#Tech2Empower

[cinhanez]

When Xs include Ys

How Ys would feel if suddenly they would be the object of inclusion and of active action for their rights, the inverse of what happens today in most situations? Working the last 3 weeks very close to the founders and staff of WAKE, a social organization focused on empowering women’s rights activists with technology, has taught me one thing or two about that.

It is refreshing, and at the same time provocative, to be in situations where someone says “we should also include men”, or remind that in an event “some of the participants were men”. Ys are not used to be in contexts where they feel they should be included but they are not present in majority. Except for situations socially constructed as “feminine”,  the notion that Ys should be included by Xs is often seen as bizarre. That is the unfortunate state we are in.

Of course, the only thing bizarre here is the presumption, or self-entitlement, of Ys that they are the ones should be in control, and therefore the ones who should be doing, if they want, the inclusion. But it is one thing to talk and digress about the idea, and another, much more interesting, to actually experience it like it has happened to me in a couple of occasions in the last weeks.

I have experienced discrimination before in my life, as a foreigner in Japan and USA, and that is a very unpleasant experience. What has happened in the last weeks is quite different, because I am in an environment where people actually care about inclusion, but have to remind themselves constantly to act in that way also for Ys. More than that, I am used to be in situations where I am actively pursuing inclusion of Xs and minorities, where I have to patrol my own language for inclusion. But rarely I am in a context where my gender is the one which people around me want to make sure that feels included. It is good to feel welcomed (as a member of a group), but it is not good to perceive that being part of the group is not a natural thing.

I do not pretend that I can feel or understand the complexity of Xs dealing with such situations, often since they are very young. But it has been a wake-up call for me to see that even when people around you try very hard to be inclusive in their language and their acts, that very behaviour also works as a remind of the need of inclusion and, of course, of the reality of exclusion.

As if inclusion was not natural, as it should be. Simple. Thanks to the Xs in this IBM CSC project to help me understand it.

[neptunecreek]

3 New Year’s Rituals for Nonprofit Professionals to Build Resilience

Flickr photo by Geoff Livingston

I wish you a very happy and healthy 2019!   I had a great holiday break, although unfortunately I got sick. And while illness isn’t the most energizing start of a new year, I kept replaying the words from the ballon song in the new Mary Poppins movie, “there is no place to go but up.”

Rituals are intentional small, tangible acts done routinely and carry meaning. Rituals have been performed for centuries and are an important part of human history.

Rituals can also be used by professionals to boost personal productivity because rituals capitalize on our brains’ ability to direct our behavior on autopilot, allowing us to reach our goals even when we are distracted or preoccupied with other things.

For over twenty years, I do several rituals that help me prepare for the year ahead because they help me to gain focus and clarity.  Here they are:

My Three Rituals

1) Review the Year: For as long as I can remember, I have kept an annual professional journal, using a variation of bullet journal technique. I call it my “To Do, To Done, Don’t Do, Reflection List.”  I use it for planning and goal setting as well as to reflect along the way. I also use it as a year in review tool.  At end of the year, I read through the journal and think about accomplishments:What gave me a sense of purpose and feeling of personal and professional fulfillment? What gave me joy?  What should I let go of?

Last year, I added another tool called the “Year Compass, a free downloadable booklet that provides a set of structured reflection questions that help you look back and ahead.  This year I was able to look at what I wrote last year.

2) Identify “My Three Themes”: I do a combination of Peter Bregman’s  theme for the year, and Chris Brogan’s “My Three Words.”  Chris Brogan’s ritual suggests selecting three words, but I modify it by articulating key themes. I use the themes to guide my professional work and writing. I’ve used Chris Brogan’s technique for over a decade and found it very helpful in keeping me focused.

3) Start A New Journal: There are many productivity planners, but I like to create my own. I use a large Moleskine (8 x 11.5) for my journal or my “To Do, To Done, Don’t Do, Reflection List.”  I create a few pages in the beginning to write about my themes, what makes me happy, what to improve, and major projects for the year.  I also include my list of work/life habits that I want to maintain or modify. I also use this tip from Sree about writing it in email dated 12/31/19 using FutureMe.Org

As the part of my monthly review,  I reflect on my themes and habits to improve.

