The Division for Social Policy and Development (DSPD) organized a Panel Discussion on "How NGOs can use social media to create impact and eradicate poverty", which took place on Friday 20 January 2012 from 1:15pm to 2:45pm in conference room 6 at the United Nations North Lawn Building (NLB).

Two of the nation's leading social media experts gave a presentation encompassing the following issues: A short overview of the social media landscape; three big ideas on how NGOs should be using social media to advance your missions; the important role of storytelling and video; how to build a community of supporters, resulting in real-world actions; several examples of how NGOs and international nonprofits are successfully using social media for programs and campaigns; and pointers to resources.

This event was moderated by Ms. Daniela Bas, Director of the Division for Social Policy and Development (DSPD) and the speakers were: Mr. J.D. Lasica and Ms. Shonali Burke.

Mr. J.D. Lasica is a nonprofit strategist, social media consultant and author considered to be one of the world's leading experts in social media. He is founder of Socialbrite.org, a national consultancy that helps nonprofits and NGOs take strategic advantage of the social web. J.D. has been named one of Silicon Valley's top 40 influencers and was named one of the 100 top media bloggers in the world.

Ms. Shonali Burke is a partner in Socialbrite. She works with clients to help them identify their strategic goals and build their integrated communication plans based on measurable objectives. She runs the United Nations refugee agency USA for UNHCR and its Blue Key campaign. PRWeek named Shonali to its first "Top 40 Under 40" list of public relations professionals in the U.S. Shonali is also an adjunct faculty at John Hopkins University, teaching a course on not-for-profits in the digital age. 

Download presentation (pdf)

For more information, please visit: http://www.socialbrite.org/un/