• Twestival was born from one event in London in 2008 and has since grown exponentially, with over 200 cities getting involved, raising more than $1.2m
• Dubbed ‘Live Aid 2.0’, Twestival Local is wholly organised by volunteers
• Twestival debuts this year include Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia and the Tunisian capital, Tunis
• The event will be broadcast across the globe online and will break the world record for the Most Charities Supported By A Live Internet Broadcast
• The Twestival events planned in Japan have been abandoned following the recent earthquake and tsunami disasters, although Twestival has moved to support the country with a dedicated channel of fundraising for Save the Children’s Japan initiative

Quotations

Twestival founder, Amanda Rose (@Amanda) commented:
Twestival has grown from a single tweet to the biggest synchronised charity event in the world in under three years. On Thursday, thousands of volunteers, most of whom have never met in person, will pull together amazing events as varied as the cities that host them, raising thousands for charity in the process. This is so much more than just another charity event; this is the evolution of fundraising.

As Twestival is continuously evolving, we are able to adapt quickly and although we are maintaining a local focus everyone felt it was important to also leverage our global voice and extend support for international crises like the current situation in Japan. Starting March 24th we will have a dedicated fundraising channel at http://Twestival.com and our team of Japanese organisers will still contribute by working with Save the Children’s Japan Emergency Fund to ensure the money we raise has the maximum impact.

 

Alberto was invited to speak at the first Corporate Reputation and Reputational Risk Executive in Madrid this month. Organised by the Instituto de Empresa School and the Corporate Reputation Forum, composed of 15 of the most powerful Spanish businesses, the event was the first training course in leadership and management of corporate reputation and risk to be held in the country.

• The talk was on Alva’s unique software, which for the first time enables companies to accurately measure corporate reputation and manage reputational risk
• Alva monitors over half-a-million news and financial announcements, trading and analyst reports and social media comments a day to assess the impact on the reputations of companies by industry sector
• Presented was Alva’s unique approach to MBA alumni at Cass Business School. Located in the heart of London’s financial district, Cass Business School is a leading provider of business and management education
• Its MBA is recognised globally as a market leader and the school is ranked in the UK’s top 10 business and management research establishments.

To download the full press release, please click here.

According to research by Corporate Reputation Analysis firm Alva commissioned by the Times, Bentley, Mazda, Volvo and Jaguar lead the automotive sector in terms of reputation over the past three months. Bentley has seen the benefits of this with a 26% increase in sales year-on-year, while Jaguar has enjoyed strong global sales and positive reaction to its concept electric sportscar, the C-X75. Mazda and Volvo were both rated highly for the perceived value for money of their models.

Fiat per formed worst in the reputation analysis, largely thanks to a decrease in sales and industry analysts worrying about its future with Chrysler. Seat, Kia and Alfa Romeo also performed poorly, along with Toyota, which received low marks due to poor communication and lack of transparency over its global recall crisis.

To view this article on The Times website, click here.

So the way that the energy companies communicate with their stakeholders during this controversial, costly and disruptive, period will be critical to their success in manoeuvring successfully through these challenges with their businesses and reputations intact.

Latest technology allows full analysis of issues

Using the latest analytical techniques, Alva evaluates all media coverage of the issues facing the industry and measure its impact on the reputation of the energy companies involved. As well as monitoring traditional media, Alva reviews more than one million sources of data in real-time, including the internet, blogs, Twitter, brokers’ notes and social media channels.

The traditional media often give utilities a rough ride, but social media provides them with an opportunity to engage directly with customers, says Jonathan Evans.
Utilities are no strangers to media coverage – for good or ill. As regulated (or part-regulated) industries of national importance, this is no surprise. Crucial issues today include multi-billion pound investment programmes, global and national climate legislation, security of supply and pricing.
The traditional national and trade media tend to focus on such issues: a potential national energy crisis, pricing, the need for energy infrastructure investment and the appropriate energy mix – fossil fuel, nuclear or renewables. Sometimes the government appears the villain in this coverage, with utilities portrayed as innovators and entrepreneurs. At other times, depending on the mood or political persuasion of the media in question, utilities are presented as corporate fat cats.