Year in Review

Here’s what I learned from looking over my 2018 professional journal:

The Happy Healthy Nonprofit:   I published “The Happy Healthy Nonprofit: Strategies for Impact without Burnout,” with co-author Aliza Sherman in 2016. The book was well received and was #1 on Amazon’s Nonprofit Books many times.  I’ve continued to do conference keynotes, workshops and facilitate staff retreats about activating a culture of wellbeing.  All in all, I presented or facilitated over 50 keynotes, workshops, and webinars on the topic.

Artificial Intelligence for Social Good:   Allison Fine and I have been actively researching, writing, and presenting about AI for Social Good.  We wrote an  op-ed for the Chronicle of Philanthropy on the age of automation and it implications for fundraisers,  Leveraging the Power of Bots for Civil Society on SSIR Blog and The Robots Have Arrived: How Nonprofits Can Put Them To Work on Guidestar.  Finally, we co-authored a policy brief for the Toda Peace Institute on artificial intelligence and its implications for civil society.  Watch for more from us in 2019 about the age of automation and its implications for the sector.

Training:  Workshops, Master Classes and Conference Keynotes: I presented over 80 keynotes, panel sessions, webinars, guest lectures, informal talks,master classes, and workshops for nonprofits and foundations in the area of digital strategy and transformation, virtual meeting facilitation, leadership development based on the emerging leaders playbook, self-care and creating a culture of well being, training trainers and facilitators, and other topics. This past year was my 5th year (and last)  as an adjunct professor at Middlebury College.

Writing and Blogging: I’ve kept a regular publishing schedule for Beth’s Blog, something that I’ve done since 2003!  I wrote guest posts for many nonprofit publications and blogs.

A great deal of my training work is done face-to-face. I know that might seem old fashioned, but being a trainer and facilitator and in the room with social change leaders is what inspires and energizes me. I made it to the 1000K level for United, in part, due to too many International trips, including teaching a master class and workshop session at the IFC-Asia in Bangkok, teaching a workshop in Brasil for Ford Motor Company Leadership Fellowship Program, and Tech2Empower in Peru.

I also expanded my practice to designing and facilitating internal meetings for nonprofits and foundations on a variety of topics, including activating a culture of wellbeing and innovation labs. I also did a far amount of virtual training, including developing a workshop on virtual facilitation and I also continued to create and share micro-learning courses with Nonprofit Ready on personal productivity and organizational culture topics.

I have continued my work as senior advisor to Lightful, a social media management tool for charities based in London.  I have been delivering virtual master classes and helping to develop their capacity building programs in digital skills.

And, of course, I continued working on a number of volunteer projects, including serving as a board member to NTEN, LLC and on the advisory committees for IFC-Asia, and NonprofitReady.

In order to accomplish as much as possible, I have lived many of the ideas around self-care that we wrote about in our book, The Happy Healthy Nonprofit.  I have also continued to my commitment to walking 15,000 steps a day (when I’m not sick) and according to my fitbit dashboard I have walked a 12,430 miles, the length of walking from the North Pole to the South Pole.

My Three Themes: 

Resilience:  This relates to all the curriculum, writing, and teaching I do around The Happy Healthy Nonprofit and Leadership Development. Resilience is the ability to bounce back from adversity. Resilience is what allows you to recover from change or hardship, whether in the workplace or life in general. Personal resilience is a leadership competency based on cultivating skills around self-awareness, and relationship management.   Organizational resilience is about your organization’s work culture, specifically creating a positive one which includes being supportive, kind, and emphasizing meaningful work.   Above all, it is mitigating stress while effectively doing the work with great passion.

Digital Transformation: Digital transformation is about how nonprofits organizations and the way they work is being transformed by technology. It isn’t just about the tools, but about how people need to work and think differently.   In terms of content, I have one foot in the present and one foot in the future.  I will continue to write about and teach workshops on digital strategy. For 2019, I will be also focusing more on exploring the implications that artificial intelligence holds the social sector.

