Connecting Refugees harnesses online social networking and mobile technology tools to aid refugees in resettlement. Our goal is to connect and impact the world's most disenfranchised people to others outside their refugee community and those who serve them. Our project is global in scope as refugees are all over the world along with the people who serve them. Often refugees struggle with learning about their new country, adding undue stress to an already stressful situation. Our project connects these refugees with others who share stories, video, photos, and their experiences about settling in the new country and enables refugees to connect with one another. Through these connections we will help ease fears and anxieties about resettlement and foster global connections. Our project will also connect humanitarian aid workers with resettlement resources and others going similar work. Both refugees and aid workers will be able to upload their own content to our project Ning site (http://connectingrefugees.ning.com) making it a continuously updated resource that is open 24 hours a day/7 days a week, and available in one place. The Ning web site can be accessed through an Internet browser (i.e., Internet Explorer, Safari, Opera Mobile, etc.) and via a web site designed for mobile phones (http://connectingrefugees.ning.com/m). In addition to the online social network, our project will purchase Internet-ready mobile phones to distribute to refugee camp workers to spread access to the network and enhance connections.

In addition: Since 2000, the project developer has studied and worked on digital divide issues for CTCNet (http://www.ctcnet.org), the Community Technology Center's Network, served as an AmeriCorps *VISTA at a Boys & Girls Club helping to run their computer and technology programs, consulted on the CTC Vista Project (http://www.ctcvista.org/) sponsored by the College of Public and Community Service at the University of Massachusetts-Boston, consulted with the CTCNet Connections for Tomorrow (C4T) technology project (http://www.ctcnet.org/what/initiatives/c4t/index.htm), taught computer classes to older adults at the Brookline Senior Center, worked with a team at Boston College to evaluate a City of Boston interagency collaboration project in Charlestown, MA, conducted research on how older adults use the Internet for health information, currently serves as a staff member and online board moderator for SocialWorkChat.org (http://socialworkchat.org), and currently serves as Board President for the Community Software Lab (http://thecsl.org/) which works to develop free and open source technology solutions for nonprofits. The project developer's CV, including links to related publications and presentations, may be viewed at http://www.karenzgoda.org

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