Global Voices organizational overview 2010

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

We aggregate, curate and amplify global conversations online - shining light on places and people other media often ignore

We develop tools, networks and initiatives to ensure that people have the capacity to find and create the information they need to improve their lives and participate more fully in their communities

We are a platform for experimentation in global citizen media - supporting networks of innovators in the developing world


Social ImpactAmplifying and contextualizing developing/emerging region(Africa, Asia, Latin America, Central & Eastern Europe) citizen media for global audiences

500,000 unique visits per month to all Global Voices sites

Increasing the flow of news content into key languages, notably those spoken in the global south, through pioneering translation communities and platforms

Increasing the visibility and accessibility of global citizen media in various languages through partnerships with major media

Building civic engagement and creative capacity by developing networks, material resources, and knowledge resources for citizen media in the developing world

Supporting online freedom of speech through network development, information, strategic advocacy campaigns, skills training, and policy


Rising Voices network

1,000-plus

GV Lingua18 active languages; 20 editors; 200+ volunteer

contributors

Newsroom23 editors; 200+ volunteer

contributors

GV Advocacy35 volunteer contributors

Rising Voices3 editors; 22 grantee initiatives

TranslationExchange

RuNet

The Global Voices Community



Our Board

Rosental AlvesDirector, Knight Center forJournalism in the Americas

Akwe AmosuJournalist & Africa AdvocacyDirector, Open Society Institute

Ethan ZuckermanCo-founder

Rebecca MacKinnonCo-founder

Joichi ItoVenture capitalist & CEO, Creative Commons

Amira Al-HussainiStaff representative

Deborah Ann DilleyVolunteer representative


Leadership Team

Ivan SigalExecutive DirectorMedia development expert/editor/writer/photographer

Georgia PopplewellManaging DirectorWriter/editor/media producer

Solana LarsenManaging EditorWriter/editor/digital media activist

David SasakiDirector, Rising VoicesMedia development expert/blogger

Sami Ben GharbiaDirector, GV AdvocacyFreedom of expression activist

Leonard ChienDirector, GV LinguaTranslator/interpreter/blogger

Marc HermanCoordinator, Global Voices Translation ExchangeWriter/editor

Jeremy ClarkeTechnical DirectorCoder and designer


Why Global Voices?sorting blogs and other citizen media is difficult

context is often lacking

multilingual content is a barrier

credibility is an issue

Global Voices Newsroom


information is accessible to many more people if it’s translated into other languages

Why Global Voices?

Global Voices Lingua


Global Voices Advocacy

Why Global Voices?some governments are suppressing free speech online

people speaking out online under repressive regimes need to learn to protect themselves


there are numerous barriers to online participation and production

many voices remain unheard and many communities underrepresented

Rising Voices

Why Global Voices?


We’ve been written about/talked about/interviewed by

and more....


We’ve collaborated with


We’ve been republished by

and more....


Others working in the space

Newsroom GV Advocacy Rising Voices Lingua

Breaking TweetsRegional blog aggregators

Regional/topical news sites

Major media blog analysis

AllvoicesNowPublic

GroundReport

Committee to Protect JournalistsReporters Without

BordersHuman Rights

WatchTactical Tech

Other grantmaking organizationsMobileActive

CivicusThe

Communication Initiative

IJnet

Machine translation engines


$677,000$677,000

Funding Overview: 2006-2008


Future plansDrive innovation and build organization scale

Leverage value and reach of our content through new initiatives and partnerships

Strengthen expanding community, build user engagement

Develop network to foster maturing citizen media communities and initiatives

Produce original content in multiple languages


In the works (pilot projects)

Networked mapping of transparency, accountability and civic engagement technology projects (Donor’s group on Transparency)

)

First participatory research project and entry into transparency/governance arena; leads to next phase of Rising Voices

Translation Exchange research (Ford Foundation)

Exploratory project building upon Global Voices’ pioneering translation model, analyzing marketplace needs and potential uses for translated content

Commissioned content for UNFPA and IDRC*

Pilot projects testing viability and market for commissioning model

RuNet Echo Russian-language Internet (OSI)

First in-depth blogosphere study and coverage

MS ActionAid Denmark citizen media mentoring*

First project leveraging Global Voices’ collective expertise in citizen media

*potential revenue source


Future innovationRestructure/redesign of Global Voices web site

Fundamental site architecture restructure, resulting in improved user experience and easier access to content in multiple languages

Original content in other languagesLaunch of Global Voices’ multilingual newsroom with mirror sites on other regional platforms

Media production laboratory* Introduction of original analysis, reporting and research with co-production partners

Blog Influence Index* Blog index positioning GV as a global evaluator of online influence; supported by commercial partner

Translation Exchange* Translation Exchange and tip sheet service to move large quantities of multilingual content

Rising Voices 2.0RV shift from pilot support for individual blogging initiatives to sustained, expanded network that fosters maturing citizen media communities and initiatives

Education and mentoring section*Entry into mentoring and educational sector to engage institutions and facilitate mentoring in different contexts and languages

Threatened Voices platformCreation of open-source platform to facilitate advocacy, networking and participatory content sharing

Membership* User community drives Global Voices’ work, offers feedback, drives growth of donation revenue

*potential revenue source


How we achieve goals

Organization scaleKey

partnership growth

Community development

Rising Voices Lingua

• Establish GV as institution supporting citizen media innovation

• Create stable, efficient administrative and financial management

• Redesign site to facilitate access to non-English content

• Leverage value of GV content and expertise through new initiatives and partnerships with media and NGOs

• Support cohesion of growing community

• Explore creation of user community

• Organize donation drives, educational outreach

• Support engagement with underrepresented communities

• Shift Rising Voices from pilot project supporter to network fostering maturing citizen media

• Move from experimental translation community to original content in French and Spanish

• Create new models of translation collaboration and exchange

Facilitates innovation through • revenue-earning

activities e.g. Translation Exchange, Blog Influence Index, original production projects

Increases reach by • expanding re-

publication of content and collaboration with partners

Supports engagement by

• creating user benefits, opportunities for local promotion of GV

• building initiatives around education and mentoring

• increasing quality and frequency of community interactions

Strengthens engagement by • building network

of citizen media initiatives and best practices in the developing world

Develops Global Voices translation section by • expanding reach of translation sites

• producing original content in multiple languages

• designing and building translation exchange


Visits to all sites: Feb 2006-Nov 2009 (Google Analytics)

Gaza, Madagascar

Olympics, South Ossetia Iran

Mumbai bombings, US election

Sichuan earthquake


Risksatomization/shift in citizen media space due to rapid changes in technology

inability to manage/scale growing volunteer community

increase in competition, notably from MSM

over-reliance on nonprofit funding sources

MSM partnerships difficult


Technology

Global Voices organizational overview 2010