In 1970, author of 2001: A Space Odyssey Arthur C. Clark said satellites would bring the ‘accumulated knowledge of the world to our fingertips’.
Two decades later, the World Wide Web (WWW) had its first full test-run in December 1990.
20 years on from then and the WWW now plays an integral role in society and has revolutionised the lives of billions around the world.
In particular, the web has become a remarkable tool for not-for-profit (NFP) and advocacy organisations including LGBTI groups who depend on their online presence to deliver their message.
A number of key LGBTI figures from WA will be presenting seminars in Perth this month to skill-share and showcase the online innovations from the community sector.
WA AIDS Council’s Nadine Toussaint, Dani Wright from the Freedom Centre, Equal Love’s Shane Cucow and Aram Hosie from Inspire will be among the speakers at the conference.
The conference will be flying over from Sydney for the first time ever, hosting an array of interested people, groups and organisations from November 15.
Making Links Conference Chairman Jonathan Hallett said the conference would range from social media right through to improving organisational infrastructure.
‘There’s a need for building the capacity of that sector in the opportunities available with the internet,’ Hallett said.
Hallett said just one of the problems facing NFP organisations and their online presence was a lack of understanding, or even a fear.
‘One of the barriers is knowing where to go and what to use,’ he said.
‘(There’s) also a fear of using this technology without knowing what it’s used for, what the risks are and then putting it in the too hard basket.’
Hallett hoped that Making Links could inspire the not-so-tech-savvy and link them with others who were in the know.
One of the initiatives of Making Links is to explore grassroots social change with the aid of information and communications technology (ICT).
One of the most successful online campaigns this year has been the National Year of Action for Same-Sex Marriage from Equal Love.
Shane Cucow from Equal Love has helped organise the Perth rallies; combined efforts from around the country have rallied tens of thousands of people through online marketing.
‘Social networking offers a lot more opportunities for community organising than we’ve ever seen before,’ Cucow said.
‘We’ve gone from 100 people turning up to an action for equal marriage in 2009 to over 1000 people turning up to the latest equal marriage action (in Perth), all through organising online.
‘Some of the very successful campaigns like the GetUp! campaigns achieve this through using social networking, so by reaching out to the social/online areas … they’ve really been able to grow at an unprecedented level.’
Community groups can now reach out to their audiences faster and more effectively than ever before since the rise of social media and the WWW, Cucow said.
The Making Links Conference begins November 15 to 17 at the State Library of Western Australia. For more information, visit www.makinglinks.org.au.
Benn Dorrington
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