Learning how to work more effectively across sectors and building new skills is an ongoing requirement for professionals. As a community and youth worker (and now a social media consultant) I believe people want to be feel connected, they want to belong, they want to feel valued and competent, contributing to their own development and the development of those close to them. Using social media tools help me feel this way and I recognize the same benefits coming to others who publish online and use web 2.0 tools in their work.

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Brent Learning Community, networks Learning Community, networking, ning, voicethread

I was very pleased that my suggestion to use Voice Thread as a community engagement tool for the launch of the PhotoVoice Project was accepted by the PhotoVoice Planning Committee. I was a member of this collaborative Project and when I came across Voice Thread, I saw the benefit to using this interesting social media tool as way to include comments from people attending the exhibit.

You can’t start the Voice Thread in this post as Word Press does not support this tool. You can click here to view the results of the community engagement tool. I think you will be impressed in how easy it is to use and the quality of the comments demonstrate the impact the photo exhibit had on visitors to the exhibit. Since then, the engagement tool was used at the Poverty Day event held at the Newmarket Municipal offices and we will continue using this tool as the exhibit moves around the Region.

The PhotoVoice Project is a project of the York Region Alliance to End Homelessness and the Krasman Centre. PhotoVoice is a participant action research method that puts cameras in the hands of those with lived experience to document their voices n efforts for social change. Hidden in Plain Sight is the Exhibit of photographs and narratives that the PhotoVoice Project put together over 18 months. The United Way of York Region and the Region of York provided much needed resources to launch the exhibit at the Varley Gallery in Unionville.

The PhotoVoice Project was launched at a wonderful opening night session on Friday, Oct. 3rd. On the following Monday the Exhibit was used to highlight the release of the Region of York Community Plan to End Homelessness.

You can click on this link to take you to the Hidden in Plain Sight community engagement tool that the planning committee used to gather comments and feedback from Exhibit visitors. Once you are on that page you can view all the comments made by those who viewed the pictures and listened to the presentations. You can also add your voice to the exhibit by following the simple instructions on the page. You can create your own identity or use the window blinds picture as a generic identity..

Brent Services, portfolio engagement, voicethread