Facilitating Techniques and Design: As a trainer and facilitator, my learning areas included facilitation techniques and design for trainings and meetings, both face-to-face and virtual.  I’m currently working with the Sanford Institute of Philanthropy to deliver a train the trainers session. So, stay tuned for more on this topic from me in the coming months.

When I look back on 2018, it was a very rich and productive year – not without its sad moments.     And, I am excited about 2019.  What about you?  What will you accomplish in 2019? Do you have a special New Year’s ritual that sets you on the path for success?

  from Beth’s Blog http://bit.ly/2Qlm7z4

[joycebettencourt]

From Twitter: Full house at today's #apps4changedemo in Austin #Tech2Empower http://pic.twitter.com/sJQSw6TgWc— Caravan Studios (@caravanstudios) August 28, 2017

http://twitter.com/caravanstudios

[cinhanez]

When Xs and Ys work together for women’s rights

After an intense month working with WAKE to create a growth plan for them (as part of the IBM Corporate Service Corps), I depart back to Brazil feeling changed, and determined. I arrived a supporter and leave believing that equality and women's rights is the key struggle for human rights for this and the next decade. The current political happenings in US and Brazil, where gender issues have surfaced to the mainstream of the political discourse, show that we are a key turning point.

I also leave with the certainty that it is essential to include Ys in the fight for women’s rights. And most importantly, it is time to work with this generation of boys and young men so the idea of gender inequality is for them as repugnant as the concept of slavery is today for our society. Feminism have advanced in large steps among Xs, but I do not see it happening  at the same pace with Ys. The message of equality has to be worked since the infancy of boys and girls, in the media, in the language, and in the behaviours. 

There is a lot to be worked out on how to do this, and we should not underestimate the strong forces against such a change. But that is why Xs and Ys should work together to promote gender equality.

[neptunecreek]

Trainer’s Notebook: #Tech2Empower Peru

Greetings from Cusco, Peru!

I am honored to be working with Wake International on their Tech2Empower Program in Cusco, Peru. The program hosts a delegation of women who work in the tech industry to share their knowledge and skills with women-focused nonprofits, startups and girls empowerment programs in developing countries and in the US.

Our group of advisors includes 20 impressive women from 8 technology companies who are sharing their skills and expertise with local women entrepreneurs help them to scale their businesses. From organic energy bars to artisan jewelers and even a Llama trekking company, five small businesses in Cusco will benefit from the collective knowledge and work of these twenty women. They will also spend time with and encourage girls from local schools to explore tech careers.

The first day day kicks with an orientation.  The rest of the day is spent learning about the local culture, including a walking tour of the city, visiting an historic site, and ending with a local cuisine cooking lesson.  It is great to have a day of fun before starting an intense week working on service projects.

Tech2Empower Kanika Raney

The orientation included having one of the advisors, Kanika Raney from Google lead us in an icebreaker based on a workshop called #IamRemarkable, a Google initiative empowering women and underrepresented groups to celebrate their achievements in the workplace and beyond.

The workshop was developed by several women who work at Google. The program teaches women how to build confidence with self-promotion. The idea is that by learning how to speak openly about your accomplishments, it helps others understand your strengths and skills. The goal is change cultural norms that tell women to be humble and not to speak out – and it ultimately holds them back.

Here’s how Kanika facilitated the exercise.

She started with a brief overview about why it is important for women to speak out and bust the myth that women should be humble.

She handed out cards that said I am Remarkable and asked us to write about something unique, either personal or professional, that illustrates why we are remarkable.  She cautioned it shouldn’t be something in our daily routine or general.

The next step was for everyone to read out loud what they wrote or share with the room.  She modeled reading hers.

Next, she asked for a volunteer to come to the front of the room and read their card. And then a second volunteer, until organically everyone in the room had shared their #IamRemarkable.

She closed by summarizing the common accomplishments and urging us to remember that as women in the workplace, we should share our accomplishments, that it is not self-promotion.

