Member based community development initiatives play a critical role in the positive transformation of societies and as such, they must be supported, promoted and be celebrated across the world.
Their work must be widely broadcasted so that people in various communities can be inspired and be encouraged to be part of the same initiatives or be motivated to start their own for the common good of all.
As such, one of the best ways for the promotion and celebration of such initiatives is to have a dedicated, wide reaching and interactive media platform where people can converge and engage with each other on various and important matters that affect them in their lives.
This media platform can either be online, print, television or even radio where people can get to know about the work being done through these initiatives and the positive changes that is being witnessed as members showcase achievements or share testimonies of real life transformation.
One good example of such a life transforming initiative which needs a dedicated media platform is the Connections2Communities (C2C), an 1873FM project which seeks to build community power in collectively solving problems that are encountered by people in their communities.
In the C2C initiative, there are various mentorship and literacy programs on corporate, leadership and civic issues that are undertaken for the benefit of members and everyone else, of which the wider the reach, the better the world.
The good ideas that are shared and the solutions that are found in this C2C community can have a ripple effect on societal development when they are well understood and implemented.
It is important to understand that globally, there are many people and institutions who may want to be part of such noble acts but if knowledge about the existence of such initiatives is limited because of lack of media coverage, it means its impact and reach may be very limited as well.
As such, there is therefore a need for dedicated, wide reaching and interactive media platform for various reasons including visibility, content curation, public relations and accountability as well as role-modelling as shall be explained below.
Visibility is critical for the continued sustenance and development of projects since people need to see what is it that is being done in order for them to assess if it’s worthwhile for them to be involved either as members in such a cause or as donors who help to finance project activities.
In this age of technological advancements where people are doing much of their work and interaction online, it will be necessary for such initiatives like the C2C to have its social proof in the form of a digital footprints which can in this case be a dedicated website.
As for content curation, there are issues that get discussed and many problems that gets solved in these initiatives and such work must be safely stored in a readily available platform where people who want information on those matters can just browse the internet and get informed.
For example, some of the issues that have been discussed on C2C so far include corporate dynamics touching on the roles, responsibilities and limitations of shareholders, company directors, parent companies and subsidiaries especially when it comes to initiating and implementing business contracts.
In the ZIMRE case just like in the Setheo case studies, a Zimbabwean and a South African company are put under the spotlight because of their unique contractual circumstances which needs a sharp eye to dissect especially the issues of legal persona and executive roles.
Information shared in these discussions is priceless especially to entrepreneurs, lawyers, community leaders and the general public so that everybody’s actions are guided by well tested and verifiable real life case studies such as the above mentioned ZIMRE and Setheo case.
The issue of public relations is also very important in the sense that since members may not be in the same geographical area, they need a common platform for independently accessing feedback on progress and developments that are taking place within initiatives that they support.
In this regard, a dedicated website plays a critical role in information dissemination to all stakeholders in a way that allows them to give feedback and make informed decisions.
As for accountability and role-modelling, when members of these initiatives see correct public reports of what happens in their organisation, they feel a sense of pride associated with belonging to a project that delivers on its promises and this also inspires other people to start projects of a similar nature towards a better world for all.
Therefore, when a community initiative like C2C has a dedicated website, many people in their diversities including academics, students, professionals and the general public are likely to flock to the platform to learn more about real life issues that they can apply in their own environments.
Some of these people will come to learn about corporate literacy while others will focus on civic issues and others will concentrate on leadership matters even though nobody will be limited when it comes to learning from more subjects that may be discussed from time to time.
Community members are also most likely to benefit from being afforded a platform to independently share their insights in the form of opinion pieces and to also report on the activities of interest in their respective communities which may need to be discussed on C2C.
The same dedicated website for such an initiative allows members of the group and members of society in general to give feedback in the form of testimonials on the transformation that they will be experiencing in real life and this inspires others to be part of such noble exploits.
Brian Kazungu is a Christian, Media Practitioner and an Author. He has written and published several books covering various aspects of human life including leadership, entrepreneurship, politics, personal development as well as poetry and travel.
Some of the business texts that he has written include The Sales and Marketing Pocket Book, The SME Handbook and The Practical Executive.
https://www.amazon.com/author/briankazungu
https://muckrack.com/brian-kazungu
http://www.modernghana.com/author/BrianKazungu
kazungu.brian@gmail.com
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This article was first published on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/need-dedicated-wide-reaching-interactive-media-platform-brian-kazungu
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