Reported by Jimmy Chew
The APAC NGO Digital Transformation Summit was held at Google's headquarters in Singapore over three days, hosting over 60 non-profit representatives. The event was the culmination of an initiative that began with a Digital Capability survey, conducted by Infoexchange (www.infoxchange.org), to understand the digital maturity of NGOs and non-profit organisations across the Asia-Pacific region.
The survey was launched in February 2023, and the resulting Digital Capability Report was published in April. This then led to the formal establishment of the APAC NGO Digital Transformation programme, which opened for applications in June. Malaysian Nature Society Selangor Branch (MNSSB) accepted the invitation to participate in the programme, facilitated by TechSoup (www.techsoupmalaysia.org), where MNSSB had registered its NGO account. The 12-month programme is designed to provide a comprehensive, tailored approach, including coaching, online peer community sharing, and training webinars.
MNSSB identified two focus areas for the programme: conservation data capture and mapping automation, and digital marketing planning and techniques; MNSSB prioritised the former as its immediate focus area. Infoexchange and TechSoup began working closely with MNSSB from June 2023 onwards.
The Summit, held exactly one year after the start of the programme, aimed to bring together all the participants for face-to-face engagement, after many virtual meetings and coaching sessions. The three-day event featured presentations on various topics, organised into three main cohorts: Environmental Sustainability, Economic Empowerment, and Good Digital Citizenship. Participating NGOs and non-profits were given the opportunity to present their organisational objectives, digital transformation journeys and achievements, as well as their future plans.
The APAC NGO Digital Transformation programme is supported by Google.org.
Visit Infoxchange for more info.
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Google HQ, Singapore
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Participating NGO representatives
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Start of Digital Transformation presenters programme
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Forum session
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NGO engagements |
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Coffee break
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Breakout session
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Breakout session |
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Review of ‘parking lot’ notes |
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Group photo at end of event |