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Submitting guest blogs is open to Global Washington’s members of the Atlas level and above. We value a diversity of opinions on a broad range of subjects of interest to the global health and development community.
Blog article submissions should be 500-1500 words. Photos, graphs, videos, and other art that supports the main themes are strongly encouraged.
You may not be the best writer, and that’s okay. We can help you shape and edit your contribution. The most important thing is that it furthers an important conversation in your field, and that it is relatively jargon-free. Anyone without a background in global development should still be able to engage with your ideas.
If you include statistics or reference current research, please hyperlink your sources in the text, wherever possible.
Have an idea of what you’d like to write about? Let’s continue the conversation! Email comms@globalWA.org and put “Blog Idea” in the subject line.
Posted on April 16, 2013
Last week’s Global Social networking event focused the conversation on Vietnam and Southeast Asia; speakers from Peace Trees Vietnam and Partners Asia gave brief presentations on their work and opened the floor for questions
Michael Auch, Executive Director of Peace Trees Vietnam, discussed his organization’s goals and outlined five ongoing projects: mine risk education and de-mining; survivor assistance; citizen diplomacy trips, during which US citizens visit parts of Vietnam; building libraries and kindergartens; and microlending programs. Auch gave a brief overview of each project and highlighted PTV’s goal of integrating and leveraging the programs with each other to create a stronger presence in Vietnam that would provide a broader variety of services to the local populations.
Therese Caouette, Executive Director of Partners Asia, spoke about her ongoing work in Burma and focused particularly on Burma’s potential for growth in the coming years. In the last 18 months, Caouette said, Burma has experienced massive changes and newfound openness and this in turn allows her to speak more freely about Partners Asia’s work in the country. Partners Asia works mostly with populations in the rural border areas of Burma, as these groups are often desperately poor and vulnerable to exploitation and trafficking. The organization functions primarily as a small grant maker and instrument of community-led change.
Pwint Htun, a board member of Partners Asia and telecommunications consultant, spoke briefly about the trend toward openness and mobile communications in Burma; 95-95% of Burmese people, she said, lack access to financial services and about 95% have no access to communication services. The rapid increase in availability and ease of communication means that a new system must be designed in Burma “with the poorest people in mind,” as they stand to benefit the most from regulation and social change.
Before and after the presentations, Global Social attendees sampled Vietnamese sandwiches, sipped wine, and chatted with each other about their own work in Southeast Asia.
Our next Global Social will focus on Latin America, and will be on May 8th at HUB Seattle, 4:30-6:30pm. Join us!
Posted on April 11, 2013
By Nicole Neroulias Gupte
Dozens of representatives of Seattle-area nonprofits, businesses and academic/research institutions working in global development have mixed and mingled at Global Washington’s first two Global Socials of 2013. The March 20 gathering focused on India and China, featuring speakers from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Unitus Seed Fund, and the Mona Foundation. The April 10 social focused on Vietnam and Southeast Asia, with speakers from PeaceTrees Vietnam and Partners Asia.
This series provides valuable opportunities for Global Washington members and stakeholders working in the same region to discuss their work, share ideas and inspire further collaboration. Common themes include the balance between technological advances, which increasingly help reach and mobilize the world’s poorest, and grassroots knowledge, which can predict challenges and help tailor an international program more effectively to a specific region or community.
“Telecommunication and mobile banking services is what enables growth in the developing world,” said Pwint Htun, a Partners Asia board member working in Burma. “Technology is fantastic… but the social engineering, the community organizing is the enabler that is really necessary,”
The Global Socials are held at HUB Seattle, a historic Pioneer Square building that offers meeting and workspace to socially conscious projects. The next two socials will be on May 8, focused on Latin America, and June 12, focused on Kenya, Uganda and East Africa. For more information or to register, visit https://globalwa.org/convene/global-washington-events.
Posted on April 9, 2013
By Nicole Neroulias Gupte
Global Washington’s 2013 capacity-building workshops kicked off on April 3 with a session on “Developing a Communications Plan.” The lunchtime presentation, lead by My Le Thi Goel, vice president of marketing and communications for Global Partnerships, included practical examples and worksheets to help organizations get started on effective outreach campaigns. Participants included representatives from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, the Maasai Children’s Initiative and other GlobalWA members based in the greater Seattle area.
“The training was exceptional. I walked away with strategies, skills, and templates I could use right away,” said Daniel Schafer, communications and marketing coordinator for Facing the Future, a nonprofit focused on improving global education. “It was the best professional development event I’ve attended yet.”
The next two “Dr. Is In” sessions will be “Top 7 Tips to Improve Your Media Relation Skills” on April 15 and “Developing Your Case and Message” on April 24. Upcoming sessions will focus on fundraising, legal matters and other capacity-building topics. Visit Global Washington’s website for the full list and to register for a session.