GNML Experience Reflection!!!

The GNML program has proved extremely useful to me.

The single most rewarding experience has been learning all the different kinds of social media tools and ways I can use them to publicize my social campaign. I was pretty excited when I made my first LinkedIn and Instagram accounts. After this program, I am beginning to see social media in a wa y i had never imagined before.

The single most challenging part of GNML was the commitment it required to finish the projects on time. Sometimes, I would have too many other things going on that I wouldn't have a chance to finish my project on time. But I'm proud that I have finished all of my projects though all of them were not submitted on time.

I plan to use my new social media skills to initiate my Social Media for Social Change Campaigns and in the process, asking people for their support. Through the social media, I would inspire them for action and what a difference their contributions can make. Also, I would use it to share success stories so that people know their work is bearing fruit. 

How I see myself using Social Media for Social Change in Future!!

The Global New Media Lab has helped me in countless ways with regard to my social media skills. i cannot thank enough the people from GNML who have worked hard to make this program a success for me and my fellow students. Here's my reflection on each of the social media.

Blogger: I really really enjoyed using blogger because it helps your voice to be heard in that vast social media network. You can write long posts, share success stories and get blog following and comments. For the first time in my life, I learned how to make some words clickable so that they lead to a link. Also, it was for the first time that I learnt how to embed my Instagram, Facebook an Twitter accounts to my blog. I'm sure i'll find blogger very useful in future as your audience can basically see all the places you're available at and follow you in different places and at the same time, enjoy your blogposts.

Twitter: I have never been very comfortable using Twitter and I still think it's not my favorite social media tool. Not many of my friends at school like to connect through twitter. However, I do realize that it's one of the most important social media tools out there so I'll try my best to make the best use of twitter in future when it comes to promoting my Social Media for Social Change Campaign.

YouTube: For me, Youtube is a very very powerful social media tool and I definitely see myself using it a lot in future. There's something about listening and watching interesting stuff that captures people's attention almost instantly. Also, I think the shorter the Youtube videos, the better because you don't want your audience to get bored. However, there's a problem in my country. For 2 years, access to Youtube has been denied to the local population because of a anti-Muslim movie that was released a while ago. There's some sort of fake access that people use but it doesn't always work. I might try to use Vimeo instead if Youtube is not accessible to me.

Facebook: Facebook is another one of the most powerful social media tools out there. aI can say that it's the one that I'm most comfortable with because I've had a Facebook account longer than any other account. Also, i have a lot of friends on Facebook so every time is send people invites to like my page, I get a decent number of likes. I feel like in future, Facebook would be my number 1 social media tool.

Instagram: I had actually never really owned a Instagram account before this GNML course, so i got very excited when I made my account. i found it pretty amazing to be able to post great pictures and post captions. I can see how images can prove so powerful when it comes to getting your message across. I am pretty excited about using it in future for my Social Media for Social Change campaign.

LinkedIn: As with Instagram, this is my first time having a Linkedin account and so far, I am enjoying it. I like how you can boast about your past experience, project, volunteer work and get people to make connections with you. I believe it's a great tool and something i would want to hang on to in future.

LinkedIn Profile

As of now, I am also available on linkedIn. Check out my profile here and connect with me!!

Government to ensure education access to common man!!

An exciting news story came through my weekly google alerts. The story talks about how the government is planning on ensuring increased education access to local man. The education minister has even went so far as announcing publicly that the education budget would be increased by a small percent every year. It's really good that the government is willing to try its best for better education. The more the government is into this cause, the more the chances of our campaign success. To read the full story, click here.

Roses blossom in Cholistan desert at last!!!

Last week, a really heart-touching article came up in my news alert and I am happy to share it with you. Here's the link. The article talks about how in a remote area like Cholistan desert, there were hardly any schools and how the hard work of several organizations led to the formation of and the approval of a huge number of schools in the area. It's a big achievement and looking at the number of girls and boys enrolled just makes me so happy because each of those girls and boys is having an opportunity to be educated and in future, be useful member of society. Also, it's surprising that the number of girls enrolled are more than boys which means that parents are more willing now to send their girls to schools than they were in the past.

Education For Girls

In Pakistan, lack of education is a big problem. However, when we dig deeper, we see that the most of the times, it's girls who are deprived of education. In this article that came through my Google alerts, a young girl from 8th grade comments with all her heart on how girls are discriminated against when it comes to education. I totally agree with her and I think if we are to advance as a nation, we have to stop gender inequality and give girls and boys both an equal opportunity to learn and educate. Not giving girls a chance to educate themselves is like ignoring one half of the intelligence of the entire population.  I strongly suggest reading this article.

Lahore Literary Festival

Here's another one of the great stories that came through my weekly Google Alerts. This story talks about a really great festival called the Lahore Literary Festival held in the city of Pakistan. In this festival, young audiences averaging 25000 people a day applauded criticisms and wider worries about the functioning of the country as well as enjoying other sessions on literature and art. People remembered and celebrated how Lahore had always been a centre of the arts. This news story came as a great joy to me because it really pleases me to see people taking great interest in education and showing concerns about lack of education in their country. Realization of this huge problem, I think, is a huge achievement in itself. 

"Teacher Education" Department built in Karachi University

Through my weekly google alerts, I got to know of another really major improvement in the field of education. Click here to read the full article about it. According to this story, a new "Teacher Education" department building has been built at the Karachi University with the $1.9 million worth of aid from USAID. It is a huge leap because it means that people and education authorities are beginning to realize that for a good education system, one of the most important priorities is the highly qualified teachers. by making this new department, the Karachi University is ensuring that all of its teachers are well-trained to do the crucial task of preparing youth for their future.