Network – Page 2 – TechSoup Asia Pacific

Addressing Organizational Challenges in the Vietnamese Nonprofit Sector

In the 2016 Nonprofit Organization Annual survey carried out by Lin Center Vietnam, results showed that about 41% of the nonprofits in Vietnam who participated in the survey found technology a challenge : many commented they did not have relevant skills or knowledge on how to best utilize technology.

As a nonprofit dedicated to helping the local Vietnamese nonprofits, LIN Center addressed these technological barriers by organizing two webinars on “Effective Presentations” and “E-mail marketing” for their partner nonprofit network. The webinars which received more than sixty participants, introduced the basics of social media, and how to turn technology into a tool to improve overall organizational efficiency.

Besides the webinars, LIN Center also published online tool kits via a virtual classroom, accessible to their partner network of more than 190 civil society organizations in Vietnam. The e-learning topics include management, human resource, strategic planning, and volunteer management – common issues that nonprofits around the developing world face.

Lin Center provides an array of support services to help increase the capacity of local nonprofits in Vietnam. To learn more about Lin Center and their impact stories, click here.

The Master of Disaster: Teaching Disaster Risk Reduction Through Play

Straddling the typhoon belt and the Pacific Ring of Fire, the Philippines ranks among the top five most disaster-prone countries in the world. On average, the country experiences 14 disasters annually, affecting millions of people every year.

To create a culture of proactive disaster preparedness and response among the youth, Asia Society for Social Improvement and Sustainable Transformation (ASSIST) is developing the Master of Disaster (MOD) – an inclusive, fun-packed, and informative board game targeted at youth. The game aims to teach children of different abilities and varying educational backgrounds how to prepare and actively respond to the most common disasters in the Philippine.

Currently in its final stages of development, the project will be complemented by a digital disaster education platform that houses modules and child-friendly content that adults can share with children.

Reintroducing TechSoup Korea

South Korea is popular for several things, many of which are ICT related – the world’s fastest Internet speed, world’s most innovative country in the Bloomberg Innovation Index, Asia’s highest youth digital literacy rate, and Asia’s most e-ready government.

Combining a highly skilled and literate work force with more than 90% of the population having access to Internet, it is no surprise that TechSoup Korea has become a household name in the Korean nonprofit sector.

At the end of April, TechSoup Korea hosted an event for more than 80 people from sixty nonprofits. The half-day event re-introduced the TechSoup Global Network and TechSoup Korea’s suite of current product offerings, as well as qualification criteria, validation standards and processes (based on Korean tax laws and regulations) to qualify for technology donations.

The event ended with an engaging discussion about the technology needs and preferred software of the nonprofit community. The discussion was useful for TechSoup Korea in understanding the growing needs of civil society in Korea, and outlining a list of potential donors and products to include in the TechSoup Korea catalogue.

Technology for Good Day 2017

The “Technology for Good Day” event, formerly known as “NGO Day”, has established itself as a key platform for non-governmental organizations (NGOs), public and private sectors to exchange experience, develop partnership and explore new ICT and strategies in meeting social needs of all kinds. It also signifies the 13^th year collaboration between Microsoft Hong Kong Limited and The Hong Kong Council of Social Service (HKCSS) in enhancing the ICT capability of NGOs.

The theme of this year is “The Complete Cloud for Modern Nonprofits – Achieve More for Social Good”. Fruitful programmes include conferences, break-out workshops, exhibition on cloud solutions, case sharing by NGO speakers, and 1:1 Ask the Expert professional consultation service. The details are as follows:

Date: 21st March 2017 (Tue)

Time: 10:00am – 5:30pm

Venue: Microsoft Hong Kong Office @ Cyberport

Details and Free Registration: https://aka.ms/j59hl6

Vietnet-ICT : Going Beyond Face-To-Face Training

In partnership with Microsoft Vietnam, Vietnet-ICT, one of our partner NGOs in Vietnam, conducted several Tech4Good events over 2016. More than 150 organizations representing 117 nonprofit organizations attended the workshops held over a 3-month period in Vietnam.