This was a very empowering icebreaker – and a great way to get to know a little bit more about the people I will spending the next week with on a service project here in Cusco, Peru.  She will be doing this exercise with young girls at the high school we are visiting later this week.

  from Beth’s Blog https://ift.tt/2CA3Fzl

[neptunecreek]

3 New Year’s Rituals for Nonprofit Professionals To Begin 2018 with Clarity

I wish you a very happy and healthy 2018!  I used my holiday break as an opportunity for a brief digital detox and time for family, travel and fun.

During the first week of January , I use the quiet time for three New Year’s rituals that help me prepare for the year ahead and identify professional growth areas.  I’ve used these rituals for over a decade and found them helpful.

1) Review the Year: For as long as I can remember, I have kept an annual professional journal, using a variation of bullet journal technique. I call it my “To Do, To Done, Don’t Do, Reflection List.”  I use it for planning and goal setting as well as to reflect along the way. I also use it as a year in review tool.  In early January, I read through the journal and think about accomplishments:What gave me a sense of purpose and feeling of personal and professional fulfillment? This year I used a new tool recommended by colleague Alexandra Samuel, the “Year Compass, a free downloadable booklet that provides a set of structured reflection questions.

2) Identify “My Three Themes”: I do a combination of Peter Bregman’s  theme for the year, and Chris Brogan’s “My Three Words.”  Chris Brogan’s ritual suggests selecting three words, but I modify it by articulating key themes.  These help guide my professional learning and improvement and maintaining good habits. When you have worked in a field a long time (for me it has been over 3 decades), you have to keep an open mind about remembering and reflecting on what you have heard before — looking at as if it was new. I’ve used Chris Brogan’s technique for over a decade and found it very helpful in keeping me focused. My colleague, Wendy Harman, was also inspired by Chris Brogan’s technique, but she takes it deeper and includes daily reflection questions.

3) Start A New Journal: I use a large Moleskine (8 x 11.5) for my journal or my “To Do, To Done, Don’t Do, Reflection List.”  I create a few pages in the beginning to write about my themes, what makes me happy, what to improve, and major projects for the year.  I also include my list of work/life habits that I want to maintain or modify.

Each month I create the task list organized with different color codes for different types of work/life.  The work related tasks also correspond with color codes on my google calendar and my hard drive/google drive files.  I also write a monthly reflection looking at my themes and habits as well as what I accomplished and what could be improved. I use weekly reviews and look-ahead rituals as well as the 18-Minutes A Day Reflection Technique. There are lot of productivity journals out there, for example, “Best Self” and I have reviewed those for inspiration for different checklists, formats, and questions to ask regularly.

Year in Review

Here’s what I learned from looking over my 2017 professional journal:

The Happy Healthy Nonprofit:   In 2016, I published “The Happy Healthy Nonprofit: Strategies for Impact without Burnout,” with co-author Aliza Sherman.   The book was well received and was #1 on Amazon’s Nonprofit Books many times.   In early 2017, we completed a two week book tour. I continued an active schedule of teaching workshops on self-care for nonprofit professionals and creating a culture of well being in the nonprofit workplace as well as numerous keynote presentations.

Emerging Leaders Playbook: With the generous support of the Packard Foundation and in collaboration with Third Plateau Social Impact Strategies,  we launched the Playbook Web Site that offers grab and go leadership development and culture change activities for nonprofit and emerging leaders. I also facilitated a number of nonprofit staff workshops building on the curriculum.

Training:  Workshops, Master Classes and Conference Keynotes: I presented over 80 keynotes, panel sessions, webinars, guest lectures, informal talks, and workshops for nonprofits and foundations in the area of networked leadership, leveraging professional networks in service of mission, digital strategy, crowdfunding, virtual meeting facilitation, leadership development based on the emerging leaders playbook, self-care and creating a culture of well being, training trainers and facilitators, and other topics. This past year was my 4th year as an adjunct professor at Middlebury College.

Writing and Blogging: I’ve kept an active publishing schedule for Beth’s Blog, something that I’ve done since 2003!   I wrote guest posts for many nonprofit publications, including the Stanford Innovation Review, Asian NGO, NPEngage, Guidestar, Giving Compass and others.

