Website Update

Due to circumstances beyond our control, the OGV website launch date has been pushed back. Originally due out by late summer 2009, the new launch date is early winter 2009. OGV is generating a buzz among non-profit organizations, philanthropists, and innovative thinkers who are excited about the infinite possibilities of the OGV forum.

For information regarding OGV please email us at ourglobalv@gmail.com. Also check out our placeholder at www.ourglobalvictory.com for additional information.

How About One e-Reader Per Child?

 

There has been a lot of buzz lately about the latest version of the Amazon Kindle – the DX – and its potential role in higher education. The DX version of the Kindle has a larger screen and was created to market to customers who enjoy having their newspaper subscription appear remotely on their e-Readers. The larger screen allows users to view more of the article at one time. It is atypical for a company to offer a larger electronic device after offering a smaller version and charge more for it. However, newspaper readers may enjoy a device that better simulates the paper version.

Now there is talk about the e-Reader replacing textbooks in colleges. This would greatly reduce the amount of paper used in producing college materials, especially when new versions of textbooks come out yearly with only a few small changes. Eventually, these changes could be downloaded like software updates. Amazon announced that Pearson Education, Cengage Learning and Wiley Higher Education have agreed to make their textbooks available in the Kindle store and six colleges will test the device later this year. Although the price point on the e-Reader is too high for mass marketing (about $500), it is less expensive than a years worth of textbooks – if the e-versions are not expensive.

Outside of higher education, less expensive e-Readers could help underprivileged children have access to books that they would normally not have access to. How about One e-Reader Per Child? In many areas of world, communities do not have access to current textbooks. They use older versions that do not have updated theories on science or updated accounts of history. Or, in some cases, teachers must teach only from memory.

This is especially true in refugee populations, with internally displaced people, and other education undertaken in emergencies. Setting up a school in crisis, is an important way to keep children safe and reduce possible post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms. It also greatly increases opportunities for children. If humanitarian agencies were equipped with rugged low cost e-Readers, children could have access to their national curriculums without the need for traditional textbooks, which they are unlikely to carry with them in the case of an emergency migration. If each child was using an e-Reader, their education would suffer less from disruption and they could continue their progressing to the next education level.

E-readers would reduce the costs of producing textbooks and shipping them to remote areas. Children could have access to the latest versions of textbooks with up to date historic accounts and scientific discoveries. They would also have access to dictionaries, other reference manuals, and a library of fiction and non-fiction books which would not be available otherwise. Ultimately, children would be better able to compete with students outside of their communities, have more opportunities, become better-equipped leaders, and have a greater chance for success.

It is important for us to think about how new technologies can positively impact underprivileged communities because all communities are inter-related and integral for a healthy world.

Please note: The phrase ‘One e-Reader Per Child’ is a tribute to the One Laptop Per Child program which seeks to provide low cost laptops to children in the poorest communities.

The Vital Right to Education

Education not only leads to a greater chance for employment, it also protects children, and builds nations. Education gives children options and children who perceive themselves as having options are more successful and have more positive outcomes than children who do not perceive themselves as having options. The issue of providing access to quality education is an international one in developed countries and in developing countries. Over 75 million children  are not in school. Of those children who are in school it is unknown how many of them are receiving a quality education.

 

A recent article in the New York Times highlighted the need for better data gathering techniques in the U.S. school system. The article stated that public school records fail to keep track of how many children leave high school each year and that records do not track what happens to those children that have left school. These children are often underprivileged and in the most need. The article alluded that children who are the most challenging to education are often pushed out of the school system. What becomes of them?  

 

Further, children in foster care who age out of the system without a permanent family have often been in and out of foster care facilities and in and out of school. Options for these children are often bleak with many of them ending up homeless without the chance to attend college or learn the skills necessary to be competitive in the job market.

 

Children who work outside of the home, in an effort to support their families, are often preyed upon by human traffickers. For these children, school becomes a safe space because it is the teachers and other students who realize if they are missing and watch over them during school hours.

 

Access to quality education is a human right and accomplishes the following:

• Raises self esteem and self awareness which leads to positive relationships throughout life
• Gives children the tools and skills that they need to be competitive in the job market after graduation
• Teaches children valuable resources for the future
• Provides a safe place during school hours
• Gives children options
• Attending school helps to prevent and ease symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder in refugee, internally displaced, war afflicted, and abused children
• Information is used to prevent transmittable diseases and unwanted pregnancies
• Provides nutrition – school meals may be the only meal a child has during the day
• Provides the tools necessary to compare information
• Develops analytical thinking
• Contributes to peaceful communication and negotiations
• Produces thoughtful leaders
• Provides nations with future community developers, leaders, teachers, and skilled workers
• Helps prevent the cycle of violence
• Exposes children to new ideas, possibilities, healthcare, and mentors

 

Education plays many roles in a child’s life. It is necessary to make sure that all children have access to quality education and to not underestimate the amount of children or the origin of children in need.

