gathering sticks for firewood.. the wood is less and less available. I don't know the answers..but it is good to think ! Bonnie Bracey Sutton bbracey aol com ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message. ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
Re: [DDN] Educating the philanthropic community
In a message dated 10/8/05 5:33:18 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: > > I don't think we can, but I am certainly learning a bit more about the > culture of 'the funded world'. > Everyone in the conversation is not funded. Unfortunately, or otherwise, some of us do what we do to help where there is no other way that those we work with can be assisted. Sometimes interesting things happen. I paid my way to go to a Global Forum, to which I was invited , and became the editor of a book, on the very ideas we are discussing. It took me a long time to get out of "America think" and then into global think,... and the forum was exciting because people were face to face and the conversations we had were.. well , sometimes a little more heated than here. Funders were helping in developing nations , and one person from a big funder, got up and said that there were no problem in such and such a country. His funder was creating the infrastructure for the whole country.. etc.. etc. Well, I had worked recently in that country and girls were not included in rural areas in the technology and the Queen had a project to help them. Then the people wanted to query content. Indian Schoolnet has, according to some, taken local content , and local languages to put on the net, and, follows up on the teachers who were trained to see if they can indeed, use what they were taught in training. There were many points of disagreement. One woman simply says that they will use old computers and explains why.. you can imagine that we had lively conversations. In creating the forum, there were invited people who think about "gender". Of course the majority of people in power were men, and some were new to ICT. It is good that we can share ideas and learn here. My point about women was only from experience. Carrying water in bronze vessels on the head.. not my cup of tea. Gathering sticks for firewood.. the wood is less and less available. I don't know the answers..but it is good to think ! Bonnie Bracey Sutton bbracey aol com ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
Re: [DDN] Educating the philanthropic community
In a message dated 10/8/05 5:31:33 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: > > According to Taran another argument could be made that electricity > generation using oil sources does the same. According to Taran, for > people who are unfamiliar with renewable energy equipment, there is also > an environmental impact in producing the equipment itself which many > people who advocate renewable energy do not factor in. According to > Taran, renewable energy in it's entirety is a larger subject than > 'burning kerosene', and it affects the entire planet. > > In some places of the world, fuel might be cow patties ( dung), in some places in the world, in Europe, people used chicken dung to fuel cars during fuel shortages. In geography we look at where the place is, what the pinpoint location is, and then we look at the resources that are there..this is all changing, but I learned a lesson while living in India . I had a bunch of paper and plastic bags which I threw away. People kept giving them back to me. So I cut some of them up into shreds. It was before I learned that there were, at that time not so many plastic bags available. In the US I have been working with Native American cultures.. trying to help in education.. But first I must learn their values and what their traditions are. It is interesting to be able to discuss history such as Lewis and Clark with people who are descended from the people that Lewis and Clark met. http://www.nationalgeographic.com/lewisandclark/ Many people in the communities do not esteem school as we teach it. Karen Buller and I ( my mother was native American) tried writing grants, but unfortunately we wanted to use the culture of the people, storytelling, and etc to start the use of technology, to then perhaps use and teach digital storytelling. The Navajo have few telephones, and they are in chapter houses, but there is technology of a sort in the chapter houses. We wanted to do community outreach by combining the legacy skills of the people and transition them to newer technologies if there was interest. But the funders, or those with the monies wanted us to use vendor programs. So that 's a long story to tell you that everyone does not want to do school the way we say to do it. And to say that sometimes funders have blinders on of the culture they come from. Bonnie Bracey Sutton bbracey aol com ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
Re: [DDN] Educating the philanthropic community
Hi Taran the NGO world is much like the corporate world. Some businesses are still born, others have a short and troubled life and most have a short life when considered within the span of human existance. The same holds for NGO's and orgs which have, as their markets, the funding sources, governmental and foundational. These customers must determine how and when to spend their money also. And, in the world of international development, they are fickle consumers, much like folks seeking the latest business management models. If one method doesn't work, there is always another possibility. The "digital divide" is the current darling of a certain community, much like many of the business management books that have been on the tables of the book stores. As was mentioned on this list, Microsoft just did a massive project in Jamaica. Public/private partnerships are an interesting model. Its hard to keep one's heart pure (linux and the 100 computer vs the computer giants) and, at the same time, meet one's development goals. So, maybe the best way is to seek funds from a private sector partner who has similar interests. After all, there was a massive conference putting the private sector and the development community together. And, a corporate expenses account can dwarf a foundational funding. With the growth of the SRI (sociall responsible investments) and CSR (corporate social responsibility) movements on the rise- maybe foundations and government agencies aren't the obvious partnerships. And if there are concerns regarding these partnerships, maybe one should reassess the idea of ICT4D (after all, there is probably "Intel Inside"). thoughts? tom abeles Original Message: - From: Taran Rampersad [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Sun, 09 Oct 2005 17:23:56 -0600 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [DDN] Educating the philanthropic community Dan Bassill wrote: >We started this discussion following the announcement that the DDN was not >raising enough money to pay for a very valuable staff member. My >suggestions are focused on educating the people who we need to provide funds >for intermediaries like the DDN and strategies that might be deployed to >achieve this goal. These are adults, business leaders, foundation leaders, >voters, not children. > >The challenges of how we educate kids and what's working or not working are >another discussion which needs to be fully explored using the Internet as a >meeting place. > >I don't think we've solved the problem that we started the discussion with. > > I don't think we can, but I am certainly learning a bit more about the culture of 'the funded world'. -- Taran Rampersad Presently in: San Fernando, Trinidad [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.knowprose.com http://www.easylum.net http://www.digitaldivide.net/profile/Taran Coming on January 1st, 2006: http://www.OpenDepth.com "Criticize by creating." Michelangelo ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message. mail2web - Check your email from the web at http://mail2web.com/ . ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
RE: [DDN] Educating the philanthropic community
Dr. Steve Eskow wrote: >According to Taran, > Hmm. According to Steve: > the Amerindians of Guyana are quite happy to hunt for >wood to burn for light and for cooking, and would have it no other way. > >That may be. However, I would favor asking them, rather than having Taran >speak for them. > > On the matter of whether the Amerindians and the Ghanaians would welcome solar light in preference to kerosene or other harmful alternatives, Taran says this: <> On the contrary, I think it important to continue to challenge your position that the Amerindians or the Ghanaians or the folks in Trinidad should not be offered the opportunity for solar lights or computers because if they said yes it would destroy their culture. I will provide you with direct evidence that there is strong positive interest in solar light in Ghana, and if you do not trust the authenticity of the email I will forward to you, or put out on this list, I will put you in direct touch with my Ghanaian colleagues. The first village we would work with, which in turn will help other villages acquire lights, is www.patriensa.com I will shortly send to you an email from Osei Darkwa, the leader of the Patriensa project. (Patriensa is a small village some 35 miles from Kumasi.) Will you now put me in touch with Amerindian leadership? >From me: >Meanwhile, there is substantial evidence to back up some conclusions.> >First: there are literally billions of people in the world without >electricity. Many of them spend an inordinate share of their incomes for the >kerosene that slowly poisons them. And the villagers, most often women, >spend much of their time hunting for wood to burn from a rapdily depleting >supply.>> Taran responds: <> What subject--including the digital divide--doesn't get deeper before it becomes clearer? It is of course true that closing the digital divide, and bringing computer technology to Trinidad and Tobago and the Amerindians and all those of wrong side of the digital divide will a)change the local culture; and b)create a new environmental hazard in the form of all those computers that are not biodegradable. fAnd yet Taran and many on this list continue to try to help spread computers and computer culture around the world, and talk very little about the negative environmental impact. On the matter of bringing computers to the unserved in your worlds, Taran, are you waiting for the issues to become clearer before you move forward and try to help? And are you clear that every time you introduce a computer int a piece of world that hasn't had it before you are helping to undo the local culture? The charge that many advocates of solar energy do not consider the environmental impact of their work does not conform to my experience, and if Taran has the names of individuals or solar organizations that need to be briefed on environmental issues, give me their names and I will undertake to alert them. I have found them much more aware of the environment than those urging computers on the world: indeed, it is concern for the environment that brings many of us to the renewable energy movement. <> Right. Irresponsible use of computers, or antiretrovirals, or solar energy, or Krispy Kreme, or anesthetics can be detrimental. And too much emailing can cause carpal tunnel syndrome. Right. Meanwhile, can we ask those Amerindians if they would like solar cookers, and give them an opportunity to say yes, or to worry more about their culture and say no? Steve Eskow [EMAIL PROTECTED] ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
Re: [DDN] Educating the philanthropic community
Dan Bassill wrote: >We started this discussion following the announcement that the DDN was not >raising enough money to pay for a very valuable staff member. My >suggestions are focused on educating the people who we need to provide funds >for intermediaries like the DDN and strategies that might be deployed to >achieve this goal. These are adults, business leaders, foundation leaders, >voters, not children. > >The challenges of how we educate kids and what's working or not working are >another discussion which needs to be fully explored using the Internet as a >meeting place. > >I don't think we've solved the problem that we started the discussion with. > > I don't think we can, but I am certainly learning a bit more about the culture of 'the funded world'. -- Taran Rampersad Presently in: San Fernando, Trinidad [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.knowprose.com http://www.easylum.net http://www.digitaldivide.net/profile/Taran Coming on January 1st, 2006: http://www.OpenDepth.com "Criticize by creating." — Michelangelo ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