A great deal of my training work is done face-to-face. I know that might seem old fashioned, but being a trainer and facilitator and in the room with social change leaders is what inspires and energizes me. I almost made it to the 1000K level for United, in part, due to six International trips, including teaching a master class, workshop, and participatory session at the IFC-Asia in Bangkok,  teaching master classes in Brasil and Amsterdam, and spending a week in Finland as a guest of the State Department and US Embassy in Finland working with a wide range of NGOs and social change leaders.

I also had a glorious week-long experience working along side the co-founders of Wake on the Tech2Empower program in Guatemala. I facilitated workshops with volunteers from Bay Area technology companies and we worked with more 50 women’s rights organizations in the region.

Not only did I design and deliver workshops and master classes for capacity building organizations for a range of nonprofits, but I also expanded my practice to internal workshops for nonprofits and foundations on a variety of topics, including workshops on creating the ideal work culture. I also did a far amount of virtual training, including developing a new workshop on virtual facilitation and I also launched a series of micro-learning courses with Nonprofit Ready on personal productivity and organization culture topics.

In December, I was honored to do a Facebook Live broadcast from Facebook Headquarters in London with Lightful CEO Vinay Nair. And in October, I welcomed Emily Goodstein and Saleforce Foundation into my kitchen for a Facebook Live about Giving Tuesday.

And, of course, I continue working on a number of volunteer projects, including serving as a board member to NTEN and LLC and as an adviser to the volunteer facilitators for The Nonprofit Happy Hour and Giving Tuesday and serve on the advisory committee for IFC-Asia and Nonprofit Ready.

In order to accomplish as much as possible, I have lived many of the ideas around self-care that in our book, The Happy Healthy Nonprofit.  As part of my quest to incorporate movement as work, according to my Fitbit dashboard, I have walked more than 5 million steps this year and that has helped me accomplish everything above!

My Three Themes: 

Reflection: Reflection is about deep thinking that leads to continuous improvement. It requires carving out time to think, dream, celebrate, give gratitude, and build upon your life and work. It helps you find purpose in life and success in your professional work. Reflection helps energize me and helps me focus. The bulk of my professional work is training and teaching and that requires reflection to remember and document your instructional processes and techniques so you can also train other trainers.

Well Being:  This relates to all the curriculum, writing, and teaching I do around The Happy Healthy Nonprofit and Leadership Development. Well Being is about self, others, and organizational culture. This goes beyond wellness in the workplace, but embraces how people do their work together that is sustainable. I’m also continuing to focus on technology wellness, not only for individuals but in the nonprofit workplace.

Digital Transformation: Digital transformation is about how nonprofits organizations and the way they work is transformed by technology. It isn’t just about the tools, but about how people need to work and think differently. I continue to be interested in teaching “networked leadership skills” which focused on how to use online networks and social media in service of your career, professional learning, or organizational goals. But digital transformation needs a robust digital strategy that understands how new emerging digital technologies will impact the nonprofits mission and the people served and staff. Digital transformation also impacts training and teaching delivery as well as internal collaboration for staff.

When I look back on 2017, it was a very rich and productive year.     And, I expect no less in 2018.  What about you?  What will you accomplish in 2018?

  from Beth’s Blog http://ift.tt/2lZaSiN

[joycebettencourt]

From Twitter: Dropping some innovative app knowledge on us in #apps4changedemo #tech2empower— Jessica Moreno (@jmoreno1121) August 28, 2017

http://twitter.com/jmoreno1121

[neptunecreek]

Trainer’s Notebook: Tips for Good Openings

I’ve just returned from a two-week trip to Guatemala hosted by Wake. Wake’s Tech2Empower program organizes delegations of volunteer Technology Advisors, women who work for Silicon Valley companies like Google, Salesforce, Mozilla, YouTube, GE Digital and IRC, to provide training for women’s rights and girls empowerment NGOs in developing countries and here in the United States.

We worked with a network of women’s rights NGOs located throughout Latin America and Guatemala who traveled to Antigua for the multi-day training. Our group also visited Starfish Impact School, where we learned about their work to ensure indigenous girls have equal access to education and provided mentoring and training for young women graduates of Starfish.

