Workshop participants in Karachi (right) and Lahore (left).
“If you’re going to fall out of love with public approval, something interesting will happen: people will be deeply attracted to your work.” ― Jeff Goins
Social media has transformed the debate around democracy and access to information in Pakistan by giving citizens and activists the power to write about topics that are impossible to cover in the traditional media. To help support the voice of these new citizen journalists, CIPE Pakistan organized blogger training workshops on June 15 and June 29 in Karachi and Lahore.
Forty-three participants, mostly younger people, were taken through the process of creating blogs to publicly voice their opinion on issues such as corruption, women’s issues, entrepreneurship, and corporate citizenship. The event activities can be followed on Twitter with the hashtag #Pakbloggers and on Facebook at http://goo.gl/AyrCF.
Participants learned tools and techniques for effective blogging that can easily reach the masses. They learned about the importance of blogging; the challenges and technical issues associated with it; CIPE themes such as corruption, entrepreneurship, corporate social responsibility, and women’s issues; and how to use social media effectively in this modern age. The presentation is available at http://goo.gl/jldgo.
The participants were highly motivated to cover important issue, particularly corruption and the geopolitical situation, resulting in the development of the following blogs:
Geo Politics in South Asia and MENA
Enough!!!! Views on Women Issues around the Globe!
Take a Leap! A blog to Discuss Corruption Issues and Anti-Corruption Measures
Feminist Me
Lady UnderCover
Participants were of the view that these workshops helped them to better spread and market their ideas over social media. Topics covered so far on these blogs include:
- There is no panic about education in Pakistan. There is a need to take steps to build a better educated Pakistan
- Corruption is eating our systems and the future of Pakistan, which needs educated people to govern it
- Geopolitical crises, stories, and consequences in South Asia and MENA region
- How emerging women should be strong-minded, strong-hearted and strong-souled
- How has this CIPE’s blogging workshop helped bloggers?
- How to market home-made food items
- How private initiatives (philanthropy) are helping women world in Pakistan, focusing on quality of life
- How working women can seed a silent social revolution in Pakistan
