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| == 3- Types of engagement initiatives: examples and tips == | | == 3- Types of engagement initiatives: examples and tips == |
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| + | '''''Organizing in-person and online events''''' |
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| + | Examples: seminars, conferences, webinars, study tours, photo or art exhibit, film screening |
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| + | Tips: |
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| + | •Plan an event with clear objectives. |
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| + | •Focus on specific audiences instead of ‘’Canadians at large’’ and develop specific engagement strategies for each audience. |
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| + | •Before planning an event, evaluate what has been done or planned by partners for the same target groups (NGOs working within the same communities, including non-traditional groups). |
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| + | •When possible, work in partnership with other likeminded and complementary organizations to maximize reach, share best practices and build capacity. |
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| + | •Include clear and consistent key messages as part of the events, to communicate long-term results and effectiveness (going beyond isolated events and facts). |
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| + | •Present the same event in various locations, when possible. |
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| + | •If you are holding a series of events in a number of cities, develop a plan to engage with local organizations and media, when possible. Evaluate the possibility of including large cities and small communities, including rural and northern locations. |
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| + | •Have an evaluation plan for all events/products, including both quantitative and qualitative indicators, to assess behaviour changes. |
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| + | •If you are planning an event with a southern speaker, reach out to other Canadian partners. They might be interested in inviting this guest to speak at their own event. |
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| + | '''''Engaging and involving the Canadian education sector''''' |
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| + | Examples: Development of curriculum content with teachers, training sessions for Canadian teachers, partnerships with local education institutions, etc. |
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| + | Tips: |
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| + | •Consult with teachers and get their feedback on curriculums; |
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| + | •Help teachers distributing the material; |
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| + | •Engage education faculties to target students studying to become teachers; |
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| + | •Get in touch with the Inter-Council Network, which has strong ties with different local school boards across the country. |
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| + | '''''Sharing personal stories of experiences abroad''''' |
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| + | Example: blog, news article, podcast or video about an intern or a volunteer who undertook an international experience with your organization |
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| + | Tips: |
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| + | •Interns and volunteers should prepare an engagement plan to implement before, during and after they go abroad, as well as a short report upon their return to Canada. |
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| + | •During their stay abroad, ask them to write a blog post, tweet, share photos or use the social media platform of their choice to share their experience with other Canadians. |
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| + | •Suggest that they contact newspapers and TV and radio stations in their communities; a journalist might be interested in featuring a story about their experience abroad. |
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| + | •Create links to intern or volunteer blogs on your organization’s Web site. |
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| + | •Develop a speaker’s bureau to have interns and volunteers participate and share with others when they return to Canada. |
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| + | •Develop joint public engagement campaigns with other Canadian, international or multilateral partner organizations (e.g., international days, UN SDGs). |
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| + | '''''Developing a social media campaign''''' |
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| + | Tips: |
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| + | •Before developing a social media campaign, evaluate the possibility of working in partnership with other organizations |
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| + | (likeminded and complementary) to extend reach, build capacity, share knowledge, harmonize messages and eliminate duplication. |
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| + | •Plan public engagement campaigns (using traditional and new media) to promote Canadians who have worked in developing countries to make a difference. |
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| + | •Think about partnering with a ‘social media champion’ or ‘influencer’. |
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| + | •Measure the reach by counting the exact number of people that a social media post could reach. Note that the number of impressions (potential views) of a social media post does not represent a significant result. |
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| + | •Calculate the number of actions resulting from the publication of messages in social media, e.g., number of retweets, likes, shares (quantitative evaluation). |
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| + | Evaluate the content of comments published on social media (qualitative evaluation). |
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| + | '''''Producing and disseminating communication products''''' |
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| + | Examples: Videos, films, photos, podcasts, paper and electronic publications (pamphlets, books, etc.); |
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| + | pre-paid media articles; Web sites or interactive platforms; TV, radio and newspaper ads directly linking to the engagement project funded by GAC. |
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| + | Tips: |
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| + | •Define objectives and confirm target audiences. Develop a rationale to justify the choice of medium for those audiences. |
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| + | •Establish a distribution strategy before developing communication products (confirm target audience, distribution list, timelines, responsibilities, etc.). |
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| + | •Before developing a new communication product, check if another partner has already developed a similar tool. |
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| + | •Prepare an evaluation plan for all products, including both quantitative and qualitative indicators wherever possible |