This work is very inspiring because you are able share knowledge and learn about their work in protecting women’s rights. My role in the project is to the facilitate the training sessions, design the overall training, facilitate openers and closings, help prep the curriculum, and deliver modules on digital strategy and social media. Working with Wake is also a wonderful professional development experience to hone training and facilitation trade craft.

I facilitated a number of openings, but we also got to experience a few opening exercises they use at the Starfish School.

A Good Training Starts with A Good Opening

A good training begins with igniting the participants curiosity and passion for the content during the first 15-30 minutes.   The goal is to get everyone comfortable, thinking about the content, and ready to enhance their preexisting knowledge.  There are four key reasons for incorporating a good opening into any of your training sessions:

(1) Participants get to know each other and feel comfortable with the group.  This is especially important if participants do know each other or do not have experience working together.   Even if your group consists of a team of people who work together regularly, it is still a good idea to ease them into the training with a good opener.

(2) Connect with the Content:    No matter what topic you are leading a training on, participants may know something about it.  Learning is about connecting the dots to existing knowledge and skills so participants can build on it during the training.

(3)  Opening Up:    Depending on the situation, not all participants to a training voluntarily or your training may be the kick off to a more in-depth program and participants may have hopes and concerns about their ability to complete the project.  For example, they may be concerned about the amount of time or specific topics address.    Having a opening that creates the space for participants to ask questions, air concerns, and get everyone on the same page is a good idea.

(4)  Get To Know Your Audience:   We don’t always have the ability to do in-depth participant surveys or interviews prior to a training to understand in great detail what participants know and feel about the topic.    A good opener will also help you as the trainer to better understand the people in the room and adjust accordingly.

I should also mention that there are “bad,” openers that include sharing too much personal information or touching.  Milk the Cow is one example and while it might have been fun to do different handshakes when you were summer camp in Junior High,  it is awkward and a little creepy to do this type of opener with professionals.  Nonprofit blogger Vu Lee has some tips on what types of openers to avoid.

A Few Examples of Good Openers

Speed Networking:   Since we had two-day training with 50 people, including participants, hosts, and advisers, we spent about 40 minutes on an opening designed for everyone to get to introduce themselves to each other and have a brief conversation.  We were lucky enough to be a large room that had an outdoor terrace that had enough space to do the Speed Networking opening.  “Speed Networking, a variation of “Speed Dating, ” allows participants to experience many exchanges with other people in a short period of time. It maximizes the opportunity for people to connect and be comfortable.

Speed Networking sessions are typically a series of short, focused conversations about specific professional questions.  It can be done a number of ways, but because I had get people to move from the main training room to the terrace I asked people count off 1, 2.  Then I asked the number 1’s to go outside and line up.  Then I asked the number 2’s to go out side and line up facing a person in the other line.   

Participants were asked to introduce themselves to each other and share what they were most exciting about for the workshop.    They had three minutes to have a conversation before first person at the top of line 1 one moved to the end and everyone else moved up by one and repeated the process with a different partner.   We kept doing this until people had a chance to have conversations with about dozen people in the group.

The challenge is getting people’s attention when time is up because the noise level goes up.  At the market the day before, I got some noise makers with bells that I used.  I also the Spanish phrase for “Change.”    And I walked through the middle of line with the noisemakers telling them it was time to change.

We also had an added challenge of having a group of participants where some spoke fluent Spanish/English, only English, only Spanish, or fluent in one language and only a few words in the other.    While we did have simultaneous interpretation, it would not be useful for rapid share pair discussions that this opener requires.

So, before we did the icebreaker, I had everyone put dots on their name tags.  One dot was very little or no English, two dots indicated can carry a basic conversation in English, and three dots indicated English fluency.     That helped facilitate small group conversations and identify those individuals who spoke both languages and could do on the fly interpretation, if needed for small group work.

At the StarFish School, where we had only an afternoon to do the training and smaller number of participants, so we did a shorter, briefer opener and an opening that Star Fish teachers use in their classrooms to build community.    We stood in a circle and each person got to introduce themselves and say how they were feeling.   We passed a ball (it was ball with crochet cover with Mayan designs) to the next person whose turn it was to speak going clockwise.  After each person spoke, the group “snapped” to welcome them.

