yMedia Challenge registrations close 29 June 2008
The following Media Release should interest all NZ community organisations, but note the closing date: 29 June 2008. Read on for how your group may get free media expertise in the yMedia Challenge.
Registrations are now open for students and non-profit organisations.
Registrations are now open for this year’s yMedia Challenge. The Challenge brings web generation students together with non-profit organisations to work on media and technology projects that benefit them and the communities they serve.
yMedia Director, Pamela Minett believes that there are many non-profit organisations who could benefit from being more visible on the internet, but many just don’t know where to start.
“Non-profit organisations often lack time and resources to develop an online presence. The yMedia Challenge recognises that tertiary students brought up in the web era have innate digital skills that are invaluable to these organisations. In addition to helping out a good cause, these students also gain valuable work experience which can help them get jobs when they graduate,” she says.
Initiatives for community groups undertaken last year included Facebook Flyers, Banner advertisements, Bebo pages, YouTube videos, and PayPal donation links for their non-profit organisation. One team developed a website for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome New Zealand (www.sids.org.nz).
“We’re changing the way that charities think and the way they connect with the people they need to reach. This, more than anything else, can make a difference” says Auckland University of Technology student Leah Royden.
Tertiary students enter the yMedia Challenge in teams and each team chooses a yMedia registered non-profit organisation to work with. The students then have two weeks to create a digital solution that best addresses the individual needs of the organisation.
16 teams will be selected for this year’s challenge and each will each receive $1,000 for their two week project.
A series of student and community-focused workshops will also be held before the Challenge, discussing changing technologies and the media landscape. Industry professionals from Chrometoaster, Shift, Terabyte and Xero will present on web 2.0 technologies, digital design & strategy, project management and social media. The workshops give students and community groups the opportunity to collaborate with industry professionals and learn from their experiences.
The workshops run in Auckland and Wellington between June 30th and July 10th.
Non-profit organisation registrations for the yMedia Challenge close on June 29th. Student registrations for the yMedia Challenge close on July 4th. The challenge begins on July 28th.
Non-profit organisations and tertiary students can register for workshops and this year’s yMedia Challenge at www.ymediachallenge.co.nz.
About yMedia Group
yMedia Group was established in 2007 by Pamela Minett and Adele Barlow. Its goal is to aid worthwhile projects and give people looking to work in the digital media industry some practical experience. Pamela and Adele’s vision is to maximise the positive impact of young people as change-makers through the use of media and technology.
Key supporters of the yMedia Group include InternetNZ, Microsoft and The Tindall Foundation.
Ends
For more information contact:
Nathan Champion
Relationship Manager
nathan@ymediagroup.org, 027 514 8454.Pamela Minett
Director
pamela@ymediagroup.org, 027 420 8324.
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June 25, 2008 No Comments
How can we reduce transport costs?
Headlines and news items like this are disturbing — Petrol prices getting too much for volunteers:
Volunteer charity workers are resigning because of rising petrol prices.
The Auckland Cancer Society has lost five volunteer drivers since petrol passed $2 per litre last month. …
The Prisoners Aid and Rehabilitation Society recieves 72,000 from the Corrections Department to help children visit family members in jail. …
… many jails are in remote areas, without public transport links, so people simply are not making the visits with the price of petrol going up.
Of course, for things like prison visits and services such as Meals on Wheels there is no simple answer for transport costs — we can’t just suggest phonecalls or emails instead.
But we know that volunteers carry costs for their activities. Attending a meeting costs time, attention and transport fees. Of course, some volunteers welcome the opportunity to get out and spend time with others, to socialise face to face and enjoy the sense and spirit of community.
The petrol prices do give us cause though to carefully examine how we run our events and activities.
Could some meetings be held over the Internet using services such as Skype or video chat?
Could some documents be passed around and discussed via email (or better, using Google Docs or Basecamp or a similar online service) rather than having a meeting to hand them out and discuss them?
Those fuel prices also affect everything that’s transported, including books, papers, magazines, leaflets. Can your group offer members and subscribers the option to receive newsletters and other communications by email or as web pages, rather than as print publications?
Are there aspects of your activities that can be moved online? The Tools section of the Webguide has some details of services your group may be able to use. We have more pages yet to add to the Webguide and can always use your help: have you used a tool or service and could write a bit about it for us?
Let us know in the comments how your group plans to save on transport and running costs.
June 16, 2008 No Comments
TechScout for real
This is exactly what groups need. Look at what the new NZ AIDS Foundation Technology Communications Advisor will do:
This new position is for four days per week, and will work closely with the National Communications Co-ordinator and the wider HIV Prevention and Communications Group.
The new Technology Communications Advisor will develop the NZAF’s prevention work by taking full advantage of new and emerging media and technologies, as well as developing current initiatives.
Full ad at CommunityNet Aotearoa : Technology Communications Advisor.]
May 27, 2008 No Comments
US Study finds nonprofits burdened by outdated technology
A US study discovered large numbers of their local nonprofit groups were struggling with outdated technology, if they even had computer equipment.
This puts the nonprofits at a real disadvantage.
… NPower Indiana has released a study of local nonprofits that found that 85 percent were working with outdated computers or operating systems, and that many lacked even basic technology equipment and standards:
On an average day, most Indiana businesses take for granted that they have a working computer with IT support. Yet 85 percent of local nonprofits participating in a recent technology study are constrained by outdated PCs or operating systems, which can seriously affect their system’s stability, efficiency and ability to run current software. And more than half of these organizations are vulnerable to email viruses and phishing attacks.
… “most nonprofits have an opportunity to improve their productivity and service impact by addressing technology issues,” said Mike Harmon, NPower Indiana CEO. “Many nonprofits tell us ‘I don’t know what I don’t know’ when it comes to technology, so this helps them understand where they may be at risk.”
[Via : Study: Nonprofits and Outdated Technology | TechSoup Blog.]
January 23, 2008 No Comments
Social networks are about people, not ideas
Katya Andresen reminds us in Four fundamental laws of social networking that social networks aren’t about causes, ideas, or some vague notion of bringing people together. Instead they are about allowing and helping people to find others with whom they share something:
Don’t build to a concept, build to people. People don’t look for a social network to join – they look for people like them. Networking technology is about NETWORKING – being amidst people like us – more than it’s about the tools or technology. So don’t build a network because you think you have a great concept – build a network because you have a real group of people that wants to spend time together, connecting.
…I’ll leave Ben with the last word, and it’s a good one: “Donors want a better giving experience, and social networking technology, properly used, can significantly improve this experience by making it more personal, by giving people a sense that they are a member of a community and not just a cash machine, and by enabling people to dramatically magnify their impact. …”
[Via Katya's Non-Profit Marketing Blog: Four fundamental laws of social networking.]
December 20, 2007 2 Comments