Re: [DDN] Educating the philanthropic community
Dr. Steve Eskow wrote: >According to Taran, > Hmm. According to Steve: > the Amerindians of Guyana are quite happy to hunt for >wood to burn for light and for cooking, and would have it no other way. > >That may be. However, I would favor asking them, rather than having Taran >speak for them. > > Go ahead, Steve, because in the same way I certainly would prefer hearing something from the people from Ghana instead of you. So, your word is as good as mine. I'm certain that we need not pursue that line further. After all, I live in the region of the world of which I speak, and at the drop of a hat I can be in Guyana talking to an Amerindian within 24 hours. According to Taran this is possible. >Meanwhile, there is substantial evidence to back up some conclusions. > >First: there are literally billions of people in the world without >electricity. Many of them spend an inordinate share of their incomes for the >kerosene that slowly poisons them. And the villagers, most often women, >spend much of their time hunting for wood to burn from a rapdily depleting >supply. > > According to Taran another argument could be made that electricity generation using oil sources does the same. According to Taran, for people who are unfamiliar with renewable energy equipment, there is also an environmental impact in producing the equipment itself which many people who advocate renewable energy do not factor in. According to Taran, renewable energy in it's entirety is a larger subject than 'burning kerosene', and it affects the entire planet. According to Taran, this is a very deep subject, and I suspect that it will get deeper before it becomes clearer. According to Taran, solar energy and other renewable sources are a boon to many people - but irresponsible use of these in communities can be detrimental as well. According to Taran, according to Steve, Steve may not agree. But he doesn't have to. -- Taran Rampersad Presently in: San Fernando, Trinidad [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.knowprose.com http://www.easylum.net http://www.digitaldivide.net/profile/Taran Coming on January 1st, 2006: http://www.OpenDepth.com "Criticize by creating." — Michelangelo ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
Re: [DDN] Educating the philanthropic community
Dr. Steve Eskow wrote: ...there are simple solar cookers made of cardboard and aluminum foil The situation, then, is this:Since the villagers do not know of these possibilities they will not list them when they are asked to name their needs. Is the development agency acting improperly when it looks to make the community leaders aware of these possibilities? Doing so, of course, can be called an attempt by the outsider to change the community's agenda. Good point. You may be interested to know what happened with CAWDnet and solar cooking. - It started with Graham Knight (of biodesign - the "DIY" or "pocket " solar mentioned by Taran). - Graham gave me a book by Anna Pearce about the Anahat solar cooker, and how a man called Wilberforce had used it to feed his "family" of street boys. - When I was in Nigeria in 2002 I gave the book to David Mutua, the programme manager for Oke-Ogun Community Development Network - He showed it to Maria, the community cook, and to Amos, a community development officer with the local government - David, Maria, and Amos emailed me asking for more information.They said that fuel for cooking was a real problem. - I went back to Graham and he put me in touch with Anna. - Anna told me more, and I passed on what I learned - but my information was limited as I had met Anna in winter in the UK - with no chance of practical demonstrations. - The following year David and I did a needs analysis in Ago-Are. - The idea of learning more about solar cookers came up again. Amos was still wanting more information, and asked that Wilberforce - the man who fed the street children - should come to Ago-Are to teach the people there. - It was obvious that Maria had passed information on amongst the women. - Information about solar cooking was one of the four needs mentioned by the women. The women were more practical than Amos - they suggested that it would be too expensive for Wilberforce to come in person - so perhaps he could make a cassette. - (The needs analysis related to possible interest from COL - Commonwealth of Learning - other expressed needs were seen as higher priority and were acted on) - April 2004 - I visited Ago-Are again. This time Carole - a Master's student from Canada, came with me. She got to know Maria, and other CAWDnet people. Subsequently she put in a proposal to COL, regarding solar cooking. - Dec 2004 COL approved Carole's solar cooking project - to be implemented through John Dada at Fantsuam - March 2005 David Mutua helped Carole to deliver a training course on solar cookers and solar cooking at Fantsuam. See http://www.cawd.net/daisy/CawdNet/g1/742.html and http://www.cawd.net/daisy/CawdNet/g1/800.html Two people from Ago-Are attended - Maria - who had shown the original interest in Solar cooking, and Pastor David - who took over the management of Ago-Are InfoCentre after David Mutua left. - After running the training at Fantsuam David and Carole went down to do more training at Ago-Are. - People were also being trained to make videos, so there is some video of the training. http://www.cawd.net/daisy/CawdNet/g1/799.html The Fantsuam video is in Hausa, the Ago-Are one is in Yoruba. - There is a weekly workshop on solar cookers/cooking at Fantsuam now, exploring different cookers and the practicalities of making and using them - There is a yahoo group - related to the training courses - and a couple of days ago I saw a contribution on it from Pastor David. There had been mention of another type of cooker. Pastor David reported that although the weather is not favourable at present for solar cooking they look forward to the dry season and to finding out more. - (Pastor David is able to be part of the Yahoo group discussing solar cooking thanks to a VSAT at Ago-Are - one of the outcomes of collaboration with COL) I don't think it matters if the original impetus comes from an expressed need within the community or from something put forward from out side. I believe the important thing is that nothing is imposed and that time and effort goes in to experimenting in order to see if/how whatever-it-is matches local needs - so that it is not just a gimmick or a photo opportunity or a short term happening - but can develop into a genuine solution to a real problem. ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
RE: [DDN] Educating the philanthropic community
to that field > we labor in... as a garden. > > -MM > > > > > Michael Maranda > President, The Association For Community Networking > (AFCN) > http://www.afcn.org > Executive Director, CTCNet Chicago Chapter > http://www.ctcnetchicago.org > Co-Chair, Illinois Community Technology Coalition > (ilCTC) > http://www.ilctc.org > Vice President, CAAELII > http://www.caaelii.org > Vice President, NPOTechs > http://www.npotechs.org > > > Join us for Digital Neighborhoods: Connecting All > Chicago to the World, > October 20th!http://www.ctcnetchicago.org/event > Attend the Illinois Community Technology Conference, > November 16-17, 2005. > http://www.ctcnetchicago.org/conference > > > > > > -Original Message- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On > Behalf Of Paul Mondesire > Sent: Thursday, October 06, 2005 10:24 AM > To: The Digital Divide Network discussion group > Subject: Re: [DDN] Educating the philanthropic > community > > > > > >Every day we are bombarded with media messages > educating us on some new > >drug, some phone company or financial service, or > some food product or > >new car model. This works. Advertising changes > habits and purchasing > >decisions. > > - Dan Basill > > > > We focus here on the Digital Divide but even that > phrase covers a multitude > of technical, financial, sociological, educational, > cultural, and other > challenges. In the battle of ideas, getting your > message out in a manner > which resonates with the target audience is crucial. > When you are speaking > of philanthropy, you are working at getting the > attention of an individual > or a small group (foundations etc.) who have > resources and the inclination > to share them. You must convince them to believe > enough in what YOU are > doing to support your effort. At the same time you > are competing with a > veritable cacaphony of other folks who are in need > which means you must use > whatever communications tools necessary to make that > happen. > > > > If you have a good idea, cause, or solution to some > socio-economic or health > problem, it is up to YOU to state your case in a > manner that convinces those > you approach. Ms. Cravens spoke of having to create > cost/benefit analyses > for this or that software/hardware "solution" > because someone was dazzled by > a sales presentation. That's because companies > expend huge amounts of time > and money to make certain their sales force has the > resources to close the > deal. The not-for-profit world has to be just as > well prepared to make > their pitch because ultimately it is always comes > down to SOMEONE making a > decision and you better make sure you have made a > compelling case that you > are deserving of their generosity. > > > > I just LOVE the brain power of this group Thank > you especially to Dan > B, Dr. Bork, Taran R, Steve E., Phil S., Bonnie B., > the amazing Andy Carvin > and everyone else I read but have not time to > respond to. Keep fighting the > good fight!!! > > > > Paul Mondesire > > Thirteen/WNET > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > . > > > > > > > ___ > DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list > DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org > http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide > To unsubscribe, send a message to > [EMAIL PROTECTED] with > the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message. > > > > ___ > DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list > DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org > http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide > To unsubscribe, send a message to > [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word > UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message. > Ellison Horne, Founder of Celebrating Solutions! United Way of the Bay Area 221 Main Street San Francisco, CA 94105 - Phone: (415) 808-7302 - www.celebratingsolutions.org - Society has problems, Technology has potential, Entertainment has power, and People have Solutions! ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
RE: [DDN] Educating the philanthropic community
