Millions of people are already engaging every day in online conversations about the issues we work on. Connecting with the online community—not only to listen to what people are saying, but to participate in those conversations—represents an incredible opportunity and has become a top priority for the foundation.
In 2009, we established accounts on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, and we now have nearly half a million friends and followers. Through these social media channels and our blog, we have been sharing the inspiring stories of our partners, grantees, and beneficiaries—how the GAVI Alliance and others are vaccinating children against rotavirus, how Opportunity International is bringing mobile banking to Africans living in rural areas, and how leaders in U.S. education are coming together to develop fewer, clearer, and higher standards to measure student learning.
Many of our grantees and partners are using social media in cutting-edge ways to support their causes. For example, on World Malaria Day in 2009, Malaria No More launched a campaign on Twitter to spread awareness about the million deaths malaria causes each year and to raise money to buy and distribute lifesaving mosquito nets. In a single day, the organization reached millions of people worldwide and raised enough money for tens of thousands of nets. We’re delighted that the United Nations Special Envoy for Malaria has invited us to become part of its Social Media Envoy group, which is employing similar strategies in an effort to reduce deaths from malaria to almost zero by 2015.
The online community’s become essential to our efforts to build awareness and engagement around the issues we work on. We hope our followers and friends will join us September 20 for TEDxChange, an event we’re hosting with TED in New York to reflect on the Millennium Development Goals ten years in—on the progress we’ve made already and what we can do to make a better future. Broadcast live via webcast, the event will convene more than 200 prominent thought leaders and community organizers from around the world. More than 50 TEDx groups from 36 countries will host satellite events during TEDxChange.
For the latest, please visit our community page. Join the conversation. We'd love to hear from you.