How to Volunteer Your Skills for COVID-19 Digital Response?

Online Worldwide - May 14 - RSVP Now

COVID-19 has everyone wanting to do something. The urge to help is noble and necessary. And since so many aspects of our lives are now digital because of quarantine and lock-downs, we all want to get involved with COVID-19 Digital Response.

Volunteering can be a great idea, but if not managed or executed well, volunteers can feel that their skills and time are being misused or unappreciated, and organizations can end up re-directing their resources to support volunteer initiatives that don’t provide benefit to those who need it the most, or finding that their efforts have limited or negative impact.

When technologists create things without engaging with the people, institutions, and systems that are managing or responding to crisis and humanitarian efforts, they might end up re-inventing the wheel or creating products and tools that have little utility, duplicate existing efforts, or distract from the most urgent needs in the response.

Past crises and experiences offer lessons regarding where volunteer skills add the most value and have the most impact. We can apply these lessons to how we create volunteer opportunities, how to find opportunities, how we show up as volunteers, and who we listen to about what is needed the most.

Please RSVP Now to join us for our fourth Salon in the Tech in the Time of Coronavirus series to discuss how to make the most of volunteering for COVID-19 Digital Response. We’ll kick off with short talks from:

Anahi Ayala Iacucci, co-founder, Standby Task Force and member of the Crisis Mapping Community
Angshuman Sarkar, Principal Consultant, ThoughtWorks
Ellie Hale, Design Hops and Communities Lead, CAST; Co-organizer, London Tech for Good
Mala Kumar, GitHub, Social Impact, Open Source for Good

Please RSVP Now to engage with your peers around questions like:

What kinds of tech skills are needed during COVID-19?
What does it take to set up a volunteer opportunity that has a positive, lasting impact?
How can volunteers find existing, sustainable, relevant, and worthwhile opportunities?
What does it take to be a useful tech volunteer?
What are the risks associated with Tech volunteerism?
What are the ethical implications of building tech during an emergency?
Why do organizations often prefer that you donate rather than volunteer?

Following key thoughts from our lead discussants, we’ll move into breakout rooms for a moderated discussion on their and your reactions, thoughts, and inputs.

Even online, space is limited to foster intimate conversations, so please RSVP now and be sure to note the Relevance section in your application to attend! Once we reach our discussion capacity there will be a waiting list!

Tech Volunteering during COVID-19
May 14, 11am-1pm Eastern Time
RSVP required to attend
A link will be provided to confirmed participants

About the Technology Salon

The Technology Salon™ is an intimate, informal, and in person, discussion between information and communication technology experts and international development professionals, with a focus on both:

technology's impact on donor-sponsored technical assistance delivery, and
private enterprise driven economic development, facilitated by technology.

Our meetings are lively conversations, not boring presentations, and frank participation with ideas, opinions, and predictions is actively encouraged.

It's also a great opportunity to meet others motivated to employ technology to solve vexing development problems. Join us today!