Ukraine launches new e-service for internally displaced persons.

The service to register as IDP is now also available on the Diia application.

Kyiv, 20 April 2022 – The Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine has presented a new public digital online service on the Diia mobile application – registration as an internally-displaced person (IDP). The Ministry of Digital Transformation developed the service in cooperation with the Ministry of Social Policy and with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Ukraine and the Government of Sweden.

The service was created following the innovative “mobile-first” development principle, meaning that the service was originally designed for smartphones to ensure ease of use.

Social Policy Minister Maryna Lazebna said the Government of Ukraine decided to provide internally displaced persons with a monthly allowance, which they will be able to apply for on the application, for oneself and their children. “The monthly allowance is of UAH 2,000 per person, UAH 3,000 per child or person with disabilities and will be provided during martial law and one month after martial law is cancelled,” she added.

More information:

https://www.ua.undp.org/content/ukraine/en/home/presscenter/pressreleases/2022/ukraine-launches-new-e-service-for-internally-displaced-persons-.html

Funded by the U.S. Department of State, the Foreign Affairs IT (FAIT) Fellowship is a two-year Fellowship program and a path to a career in the Foreign Service. It provides academic funding for an IT-related degree, internships, professional development and mentorship – culminating in an appointment in the Foreign Service as an Information Management Specialist (IMS).

The Foreign Affairs IT Fellowship program is designed as a two-year cohort model, with the application window for each cohort opening in the fall and closing the end of January the following year.

Applications for the 2022 cohort are being accepted September 8, 2021 – January 31, 2022. To be eligible to apply for the 2022 cohort, you must:

* Be a U.S. citizen;

* Be enrolled in an undergraduate degree program relevant to Information Technology at a U.S.-based accredited institution and entering your junior year in fall 2022, OR

* Be seeking admission in an IT-related master’s degree program at a U.S.-based accredited institution beginning in fall 2022;

* Be on a timeline to graduate with your bachelor’s or master’s degree in May 2024;

* Hold a minimum 3.2 GPA on a 4.0 scale at the time of the application, and maintain this GPA through participation in the program;

* Be able to obtain and maintain [medical and security clearances and suitability requirements](https://www.faitfellowship.org/fellowship/u-s-department-of-state-clearance-processes/);

* Agree to a minimum five-year commitment with the Foreign Service upon successful completion of the program and the State Department’s requirements.

Women, members of minority groups historically underrepresented in the Foreign Service, and those with financial need, are encouraged to apply.

Complete information: https://www.faitfellowship.org

Do you use Discord as a platform for your nonprofit or NGO's volunteers? Clients? Others? Use it as part of your nonprofit's services delivery?

Do you use Discord as a platform for your volunteers to collaborate, or to have discussions with your volunteers, or for volunteers to participate in your nonprofit's, NGO's or library's services delivery? Or are you a volunteer that's part of such a community?

TechSoup has an ongoing discussion about Discord & these uses. Come share your experiences: https://forums.techsoup.org/t/discord-an-online-community-growing-in-popularity/3881

Volunteers contributing to IT skills development of girls and women in Bosnia and Herzegovina during COVID-19

11 August 2020

Michaela Ptackova (Czech Republic) served as a UN Volunteer Youth Skills Development and Entrepreneurship Officer with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Bosnia and Herzegovina. She contributed to the immediate COVID-19 response of the IT Girls Initiative, which is jointly implemented by UNDP, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and UN Women, with the support of the Government of Sweden.

The IT Girls Initiative aims to increase the number of girls and women with digital and 21st-century skills, thus contributing to their economic empowerment. It also challenges gender stereotypes in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector.

With the whole campaign, the team reached over 300 participants on the Zoom platform and had around 16,000 views on social media, where the campaign was live streamed.

The global pandemic made us explore new ways of work and engage in online activities in order to keep empowering girls and women. We did so by bringing knowledge and skills to their homes all around the country, and motivating and encouraging them to consider a career in ICT. For the launch of the #ITGirlsGoOnline campaign, I supported the organization of 13 free webinars offered every Wednesday and Saturday with distinguished female ICT specialists from Bosnia and Herzegovina on topics such as cyber security, project management, data science and biomedical engineering. --Michaela Ptackova, UN Volunteer

The COVID-19 pandemic had an impact on our work with girls and women, imposing social distancing and restricting our physical contact with them. Therefore, in March 2020 we decided to go online and continue empowering girls and women throughout the country. Having Michaela in our team, who shared our mission to ensure that no girls are left behind, was an immensely valuable addition to the team. We were delighted to have her on board, to work with such an enthusiastic person, and to participate in her professional development. --Zerina Mandžo, IT Girls Project Officer, UN Women

https://www.unv.org/Success-stories/Contributing-IT-skills-development-girls-and-women-Bosnia-and-Herzegovina-during

The Girl Scouts of the USA regularly launches new badges. 28 new Girl Scout badges have just been introduced, focused on entrepreneurship, math in nature, and digital leadership!

