Teach Women English is dedicated to promoting economic opportunities for women in rural regions of Lebanon through English language education. Given the difficulty of accessing these peripheral locations, TWE has predominately relied upon traditional means of promoting our program in these remote areas of society, including face-to-face meetings, phone calls, and letters. As TWE grew, however, so did our need to expand our methods of communication and promotion.
The rapidly evolving world of online social networking offers opportunities for individuals, business, and organizations to connect with potential partners, sponsors, donors, teachers, students, and friends in ways never before possible. After attending a training session on the importance and uses of social media with E-MediaT, I decided that internet networking would be the best way to fill in the ever-growing communication gap among TWE participants and expand the visibility of the project in Lebanon. Early on in 2011, I created a webpage on Facebook to test whether or not this new form of social networking would be successful for TWE. Our site grew rapidly, becoming a popular place for our women to share their thoughts and photos of the program. It also became an important tool for disseminating information about upcoming events and changes with TWE.
I quickly realized that all women could benefit from the lessons I learned on effectively using social media, and added a ‘Social Media’ session to the Teacher’s Training and Orientation held in Faraya this November. Since the training, internet traffic on our Facebook site has drastically increased. Established members have been using the site more often, and we are constantly accepting new members! Our site has become so popular that I’ve decided to expand TWE’s online exposure to blogosphere, through Google’s blog page Blogger, in order to provide our followers with the in-depth information they crave. I hope that you will join me as I increase my internet savvy for the betterment of myself and TWE.
