IASC Weekly (NY): Social Media in Emergencies
New York
Agenda:
11.30 - 12.00 UNICEF's Use of Social Media
- UNICEF social media team, Arjun Natarajan, Gerrit Beger and Arturo Romboli, will tell us abut their experience using Social Media in Emergencies—including success stories as well as key challenges.
12.00 - 12.15 Leading NGOs Share their Experiences and Initiatives:
- Colleagues from CONCERN, and the IRC will share their experiences on using social media to
12.15 - 12.30 Q&A and Discussion
- discussion on how NGOs, UN agencies and the IASC use social media to support humanitarian work—as well as discuss best practices and the appropriate use of new media.
Background:
At the IASC Principals meeting on 13 December 2011, the High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres, pointed out that social media were not used sufficiently and that humanitarian organizations continued to rely on traditional media. There was a need for more cooperation and for a common approach in order to be more effective. Participants were supportive of the ERC’s Key Messages, noting that UN/NGO leadership already used these messages. The ERC concluded the discussion by saying that new ways would be sought to use social media to reach new constituencies; and that Principals would continue to tweet each other’s messages.
UNICEF has been helping the world's children for over 60 years but is still firmly focused on the future – and that means keeping pace with the latest 'social media' trends. UNICEF is on YouTube, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter,Flickr and Scribd. These platforms allow people and organizations to connect online. In UNICEF's case, this interaction serves an important cause: ensuring health, education, equality and protection for the world's children. UNICEF has over 2.3 million likes on Facebook.
OCHA is using social media to engage existing and new target audiences on issues that deserve more attention. OCHA on Facebook highlights quotes from the ERC and the latest information on current or emerging crises. OCHA also has a YouTube page, which hosts OCHA film and video content including documentaries, public service announcements and social media-targeted projects.