Windows of opportunity
The advent of social media has given a voice to a group that five years ago had much more difficulty being heard – individual consumers. This has changed things. Instead of weighing in on one side or the other of well-known debates, blogs and tweets provide a window on a consumer-dominated conversation, where the language is emotive and the views are black and white. The issues here are personal: the impact of rising energy prices, fuel poverty and poor customer service. They largely label the energy providers as faceless corporations interested only in profit and unmotivated by customer satisfaction.

Twitter, in particular, has become a platform for the people (see chart below, “Overall coverage split”) and the reputation of the energy companies is constantly under attack. If utilities fail to understand the groundswell of social media opinion, they could well suffer significant consequences in reputation.
The IT industry responded well to the advent of social media, with companies such as Dell using Twitter as a customer service contact line. The difficulty is that most utility companies do not know how to engage successfully with consumers. When utilities have a presence on the internet they tend to be very corporate or a stiff, faceless customer service operation. The “social” element of social media is ignored and communications often lack the human element and personality.

It’s good to talk
While utilities may feel their main job is to provide power and water, not engage with consumers, failure to do so could have significant consequences. For instance, why shouldn’t customers blame energy companies for price rises if their concerns are not addressed, where they air them?
Engaging in the rollout of smart meters will be crucial. Research shows that many people see smart meters as just an opportunity for the energy companies to gain more control. Engaging with the market about the benefits, through social media as well as traditional media, will be essential to gain acceptance and support for the initiative.

So what to do? The answer is simple but the execution takes commitment. Utilities must evolve and begin a conversation with their customers. Today, many people feel comfortable communicating through the internet and social media, and that must be addressed. Where the traditional media has disseminated information through a one-to-many channel, the internet requires a one-to-one, personal dialogue. Utilities that fail to engage could find themselves losing control of the conversation.
The chart (“Coverage by issue”) shows renewables was the most covered energy topic in the period May to July 2010, while the table above shows that Eon dominated the headlines. British Gas divided opinion most, topping both positive and negative coverage leagues.

Jonathan Evans is the energy & utilities consultant analyst at Alva, which specialises in analysing corporate reputation and reputational risk. 
Email: info@alva-group.com

To view this article on the Utility Week website, click here.

• The event was organised as an ‘act of random kindness’ by Arkº
• The half-naked ‘Arkers’ then ran through London performing acts of kindness to  commuters
• Already a massive online movement, the event marks its official launch in the UK
• The concept of Arkº is that every time you wear the brand (a non profit organisation) you perform one act of random kindness
• Founder, Cameron Stewart, 20 took part in the run, having brought the 50+ runners together on Facebook and Twitter

Alva today launched the In Sight Automotive, the first of its new range of corporate reputation analysis services. The services are designed to allow organisations to build reputational risk assessment and analysis into their day-to day business processes to ensure reputation is managed in the same way as any other business asset.

• The In Sight Automotive is a sector-based report drawn from traditional and social media. The service provides organisations in the Automotive industry with a unique overview of the issues, trends and risks behind the news and social media chatter
• Alva In Sight for the Energy & Utilities and Financial Services sectors will follow shortly, with 32 industry sectors planned in total.
• Forthcoming Alva services will include: Alva: In Depth, Alva: In Research, Reputation Management Consultancy and the The Alva Reputation Forum
• Alva recently secured venture capital investment from a group of investors led by the Cass Entrepreneurship Fund.

To see the full press release, please click here.

• The new agency will be responsible for all Xacti communications in the UK
• Manifest will develop SANYO’s online presence, including management of its official Twitter stream and Facebook fan page
• SANYO chose Manifest because of their industry knowledge, creativity and pioneering online tactics
• Established last summer, Manifest has already developed an impressive stable of clients including WISE and ILFORD PHOTO
• Manifest was appointed in January and began work immediately on the account

The full press release can be downloaded below.

الدوحة، قطر – 19 تشرين الثاني/نوفمبر 2009: توصّلت الجلسة الختامية للنسخة الأولى من مؤتمر القمة العالمي للابتكار في التعليم WISE اليوم إلى عدد من النتائج المذهلة التي تنبىء ببداية حقبة جديدة من التعاون الدولي في مجال التعليم. وقد اختتمت أعمال مؤتمر WISE بإعلان الأولويات العشرة الأساسية للتعليم وبالكشف عن مبادرتَين جديدتين بالاضافة الى تجديد الالتزام بالمجالات الثلاثة الرئيسة التي سيركّز عليها المؤتمر في المستقبل.

