 Di@log
Studies have shown that there is an art to making a discussion forum work, and that this involves two essential elements:
• having someone play the role of "animateur"
• having a strong, clear sense of purpose
Consequently we are looking for two people to take joint charge of each of our forums. One will have the role of ensuring that the discussion is productive and lively (like a mixture between a facilitator and a compere), and the other will work with the first to develop direction, bring in guest speakers, introduce new items for comment, and suggest projects etc. The two must function very much as a team, and will have the authority to alter the course of the forum, suggest new forums, ask for more help, remove menbers, and/or cancel the whole thing altogether. The network administrator will be available for help wherever possible.
Take a look at the list of forums we offer. Would you have about two or three hours per week to invest in one of these roles? (any less is simply not enough). As you'll see, different areas of expertise are essential for each. Please don't volunteer unless you feel fairly confident of your knowledge in this area.
New solidarity
We want to be a network that makes a difference on the global stage. To do this we need skilled people, energy and resources. Can you help? Obviously fund-raising is a big part of it (not for the network itself - that's a separate problem!). On top of members' donations it would be great to have some experienced fund-raisers, or just people "in the loop", who could find ways to boost the solidarity fund. But we also need promoters, relief workers, medics, development experts, campaigners, report writers, people willing to organise protests...
Feature articles
We are hoping to produce a series of about ten signature articles on key topics each year. On top of this, there are the ones that you might suggest yourself. Bring it on! We need to identify a group of experienced writers from different backgrounds and regions who are also good at research and are keen to get their teeth into some of the more complex political issues involved with the New Unionism agenda. The ability to keep language simple and direct is essential, as our target audience is working people, not the academic community (because of this you may often feel more like a translator than a writer!). You will find lots of support is available in this work, as many of the folk in the network will be experts in the field. Naturally the writing will be credited to you, but all submissions will be made available for free download from our Online Library and published for New Unionism under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License.
Great networkers
We need to find enthusiastic people who can help promote New Unionism's work and projects. For instance we need people who can use their contacts to get the Solidarity Idol competition ticking over. We need as many submissions as possible, and this will only be achieved by promoting it in music papers and on newsgroups, other websites, mailing lists etc etc. We also need people who can work with the networks that deal with bullying in the workplace (for example) and encourage participation in the forum. We need people who can get articles about New Unionism published in union and NGO journals, write letters to the Editor or even get stories published in the general media. To some people all this comes naturally. To the rest of us it is just too daunting to think about. If you're the former, take a good look around the website and see if there's anything you like to get stuck into.
Support people
This is just a guess, but it seems pretty likely that at some stage we are going to come across people who really need help. People trying to build trade unionism in Colombia, Iraq or a number of other countries. People who are being harassed at work, and need to be helped in finding a good union and a support network. Those that are burnt-out and need a break. If you have appropriate connections, training and/or skills in this kind of area, please register as a volunteer. You may never be needed, but on the other hand your assistance at the right time may prove to be a turning point for someone in trouble.
NUTS
We need to find two or three people who can act as a team and co-ordinate the New Unionism Trading Scheme (or NUTS). It would be great if they previous experience with LETS or similar schemes around the world. It's work which involves a bit of data entry, a bit of promotion work, system development, a bit of trouble shooting, and a fair amount of encouragement to people who have often come to see themselves as worthless in a market-dominated economy.
Technical development
We are looking for a person who has solid experience with MS-Access 2000 database programming, and can help us develop our communications database in incremental steps. We also need help from time to time from somebody with good skills in writing PHP web pages for facilities such as web surveys.
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 Okay, I am a member of the network and would
like to offer some time and energy to help build New Unionism.
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