[Ilugc] Re: [OT] Volunteering - ways and means
- From: technocraze@xxxxxxxxx (senthilraja P)
- Date: Wed Jun 18 21:02:26 2008
/** I agree about effective management of volunteers.
But then the managers in such activities/events are also volunteers, as
humans they are not perfect. Individuals from these "10 to 20
volunteers" should also take on leadership when they see a gap, instead
of just following and looking for instructions from "managers."
**/
the managers are visionaries.. the rest are volunteers :)
My opinion is that we dont have leading volunteers.. (including myself)..
we are ready to contribute.. But, we expect some one to lead us..
This is the basic problem in volunteering in india...
I am working in wordpress and i am member of the maling list. but the core 6
members are the visionaries who knows the entire structure of the
wordpress..
Some suggestions:
-------------------------------
1. Not everyone can do every work. There is a need to analyse, plan and
split up work, which itself is a big task.
Can we form a team and do this? ie, to identify core areas of volunteering,
the works to do, to collect volunteers, and direct them..
This team should focus only on managing..
2. Volunteers who will be working on the ground.. they will be freed from
the hassle of managing everything, and hence they could concentrate only on
the work they have to do...
Ways to promote FLOSS:
-----------------------------------------
1. To assist in developing skillset among academics. Once the professor
gets empowered with knowledge, it diffuses to the students.
We can start with selected colleges, and create a model..
2. Create a platform, to network interested students and the academics
across tamilnadu..
the mailing list is not an one shop for all purposes.. this is just for
communication..
3. To form a team to lobby colleges, to adopt floss, and related management
processes.. this lobby team would contain the network of teams who has in
one or other way some influence over college management..
4. To evolve a Open source policy, which would guide us long term. Now
ILUGC is a directionless ship.. (apologise, if i am wrong or if i have
hurted any one).
Some introspections:
----------------------------------
* Today, i spoke to my sister, who is working as a professor in an
engineering college. She has good influence over the management too..
I told her about the use of open source softwares such as wiki, blogs,
forums, groupwares, mail server, to enhance students & syllabi managment.
She told, she dont know anything.. (she has completed ME, and completed a
project in neural networks).. and asked me teach those..
I realised the enormous gap b/w academia and the industry professionals..
This is one area we need to addres as core thing.
* When we propose anything to college staffs or management, the first thing
they want to know is how they will be benefitted.. this cannot be avoided,..
but when we could project some paradises ( :) ) out of open source
softwares, they will surely adopt..
For eg, we can project that they can showcase some technological
implementations to AICTE to get good feedback..
Secondly, we can project some cost savings, in terms of operational
management, by using wiki, mail server, etc
also, they have the next big advantage of attracting new students by
showcasing these simple implementations..
* when we could create initial batches of students with knowledge in key
FLOSS softwares, i believe, it will spill over to successive generations..
Any thoughts?????
Regards,
Senthil
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