Weekend’s Food for Thought

We wrap up the week with a few selected news from the field of technology, communication and development. Read the program of IAMCR 2015; get useful fundraising tools for your NGO; learn how to deal with the latest changes in Facebook’s policy and more in this week’s post.

Facebook: “liking” doesn’t matter?

Facebook has made it harder for organizations to leverage engagement. Now comments weight way less than they used to. So, for digital media strategists it is indeed a significant shift: now the button “Share” on your website is more important than ever for an outreach whereas a mere “like” can’t take your organization far.

What about Generation X?

Discussing fundraising opportunities for NGOs, Nonprofit Tech for Good turns its attention to Baby Boomers. Interesting infographics reveal why they shouldn’t be neglected when building your communication campaign and using different fundraising tools.

Thriving, Not Just Surviving

It is a high time to conclude what has been achieved in terms of United Nation’s Millennium Development Goals. How can we learn from the experience? A senior UNICEF advisor shares lessons here. Deriving from this, new goals are set for the next 15 years. Amongst them are such incentives as ensuring inclusion of women and children; knowledge and healthy lives. Communication for development is apparently an integral part of it.

“Forget about empathy”

Tobias Denskus writes that Katie Hopkins with an army of like-minded mainstream journalists may hinder development. Journalistic ignorance and the lack of empathy might lead to stagnation in the development sector. This endangers the whole field and casts doubts on what to expect from governments in terms of development work and whether to expect a lot. Read more here.

IAMCR 2015: Hegemony or Resistance?

Early bird registration for IAMCR 2015 is opened till May 6. The conference will take place in Montreal on July 12-16 2015. This year’s topic examines the ambiguity of communication and sets a question whether communication tools can lead a social and political change and what kind of change it then would be. Travel grants to attend IAMCR 2015 are also available for those who submit a full paper.

Image via United Nations (UN Sustainable Development Goals, 2015-2030)