وقد عُقد مؤتمر WISE في الدوحة- قطر بحضور 1000 شخص من أصحاب الرأي النافذين القادمين من قطاعات متنوّعة من كافة أنحاء العالم. وقد ولّد المؤتمر بموضوعه “التعليم العالمي: العمل معًا من أجل إنجازات مستدامة” ديناميّةً جديدة تسلط الضوء على سبل معالجة أبرز مايواجهه التعليم في القرن الحادي والعشرين.

وقد شدّد الدكتور عبدالله بن علي آل ثاني، رئيس مؤتمر القمة العالمي للابتكار في التعليم WISE ونائب الرئيس للتعليم في مؤسسة قطر، على أهمية التوصّل الى اتفاق بشأن أولويات التعليم الرئيسة على المستوى الدولي معتبراً أن تحقيق هكذا توافق في أوساط المجتمع الدولي في النسخة الاولى للمؤتمر كان بمثابة إشارة واضحة إلى الالتزام والتركيز اللذان ميّزا المشاركين في المؤتمر.

The first WISE event ended with ten key strategic priorities

وقد شرح الدكتور آل ثاني قائلاً: “إنّ مؤتمر القمة هذا يشكّل بداية عملية ابتكار طويلة الأمد وطريقة عمل مؤتمر WISE حتى الآن كانت شاملة وواسعة النطاق إلاّ أنّها تنبع من اساليب عمل مركَّزه. وفي خلال الجلسات العامة وجلسات العمل، أصغى المشاركون باهتمام إلى المساهمات المقدَّمة والاهتمامات الأساسية التي عبّر عنها المشاركون، عاقدين العزم على الانتقال من النقاش إلى نتائج ملموسة. ويعتبَر تحديد هذه الأولويات الاستراتيجية الـ 10 إنجازاً بحدّ ذاته إذ أنها تشكّل توافقَ آراء ما بين قادة التعليم العالميين حول المسائل الأساسية التي سوف تؤثّر على التعليم وتحدّد ملامحه خلال القرن الحادي والعشرين.”

أما الأولويات الاستراتيجية العشرة المعلنة في القمة فهي:

-         الحصول على “نوعية” في التعليم

-         مقاربة مدمجة كلياً

-         مواطَنة عالميّة

-         تعليم متجذّر في المجتمع المحلّي

-         حماية التعليم والمعلّمين

-         المصالحة

-         “روّاد WISE ” يرصدون التقدّم

-         إبتكار أساليب جديدة للتعلّم

-         العمل على تحقيق التنمية المستدامة

-         مستقبل مبني على الشراكة بين أصحاب الشأن المتعدّدين

ويشكّل تحديد الأولويات العشرة خطوة أولية أساسية في العملية التي ستؤول الى البحث عن حلول مبتكرة وذات صلة بالاضافة الى تكييف أفضل الممارسات الدولية وتنفيذها بشكل مستدام.

بالإضافة إلى ذلك، كشف مؤتمر WISE عن مبادرتين تجسّدان إعلان المبادىء، أولهما إقامة شراكة بين مركز الشفلح للأطفال ذوي الاحتياجات الخاصة وجامعة ساوثرن كاليفورنيا بهدف تطوير  ممارسات وأدوات دولية مبتكرة للأطفال ذوي الاحتياجات الخاصة، وبشكل خاص للذين يعانون من التوحّد، وثانيهما إنشاء “معهد القادة في التعليم” (The Institute for Education Leadership) ينظّم عدداً من الندوات والدورات التدريبيّة المتخصّصة في كافة أنحاء العالم للقادة في ميادين التعليم على كافة مستوياتها.

وتأتي هذه الشراكات والمبادرات الحديثة لتنضّم الى جوائز WISE التي تساهم في وضع بنية جديدة ومستهدِفة تتصدّى للتحديات التعليمية الأكثر إلحاحاً في القرن الحادي والعشرين.

وانطلاقًا من الأولويات الـ 10 التي حُدِّدَت خلال الأيام الثلاثة، أوضح مؤتمر WISE كيفية مساهمته في قيادة التغيير في مجال التعليم في المستقبل.