Later in the day, we split up into three groups and were welcomed into the homes of three different students at Star Fish School.    We did the same opener with the family as well as played a few games.    Then we cooked lunch together in their home and had a meal together and conversation.

Learn More 

There are many other examples of openers for trainings.   Next week at the NTEN’s Nonprofit Technology Conference,  I am co-leading a session with fellow nonprofit tech trainers, John Kenyon, Jeanne Allen, and Cindy Leonard on how to supercharge your training.   If you want to learn more and you are attending the NTC, come join us!

      from Beth’s Blog http://ift.tt/2nAhMe4

[cinhanez]

When Ys cyber-abuse Xs

Here in San Francisco I am deeply involved now on understanding and helping the work of WAKE to empower social and gender activists with technological tools. Among other things, they have created the #tech2empowerUSA program where US activists come to Silicon Valley companies to learn how to best use their tools in their causes. The program includes training the participants in the program how to protect better their privacy and their social media identities and movements.

The relevance of learning how to defend herself from abuse in social media could not be better understanding than by looking into recent events in the presidential election in Brazil. In summary, a Facebook group of Xs created an extremely successful campaign against the anti-feminist presidential candidate Bolsonaro gathering 2 million supporters in a couple of days. The site was hacked by, presumably, Bolsonaro’s supporters, defaced, and the original administrators had private information revealed in the web. Facebook later returned the group to their rightful owners, but in meantime the attack backfired and the hashtag #EleNao (#NotHim in English) became viral. (read more).

This event demonstrates how important is the work being done by organizations like WAKE which train activists to the realities of campaigning in cyber-space, often against professional marketers and hackers. But it also shows that violence against Xs has many forms, many disguises, but in the end is always violence. Like in physical world’s violence, cyber-violence, especially by Ys against Xs, is often diminished, as it was the case by many posts and WhatsApp comments circulating among the Bolsonaro’s supporters after the incident. The movement was ridiculed, the ability of Xs to handle tech was joked about, and the ability of Ys to abuse Xs was celebrated. That came accompanied with threats to the organizers of the group, based on the personal information exposed. Welcome to the age of cyber-abusing and cyber-stoning.

As a Y, it is hard to believe that Ys around me could be the ones doing the violence, but I am sure some people I would call my friends and some relatives are happily spreading the machist mockery. As in the real world, violence against Xs is around us, often overlooked, despised as less important, and joked about. I could not be more happy that, by a fortunate change, I am contributing now to improve an organization which is helping Xs to defend themselves from yet a new form of violence. As if the one in the real world was not enough.

[cinhanez]

Xs waking up Xs

One week has passed working with the fabulous women of WAKE to think about their program to empower women's rights activists with technology. Together with my teammates from IBM, Tanujha Pathil and Yen Do, with have intensively explored their work, their organisation, and their hopes and fears for the future, as part of the one month consultancy sponsored by the IBM Corporate Service Corps program.

Modern feminism has more than 60 years, and women all over the world still struggle against violence, underpayment, educational barriers, and the control of their bodies. When not overt, women discrimination metamorphoses into glass ceilings, gaslighting, mansplaining, impostor complexes. The fight is present and alive, even in the continuous and persistent struggle to change the way we all talk to each other everyday.

The women at WAKE (and so many other organisations), together with their team of volunteers, partner NGOs, and corporate sponsors, are doing a truly important part of the work, to provide tech tools to experienced and young women's rights activists. So they can amplify their voices, get momentum, reach other women and men, boys and girls, governments and corporations.

And, even in the heaven of progressive America of San Francisco, they seem to still have to talk carefully to Silicon Valley firms about arming women with key tools for the fights for their rights, as if equality between Xs and Ys have to be a controversial issue. Equality should stop being a question of discussion in the 21st century, as much as the question of the validity of slavery, a controversial topic in the 19th century, become a non-issue in the 20th century.

But somehow XY equality is still an issue, and I am genuinely lucky to got an opportunity to help. As a man, as all of us men should be doing.