You know, there is some truth in the expression "the more things change the more they remain the same' and more recently, "same old same old". It seems that much of our 'civilization' is built on the inescapable need for electricity and these days it is being priced out of the reach of almost all. On the matter of Taran's comments, part of it I believe was recognizing the [to some] unbearable stress that ' modernization ' brings and the 'violence' that unmanaged change brings with it. Errol Hewitt At 19:34 06/10/2005 -0700, you wrote: According to Taran, the Amerindians of Guyana are quite happy to hunt for wood to burn for light and for cooking, and would have it no other way. That may be. However, I would favor asking them, rather than having Taran speak for them. Meanwhile, there is substantial evidence to back up some conclusions. First: there are literally billions of people in the world without electricity. Many of them spend an inordinate share of their incomes for the kerosene that slowly poisons them. And the villagers, most often women, spend much of their time hunting for wood to burn from a rapdily depleting supply. Further: we know for sure there are many villages and villagers doing these things who do not know that there is an alternative. We know this for sure from our personal experience in Africa and elsewhere, and from the experience of others who work in the Third World. And we know for sure that literally thousands of villages choose to solarize light and cooking when they learn that these are feasible options, and that there are those who will help them. To support that conclusion, here is evidence from two organization we have worked with: Solar Light for Africa www.solarlightforafrica.org This organization has installed solar lighting in some 1,500 villages, largely in Uganda, with some work in Botswana and Rwanda. Led by retired Episcopal bishop Alden Hathaway the project insures that the village really wants these units by providing half the funding for them from US donations; the other half of the necessary money comes from the village. Many of these units have been installed by teams of high school students trained as installers: half of the students are from the US, the other half from Uganda. The educational impact of this kind of human service is powerful. The other and newer organization is the Light Up the World Foundation, based at the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada. See: www.lutw.org Perhaps we need to do less romanticizing about the happy natives who don't really mind lungs poisoned from kerosene or wood smoke because that's their culture, and they want to stay with the old ways. Some of us think when it comes to the AIDS epidemic and the possibilities of antiretrovirals and condoms and discussions of safe sex, and when it comes to corroded lungs, we might have a moral obligation to present possibilities to those suffering, and let them decide whether they want to stay with untreated dying from AIDS and children coughing from kerosene. Steve Eskow [EMAIL PROTECTED] -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Taran Rampersad Sent: Friday, October 07, 2005 8:05 PM To: The Digital Divide Network discussion group Subject: Re: [DDN] Educating the philanthropic community Dr. Steve Eskow wrote: >But consider: > >Consider a community off the electric grid, using kerosene lamps for light, >and blackening ceilings and lungs in the process. And spending hours >searching for incresingly scarce wood for cooking fires. > > >Assume further that the villagers do not know that are simple solar powered >white LED units that can provde home light for less than they are paying for >kerosene, and when the light is paid for for no regular expense. > >And there are simple solar cookers made of cardboard and aluminum foil that >can minimmize or eliminate the hunt for wood as fuel. > > Hmm. Well, consider the Amerindians of Guyana. Most of them are quite happy, don't use kerosene, and find wood easily. They can go to 'civilization', as they call it, when they wish to. There's even a solar telecenter out there somewhere, which none use. They don't wander around the forest looking for things to take pictures of so that they can upload them to Flickr, and so on. Are we better than they are? I don't think so. If they are happy that way, then let them be happy. They like some of what comes their way - such as the road. One Amerindian commented that they don't mind the road because it's easier to walk to their hunting spot. I'd never considered that, and the politicians and good willed missionary-style 'we know what is best for them' folks never considered it either. They saw it as an intrusion upon the Amerindians. The point here is that going to &#x
RE: [DDN] Educating the philanthropic community
Now THAT is a powerful point. It goes to the psychology of human behavior. In many respects there are different dimensions of our lives in which we either abdicate responsibility, or otherwise may be so mystified by our symbolic relations and need fulfillments that this really warps our behavior. How do we be more adult, and encourage adult behavior? We DDN folk have a role to play in this. Thank you Dan! -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Dan Bassill Sent: Friday, October 07, 2005 11:38 AM To: The Digital Divide Network discussion group Subject: Re: [DDN] Educating the philanthropic community We started this discussion following the announcement that the DDN was not raising enough money to pay for a very valuable staff member. My suggestions are focused on educating the people who we need to provide funds for intermediaries like the DDN and strategies that might be deployed to achieve this goal. These are adults, business leaders, foundation leaders, voters, not children. The challenges of how we educate kids and what's working or not working are another discussion which needs to be fully explored using the Internet as a meeting place. I don't think we've solved the problem that we started the discussion with. If we can get adults to do more of the things that need to be done in this world, I'm sure we'll also find better ways to help educate all kids. Dan Bassill Tutor/Mentor Connection on 10/5/05 1:53 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > Dan's points are well spoken and the area in which he is focusing his > energies is critical but he needs to step up and ask for funds to do > what they can do best- educate students- not prepare students to enter > the main stream education system which is broken > > First, there is a program in the United States where there is a > conscious effort to blend students by economics, poor with middle > class and well off. The results have been far better than any other > scheme for improving the learning performance of students. > > Another study has shown that when those with poor educational > backgrounds are placed in a learning situation where they are "forced" > by the environment, to learn the skills that the better educated and > well off individuals have acquired that they rise to the level of the > community. > > Helping students who are lagging to come up to a certain level and > then placing them back into a non-challenging environment is a ticket > to failure, for most. > > This, of course, is the reason for the push in the US for private > schools where academic and social standards are agreed upon at some > high level and expectations are geared to that level of performance. > > It is also the rationale for many virtual schools and home schools > emerging (separate from any religious issues) > > The e-learning effort, if it can raise skills, should keep its > community and carry them forward rather than returning them back to > the sink or swim problems of public schools. > > tom abeles > Original Message: > ----- > From: Dan Bassill [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Date: Wed, 05 Oct 2005 09:00:07 -0600 > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: Re: [DDN] Educating the philanthropic community > > > I think Social Edge is one place to meet with a few donors, but I also > think we need to think in much broader terms. Every day we are > bombarded with media messages educating us on some new drug, some > phone company or financial service, or some food product or new car > model. > > This works. Advertising changes habits and purchasing decisions. > > Thus, I feel that social service organizations need to find ways to > "advertise" what they do, why they do it, where they do it, what > works, and what they need on a consistent basis, reaching millions of > potential donors, and voters, for many years. > > I think the Internet offers ways to do this that are within the reach > of small and medium size non profits. We just need to figure out > message points that can be delivered by individual organizations and > their supporters, and that create a check list of responses (cash, > workplace funding, bequest, grant, etc.). > > Such a campaign needs to point people to information hubs such as the > DDN web site, or the www.tutormentorexchange.net web site, where they > can learn more about a social issue, and where they can find contact > information for specific organizations, in specific zip codes, who > provide services related to that issue. > > We ought to be able to use meeting places such as Social Edge, > Omidyar.net, DDN, and other on-line portals to meet and determine what > t
Re: [DDN] Educating the philanthropic community
Taran's response is interesting and critical. When North America was first settled, the idea of property "ownership" had to be taught to the natives so that their property could be "bought". Hernando Desoto, in his Mystery of Capital, points out that one of the critical issues in the developing world is the inability to register property so that it can become a capital asset. In fact, DeSoto points out that the available capital assets for leveraging money far exceeds all the development aid now being moved into the developing communities. Neoclassical economists thought that the idea of allowing money to flow transnationally would bring capital into the developing world where opportunities abounded. In fact, what has happened is a net capital outflow from these countries and movement towards the US in particular. This movement has affected even entrepreneurs in the developing world. And the Internet with instanteous transfers has even increased this speed of capital movement. Taran's example from Jamaica is excellent since the idea of global "free trade" has done much to destroy the local agricultural economy. The movie Life and Debt is worth seeing. There has been so much enthusiasm for "closing the digital divide" which has been looked on very favorably by the Microsofts of the world. After all Democratic Capitalism is still alive in the minds of many. And the hope that it will succeed where Marxism has failed may yet be a still born wish. But closing the digital divide may give hope, particularly to the transnationals. best tom abeles Original Message: - From: Taran Rampersad [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Fri, 07 Oct 2005 21:04:35 -0600 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [DDN] Educating the philanthropic community Dr. Steve Eskow wrote: >But consider: > >Consider a community off the electric grid, using kerosene lamps for light, >and blackening ceilings and lungs in the process. And spending hours >searching for incresingly scarce wood for cooking fires. > > >Assume further that the villagers do not know that are simple solar powered >white LED units that can provde home light for less than they are paying for >kerosene, and when the light is paid for for no regular expense. > >And there are simple solar cookers made of cardboard and aluminum foil that >can minimmize or eliminate the hunt for wood as fuel. > > Hmm. Well, consider the Amerindians of Guyana. Most of them are quite happy, don't use kerosene, and find wood easily. They can go to 'civilization', as they call it, when they wish to. There's even a solar telecenter out there somewhere, which none use. They don't wander around the forest looking for things to take pictures of so that they can upload them to Flickr, and so on. Are we better than they are? I don't think so. If they are happy that way, then let them be happy. They like some of what comes their way - such as the road. One Amerindian commented that they don't mind the road because it's easier to walk to their hunting spot. I'd never considered that, and the politicians and good willed missionary-style 'we know what is best for them' folks never considered it either. They saw it as an intrusion upon the Amerindians. The point here is that going to 'save' people can be worse than killing them all off quickly. The need for technology - for 'education', as the Western world terms knowledge (not necessarily critical thinking) - has to come from within. Any revolution happens from within, not from without. There's a lot to be said for walking through the forest looking for something to eat, or some wood to burn. There's a noble way of life, not bending over backwards for funding so that people in forests who are happy can become 'civilized'. Solar lighting is a practicality which, on the surface, could help the Amerindian. But what about night vision? Hunting at night? And what about having to carry around a heavy battery during the change of campsites? Well, now we have another need for roads. Then we'll have vehicles tossing carbon monoxide all over, and then mechanics become necessary, and then a BMW dealership, and then... Do we believe that our quality of life is so much better that we must impose it on everyone? There has to be *discussion*. Advertising is not a discussion. Then we have the Plato's 'The Republic' to consider - the person who leaves the cave to come back and try to explain to others what is outside the cave with no frame of reference. And... for the record, if people are burning kerosene, which is refined diesel, then they probably have contact with people outside of the cave. But where firewood is scarce, and kerosene is being burned - who is working on planting trees? There's a noble cause. Each scenario is different. Car
