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Leading Social Change Agents Share at Net2 Singapore
We just concluded our second NetSquared Singapore event which revolved around how leading change agents in Singapore are using Internet for social good. We were very fortunate to have three incredible speakers who represented a non-profit organization, a government body and a multi-national company. Here’s a summary of the event for those who anted to join but could not due to other commitments.
Louis Ng (founder of ACRES) shared about how ACRES is using social media and the universal appeal of music to draw attention to their current campaign to free wild dolphins. View the videos that ACRES has made in collaboration with various artists around Asia here to spread the word about their cause - http://www.saddestdolphins.com/videos/videos.html. Save the World’s Saddest Dolphin has amassed huge support on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/RWSLetTheDolphinsGo) as well as Avaaz (http://www.avaaz.org/en/saddest_dolphins/) and continues to do so. Please join ACRES in this movement!
Kerri-Ann Mowers (senior manager of HR Change at Aviva) talked about the huge impact Aviva is creating for the street children with the help of social media. Aviva has carried out several successful social media campaigns to help children. Street Dance for Change (http://vimeo.com/30137963) is just one of the many examples. Their current social media campaign which has gained a lot of traction can be viewed here https://www.facebook.com/educationisinsurance. I love what Aviva is doing by being a leading example of a company that cares about humanity.
Patsian (Deputy Director and head of the Philanthropy division at the National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre) shared about how NVPC is working to ensure that the social sector eco-system in Singapore is favourable to all the stakeholders involved – donors, volunteers, companies, non-profit organization and beneficiaries. Patsian shared about the move NVPC is currently making in encouraging NPOs to transition to cloud services in order to lower their costs and increase efficiency.
The sharing session by the speakers was followed by some interesting questions. It was great to see how the event brought together people from different backgrounds with a common interest in technology and social change. By listening to the leading change agents, we have got a good idea of how to best make use of Internet tools (including social media) to create social change.
- Aseem K Thakur,
Organizer for NetSquared Singapore
Co-founder of GIVE.sg
- aseemkthakur@gmail.com's blog
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Congrats!
Hi Aseem, you've presented 3 super-interesting topics during only one evening!
Which of those was the most discussed? What kind of questions were asked? I'm wondering what was the most interesting for the public, because if I was there, I wouldn't let the speakers go home at all - I would had that many question.
Response to Anna's questions
Hi Anna, Thanks for sharing your questions. We wish you were there :) There were a lot of questions that were asked to each of the speakers. Louis was asked about what were the next steps for http://www.saddestdolphins.com/ to which he shared that ACRES will continue to get more people to join. Patsian was asked if charities can be "agile" like startups. Her answer was yes and there are some who are pretty agile in their approach. Finally, Kerri was asked how do we get more companies to be socially conscious like Aviva. She shared that you need a mix of things in a company to see the magic happen like enlightened leadership, a cause that is consistent with strong company values and dedicated effort.
Thanks Anna once again for your questions! And appreciate your enthusiasm and positivity :)
Thank you :)
Hi!
Thank you for so insightful answer. Yes, it's a pity people are not able to travel around the world to participate :) With the babel fish included ;)