سيشكّل مؤتمر WISE منتدى لصياغة جدول أعمال يحدّد المجالات التي تستلزم القيام بأنشطة في قطاعات التعليم كافة وسيسعى الى اشراك الشركاء المناسبين لذلك.

سيشجّع المؤتمر الممارسات والمنهجيات والشراكات المبتكرة ويحث أيضا على استخدام التكنولوجيا الحديثة.

سيسعى مؤتمر WISE الى الاستفادة من الدينامية التي استحدثها مؤتمر القمة الافتتاحي لإحاطة الرأي العام علماً ولإدراج التعليم كأولوية على جدول الأعمال السياسي والاجتماعي والاقتصادي.

وبعد أن جرى التأكيد على الطابع السنوي لمؤتمر WISE، واستعداداً لقمة العام 2010، سيسعى المؤتمر بثقة وتصميم كبيرَين الى تأمين استدامة مشاركة المجتمع الدولي بأسره من اجل رسم ملامح التعليم العالمي للمستقبل.

روابط خاصة بمؤتمر WISE:

Declaration of 10 core education priorities for the 21^stcentury

The closing plenary session of the first World Innovation Summit for Education – WISE has produced a number of ground-breaking outcomes that signal the beginning of a new era in global collaboration on education. WISE concluded with a declaration of 10 core education priorities, an announcement of two initiatives and a renewed commitment to the three main areas of focus for WISE in the future.

Held in Doha, Qatar and attended by 1,000 influential opinion leaders from diverse sectors across the globe, the Summit, through its theme of “Global Education: Working Together for Sustainable Achievements” has created a new dynamism towards addressing the most challenging educational issues in the 21^st century.

Highlighting the importance of reaching agreement on key educational priorities on a global scale, Dr. Abdulla bin Ali Al-Thani, Chairman of WISE and Qatar Foundation’s Vice-President of Education, said that achieving such a consensus among the international community in an inaugural summit was a clear indication of the commitment and focus among delegates.

Dr. Abdulla explained: “This Summit represents the beginning of a long-term process of innovation. The approach of WISE to date has been comprehensive and wide-ranging, however action springs from a focussed approach. Throughout the series of plenary and breakout sessions, we have been listening very closely to the contributions and the key concerns of the participants with a firm commitment to move from debate to concrete outcomes. The identification of 10 strategic priorities is a milestone as it represents a convergence among global educational leaders on the key issues that will affect and shape education in the 21^st century.”

The 10 strategic priorities declared at the Summit were:

• Access to ‘quality’ education

• A fully integrated approach

• Global citizenship

• Education embedded in the local community

• Protecting education and educators

• Reconciliation

• ‘WISE pioneers’ to monitor progress

• Innovating new ways to learn

• Pursuing sustainable development

• A future built on multi-stakeholder partnership

The identification of 10 priorities constitutes a crucial preliminary step in a process that leads to research of innovative and relevant solutions, adaptation and implementation of international best practice on a sustainable basis.

In addition, two initiatives were announced that exemplify the declaration of priorities: (i) a partnership between the Al-Shafallah Centre for Children with Special Needs and the University of Southern California to develop innovative, international practices and tools for children with special needs, in particular those with autism; and (ii) the creation of ‘The Institute for Education Leadership’ to offer a number of dedicated training seminars around the world to newly-appointed educational leaders at all levels.

These newly-formed partnerships complement the WISE Awards in terms of devising fresh, targeted enterprises that address some of the most pressing educational challenges faced in the 21^st century.

Based on the 10 priorities which were defined during the three days, WISE also refined how it will contribute to drive educational changes in the future.

• WISE will be an agenda-setting forum which will define areas requiring actions across all sectors of education and will seek involvement of appropriate partners.
• WISE will promote innovative practices, methodologies and partnerships, making best use of modern technology.
• WISE will seek to build on the momentum of the inaugural summit to inform public opinion and put education as a priority on the political, social and economic agenda.

Confirmed as an annual event, WISE, in advance of the 2010 Summit, will seek with confidence and determination to create and sustain a pragmatic and powerful international community that will help to shape the future of global education.

Connect with WISE: