Congrats to Megha Bhagat, Winner of HP Laptop/Printer Bundle Contest that I ran on my blog last month. To enter the contest, readers had to share their "Theory of Change." Megha is a passionate human rights advocate in India and also lawyer. Her blog is here.
Here's her theory of change and social media:
Social
Media was at one point of time just about what we read or saw in news
or heard over the radio. Then came in social media as an effective
mechanism to be able to catalyse change.Maybe the attention its got is
relatively new but no denying that its become today such a strong
change maker.
I am a lawyer by profession and presently a student of human rights law
in my masters at India. Going back to my under graduation days i can
say social media helped me bring together people for a cause time and
again. Today i use it effectively with maybe another handful of lawyers
spread over the country who communicate via mails and help in their own
small ways . My theory for a change has some linkages to my law
specific profession:
1. How to get Communities like the litigating, practicing lawyers effectively engaging on social media: It is still a fact that in India the lawyers who are practicing,are working in firms have a very very closed view on usage of social media tools. It is important to get them initiated into usage of social media. This becomes important for pro bono services. Some lawyers are ready to help people in distress in pro bono cases and in India you need a strong network of such lawyers. Getting the practitioners all across connected via social media tools ensures that this network is able to deliver services for the masses who donot have enough means for access to justice. Today i am a part of a small group like this, but we are people who are in a younger age bracket and have been using social media for sometime. The change is needed in the whole fraternity where in the sensitivity and readiness of lawyers to take up pro bono cases is encouraged by teaching them how effective social media tools can be for conversing with other like minded professionals etc.
2. Breaking the Myths about Social media: For a community like the lawyers its important to introduce them to the new age social media and what it has come to mean. It is important to make this community to realize that their services can bring about a change in societal access to justice delivery system and more importantly that social media is now not a waste of time but an effective tool for sharing experiences and getting motivated by work that others in their community do. Even as social media experts/trainers engage with professionals from all walks of community it is important that this community is also engaged in breaking their myths, apprehensions etc.
3. Every individual is a change maker: My experience with social media tools has been that conversations, discussions, arguements shared on discussion boards, forums, groups has brought the unconventional professionals to come ahead with ideas that can bring change. A lot of times these discussions have brought ahead an individual who probably would not engage in a certain type of case but is inspired and motivated by following the discusisons and gives his input which becomes an important idea for people like us who are into human rights practicing. It is therefore pertinent to constantly realize that, to bring together an effective change maker group of lawyers who are ready to provide justice delivery services, every lawyer we train in social media tools or even get introduces to such tools becomes an individual who can have an amazing idea.
For me personally i can envisage a system where in we have trained lawyers from all walks of practice in India, in effective communication via social media and such engagement can bring about at least a start of coming together of ideas, brain storming of changes needed and more importantly networks of professionals who are readily available for getting justice to the under served masses.
Megha Bhagat
Advocate
LLM student, NLSIU, Bangalore(Human Rights), India
[email protected]
Hi Beth! We really like your blog, and publicized this most recent post on our Facebook page. Hope you don't mind! http://www.facebook.com/revisionlabs
Posted by: Aurea Astro | March 10, 2010 at 09:44 AM