#8 Experience a refugee’s journey through your smartphone

The refugee crisis in the Middle East has been going on for years and it is easy to neglect it thinking that we are miles away from the chaos. Sure, it doesn’t seem to affect us directly. But have you wondered what the refugees are experiencing as they make their perilous journey from the Middle East to Europe?

This powerful immersive film by BBC Media Action provides some insights. Called “Your phone is now a refugee’s phone”, it lets the viewer experience a refugee’s dangerous journey by boat and the confusion and turmoil. Watch it on a mobile phone vertically to fully immerse in the experience:

The video shows the refugee receiving text messages from a family member while trying to figure out where he or she is. Panic and anxiety rises as your phone loses connection with the cellular data network and the Internet and the battery is dying rapidly.

The film was based on research by BBC Media Action, which interviewed over 100 refugees and humanitarian agencies in the heart of the refugee crisis in Europe. They found that “access to internet, mobile networks and social media are critical in helping people feel more informed and better connected”.

“In times of crisis, we know that information can be as important as food, water and shelter. Yet in this digital age, many refugees travelling through unfamiliar territory lack reliable information to stay safe and survive. Whether it is following conflict, flood or famine, this film shows communication is essential in any humanitarian crisis.”
– BBC Media Action’s Alexandra Buccianti

The Power of Immersive Technology

This impactful video showing a first-person view of a refugee’s journey allows us to better understand what they are going through. It highlights the importance of communication and information during a humanitarian crisis and chaotic situations. It shows that technology can be used innovatively to help others understand the experiences of the marginalised in society and provide immerse experiences through multimedia.

In the future, perhaps even Virtual Reality and Artificial Reality can be applied to such immersive films to further raise awareness of humanitarian and social issues. Bringing it closer to home, such an idea could be applied to a social issue in Singapore. For example, an immersive film or exhibition incorporating multimedia could be created to raise awareness of the experiences of the low-income elderly, migrant workers or foreign domestic workers.

Video Simulations of Sensory Overload with Autism

In fact, there are already several video simulations which attempt to re-create a first-person experience of the sensory overload that persons with autism experience. While the videos may feel quite overwhelming and uncomfortable, they allow us to better understand their world and the unique challenges they face. This film by The Guardian offers a 360 degrees virtual reality experience of a birthday party and the stress faced by a 16-year-old girl. Click and drag to experience the 360 view of the room!

If you’re interested, you can check out more first-person autism video simulations in this Mashable list and here, which is a film called “Can you make it to the end?” released by The National Autistic Society on World Autism Awareness Day 2016.

#7 Social Media & Tech Tools for Nonprofits

In COM125 class, we learned about social media management tools like Hootsuite, but it is not just businesses that need them to grow their customer base. Nonprofit organisations and charities need to employ social media and technological tools effectively to engage their donors and supporters and grow their reach. Let me share some fundraising tools that help nonprofits to manage their operations and fundraising efforts.

Google Ad Grants for Nonprofit Organisations

This is one of my favourite examples of technological support for nonprofit organisations. Did you know that Google offers eligible nonprofits $10,000 USD in-kind monthly advertising from Google AdWords? Google AdWords is the online advertising service that features advertisements of related products when you do Google searches. It is a great example of a tech giant like Google extending powerful support to nonprofits to massively amplify their reach on the Internet and attract more donations and supporters.

Microsoft for Nonprofits

Apart from Google, another tech giant that is helping nonprofits to do good is Microsoft. They provide nonprofits with donations and discounts for Microsoft cloud softwares like Azure and Microsoft Office 365. In Singapore, Microsoft partners with thousands of NGOs to provide software donations or charity pricing, as well as monetary and technology support. Like me and my blog, Microsoft also believes that “technology can be a powerful force for social good“.

Microsoft Tools — Source: Microsoft for Nonprofits

Blackbaud

Blackbaud provides software and services specially catered to nonprofit organisations, covering aspects like fundraising, website management, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), analytics and ticketing. The image below shows an example of the Blackbaud CRM software dashboard, which combines information “such as annual and capital giving, major giving, online communication, social media, and direct marketing system” (GetApp). Their softwares enable nonprofit organisations to maximise their fundraising drives, manage their data securely and efficiently and strengthen their relationship with supporters.

Charity Checkout

Another fundraising tool is Charity Checkout, which is a UK-based social business that helps charities in 4 main areas: managing fundraisers, creating simple, mobile-optimised websites, providing free digital advertising grants, and offering company tools. It has helped raise £12,000,000 for charity.

