| Merry Christmas |
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The TechSoup New Zealand team would like to take this opportunity to advise that customer support will not be available from 25 December 2008 and we will resume operations 5 January 2009. Please note that we will not be submitting orders to our corporate donors during this period so donation recipients should expect some delays. All other facets of the site will be operational during this time. We would also like to extend our gratitude to you, the supporters of the program, and wish you a safe and happy Christmas period
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| Survey of ICT use in NZ's Tangata Whenua, community and voluntary sector |
This survey is about the use of information and communications technologies (ICT) in our sector and follows a previous one in 2005, conducted by Professor Ted Zorn of Waikato University’s Management School. Survey forms have been posted out to over 3,500 groups and organisations in all parts of the sector and there is also the opportunity to complete the survey on paper or online at: www.mngt.waikato.ac.nz/ict/survey. Even if you haven’t been asked to participate in the survey you can still complete it online. Questions or comments about the survey can be emailed to tzorn@waikato.ac.nz. The results of the survey will be available mid-2009 and will reveal an up-to-date picture of ICT usage and needs for the sector. The survey is being conducted in collaboration with the NZ Federation of Voluntary Welfare Organisations, Waikato 2020 Communications Trust, and the NZ Council of Social Services.
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| We’re delighted to announce CommunityCentral is live! |
TheCommunityCentral an online space for people in tangata whenua, community and voluntary, public health and other organisations in Aotearoa New Zealand to work together, share and converse online.
NZFVWO Executive Director, Tina Reid, says that we took the lead a couple of years ago to develop a new web-based space where sector groups could work together online.
“We regularly found ourselves involved in joint project work with other organisations. We needed a tool where we could share project information, meeting planning and management as well as workflow that eliminated the flow of emails and document versions among us. The web was the one way we could better take care of this.”
“We were quickly joined by four other partner organisations, which, just like us, saw the immediate benefits of working together online for joint projects and networking.”
An early version of CommunityCentral is available at www.communitycentral.org.nz . You can:
- Join for free and sign-up to receive your email newsletters from organisations.
- Browse key sector collaborative projects—such as ComVoices and Workplace Wellbeing.
Coming soon will be private workspaces and networks. Watch out for these as these will revolutionise the way we work across the sector—you’ll be able to create or join a private workspace for keeping and managing your common sets of files and records. Also, you’ll be able to share ideas and discuss topics of common interest. Contact us if you’re interested. Go to www.communitycentral.org.nz/contact .
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e-Engage Your Community, Rotorua
Congratulations go to the Rotorua ICT Trust and the Rotorua Council of Social Services (ROSSCO) who recently hosted a successful IT learning day at Waiariki Institute of Technology – a hands-on opportunity for people from local sector organisations to get the feel for themselves of what’s on offer in the way of free tools on the internet. A variety of Web 2.0 tools were presented—social networking, Skype, online surveys, RSS, Google office tools (to mention a few)—with huge interest and curiosity from all those who attended. Most were motivated to start using these tools in their working day as quickly as possible.
This was the third e-Engage Your Community Conference held this year in New Zealand and more are planned for other areas. Watch out for one in your area.
TechSoup New Zealand Administration Fees
You may have noticed that some of our administration fees have increased recently. Like everyone else, the effects of the falling New Zealand dollar in comparison to the US means we have to make these adjustments from time to time. Please be assured that we are not increasing our base admin fees; we are simply reflecting a change to our costs in bringing you this valuable service.
Microsoft Launches New Online Resource for Nonprofit Groups
Would you like to have technology help your organisation achieve its goals but do not know where to start?
Microsoft have gone a long way to helping your non-profit organisation achieve this goal with the availability of NGO Connection, a new online resource for thousands of non-profit groups around the world. Driven by feedback from non-profit partners and years of experience working with nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), the online resource is designed to assist NGOs to more efficiently use technology to achieve their goals as well as to encourage networking and coordination of NGO resources across the world.
The primary goal of the new online resource is to provide a convenient and easy one-stop shop for technology resources, knowledge sharing, community building and real-life examples for non-profit organizations. By using simple, nontechnical terminology, NGO Connection endeavours to make it easier for NGOs to access the complete range of Microsoft resources and offerings, and help them effectively use other online resources for non-profit groups.
Please click here to experience it first hand at http://www.microsoft.com/NGO
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