Re: [DDN] Educating the philanthropic community
> Harnessing the Sun as a way of sharing and showing why change may be > necessary > I have work to do but this strand is so compelling that I digress.. and join in, Yesterday, I went to visit and saw this presentation. Harnessing the Sun ( see below) Thanks to Andy, I am also editing a book, on the use of ICT's in Education, and the vendor and the philanthropic community have examples of outreach, projects and resources. There have been interesting perspectives given on education the whole working part of the Global Forum on ICT's in Education. I had to take off my Bonnie Bracey US perspective and listen and learn from a lot of people. In the end, we have a book. but the ideas that Taran proposes, ring true in many ways. Then I get mad because I am a woman and I have seen the possibilities of changing the lives of women in the world, and so I continue to try. Then, as a person interested in science, though the Jordanian men, did not want me to teach science, I taught it and taught it well , teaching how to use water, find water, all the applications needed to think about water education sponsored by WEPIA, and we created handouts, and dvds to teach the science of water. Solving Jordan's Water Problems By the People, For the People By Francesca de Châtel We have been thinking abouy the power of the sun for thousands of years. Each culture has its own stories, but yesterday I was able to hear about solar power and the way it can help in global ways, and there were some of the ideas on radio that we talked about , the solar powered radio, the wind up radio, the various uses of solar and I thought , as I did in India when I had to help women to help get the water for the day, there have to sometimes be better ways to do whatever we want to do. Children in many parts of the world can't do a lot of homework, good or bad because after the sun goes down, there are few sources of light. I lived once in an Indian village ( India) , and I have worked in the bush( a couple of days its true), I laughed because homework can be a sore point. But then I remembered that in one of the articles that was written for the book, they talked about girls not being able to receive an education because there was work to do and they could not be spared from the home. We hold up our half of the sky and some of the technologies that we speak of can make a better world in that gathering water, fuel, wood, and the search for nutrition can be assuaged. So the role of science in the information society is somewhat important. I think. Cultures can choose , if they like, what they want of it sometimes a little guidance is needed. Presented by Nobel Laureates Walter Kohn and Alan Heeger October 6, 2005 University of California Washington Center\ THE POWER OF THE SUN is a 56-minute film, telling the story of SOLAR POWER: its history, and its current and future applications to the world's energy needs. The film is a scientific morality tale: how, starting from basic science, there emerges one of the most promising technologies to help deal with the great challenge of our time - ENERGY. That is, finding economically realistic, clean and safe energy sources to replace diminishing fossil fuels, while energy demands of the developing world continue to grow rapidly. NASA has much to offer in the way of resources that link with this a broad general presentation, in the classroom, I had a lot of fun with solar balloon, solar cells, cooking a hot dog with solar power, but also linking with the University of Maryland team doing Sunrayce Solar Eagle /academic/engr/solar_e/solar_e1.htm Solar Eagle II /academic/engr/solar_e/solar_e2.htm Sunrayce '97 http://www.sunrayce.com/ Other Schools Participating in Sunrayce 97 http://www.sunrayce.com/sunrayce/teams/allteams.html World Solar Challenge http://www.wsc.org.au Additional Solar Racing Links http://www.sunrayce.com/sunrayce/new/links.html Sunrayce Resources for Teachers: Solar Energy Lesson Plans http://www.sunrayce.com/sea/education.html There is a kid story on making a solar car on the George Lucas Educational Foundation web page. Race to Knowledge http://www.edutopia.org/php/article.php?id=Art_886 25/07/2004 The result of overgrazing on the outskirts of Amman, Jordan. © FAO, R. Faidutti In a country that is made up of 90 per cent desert and where water is today so scarce that it is rationed, one would imagine that everyone uses the resource respectfully and sparingly. But awareness of the problem is one thing and behavior is yet another. For, while people may be aware of the situation of extreme water scarcity, they do not always behave accordingly. Now a new education programme in Jordan, Water Efficiency and Public Information for Action (WEPIA), wants to change this. “We don't like the word awareness,” says Hala
RE: [DDN] Educating the philanthropic community
According to Taran, the Amerindians of Guyana are quite happy to hunt for wood to burn for light and for cooking, and would have it no other way. That may be. However, I would favor asking them, rather than having Taran speak for them. Meanwhile, there is substantial evidence to back up some conclusions. First: there are literally billions of people in the world without electricity. Many of them spend an inordinate share of their incomes for the kerosene that slowly poisons them. And the villagers, most often women, spend much of their time hunting for wood to burn from a rapdily depleting supply. Further: we know for sure there are many villages and villagers doing these things who do not know that there is an alternative. We know this for sure from our personal experience in Africa and elsewhere, and from the experience of others who work in the Third World. And we know for sure that literally thousands of villages choose to solarize light and cooking when they learn that these are feasible options, and that there are those who will help them. To support that conclusion, here is evidence from two organization we have worked with: Solar Light for Africa www.solarlightforafrica.org This organization has installed solar lighting in some 1,500 villages, largely in Uganda, with some work in Botswana and Rwanda. Led by retired Episcopal bishop Alden Hathaway the project insures that the village really wants these units by providing half the funding for them from US donations; the other half of the necessary money comes from the village. Many of these units have been installed by teams of high school students trained as installers: half of the students are from the US, the other half from Uganda. The educational impact of this kind of human service is powerful. The other and newer organization is the Light Up the World Foundation, based at the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada. See: www.lutw.org Perhaps we need to do less romanticizing about the happy natives who don't really mind lungs poisoned from kerosene or wood smoke because that's their culture, and they want to stay with the old ways. Some of us think when it comes to the AIDS epidemic and the possibilities of antiretrovirals and condoms and discussions of safe sex, and when it comes to corroded lungs, we might have a moral obligation to present possibilities to those suffering, and let them decide whether they want to stay with untreated dying from AIDS and children coughing from kerosene. Steve Eskow [EMAIL PROTECTED] -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Taran Rampersad Sent: Friday, October 07, 2005 8:05 PM To: The Digital Divide Network discussion group Subject: Re: [DDN] Educating the philanthropic community Dr. Steve Eskow wrote: >But consider: > >Consider a community off the electric grid, using kerosene lamps for light, >and blackening ceilings and lungs in the process. And spending hours >searching for incresingly scarce wood for cooking fires. > > >Assume further that the villagers do not know that are simple solar powered >white LED units that can provde home light for less than they are paying for >kerosene, and when the light is paid for for no regular expense. > >And there are simple solar cookers made of cardboard and aluminum foil that >can minimmize or eliminate the hunt for wood as fuel. > > Hmm. Well, consider the Amerindians of Guyana. Most of them are quite happy, don't use kerosene, and find wood easily. They can go to 'civilization', as they call it, when they wish to. There's even a solar telecenter out there somewhere, which none use. They don't wander around the forest looking for things to take pictures of so that they can upload them to Flickr, and so on. Are we better than they are? I don't think so. If they are happy that way, then let them be happy. They like some of what comes their way - such as the road. One Amerindian commented that they don't mind the road because it's easier to walk to their hunting spot. I'd never considered that, and the politicians and good willed missionary-style 'we know what is best for them' folks never considered it either. They saw it as an intrusion upon the Amerindians. The point here is that going to 'save' people can be worse than killing them all off quickly. The need for technology - for 'education', as the Western world terms knowledge (not necessarily critical thinking) - has to come from within. Any revolution happens from within, not from without. There's a lot to be said for walking through the forest looking for something to eat, or some wood to burn. There's a noble way of life, not bending over backwards for funding so that people in forests who are happy can become 'civilized'. Solar lighting is a practicality which, on the surface, could help the
Re: [DDN] Educating the philanthropic community