In addition to the face-to-face training sessions, Vietnet-ICT also co-developed a website providing technical support and knowledge for Vietnamese nonprofits. Articles and video tutorials on technology and Microsoft products are available for nonprofits, with the goal of helping them gain access to discounted and donated software.

Since its inception in 2013, Vietnet-ICT has reached out to more than 200 organizations and helped 111 organizations receive donated and discounted software and technology.

Click here for more information on Microsoft’s Tech4Good event.

Facebook Training for Nonprofits in Tokyo

In collaboration with Facebook Japan, Japan NPO Center and TechSoup Japan co-organized a social media training for Japanese nonprofits titled “Nonprofits & Facebook”. The training received 49 attendees from 46 nonprofits in Tokyo.

Facebook Japan volunteer lecturers shared their insights on a few key current issues relevant to nonprofits:
i) The impacts of Facebook on nonprofits
ii) Ways for nonprofits to leverage on Facebook
iii) Ways to develop marketing and events on Facebook

During the Q&A time, after the presentations, there were lively interactions between FB lecturers and the participants.

Civil Sector National Conference 2016

In November 2016, our Japan partner NGO, Japan NPO Center (JNPOC), held a biannual conference titled “Civic Sector National Conference” where leaders and future leaders from various nonprofit sectors, academicians as well as representatives of business and government sectors, came together to discuss current and future issues in the Japanese civil sector.

Themed “Power of the Private Sector in Question: Considering Future Society from Local and International Perspective” the conference received over 250 participants from various fields and sectors across the country and region.

Chris Worman, Senior Director, Alliances and Community Engagement of TechSoup Global Network, made a keynote speech in a breakout session “Possibility of new ways of participation and problem solving using technology”.

In his presentation “Assuming Digital: The Internet, Civil Society, Millennials, Megatrends and What to do about it”, Chris discussed the importance of technology in civil society, and how the involvement and understanding of the millennial generation is so important, in what is known as a a convergence of ‘Megatrends’.

Chris Worman, Senior Director, Alliances and Community Engagement giving his keynote speech

Part of Chris’s speech, graphically illustrated to highlight his key points

For more information on the Civic Sector National conference, click here.

Taiwan: 2016 NGO Connection Day

Every year, we tour in different cities around Taiwan to explore new ICT innovation and trends with NGOs. In 2016, we hosted six events around Taiwan with topics covered “Office 365: Sharings and Experiences of NPO”, “Powerful Tool for Social Workers: Visio with Powerful Pedigree Stencil” and strategy of social media contents. 499 attendees, representing 309 local nonprofits. Those event was co-sponsored by the local MS office.

For more details, please visit our blog.

Hong Kong: ITRC Forum 2016 – Computing Everywhere

In December 2016, Hong Kong’s I.T Resource Center (ITRC) organized the ITRC Forum 2016 themed Computing Everywhere.

The forum served as a platform for nonprofits and ICT solution providers to meet and share relevant technology trends and development.

The main objective of the forum was to encourage the adoption of ICT applications among nonprofits, which in turn contribute to a better service delivery to the needy in our community.

Over the years, the world has witnessed breakthrough developments for mobile devices and rapid advances in communication technologies, alongside a remarkable penetration rate of smart mobile devices.

The technology environment has urged nonprofits to re-design their services, incorporating mobile technologies, to engage and serve their clients, and to streamline their operations.

ITRC will present research findings as part of helping the nonprofit organizations plan their mobile endeavors.

For more details, please visit http://itrcforum.hkcss.org.hk.

Hong Kong: Macau ICT Forum 2016

The Macau ICT Forum 2016, co-organized by HKCSS and the Social Work Bureau of Macau Government, is held at Macau on December 14, 2016. The aim of the Forum is to facilitate the understanding of ICT trends and the role of ICT in delivering and advancing social services for NGO coworkers. The Forum includes keynotes, system demonstrations and ICT workshops, and is well-attended by 140 NGO coworkers in Macau.