THE WORLDWIDE CONNECTION PROJECT
Our mission is to Make Poverty History, but bottom-up:
create grassroots outreach on a global scale
use the internet to link up rich and poor communities across the world via a Worldwide Connectory
provide almost half the world's population with new virtual neighbours every ten years
By sharing out the world, we can bring it much closer together
The Worldwide Connection Project (WCP) is all about successful international partnerships.
The first pilot project will link part of Houston in Texas with part of Kampala in Uganda (scroll down for further details of this, plus a link).
This picture shows the Kampala Junior Team, just one of many community organisations that could benefit from a WCP partnership
Q: What is the Worldwide Connection Project?
The Worldwide Connection Project will pair up small geographical areas - a district, part of a city or a larger rural area - so that every part of every poorer country will be given a partner area from one of the world's richer countries.
Or vice versa if you prefer - every area of every economically developed country will be randomly allocated a similar sized area from a developing country.
The paired areas will be given a duty to connect with each other to
- share experiences
- support some of the existing development projects
In addition, they may want to
- plan new development projects
- organise exchanges
- enter into new partnerships
Each paired area will contain about half a million people. So the partnership will involve a total population of about one million. Both areas will share a duty of responsibility for the interests and well-being of both partner areas.
The details of how this might work in each partnership area will be down to the members themselves. The project's aim will be to publicise the process and offer a framework of encouragement and support.
Q: How will this work?
The work of apportionment (dividing the world into equal sized portions) has already been completed. By the summer of 2008, a total of 4,800 areas had been defined: List A contains 2,400 areas from poorer countries & List B 2,400 from richer ones. On 21st September, 2008, an independent third party requested a random number sequence that has now determined exactly how the 4,800 areas are to be paired up for the initial five year period, commencing on 1st January 2010. Details of some individual pairings to be used in piloting the process will be announced soon.
The pairings have been decided in a reputable and confidential manner, making use of a random number generator to ensure that all pairings are determined freely and impartially, in a process in which each List A area will have an equal chance of being paired with any one of the List B areas.
Q: Who can take part?
EVERYONE!
Individuals are welcome to get involved.
So too are local groups and organisations.
These are just a few examples of what people might do:
- Recruit others & together find out more about their partner area by online and library searches, through contacting community organisations & making direct contact with people living in their partner area
- Establish links between organisations in both partner areas - especially between branches of the same worldwide organisations or between groups with shared or similar interests
- Form a local Connection group in your own neighbourhood with representatives from local organisations
- Start a blog or website about the partner areas
- Post pictures or articles about aspects of either partner area
- Make sure news of the partner area is reported in the local media
- Support the charities & non-profits already working within the partnership areas. (The locations in which these organisations are currently working will be included on this website)
- Invest in microfinance schemes. As little as $25 or £15 could assist in starting successful businesses and community enterprises
- Establish links through local students currently studying in their partner area
- Work with local charities, non-profits & CBOs to draw up specific plans of ways in which people in either partner area might help, especially in the fields of health, education, agriculture, water supply, sanitation, microfinance and IT development.
- Publicise the Worldwide Connection Project and get local organisations and media outlets involved in planning how they might make best use of working in partnership with people from their partner area
- Stage an exhibition about life in their partner area - take the exhibition on a publicity tour around their own area: help to plan the staging of a simultaneous event in their partner area
- Plan and publicise exchange visits to further mutual understanding
Q: How can I get involved?
Volunteers will be needed in each area to help get things started.
The first person in each area to make contact with this website will be invited to serve temporarily as the official Contact Person for the area. A register will be kept via this website of the Contact Person for each area.
These will be people whom local volunteers may contact to find out how they can work locally with others. Once local Contacts are working with a number of others, they should create and maintain their own area membership or mailing list and keep track of their own local members. We hope that in each area they will try to form an Area Connection group with agreed procedures and rules for the election of officers.
It may work out best if you are able to recruit others to the project at the same time you join up yourself, perhaps by publicising it at your place of work, place of worship, or neighbourhood centre.
It costs nothing to join!
For further information, just contact The Worldwide Connection project via the website below.
http://www.ned.com/group/wwc/
THE FIRST PILOT PROJECT
CLICK HERE for news of the first Worldwide Connection pilot partnership
involving Houston, Texas and Kampala in Uganda (the picture above
shows the victorious Kampala Junior Team with soccer trophies
won in Kenya)