We started this discussion following the announcement that the DDN was not raising enough money to pay for a very valuable staff member. My suggestions are focused on educating the people who we need to provide funds for intermediaries like the DDN and strategies that might be deployed to achieve this goal. These are adults, business leaders, foundation leaders, voters, not children. The challenges of how we educate kids and what's working or not working are another discussion which needs to be fully explored using the Internet as a meeting place. I don't think we've solved the problem that we started the discussion with. If we can get adults to do more of the things that need to be done in this world, I'm sure we'll also find better ways to help educate all kids. Dan Bassill Tutor/Mentor Connection on 10/5/05 1:53 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > Dan's points are well spoken and the area in which he is focusing his > energies is critical but he needs to step up and ask for funds to do what > they can do best- educate students- not prepare students to enter the main > stream education system which is broken > > First, there is a program in the United States where there is a conscious > effort to blend students by economics, poor with middle class and well off. > The results have been far better than any other scheme for improving the > learning performance of students. > > Another study has shown that when those with poor educational backgrounds > are placed in a learning situation where they are "forced" by the > environment, to learn the skills that the better educated and well off > individuals have acquired that they rise to the level of the community. > > Helping students who are lagging to come up to a certain level and then > placing them back into a non-challenging environment is a ticket to > failure, for most. > > This, of course, is the reason for the push in the US for private schools > where academic and social standards are agreed upon at some high level and > expectations are geared to that level of performance. > > It is also the rationale for many virtual schools and home schools emerging > (separate from any religious issues) > > The e-learning effort, if it can raise skills, should keep its community > and carry them forward rather than returning them back to the sink or swim > problems of public schools. > > tom abeles > Original Message: > --------- > From: Dan Bassill [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Date: Wed, 05 Oct 2005 09:00:07 -0600 > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: Re: [DDN] Educating the philanthropic community > > > I think Social Edge is one place to meet with a few donors, but I also think > we need to think in much broader terms. Every day we are bombarded with > media messages educating us on some new drug, some phone company or > financial service, or some food product or new car model. > > This works. Advertising changes habits and purchasing decisions. > > Thus, I feel that social service organizations need to find ways to > "advertise" what they do, why they do it, where they do it, what works, and > what they need on a consistent basis, reaching millions of potential donors, > and voters, for many years. > > I think the Internet offers ways to do this that are within the reach of > small and medium size non profits. We just need to figure out message points > that can be delivered by individual organizations and their supporters, and > that create a check list of responses (cash, workplace funding, bequest, > grant, etc.). > > Such a campaign needs to point people to information hubs such as the DDN > web site, or the www.tutormentorexchange.net web site, where they can learn > more about a social issue, and where they can find contact information for > specific organizations, in specific zip codes, who provide services related > to that issue. > > We ought to be able to use meeting places such as Social Edge, Omidyar.net, > DDN, and other on-line portals to meet and determine what these message > points are. > > On Nov. 17 and 18 I'll be hosting a conference in Chicago with this goal in > mind. The conference topic will be: > The Role of Volunteer-Based, Non-School Tutor/Mentor Programs in School > Reform Policy > How do volunteer-based tutor/mentor programs impact college and career > readiness? What are the challenges that keep such programs from being in > more locations? > > If any of you would like to take part, either in the face-to-face version, > or in an Internet version, I'd like to have your help. I plan to host part > of the conference at the T/MC web portal which is at: > http://msg.uc.iupui.edu/TMC/html/index.php
RE: [DDN] Educating the philanthropic community
I'll certainly agree with Mr. Paul Mondesire's characterization of how we might inform a Philanthropist or their designated Foundation staff as to the value of what we're doing in our organizations, so that they might feel it's something they believe deserving of their support... And likewise that we're doing this amidst that cacophony of voices... (and that we will likely say things that aren't meant to be dealt with-from the view of some) But my bigger point in bringing all this up (and sorry not to have been a more active discussant-but very pleased to have followed the conversation) was the idea of "Educating the philanthropic community" ... This is a very different proposition than each of us in our separate organizations making our separate cases to various Foundation or other financially well-positioned parties who are receiving many similar requests, and many requests of wide ranging nature This posits us working together, drawing upon our experience on the cutting edge of moral and social thought and practice, and having a more united voice extolling our collective value, and that different philanthropic strategies and perspectives are warranted. Failing that, it demands us coordinating resources within our field such that we are a better resource to each other and can advance and empower ourselves and our commuities by working together and tending to that field we labor in... as a garden. -MM Michael Maranda President, The Association For Community Networking (AFCN) http://www.afcn.org Executive Director, CTCNet Chicago Chapter http://www.ctcnetchicago.org Co-Chair, Illinois Community Technology Coalition (ilCTC) http://www.ilctc.org Vice President, CAAELII http://www.caaelii.org Vice President, NPOTechs http://www.npotechs.org Join us for Digital Neighborhoods: Connecting All Chicago to the World, October 20th!http://www.ctcnetchicago.org/event Attend the Illinois Community Technology Conference, November 16-17, 2005. http://www.ctcnetchicago.org/conference -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Paul Mondesire Sent: Thursday, October 06, 2005 10:24 AM To: The Digital Divide Network discussion group Subject: Re: [DDN] Educating the philanthropic community >Every day we are bombarded with media messages educating us on some new >drug, some phone company or financial service, or some food product or >new car model. This works. Advertising changes habits and purchasing >decisions. - Dan Basill We focus here on the Digital Divide but even that phrase covers a multitude of technical, financial, sociological, educational, cultural, and other challenges. In the battle of ideas, getting your message out in a manner which resonates with the target audience is crucial. When you are speaking of philanthropy, you are working at getting the attention of an individual or a small group (foundations etc.) who have resources and the inclination to share them. You must convince them to believe enough in what YOU are doing to support your effort. At the same time you are competing with a veritable cacaphony of other folks who are in need which means you must use whatever communications tools necessary to make that happen. If you have a good idea, cause, or solution to some socio-economic or health problem, it is up to YOU to state your case in a manner that convinces those you approach. Ms. Cravens spoke of having to create cost/benefit analyses for this or that software/hardware "solution" because someone was dazzled by a sales presentation. That's because companies expend huge amounts of time and money to make certain their sales force has the resources to close the deal. The not-for-profit world has to be just as well prepared to make their pitch because ultimately it is always comes down to SOMEONE making a decision and you better make sure you have made a compelling case that you are deserving of their generosity. I just LOVE the brain power of this group Thank you especially to Dan B, Dr. Bork, Taran R, Steve E., Phil S., Bonnie B., the amazing Andy Carvin and everyone else I read but have not time to respond to. Keep fighting the good fight!!! Paul Mondesire Thirteen/WNET [EMAIL PROTECTED] . ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message. ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
Re: [DDN] Educating the philanthropic community
You make some very interesting points. There is an issue here in Offaly in Ireland where wthe whole county population is being written off in term of higher ed. It seems deep cultural barriers exist and a new class system realignment is taking place. This is now being reinforced by a special TV soap series on RTE1 (national no 1 public broadcaster) about Offaly life = Pure Mule! Some of your ideas could be useful in this struggle Best wishes Dudley Stewart Charleville Castle> Dan's points are well spoken and the area in which he is focusing his > energies is critical but he needs to step up and ask for funds to do what > they can do best- educate students- not prepare students to enter the main > stream education system which is broken > > First, there is a program in the United States where there is a conscious > effort to blend students by economics, poor with middle class and well > off. > The results have been far better than any other scheme for improving the > learning performance of students. > > Another study has shown that when those with poor educational backgrounds > are placed in a learning situation where they are "forced" by the > environment, to learn the skills that the better educated and well off > individuals have acquired that they rise to the level of the community. > > Helping students who are lagging to come up to a certain level and then > placing them back into a non-challenging environment is a ticket to > failure, for most. > > This, of course, is the reason for the push in the US for private schools > where academic and social standards are agreed upon at some high level and > expectations are geared to that level of performance. > > It is also the rationale for many virtual schools and home schools > emerging > (separate from any religious issues) > > The e-learning effort, if it can raise skills, should keep its community > and carry them forward rather than returning them back to the sink or swim > problems of public schools. > > tom abeles > Original Message: > --------- > From: Dan Bassill [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Date: Wed, 05 Oct 2005 09:00:07 -0600 > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: Re: [DDN] Educating the philanthropic community > > > I think Social Edge is one place to meet with a few donors, but I also > think > we need to think in much broader terms. Every day we are bombarded with > media messages educating us on some new drug, some phone company or > financial service, or some food product or new car model. > > This works. Advertising changes habits and purchasing decisions. > > Thus, I feel that social service organizations need to find ways to > "advertise" what they do, why they do it, where they do it, what works, > and > what they need on a consistent basis, reaching millions of potential > donors, > and voters, for many years. > > I think the Internet offers ways to do this that are within the reach of > small and medium size non profits. We just need to figure out message > points > that can be delivered by individual organizations and their supporters, > and > that create a check list of responses (cash, workplace funding, bequest, > grant, etc.). > > Such a campaign needs to point people to information hubs such as the DDN > web site, or the www.tutormentorexchange.net web site, where they can > learn > more about a social issue, and where they can find contact information for > specific organizations, in specific zip codes, who provide services > related > to that issue. > > We ought to be able to use meeting places such as Social Edge, > Omidyar.net, > DDN, and other on-line portals to meet and determine what these message > points are. > > On Nov. 17 and 18 I'll be hosting a conference in Chicago with this goal > in > mind. The conference topic will be: > The Role of Volunteer-Based, Non-School Tutor/Mentor Programs in School > Reform Policy > How do volunteer-based tutor/mentor programs impact college and career > readiness? What are the challenges that keep such programs from being in > more locations? > > If any of you would like to take part, either in the face-to-face version, > or in an Internet version, I'd like to have your help. I plan to host > part > of the conference at the T/MC web portal which is at: > http://msg.uc.iupui.edu/TMC/html/index.php > > However, I'd like to see parallel threads hosted on the DDN site, in > LearningTimes.org and other forums. For instance, in DDN, the question > might be "What is the role of Technology in non-school tutor/mentor > programs, or social service agencies". In Learning Times it might be, > "how > can we use technology to prepare kids to co
Re: [DDN] Educating the philanthropic community
In a message dated 10/6/05 10:21:13 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: > > Communication is no different. Consider Krispy Kreme donuts. They've > never advertised, but anyone in the U.S. can probably tell you about > Krispy Kreme donuts. Oddly enough, I've never had one - but I know about > them because... people around me talked about them, and spoke highly of > them. Perhaps we can learn from Krispy Kreme. > You make me laugh Krispy Kreme, over the lips and down to the hips.. exactly what can we do to shake up people so that they get it is the idea. The spread of the cellphone was helped by the music tones and the addition of picture taking. Bonnie Bracey Sutton [EMAIL PROTECTED] ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
Re: [DDN] Educating the philanthropic community
Dan Bassill wrote: >Unless hundreds or thousands of people who know how to deliver a message >through the use of the Internet (and traditional pr) begin to use their >skills to draw more people into conversations about capacity building, we'll >continue to be a small group of people who are isolated and limited in our >capacity to implement the great ideas that are presented every day in a >variety of on-line forums. > >We don't have the financial resources of corporations. We never will. We >need to make up for this by the actions of each of us. We can be a choir, or >we can just make noise and add to the confusion. > >If groups like MoveOn can mobilize thousands (millions?) of people for a >political candidate, why cannot we have the same result in efforts to help >make this a better world? > >Dan Bassill >Tutor/Mentor Connection > > Well... I hate to borrow one of Louis L'amour's analogies, but - people were killing each other way before the gun. They probably started off with rocks, then sharp pointy sticks and/or blunt sticks, and so on. When you look at the history of weaponry, the refinements encapsulate different periods of technology. The bronze age lead to bronze weapons. Then iron. Then steel. Then gunpowder. And so on. Communication is no different. Consider Krispy Kreme donuts. They've never advertised, but anyone in the U.S. can probably tell you about Krispy Kreme donuts. Oddly enough, I've never had one - but I know about them because... people around me talked about them, and spoke highly of them. Perhaps we can learn from Krispy Kreme. -- Taran Rampersad Presently in: San Fernando, Trinidad [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.knowprose.com http://www.easylum.net http://www.digitaldivide.net/profile/Taran Coming on January 1st, 2006: http://www.OpenDepth.com "Criticize by creating." — Michelangelo ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
Re: [DDN] Educating the philanthropic community
Dr. Steve Eskow wrote: >But consider: > >Consider a community off the electric grid, using kerosene lamps for light, >and blackening ceilings and lungs in the process. And spending hours >searching for incresingly scarce wood for cooking fires. > > >Assume further that the villagers do not know that are simple solar powered >white LED units that can provde home light for less than they are paying for >kerosene, and when the light is paid for for no regular expense. > >And there are simple solar cookers made of cardboard and aluminum foil that >can minimmize or eliminate the hunt for wood as fuel. > > Hmm. Well, consider the Amerindians of Guyana. Most of them are quite happy, don't use kerosene, and find wood easily. They can go to 'civilization', as they call it, when they wish to. There's even a solar telecenter out there somewhere, which none use. They don't wander around the forest looking for things to take pictures of so that they can upload them to Flickr, and so on. Are we better than they are? I don't think so. If they are happy that way, then let them be happy. They like some of what comes their way - such as the road. One Amerindian commented that they don't mind the road because it's easier to walk to their hunting spot. I'd never considered that, and the politicians and good willed missionary-style 'we know what is best for them' folks never considered it either. They saw it as an intrusion upon the Amerindians. The point here is that going to 'save' people can be worse than killing them all off quickly. The need for technology - for 'education', as the Western world terms knowledge (not necessarily critical thinking) - has to come from within. Any revolution happens from within, not from without. There's a lot to be said for walking through the forest looking for something to eat, or some wood to burn. There's a noble way of life, not bending over backwards for funding so that people in forests who are happy can become 'civilized'. Solar lighting is a practicality which, on the surface, could help the Amerindian. But what about night vision? Hunting at night? And what about having to carry around a heavy battery during the change of campsites? Well, now we have another need for roads. Then we'll have vehicles tossing carbon monoxide all over, and then mechanics become necessary, and then a BMW dealership, and then... Do we believe that our quality of life is so much better that we must impose it on everyone? There has to be *discussion*. Advertising is not a discussion. Then we have the Plato's 'The Republic' to consider - the person who leaves the cave to come back and try to explain to others what is outside the cave with no frame of reference. And... for the record, if people are burning kerosene, which is refined diesel, then they probably have contact with people outside of the cave. But where firewood is scarce, and kerosene is being burned - who is working on planting trees? There's a noble cause. Each scenario is different. Care must be taken not to say that any other way of life other than our own is substandard, and group them together in one group such as the UN's disgusting use of 'North' and 'South' which trivializes the reality into something even beaurecrats think that they can solve. >The situation, then, is this: > >Since the villagers do not know of these possibilities they will not list >them when they are asked to name their needs. > > Unlikely, though, because they have kerosene, and therefore they have contact with people outside of their village - unless they have a refinery in their village that operates off of... ?!? >Is the development agency acting improperly when it looks to make the >community leaders aware of these possibilities? > > Aware and advertise are two different things. UNDP and Microsoft just 'spent' '$1.4 million' US dollars training children how to use Microsoft products in Jamaica (an island in the Caribbean that a few may have heard of, but it does not constitute the Caribbean). Is that advertising or 'making aware', Steve? >Doing so, of course, can be called an attempt by the outsider to change the >community's agenda. > > Actually, it's sometimes seen as the intrusion of the outsider's agenda on the community. Now, let's look at a real example: Bukeni Waruzi of the East border of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Using SMS messages - only one allowed per day per phone - he and others coordinate village communication. Charging the phones was a problem. Internet access So while he was in Canada for the MobileActive conference, he was given some solar panels for charging. This should be good, right? But when those panels stop functioning, has Bukeni and the people in the area the capacity to fix those panels? And a dependancy on the panels themselves can be problematic, where charging via solar energy can make them completely dependant on a technology that they have to *import* - completely, including knowledge. But it was a he
Re: [DDN] Educating the philanthropic community
Dan's points are well spoken and the area in which he is focusing his energies is critical but he needs to step up and ask for funds to do what they can do best- educate students- not prepare students to enter the main stream education system which is broken First, there is a program in the United States where there is a conscious effort to blend students by economics, poor with middle class and well off. The results have been far better than any other scheme for improving the learning performance of students. Another study has shown that when those with poor educational backgrounds are placed in a learning situation where they are "forced" by the environment, to learn the skills that the better educated and well off individuals have acquired that they rise to the level of the community. Helping students who are lagging to come up to a certain level and then placing them back into a non-challenging environment is a ticket to failure, for most. This, of course, is the reason for the push in the US for private schools where academic and social standards are agreed upon at some high level and expectations are geared to that level of performance. It is also the rationale for many virtual schools and home schools emerging (separate from any religious issues) The e-learning effort, if it can raise skills, should keep its community and carry them forward rather than returning them back to the sink or swim problems of public schools. tom abeles Original Message: - From: Dan Bassill [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Wed, 05 Oct 2005 09:00:07 -0600 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [DDN] Educating the philanthropic community I think Social Edge is one place to meet with a few donors, but I also think we need to think in much broader terms. Every day we are bombarded with media messages educating us on some new drug, some phone company or financial service, or some food product or new car model. This works. Advertising changes habits and purchasing decisions. Thus, I feel that social service organizations need to find ways to "advertise" what they do, why they do it, where they do it, what works, and what they need on a consistent basis, reaching millions of potential donors, and voters, for many years. I think the Internet offers ways to do this that are within the reach of small and medium size non profits. We just need to figure out message points that can be delivered by individual organizations and their supporters, and that create a check list of responses (cash, workplace funding, bequest, grant, etc.). Such a campaign needs to point people to information hubs such as the DDN web site, or the www.tutormentorexchange.net web site, where they can learn more about a social issue, and where they can find contact information for specific organizations, in specific zip codes, who provide services related to that issue. We ought to be able to use meeting places such as Social Edge, Omidyar.net, DDN, and other on-line portals to meet and determine what these message points are. On Nov. 17 and 18 I'll be hosting a conference in Chicago with this goal in mind. The conference topic will be: The Role of Volunteer-Based, Non-School Tutor/Mentor Programs in School Reform Policy How do volunteer-based tutor/mentor programs impact college and career readiness? What are the challenges that keep such programs from being in more locations? If any of you would like to take part, either in the face-to-face version, or in an Internet version, I'd like to have your help. I plan to host part of the conference at the T/MC web portal which is at: http://msg.uc.iupui.edu/TMC/html/index.php However, I'd like to see parallel threads hosted on the DDN site, in LearningTimes.org and other forums. For instance, in DDN, the question might be "What is the role of Technology in non-school tutor/mentor programs, or social service agencies". In Learning Times it might be, "how can we use technology to prepare kids to come to school better prepared to learn?" In all cases, the focus should be a) how do create a better distribution of programs in all places where they are needed; b) how to improve staffing and the quality of such programs; c) how to improve funding consistency; and d) how to fund intermediaries who help bring people and resources together. There probably would be other issues to focus on and that's why we need some groups to be hosting a forum that focuses on "What are the questions?" Daniel F. Bassill Tutor/Mentor Connection Cabrini Connections Chicago PS: I'm also a commissioner for the Illinois Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service. Thus, the process I pilot in strengthening volunteer-based tutor/mentor programs is a process that I hope strengthens all forms of volunteer-based community service. n 10/4/05 2:48 PM, Pamela McLean at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > Ref educating the philanthropic commun
RE: [DDN] Educating the philanthropic community
Man-oh-man! :( You are right on target with this comment! My partner and I have seen a number of examples of corporate thinking, beguiled by advertising, (or worse, kickbacks), where executives (who never use the technology) have made decisions on behalf of the network techs (who actually use the technology) on hardware/software decisions, without even consulting them...! This results in wasting huge chunks of other people's money and creating headaches, problems, and extra (often redundant) labor for the techs who would have never wanted the decision made for them anyway... and having this new widget shoved down their throats against their will...! :( The money would have been better spent actually addressing people's needs :S (*sigh*) Sorry Had to comment on that one...! NE... Nicole English Interdisciplinary PhD Program, Sociology/Psychology Instructor, Program for Adult College Education (PACE) University of Missouri--Kansas City (UMKC) [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] on behalf of J Cravens Sent: Fri 10/7/2005 1:43 AM To: The Digital Divide Network discussion group Subject: Re: [DDN] Educating the philanthropic community Taran Rampersad <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > >>the point is that a lot of the technology we're discussing >should be encouraged by critical things - not by things that >artificially creating a need and building unrealistic explanations - I wanted to say "hurrah" for this excellent point. I know that we could probably debate until the end of time what technology is the "right" technology for any given situation, but I do think that it's a much better-informed debate that can lead to more sustainable, more-audience-appropriate tech, than leaving the "discussion" to those with better advertising. About half a dozen times, I've been approached by a senior manager who got bedazzled by a sales pitch and he's now decided that the organization, or those it serves, really need WhamBam software, or BlingBling Inc. hardware. And I've had to put together powerpoint presentations and cost benefit tables and narratives and interpretive dances to counter the argument of the salesmen, whose undone months of methodical, critically-thought-out strategic planning. Sometimes I'm successful, but often, I'm stuck, or the people we were serving get stuck, with WhamBam software and BlingBling Inc. hardware. All because a non-tech person got bedazzled by advertising. One of the digital divides that needs to be bridged is helping people -- anywhere -- make informed choices about hardware and software, and being able to articulate and identify their own needs. but that's a rather huge goal in and of itself... -- <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> Jayne Cravens Bonn, Germany Services for Mission-Based Orgs www.coyotecommunications.com Open University Development Studies www.coyotecommunications.com/development Contact me www.coyotecommunications.com/contact.html <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message. <>___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
Re: [DDN] Educating the philanthropic community
Unless hundreds or thousands of people who know how to deliver a message through the use of the Internet (and traditional pr) begin to use their skills to draw more people into conversations about capacity building, we'll continue to be a small group of people who are isolated and limited in our capacity to implement the great ideas that are presented every day in a variety of on-line forums. We don't have the financial resources of corporations. We never will. We need to make up for this by the actions of each of us. We can be a choir, or we can just make noise and add to the confusion. If groups like MoveOn can mobilize thousands (millions?) of people for a political candidate, why cannot we have the same result in efforts to help make this a better world? Dan Bassill Tutor/Mentor Connection on 10/6/05 3:03 PM, Taran Rampersad at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > we don't have the marketing departments > that large corporations have or the financial resources. Maybe the > digital bridge is a rope bridge. ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
Re: [DDN] Educating the philanthropic community
>Every day we are bombarded with media messages educating us on some new drug, >some phone company or financial service, or some food product or new car >model. This works. Advertising changes habits and purchasing decisions. - Dan Basill We focus here on the Digital Divide but even that phrase covers a multitude of technical, financial, sociological, educational, cultural, and other challenges. In the battle of ideas, getting your message out in a manner which resonates with the target audience is crucial. When you are speaking of philanthropy, you are working at getting the attention of an individual or a small group (foundations etc.) who have resources and the inclination to share them. You must convince them to believe enough in what YOU are doing to support your effort. At the same time you are competing with a veritable cacaphony of other folks who are in need which means you must use whatever communications tools necessary to make that happen. If you have a good idea, cause, or solution to some socio-economic or health problem, it is up to YOU to state your case in a manner that convinces those you approach. Ms. Cravens spoke of having to create cost/benefit analyses for this or that software/hardware "solution" because someone was dazzled by a sales presentation. That's because companies expend huge amounts of time and money to make certain their sales force has the resources to close the deal. The not-for-profit world has to be just as well prepared to make their pitch because ultimately it is always comes down to SOMEONE making a decision and you better make sure you have made a compelling case that you are deserving of their generosity. I just LOVE the brain power of this group Thank you especially to Dan B, Dr. Bork, Taran R, Steve E., Phil S., Bonnie B., the amazing Andy Carvin and everyone else I read but have not time to respond to. Keep fighting the good fight!!! Paul Mondesire Thirteen/WNET [EMAIL PROTECTED] . ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
Re: [DDN] Educating the philanthropic community
Hooray for Jayne's insightful comments. What we need to also do is consider that the same "marketing" sales efforts are very prevalent in the development field, particularly today. The idea of the "Digital Divide" is a paradigmatic example which has gained a lot of mileage for NGO's who are marketing services to funding agencies. thoughts? tom abeles Original Message: - From: J Cravens [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Fri, 7 Oct 2005 08:43:52 +0200 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [DDN] Educating the philanthropic community Taran Rampersad <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > >>the point is that a lot of the technology we're discussing >should be encouraged by critical things - not by things that >artificially creating a need and building unrealistic explanations - I wanted to say "hurrah" for this excellent point. I know that we could probably debate until the end of time what technology is the "right" technology for any given situation, but I do think that it's a much better-informed debate that can lead to more sustainable, more-audience-appropriate tech, than leaving the "discussion" to those with better advertising. About half a dozen times, I've been approached by a senior manager who got bedazzled by a sales pitch and he's now decided that the organization, or those it serves, really need WhamBam software, or BlingBling Inc. hardware. And I've had to put together powerpoint presentations and cost benefit tables and narratives and interpretive dances to counter the argument of the salesmen, whose undone months of methodical, critically-thought-out strategic planning. Sometimes I'm successful, but often, I'm stuck, or the people we were serving get stuck, with WhamBam software and BlingBling Inc. hardware. All because a non-tech person got bedazzled by advertising. One of the digital divides that needs to be bridged is helping people -- anywhere -- make informed choices about hardware and software, and being able to articulate and identify their own needs. but that's a rather huge goal in and of itself... -- <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> Jayne Cravens Bonn, Germany Services for Mission-Based Orgs www.coyotecommunications.com Open University Development Studies www.coyotecommunications.com/development Contact me www.coyotecommunications.com/contact.html <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message. mail2web - Check your email from the web at http://mail2web.com/ . ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
RE: [DDN] Educating the philanthropic community
It's easy to agree with the admonition that we not allow advertising to distort the development agenda, and important to agree, but there's another side to that coin. One of the pieces of conventional community development wisdom--almost sacred writ by now--is that development agents and agencies ought to listen to what the community wants, and respond, rather than bringing in answers and agendas. Yes indeed. But consider: Consider a community off the electric grid, using kerosene lamps for light, and blackening ceilings and lungs in the process. And spending hours searching for incresingly scarce wood for cooking fires. Assume further that the villagers do not know that are simple solar powered white LED units that can provde home light for less than they are paying for kerosene, and when the light is paid for for no regular expense. And there are simple solar cookers made of cardboard and aluminum foil that can minimmize or eliminate the hunt for wood as fuel. The situation, then, is this: Since the villagers do not know of these possibilities they will not list them when they are asked to name their needs. Is the development agency acting improperly when it looks to make the community leaders aware of these possibilities? Doing so, of course, can be called an attempt by the outsider to change the community's agenda. Steve Eskow [EMAIL PROTECTED] -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of J Cravens Sent: Thursday, October 06, 2005 11:44 PM To: The Digital Divide Network discussion group Subject: Re: [DDN] Educating the philanthropic community Taran Rampersad <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > >>the point is that a lot of the technology we're discussing >should be encouraged by critical things - not by things that >artificially creating a need and building unrealistic explanations - I wanted to say "hurrah" for this excellent point. I know that we could probably debate until the end of time what technology is the "right" technology for any given situation, but I do think that it's a much better-informed debate that can lead to more sustainable, more-audience-appropriate tech, than leaving the "discussion" to those with better advertising. About half a dozen times, I've been approached by a senior manager who got bedazzled by a sales pitch and he's now decided that the organization, or those it serves, really need WhamBam software, or BlingBling Inc. hardware. And I've had to put together powerpoint presentations and cost benefit tables and narratives and interpretive dances to counter the argument of the salesmen, whose undone months of methodical, critically-thought-out strategic planning. Sometimes I'm successful, but often, I'm stuck, or the people we were serving get stuck, with WhamBam software and BlingBling Inc. hardware. All because a non-tech person got bedazzled by advertising. One of the digital divides that needs to be bridged is helping people -- anywhere -- make informed choices about hardware and software, and being able to articulate and identify their own needs. but that's a rather huge goal in and of itself... -- <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> Jayne Cravens Bonn, Germany Services for Mission-Based Orgs www.coyotecommunications.com Open University Development Studies www.coyotecommunications.com/development Contact me www.coyotecommunications.com/contact.html <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message. ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
Re: [DDN] Educating the philanthropic community
Taran Rampersad <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >>the point is that a lot of the technology we're discussing should be encouraged by critical things - not by things that artificially creating a need and building unrealistic explanations - I wanted to say "hurrah" for this excellent point. I know that we could probably debate until the end of time what technology is the "right" technology for any given situation, but I do think that it's a much better-informed debate that can lead to more sustainable, more-audience-appropriate tech, than leaving the "discussion" to those with better advertising. About half a dozen times, I've been approached by a senior manager who got bedazzled by a sales pitch and he's now decided that the organization, or those it serves, really need WhamBam software, or BlingBling Inc. hardware. And I've had to put together powerpoint presentations and cost benefit tables and narratives and interpretive dances to counter the argument of the salesmen, whose undone months of methodical, critically-thought-out strategic planning. Sometimes I'm successful, but often, I'm stuck, or the people we were serving get stuck, with WhamBam software and BlingBling Inc. hardware. All because a non-tech person got bedazzled by advertising. One of the digital divides that needs to be bridged is helping people -- anywhere -- make informed choices about hardware and software, and being able to articulate and identify their own needs. but that's a rather huge goal in and of itself... -- <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> Jayne Cravens Bonn, Germany Services for Mission-Based Orgs www.coyotecommunications.com Open University Development Studies www.coyotecommunications.com/development Contact me www.coyotecommunications.com/contact.html <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
Re: [DDN] Educating the philanthropic community
Dan Bassill wrote: >I think Social Edge is one place to meet with a few donors, but I also think >we need to think in much broader terms. Every day we are bombarded with >media messages educating us on some new drug, some phone company or >financial service, or some food product or new car model. > >This works. Advertising changes habits and purchasing decisions. > > Should it? I raise this question because there is a lean toward education as well - especially in the context of the digital bridges we're interested in building. Believe me, I think everyone should have a pet rock should they choose to have one - but one of the points on the list is that a lot of advertising creates it's own demand, and that demand can be counterproductive. How? I can only imagine how a doctor feels when a hypochondriac comes in with a shopping list provided by pharmaceutical marketing on TV. Sad? Have a pill. Happy? Have a pill. Listless? Have a pill. Too many pills? Have a pill. Need a computer? Here's one you can pay for (at about 150% of the actual value) with payments! Need to learn how to make web pages? Buy this book (but don't read it)! Don't have time? Buy minutes... And I won't even touch the SPAM issue on the internet, which exists because people don't want to do the sensible thing - prosecute the offenders who profit from it. I go on. But the point is that a lot of the technology we're discussing should be encouraged by critical things - not by things that artificially creating a need and building unrealistic explanations - which is the point that Alfred Bork seems to consistently make as well, though much more conservatively than I agree with. We can fight fire with fire, but we don't have the marketing departments that large corporations have or the financial resources. Maybe the digital bridge is a rope bridge. -- Taran Rampersad Presently in: San Fernando, Trinidad [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.knowprose.com http://www.easylum.net http://www.digitaldivide.net/profile/Taran Coming on January 1st, 2006: http://www.OpenDepth.com "Criticize by creating." — Michelangelo ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
RE: [DDN] Educating the philanthropic community
Don't ignore that that's the whole point of "exclusive" think tank groupings - to vet the questions well ahead of time, and "cannon fodder" is just what they don't want to deal with. OTOH, they don't deal with much as long as they vet the most important questions, and then they, and we, wonder why they don't deal with much Joe Beckmann -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, October 05, 2005 3:53 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [DDN] Educating the philanthropic community In a message dated 10/4/05 9:20:01 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: > Funders > >do not seem to value the role of intermediaries and of knowledge > >brokers. > What we need to do is to show up at the think tanks that the funders use to generate ideas within their networks. But the cost of attending them is steep and most of us don't have the spare change to do so. I used to be invited to Poptech in Maine, a stimulating weekend of discussion and ideas that was like going to college in a week, but I asked the question about why minorities have become cannon fodder and why should it continue and thought I know lots of the funders, the organizer, the new one, shot me a look that let me know I was not welcome to return on scholarship. A little reality anyway. He did skip the question. Bonnie Bracey bbracey at aol com ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message. ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
Re: [DDN] Educating the philanthropic community
I think Social Edge is one place to meet with a few donors, but I also think we need to think in much broader terms. Every day we are bombarded with media messages educating us on some new drug, some phone company or financial service, or some food product or new car model. This works. Advertising changes habits and purchasing decisions. Thus, I feel that social service organizations need to find ways to "advertise" what they do, why they do it, where they do it, what works, and what they need on a consistent basis, reaching millions of potential donors, and voters, for many years. I think the Internet offers ways to do this that are within the reach of small and medium size non profits. We just need to figure out message points that can be delivered by individual organizations and their supporters, and that create a check list of responses (cash, workplace funding, bequest, grant, etc.). Such a campaign needs to point people to information hubs such as the DDN web site, or the www.tutormentorexchange.net web site, where they can learn more about a social issue, and where they can find contact information for specific organizations, in specific zip codes, who provide services related to that issue. We ought to be able to use meeting places such as Social Edge, Omidyar.net, DDN, and other on-line portals to meet and determine what these message points are. On Nov. 17 and 18 I'll be hosting a conference in Chicago with this goal in mind. The conference topic will be: The Role of Volunteer-Based, Non-School Tutor/Mentor Programs in School Reform Policy How do volunteer-based tutor/mentor programs impact college and career readiness? What are the challenges that keep such programs from being in more locations? If any of you would like to take part, either in the face-to-face version, or in an Internet version, I'd like to have your help. I plan to host part of the conference at the T/MC web portal which is at: http://msg.uc.iupui.edu/TMC/html/index.php However, I'd like to see parallel threads hosted on the DDN site, in LearningTimes.org and other forums. For instance, in DDN, the question might be "What is the role of Technology in non-school tutor/mentor programs, or social service agencies". In Learning Times it might be, "how can we use technology to prepare kids to come to school better prepared to learn?" In all cases, the focus should be a) how do create a better distribution of programs in all places where they are needed; b) how to improve staffing and the quality of such programs; c) how to improve funding consistency; and d) how to fund intermediaries who help bring people and resources together. There probably would be other issues to focus on and that's why we need some groups to be hosting a forum that focuses on "What are the questions?" Daniel F. Bassill Tutor/Mentor Connection Cabrini Connections Chicago PS: I'm also a commissioner for the Illinois Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service. Thus, the process I pilot in strengthening volunteer-based tutor/mentor programs is a process that I hope strengthens all forms of volunteer-based community service. n 10/4/05 2:48 PM, Pamela McLean at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > Ref educating the philanthropic community (see below fromRe: [DDN] Cedar > Pruitt's departure from DDN.) > Social Edge is an excellent forum for discussion between philanthropists > and "people who want to change the world" > http://www.socialedge.org/index.html > Pam > > Pamela McLean > CAWDnet convenor > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > www.cawd.info > > Michael Maranda wrote: > >> Dan wrote- In a message dated 9/15/05 7:46:24 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> writes:I think there is a larger issue that we might collaborate on. Funders >> do not seem to value the role of intermediaries and of knowledge >> brokers. >> >> >> MM wrote - Very true...! >> >> So, to shape our field, we need to educate ourselves and educate the >> philanthropic community as to what is best for the field qua field and >> movement, and seek a new form of philanthropy. >> I realize "educating the philanthropic community" can sounds a bit >> presumptuous, however, that¹s what we we're doing when we make the case >> individually as organizations through proposals or other solicitations. >> >> I'm suggesting we do so with some coordination for our field. >> >> -Michael Maranda >> >> >> >> ___ >> DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list >> DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org >> http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide >> To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with >> the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message. >> >> >> >> > ___ > DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list > DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org > http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide > To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with > the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message. ___
Re: [DDN] Educating the philanthropic community
In a message dated 10/4/05 9:20:01 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: > Funders > >do not seem to value the role of intermediaries and of knowledge > >brokers. > What we need to do is to show up at the think tanks that the funders use to generate ideas within their networks. But the cost of attending them is steep and most of us don't have the spare change to do so. I used to be invited to Poptech in Maine, a stimulating weekend of discussion and ideas that was like going to college in a week, but I asked the question about why minorities have become cannon fodder and why should it continue and thought I know lots of the funders, the organizer, the new one, shot me a look that let me know I was not welcome to return on scholarship. A little reality anyway. He did skip the question. Bonnie Bracey bbracey at aol com ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