Some ways to make a difference in the lives of children:

• Support projects that benefit children
• Become aware of educational issues in your area or other areas of interest and share your knowledge with others
• Work with your company to develop a mentorship or other options focused program for underprivileged children
• Volunteer to support youth opportunity projects in person or online
• Let youth build their resumes by using some of their intellectual products with your company. This could be some artwork, poetry, essays, strategy, or marketing products 

Our Global Victory Will Launch its Website in the Summer of 2009

Our Global Victory (OGV) works to provide support to projects that benefit underprivileged children in the areas of education, opportunity, and safety. The website, due to be launched in the summer of 2009, will offer individuals the opportunity to become a member and join the our global victory movement to help children and the communities where they live.

By becoming an OGV member, which is free to everyone, individuals can help raise funds, awareness, and volunteer online to support projects that have a clear impact on the lives of children.

Each projects undergoes a rigorous evaluation process to ensure that it benefits children, has clear impact, is implemented with integrity, and meets all legal and ethical standards. Featured projects are implemented by all size organizations in an effort to help fund good work including work by organizations that may not have a large budget for marketing, fund raising, or grant writing.

In addition to raising awareness, fundraising, and online volunteering through the OGV website, during the phase I launch, individuals will also be able to collaborate and discuss issues with other OGV members. In phase II, members will find numerous ways to affect change by partnering with governments and corporations as well as through conscious purchasing of products and services.

Donna Hockey, founder of Our Global Victory, believes that “through micro-participation and collaboration, the world can become a place where all children have access to quality education and protection. Children need to know that people care what happens to them and that people are willing to take action to create a positive impact in their lives. That is our global victory.”   

How to Begin Influencing Corporate Social Responsibility Policies

‘Together we can change the world.’ Many people say this and it is true for many situations. People have gathered together to abolish slavery and achieve suffrage, to fight crime and rebuild infrastructure, to build schools and inform education policy.  People can move mountains, so why can’t people influence corporate social responsibility? The answer is: We Can.     

Today, individuals have so much information at their fingertips from corporate websites, blogs, and social networks to formal reporting initiatives. Corporations have few places to hide their practices within the supply chain. Individuals can monitor corporate decisions and tell others about what they have found. Further, corporations know that word of mouth is still one of the strongest influencers of consumer choice.  

It is easier than ever to share ideas. People no longer have to run into someone at the store to hear their thoughts about the latest products. They can read reviews online about them or, even more powerful, consult their Facebook, MySpace or Twitter cyber friends and acquaintances in real time for their advice. On Twitter, a member can tweet a 140-character question about a corporation and receive 50 responses in less than a minute including opinions and links to articles, reports, and blogs that inform their purchasing decision.   

 

Together We Can Change the World 

Increasingly, CEOs and Corporate Social Responsibility Implementers within corporations are realizing the importance of listening to the consumer voice. This is especially true in today’s economy. A recent IBM Global CEO Study found that successful “CEOs are spending more to attract and retain increasingly prosperous, informed, and socially aware customers.” Practicing good social responsibility translates to better standing in the community, bigger profits, attracting and retaining more talented employees, and greater social impact. 

Increasingly, organizations recognize the importance of private enterprise in the success of reaching the Millennium Development Goals. From the 2^nd addition of the International Business Leaders Forum’s Framework for Action report:

Corporations can contribute to the success of the MDGs in the following areas:

·      Fundamental business operations and supply chains – implementing responsible business practices in areas such as human rights, labor, environmental, and health.

·      Social investment and philanthropy – contributing employee volunteers and expertise, product and in-kind contributions and supporting community based projects.

·      Public advocacy and institutional strengthening – collaborating on initiatives to support systemic change on local, national, or global levels. 

Collaboration between individuals, NGOs, non-profits, governments, and the private sector is so important that it is the eighth MDG: “’To develop a global partnership for development,’ explicitly calls for partnerships, which are essential at all levels-local, national, global-for the attainment of the other seven goals and the values and actions set out in the Millennium Declaration.” – UNDP

First Steps to Creating Change: 

·      Put away preconceived notions of what type of entities have the right to contribute to social issues.

·      Work together to discover strengths and how these strengths can be best used toward achieving common goals.

·      Ask how can non-profit, for-profit, government, NGO and individual efforts be coordinated to have the greatest impact on society.

·      Let people hear your voice. Find ways to get your voice heard on issues that you care about.

·      Join with like-minded others to influence corporate social responsibility efforts in education, poverty, child safety, the environment, and other important issues.  

·      Expect that the corporations you do business with are good citizens and hold them accountable to this.

·      Be the Change. Whenever possible make choices on products and services that reflect the change that you want to see in your community and the world. Choose corporations, products, and services that practice good social responsibility, give back to the community, support social projects, or contribute to society issues.        

