Imagine a world where every message and every comment has the power to make a difference. As a Social and Behaviour Change volunteer, I'm here to show you how Online Volunteering is shaping a better future for people. My name is Marharyta Starynets and I am an Online Volunteer.
Every action makes a difference. At times, a very small action can have a huge impact.
The war in Ukraine set my volunteering into motion. As a Ukrainian, I saw families torn apart, displaced, and fleeing to neighbouring countries. Supporting Ukrainian refugees and migrants became the impetus for my volunteer action. It all started in 2022 when I was part of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees' (UNHCR) personnel and was stationed as a Field Assistant in Italy. I was at the Italian-Austrian border welcoming people as they flocked to the border areas and needed emergency assistance. Eventually, the enormous flow of people started to wither but my desire to help had only ignited.
It was then, that I started to look around for volunteering opportunities and felt that I had found my calling.
I started an Online Volunteer assignment in June 2023 with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Romania and I am still serving in the same assignment. As a Social and Behaviour Change Online Volunteer I support the people affected by the war in Ukraine.
One of the most effective tools we use in our daily activities is called social listening. This means monitoring and analyzing conversations and trends on social media platforms. Through this, we gain insights into needs, concerns and behaviours of the communities we serve.
What is social listening? It's like having big eyes and big ears on social media.
Social listening makes us understand what people are talking about and what they need. Imagine if you could listen to millions of conversations happening in real-time. It almost feels like having a superpower to hear what people are talking about on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and more.
We use special tools and software for social listening. The tools help us track keywords, hashtags and media mentions. We use social mention techniques on platforms such as Telegram to gather insights and share important information on various social media channels. Furthermore, we research the challenges facing Ukrainians who have temporary residence status in Romania through weekly reports to ensure our tracking efforts support their specific needs.
As an Online Volunteer, I collect digital feedback and create social media posts. These posts are translated in Ukrainian and Russian for broader outreach.
Social listening seems far more complex than it sounds. That's especially true in instances where we are dealing with different language mixtures and dialects that the tools might not understand. That's where my role comes in handy. For instance in some Ukrainian villages, people speak a mix of Russian and Ukrainian called 'surzhyk' and it's certainly not easy for social listening tools to catch on. Here my role is to read through social media posts, comments, and messages, and try to make sense of the communication.
While social listening tools are super helpful, sometimes there is simply no substitute for good old-fashioned 'listening' and 'understanding.'
Being an Online Volunteer comes with its set of challenges as well. Adapting to different time zones, dealing with technology glitches, digesting troubling information about people affected by war, all of this takes a toll on a person. On the positive side, working together with others on projects hones teamwork and interpersonal skills. Plus volunteering is a great way to see the inside workings of an organization. A sneak peek into your future career as well!
UNICEF visionary and an advocate of children rights, James P. Grant said, "The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today." Let's leave behind our fears and worries, and use empathy and technology to see if we can make a difference in the lives of others. I do so by being an Online Volunteer!