Talking With Young People (Not at Them)
Ali Levine, NTEN Fellow
I couldn't be more excited about the increasingly participatory nature of the Internet and its benefits for nonprofits. It's not just that these Web 2.0 technologies offer new and powerful tools for nonprofits to engage people in the all important activity of two way conversations (as if that wasn't exciting enough) - it's who can be reached this way.
Almost all nonprofits struggle to engage young people with their missions. Each generation seems to decry the lackluster civic participation of the next and worries that the ties that bind us together as a community are getting weaker. Nonprofits play a big role in building those ties. Using the Internet and Web 2.0 technologies to involve young people is a natural fit.
As we in the nonprofit world try to put these tools to work and worry about getting caught up in the hype surrounding Web 2.0, I think it is important to for us all to remember that there is nothing hype-y, or even all that new, about this to young people. It is just, well, normal.
This is a generation that doesn't remember a time before computers and is used to being active participants online. After all huge numbers of teenagers have not only created their own profiles on social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook, but also regularly add comments, tributes, and other content to their friends' profiles. When we turn our attention to using online participation to engage young people, we aren't the innovators here. In some ways we're just trying to catch up.
Many nonprofits are doing an amazing job of creating an interactive online experience for young people. One of my favorite examples is the week-long online campaign Make Waves for Seals that the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) created to celebrate Animal Action Week earlier this year.
Every day during Animal Action Week, IFAW invited people to participate in a new activity to learn about seals and how to protect them. From watching a video, to nominating people for the Animal Action Awards, to downloading classroom materials for middle and elementary school kids, each day offered a new way to join in and learn.
My favorite idea of the week was a game where you could "live like a seal." Kids were challenged to establish a seal colony on their own island or join an existing one, and in order to "win" they had to work with their fellow seals to get their island declared a sanctuary. It was a seamless integration of participatory technology with IFAW's mission to protect animals.
Other nonprofits are using Second Life itself to reach out to young people. Global Kids started the Global Kids Digital Media Initiative and created the Global Kids Island on the teen grid in Second Life.
Global Kids and UNICEF teamed up to host the "World Fit for Children" contest on the island. Groups of teens met up on the online island to attend a workshop covering a diverse array of global issues that UNICEF addresses, such as hunger, education, child sex trafficking, and genocide in Darfur. Then Global Kids teams each built an exhibit in Second Life that addresses one or more of the issues. Entries were judged by a group of teens selected to represent UNICEF.
This contest was just one way that Global Kids is engaging with teens in Second Life, and they are getting rave reviews from the participants. Teens who take part in programs on Global Kids Island are encouraged to blog about their experiences and provide feedback through online surveys. Many participants express real excitement about exploring social issues, a sense of empowerment, and a realization that they can affect social change. One teen wrote, "I am going to make a difference in the world, and I will have all of you to thank for giving me that big push!"
Another example of nonprofits engaging people online is the way that Greenpeace is soliciting ideas for its campaign to protect whales. By opening up the tactics and concepts behind the campaign to the general public, they are inviting people to become really engaged in their work. In January Greenpeace will showcase a ten-week journey that explores the differences between western and Japanese views on whaling.
As explained on their website this journey will foster an appreciation of the natural world and an understanding of different cultures. The journey is undertaken by a "young foreigner" who meets a "young Japanese" person and while they have much in common, they find their views on whaling very different. By traveling together they explore their differences, similarities, and the natural world. The journey will be documented with its own blog, stories of the week, and a picture gallery. There are also online forums where people can share their own thoughts and views.
All three of these examples show that it is possible to use Web 2.0 tools to further your mission. So forget the hype, keep the excitement, and remember that these technologies are really just tools to help you get your job done. They are good tools and for some programs and some audiences, they are the right tools.