As people become more aware of the potential good that can be achieved by collaborative entity efforts, greater impact can be achieved. People have more power to influence the way corporations approach social responsibility than they may realize. This is true for all societal issues but is especially important for children’s issues and meeting the goals Millennium Development Goals pertaining to children. 

A Logo for Our Global Victory

When it was time to create the logo for Our Global Victory, my first thought was that if I sat down with a piece of paper and a pencil that I would come up with an inspired logo that completely embodied the mission of OGV. I have always been a fan of art but after some time at the drawing board – I had nothing. No worries. I am also a pragmatist and knew that I would be hiring a professional for this task. So I had built it into my project plan from the start. 

I thought about the different ways to go about finding a professional designer: word of mouth, business directory, or a one-stop shop of thousands of graphic designers and web programmers with perusable portfolios who are eager for your business. The latter seems too good to be true but it, in fact, exists. Elance.com is one such online marketplace – a one-stop shop – for finding a designer or programmer from anywhere in the world to work on your project.

The Benefits of a Freelance Marketplace

I chose to find a designer on Elance for several reasons.

1) Examples of professional’s previous works are viewable in their online portfolios.

2) Professionals bid on projects allowing for competition and comparison.

3) Elance escrows the cost of your project and it is only released in accordance with the terms of the negotiated contract.

4) Customer reviews and fees for previous work are transparent.

 

Before Sending Out the Bid

Before sending out a bid describing my needs I looked at several portfolios to see if there were any freelancers that I wanted to send my bid directly to in addition to those that applied on their own. After this I put together a detailed description of what I wanted my logo to represent and embody. It is a good idea to include a description of your business, samples of logos that you like, information about what you want your logo to express about your business, and what colors you want to be used in creating your logo.

 

What I Found Important When Evaluating the Bidders

The following is a list of non-negotiable items that I included in the bid:

 ·      The winning bidder would provide six initial sketches.

·      They would continue to provide sketches based on my feedback if none of the original could be revised to produce a suitable logo.

·      They would offer unlimited revisions of the chosen sketch.

·      They could communicate and listen well about what I was looking for. (This was very important to me. I wanted to make sure that they could translate my description and the meaning of the company into the drawing.)

·      The price was right. (Due to the bidding process, designers tended to be more competitive. I immediately eliminated any designer who priced their services far above their peers.)

·      They charged for the completed project and not by the hour. (For this service it is common to charge for the finished logo. It shows me that the company is confident in their ability to produce a customer driven product. I also know that they are not deliberately slowing down the process to cash in on extra hours.)

·      They demonstrated a strong sense of customer service. (I think it is important for a company to have great customer service. This is especially true for businesses where their product relies on successful communication between them and their customers. Good customer service signals to me that the company takes pride in what they do. It also signals that they are willing to work with me to develop a great product. I immediately eliminated anyone from the list who had poor customer service skills in their initial reply.)

·      They offered a money back guarantee in the event that I was not satisfied with their work.

·      My design would be delivered to me in whichever format that I chose (i.e. JPG, AI, PDF)

·      Lastly, that I would own the copyright to my designs at the time of payment.

There were many bidders who agreed to all of the above. I narrowed it down by reading their reviews, examining their portfolios, and looking at their business practices. In the end I got a great logo from a woman in South Africa who exhibited great customer service, talent, respect, and professionalism.

Created by RedHotDesigns

 

A couple of other freelance marketplace websites:

www.odesk.com

www.guru.com

 

The Inspiration for Our Global Victory

Our Global Victory is my passion. I created this organization to help unite the advocacy efforts of non-profits, corporations, governments, and individuals for underprivileged children. The greatest impact results when diverse organizations work together toward a common goal. Together we can achieve Our Global Victory and help children reach their full potential. 

I have had the privilege to know the stories of many courageous children who faced barriers to education, healthcare, and safety. A young woman, whose father was incarcerated, struggled to help her mother raise her younger brothers and sisters while attending school. A boy, who was physically abused and had attempted suicide, fought to rebuild his self-esteem and focus on the future. A twelve year old, forced from his home by war, wrestled to recover from post-traumatic stress disorder and to have one night of sleep free from nightmares. Their stories, and countless others like them, are both tragic and triumphant. They are, unfortunately, too common. Barriers to opportunity make it hard for children to reach their full potential and, in many cases, make it impossible. 

It is their stories and the hope of change that inspire me everyday. The world loses so many inspirations – about 26,500 children* – are lost each day due to poor health conditions, poverty, negligence, and other preventable causes. I believe that every child has the right to opportunity and that every individual has the right to contribute to the world in a meaningful way. Our Global Victory is dedicated to creating partnerships that result in a better future for children and the communities where they live… a better future for everyone. It is possible. 

 

 

 

*From UNICEF, ‘State of the World’s Children 2008′: http://www.unicef.org/publications/index_42623.html

The Girl Effect

more about “The Girl Effect“, posted with vodpod