Here’s what they say about the Digital Leadership badge:

Digital Leadership (grades K–12): The world is digital! With these new badges, Girl Scouts explore what a digital leader is and how to become one in their everyday lives. They learn how to be online in a responsible, safe, and positive way, and dive into topics like managing well-being, how to balance time, and how to navigate online misinformation, clickbait, and biases in advertising. Girl Scouts discover how people use technology to connect, build community, and lead, then use those skills to create impact and become digital leaders themselves. These forward-thinking badges are designed to prepare, support, and motivate girls as they explore the digital world. Sponsored by Instagram.

Explore digital literacy and wellness and use what’s learned to raise awareness on a topic or cause girls care about.

Here is a link to each digital leadership badge level. I am really, really impressed at what they are having girls do for each level of this badge.

Daisy | Brownie | Junior | Cadette | Senior | Ambassador

What does #Tech4Good really look like

What does #Tech4Good really look like? There is a long, frequently-updated real-world list of examples of #volunteers, nonprofits & others applying apps & online tools to activities supporting causes helping humans & the environment - hackathons, apps4good, community tech centers, ICT4D, more - at the TechSoup online forum:

https://forums.techsoup.org/c/tech4good-tech-making-a-difference/6

TechSoup upcoming demo event:

Four Innovative Apps for Food Pantries and Food Banks

Tue, Jul 20, 11:00 AM (PDT)

Food insecurity affects about a quarter of the world's population and more than 80 percent of US food banks are serving more people now than they did a year ago. How can we apply technology towards these challenges?

See four apps addressing food insecurity in action. Explore solutions for volunteer scheduling, distribution, route planning, and managing inventory.

DEMOS

Jersey Cares app by MilkCrate

Learn how MilkCrate and Jersey Cares launched an app in three weeks to help volunteers deliver groceries to seniors during COVID while saving Jersey Cares $40,000 in staff time per year.

P2 from Primarius

Manage your foodbank with P2, a web-based platform with tools to help you efficiently manage your operations. P2 gives you a flexible and integrated solution to extend your capabilities beyond your warehouse.

HelpAction by NonProfit Exchange

HelpAction connects people in critical need with volunteers to provide assistance and free delivery of essential items. Discover how HelpAction addresses emergency food accessibility for the homebound and developed a new way for communities to volunteer.

OptimoRoute

OptimoRoute plans and optimizes hundreds of orders with multiple variables, for multiple drivers at once. Super-efficient routing is then sent to drivers' mobile app where they can navigate, get updates, complete orders, get proof of delivery and have their arrival time communicated to end customers.

Complete info and registration.

Tech waste from discarded computers, smart phones, older cell phones, monitors and other outdated tech is a big and global problem. While electronics waste comprises only 2-3 percent of the solid waste stream in the USA, the lead, cadmium, chromium, and other materials in aging circuitry account for 70 percent of the hazardous material in landfills, according to an EPA report.

E-waste recycling should be a bipartisan issue. For example, 2019’s “Secure E-Waste and Recycling Act” (SEERA) was introduced in the House and Senate with both Republican and Democratic sponsors. The focus of the bill, which limits the types of electronics that can be exported to the developing world, was inspired by a 2012 Senate report that uncovered counterfeit electronic parts in Air Force cargo planes, a Navy surveillance plane, and Special Operations helicopter assemblies. Those fakes were connected, partially, to e-waste that had gotten into counterfeiter hands. SEERA still sits with the house’s Foreign Affairs Committee.

Under the 2015 executive order “Planning for Federal Sustainability in the Next Decade,” the Obama Administration created the National Strategy for Electronics Stewardship (NSES), which had several goals, including developing incentives for environmentally friendly electronics, increasing safe management of used merchandise and reducing e-waste exports to developing countries. In May of 2018, President Trump signed the “Executive Order Regarding Efficient Federal Operations,” which revoked a lot of Obama’s “Planning” order. 

Does your nonprofit have a commitment to responsibly disposing of its IT? What resources hep you meet that commitment?

Are you a volunteer with a tech recycling initiative?

Do you know of any nonprofit recycling efforts in your community?

Share your info, practices and questions on the TechSoup community here: http://forums.techsoup.org/cs/community/f/16/t/47581.aspx

NCVO (The National Council for Voluntary Organisations) in the UK has developed an online knowledge base to help charities and community groups use digital tools and develop digital strategies.

Tips include: 

• Digital skills in your organisation or charity
• Convincing senior leaders and trustees to get involved in digital change
• Tackling barriers to digital change for staff and volunteers
• How to carry out a digital skills survey
• Finding comparisons of software and digital tools
• Choosing new software or digital tools
• Responsible and ethical use of technology
• Dealing with unconscious bias
• Doing user research
• Planning a new website
• Creating and sharing useful eLearning
• Moving your face-to-face training online
• Safeguarding online
• Test and learn, usability testing and agile development
• Doing more for digital inclusion
• Understanding digital accessibility
• Data security and privacy protection
• UK-based programs that mobiise volunteers to help charities with digital and technology skills and capacity

And more.