5. Staying connected
All EMM workers should consider how and to what degree they are “connected” to EMM. Generally, EMM workers publicize this connection, and EMM publicizes the work and the worker. This public relationship is valuable and effective in sharing the values and purposes for which we exist.
However, for some workers, safety and sensitivity concerns will prevent them from publicly connecting themselves with EMM. For these workers, some of the tips below may not be possible. Workers should speak to their regional representatives and/or strategic coaches to discern what safety precautions are right for them.
Contact us with your story ideas
EMM has multiple media platforms where your stories can be shared: newspaper, magazine, radio, web, and more. We diligently read your newsletters and blogs to glean stories, but we also highly encourage you to contact us with any significant events or interesting potential stories from your time overseas.
Some stories are best expressed as news releases. News releases can be picked up by news publications, and often reach a wide audience. A story must meet several criteria to become a news release: 1) The story is usually about an event that affects a group, a community, or the public in some way. 2) There is a sequence of events from the beginning of the story to the end, with the occurrence of some kind of outcome or steps taken toward a hoped-for outcome. 3) EMM workers and/or EMM work play a significant role in the story.
Topics that often make good news releases include community development work, the foundation of new organizations or institutions, the implementation of new ideas, significant meetings between groups, and stories of transformation. When in doubt, err on the side of sharing your story with EMM. We can help discern if it is an effective story as a news release or as another type of story. Try to tell EMM in a timely fashion: news stories tend to lose relevance with time. If you are involved in an event that you think may be newsworthy, try to take pictures. News releases are always stronger with pictures to accompany them.
Stories that are not well suited to the news release style can often be told in other ways. Stories about meaningful interactions, transformation on a smaller scale, everyday life in your country, and personal reflections are all great for radio, magazine, and/or web. We welcome your stories, ideas, and feedback. Contact EMM’s writer/editor with your thoughts.
If you are serving in a sensitive location, this does not mean that your stories cannot be shared. Precautions are always taken when sharing stories from workers in sensitive locations, such as using pseudonyms or omitting unsafe information. Advancement staff will always work carefully with you to ensure that your stories are told in a way that is safe for you.
Send us your photos
If you love to take photos, we would love to see them! Advancement staff maintains a large electronic photo database; we will add your photos to our files and use them in our publications as needed. Please do not send photos with content that you would not want to share publicly.
EMM website
Check EMM’s website at emm.org to see what is happening in other parts of the world. You are part of an international community. If you produce a blog, let us know and we will put a link to it from the website. We appreciate it if you also link your blog to EMM’s home page (as sensitivity allows). If you can, connect with us on social media too! Feel free to hashtag your photos #emmissions on instagram. Feel free to tag Eastern Mennonite Missions on your Facebook photos.