A Report on the Microsoft NGO Connection Day; Microsoft NGO Academy.
By Jayne Arinze- Egemonye (WRAN)
The Microsoft NGO Connection Day Nigeria brings non-governmental organizations together to network, share information, learn more about Microsoft technologies and solutions through technical demonstrations and also compete for the Tech4Dev Awards-the award that showcases the best use of ICT in their work. Microsoft Nigeria in partnership Initiative Nigeria (PIN) hosted the 2011 NGO Connection Day at the Digital Bridge Institute, Abuja on the 15th and 16th June 2011. During the program, participants were trained on how to improve their operations using ICT tools and be informed about Microsoft’s initiatives for the citizenship sector.
Microsoft Unlimited Potential: Is a company-wide effort to bring together business and philanthropic approaches to make technology more relevant, accessible and affordable, encouraging close collaborations, local government, educational institutions and community organizations. With their partners they are focused on transforming education, fostering local innovation and enabling jobs and opportunities to create a continuous cycle of sustained growth and opportunity. It is a concerted effort to bring the benefits of information technology to people who are underserved today and help to enable sustained social and economic opportunities for communities around the world.
Paradigm Initiative Nigeria: Is a social enterprise that connects Nigerian youths with ICT-enabled opportunities. Having worked with government, civil society, private Institutions and international organistions.PIN’s Projects build on years of combined experience and focus on socio-economic development. Projects include Ajegunle.org, ISSPIN and TENT. Through these projects and allied services, PIN connects individuals, people-groups, institutions and communities with the socio-economic opportunities that ICTS provide.
The White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood-Nigeria (WRAN) was formally established as an affiliated National Alliance of the WRA’s global advocacy network in2010. WRAN’S membership span’s 29 States and the Federal Capital of Nigeria, with over 587 individual and organizational members strongly bound together by a common goal: that is ensuring that pregnancy and childbirth is safe for women and neonates across the globe.
As I looked at the Certificate of Award, I said to myself “this is for women who have died as a result complications relating to child birth that could have been avoided and for women who have the hope “the light” that death during child birth would be a thing of the past”. I have always been a silent advocate for maternal health issues. I didn’t know how to share my aspirations, ideas and goals; they were all locked up inside of me until I got involved White Ribbon Alliance Nigeria.
An opportunity came when my colleague (Esther Agbarakwe) invited me to participate at the Microsoft NGO Academy powered by Microsoft and Paradigm Initiative Nigeria (www.pinigeria.org). I had to apply online and luckily for me I was selected. I was excited because I wanted to evaluate myself; my actual level of knowledge in the use of ICT, compare my use of technology with other people and learn more on communication using social media, which is very important to us as young advocates in our effort to share ideas and key facts on Maternal, New born, Child Health and other issues relating to Maternal Health.
I am a proud member of White Ribbon Alliance Nigeria. We are passionate about safe motherhood, our efforts are genuine and we driven by internal motivation. We put a lot of effort in our work in ensuring that we pass the right message in advocacy. We have recognized that for us to achieve these goals there is a need for young people to actively get involved and we engage them through the use of social media (Facebook, Twitter, Skype, Blog sites, Websites and Mobile Phones).
The following are the Web Tools that we use;
- Websites: Individuals and organizations who want to be members of White Ribbon Alliance Nigeria can download our membership forms through the website. (www.whiteribbonalliance.com)
- Bravehost: to contact with our members and keep them informed on our activities, we send mails using Bravehost.
- Facebook: WRAN has a Facebook page, we posts links, share inspirations, ideas and key facts on maternal health issues. (http://www.facebook.com/pages/White-Ribbon-Alliance-Nigeria/135331686542259)
– We push for attention; engaging stakeholders at every level of decision making to focus on making policies and laws to reduce maternal mortality.
– Announce and invite people to our activities through the use of Facebook.
- Skype: WRAN organizes e-consultations with young people in different professions on MNCH issues, this information is then used for advocacy and we also inform them on how they can get actively informed.
- Twitter: follow stakeholders, notable people and advocates for safe motherhood in ensuring that we work closely to move from pledges to commitments.(@WRANigeria)
– Announce new volunteers, new member organizations, upcoming activities and events.
- Blogs: WRAN’s reports on meeting is usually on our blog sites and we also have interesting write-ups on commemorations such as Breastfeeding week, International day of the African child, Safe Motherhood day etc
In our thirst to transform lives, we also hope to do more with the use of mobile phones.
- WRAN has a baby project called “text for baby”. We want people to be able to send sms through their mobile phones and get free information on maternal health including family Planning.
During the Microsoft NGO Academy, at the beginning of every session, we had an Opening Circle which gave us the ability to express ourselves in colours depending on what colour the individual chooses and i also learnt a lot from the Speed Geek which gave me the ability to know about five organizations in twenty-five minutes. The Academy enhanced our ability to network relatively with individuals and organizations, gave us an overview of Microsoft opportunities for non-profit organizations, sharing information with other people as a key strategy in development. We were also trained on how to select the right software for our work i.e. knowing the fundamentals of Word Processing, Spreadsheets, Presentation Software and Databases. Apart from highlighting the importance of improving our use of the social media in our work, we were also encouraged to strengthen our commitment in the use of ICT tools, establish faster online presence that will make information about WRAN available to a much audience.
For show casing the best use of ICT in our work, WRAN was awarded “Best use of ICT for development during the NGO academy in Abuja”. This is an inspiration for WRAN to do more in advocating for reproductive health rights and safer environment for mothers and children in Nigeria. We thank the organizers of the event, Microsoft for supporting NGO’s around the world; we also thank Paradigm initiative Nigeria headed by Gbenga Sesan who has given underserved Nigerian youths opportunities in Information and Communication Technology. WRAN hopes to continue working with partners as a team in ensuring that every pregnancy is wanted, every birth safe and every Newborn and child healthy.
www.whiteribbonalliance.org
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