Network for Good

On top of offering software solutions for nonprofits, Network for Good provides personalised fundraising coaching. Their services are mainly providing donor management software, fundraising campaign pages, and fundraising coaching. Since 2001, they have facilitated over $1.4 billion in donations for more than 125,000 nonprofits.

After showcasing these various examples, I hope you’re more aware now of the important role of technology in nonprofit organisations and their demand for technological solutions. So, if you have the relevant tech skills, developing nonprofit management tools is one career option that you can consider venturing into!

#6 Online Volunteering Portals in Singapore

When was the last time you volunteered? Always wanted to volunteer, but don’t know where to start? Not to worry! Just check out my short guide on online volunteering portals in Singapore, which are easy-to-use and will help you find a suitable opportunity in no time.

Gone are the days when volunteering meant holding a tin can and loitering around the MRT station pestering passers-by for donations. There are actually many meaningful and interesting ways to volunteer and with so many Voluntary Welfare Organisations (VWOs) in Singapore, they would be more than happy to receive a helping hand from you. So the next time you’re idling around on a Saturday and want to make better use of your time, check out these portals below to find a volunteering opportunity that catches your interest.

Giving.sg

I briefly mentioned Giving.sg before in my previous post on “Crowdfunding Part 2”. Giving.sg is a fundraising and volunteering portal created by the National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre. It is part of the nationwide SG Cares movement, which aims to cultivate and increase volunteerism among individuals and businesses in Singapore. The movement hopes to strengthen our social fabric, build our community spirit and support, and boost our social capital.

Giving.sg’s volunteering portal has filters for ad hoc or regular volunteering, type of cause, number of openings, suitability, skills and distance – which help you find the perfect volunteering match. They offer various interesting opportunities, like gift wrapping, landscape and farm maintenance, exercise class assistant and children’s camp videographer, so there is surely something for everyone’s interests.

Creatives for Causes

Have a flair for writing, designing, photography or social media? Creatives for Causes offers skill-based volunteering opportunities and connects NGOs with creatives in Singapore who can do pro bono work for them. Creatives help NGOs to raise their social media profile and increase their reach to gain more volunteers and donors. Additionally, creatives can receive freelance assignments from start-ups, SMEs and businesses. Founded in 2012, Take a look at the short clip below to see how it works:

Creatives for Causes 30s Animation from Kevin Ng Jia Quan 吴佳铨 on Vimeo

Youth Corps Singapore

Lastly, Youth Corps is a volunteering platform and community specially for youths in Singapore aged 16-35. It was created by the government after Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s 2013 National Day Rally speech to “provide more support and opportunities to young Singaporeans to contribute to the community” (Straits Times, 2013). It brings together passionate and like-minded youths to lead meaningful service learning projects. The portal offers various ad-hoc, regular and project-based community service opportunities and focuses on causes like education, health, special needs, arts and sports.

After learning about the various volunteering portals in Singapore, are you feeling inspired? Hopefully you have seen that volunteering can be fun and easy to start, and you can bring your friends and family along too.

To link it back to COM125 and the Internet, online volunteering portals demonstrate the power of Internet platforms to bring together a large number of people to contribute towards a common purpose. They make it more convenient, accessible and easier for charities and project leaders to post volunteer openings and for volunteers to find suitable opportunities. By pooling together resources and creating centralised portals, these platforms help the spirit of volunteerism to grow in Singapore.

#5 Video Assignment: Holland Park

Why did I choose the power of technology for social good as the theme for my blogging project? Well, it was because I interned in a fundraising charity in London for 3 months at the start of this year and this sparked my interest in the charity and fundraising sector. This internship was part of my university exchange programme from January to April. The memories from those 3 incredible months in London are something that I will never forget for the rest of my life.

So for the video assignment, here’s a video I made of one of my favourite places in London, the beautiful Holland Park. I loved taking evening walks there alone to soak in the calming nature and to clear my mind. It’s also a fabulous park because of the gorgeous spring flowers and the charming squirrels, peacocks, dogs and koi fishes! Taking a leisurely walk there reminded me to just slow down my steps and reconnect with nature.

Often, I find myself rushing through the hustle and bustle of city life and the daily routine of school. So if you’re having a busy week too and are feeling stressed, hope you’ll take a little break to watch this short video and remind yourself to take things easy. Enjoy!