Last year a client asked me if I knew of a light-weight whiteboard that they could easily carry around with them when working in the field in Africa. I ummed and ahhhed a bit, but couldn’t suggest anything lighter than a foldaway aluminum one - which isn’t ideal. This isn’t the first time I’ve been asked this question strangely enough - it’s come up a few times in training courses. So, I was really pleased to stumble across the new magic whiteboard recently.
This very light option comes on a roll of statically charged sheets - just tear one off and stick it to whatever surface is in front of you (as in the picture). And each sheet is wipe-clean and can be re-used 20 times. So, it looks like this could be a really good solution for trainers working in either the developed or the developing world who don’t want to lug heavy materials around. It’s certainly cheaper than paying the excess baggage to take a whiteboard out with you. The website is http://www.magicwhiteboard.co.uk and they’re for sale on the UK high street in Rymans, which is where I saw them (see http://www.ryman.co.uk/Magic-Whiteboard-0351010170.asp#).
Here at Scriptoria the team supports Earth Hour, the global initiative to show commitment to energy conservation. So from 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm tonight we’ll be turning off our lights. Will you? Find out more below. And remember, the aim isn’t just to save an hours worth of electricity, it’s to make a commitment to work to cut unnecessary wastage of power throughout the year whenever you can - both at work and at home.
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Earth Hour invites one billion people in more than 2800 cities representing 83 countries to turn off their lights for one hour – tonight, Saturday, March 28 from 8:30pm to 9:30pm in their local time zone. On this day, cities around the world, including Paris, Sydney, London, Cairo, New York, Los Angeles and Cape Town, will join together to demonstrate their commitment to energy conservation and sustainability. Here’s how you can participate: (more…)
I was very excited this morning to see the photos of the booth that we recently designed for the Global Water Partnership. Launched at last week’s 5th World Water Forum, the booth’s design provides an attention grabbing boost to their already strong brand.
Though I wasn’t there myself, I’m told that it was a real success, with GWP’s dynamic team making the most of the opportunity to showcase the great work that their organization does around the world.
We’re very pleased to announce the launch of the new Global Forum on Agricultural Research website, as part of a whole communications strategy we’ve been developing for this important group. The aim of the work was to produce a vibrant, modern website that would guide readers to the information and tools they need. And the enthusiastic feedback so far suggests we’ve done just that.
So, if you’re involved in agricultural research, why not take a moment to visit the Forum’s new site? Simply running your cursor down the buttons at the side of each page will tell you what information is available in each section. And, if you have important news, events or publications to share with the world, this portal allows you to publish them instantaneously. To go to the site, click here.
I’ve spoken at various government meetings in Africa this month on the subject of development communications, and I’ve also given a couple of training courses with other members of the Scriptoria team. Several people at these events have said to me that something they find very hard is emailing PowerPoint and Word documents containing photos to colleagues - because their email simply can’t cope.
What people don’t seem to realize is that you only have to press a couple of buttons in Word and PowerPoint to optimize images and vastly reduce file sizes - which means you can send them to your colleagues almost anywhere in the world, even when their internet connections are very slow.
So, I’m posting here step-by-step instructions. I’d value your comments.
Like so many of you out there, I took the time last week to listen to President Obama’s inauguration speech.
One section in particular touched a nerve, as the new president made a strong commitment to tackling issues such as sustainable development, resource use, agriculture, water management, education, and health - issues that encompass the work done by most of the not-for-profit organizations we work with and about which we feel very strongly.
If the President lives up to his promises (quoted below) and (more…)
Well, we’re back after the holidays and a week spent clearing out overflowing mail boxes. So, I thought I’d kick off the New Year with something really funny. The video below was produced by the EU to encourage people to consider a career in research.
It’s a good illustration of just how effective humour can be in communicating messages. Here at SCRIPTORIA we’d like to see this sort of approach used much more widely among the sustainable development community. I hope you enjoy it. Do write us a comment to let us know what you think.
This is just a very short post to wish everyone a happy 2009 and to say thanks for taking the time to visit us and listen to our news and views.
Of course we’ll be here throughout 2009 talking about sustainable development communications to anyone who is interested. So, don’t forget to check in from time to time.
Did you know that there’s a raft of decomposing plastic twice the size of the continental United States stretching from Hawaii to Japan? I didn’t either until I read the proofs of Bioversity International’s Geneflow – a once-yearly magazine which we helped them to produce this year.
Now I’ve got to be honest and say that before we began working on Geneflow I’d never actually picked up a copy. I’d always assumed that it would be quite a heavy read focusing mainly on genetics. How wrong can you be?
It’s actually designed to be a light and easy-to-read magazine that covers subjects that range from climate change to poverty alleviation. (more…)
Well, the team are dismantling SCRIPTORIA’s booth and saying goodbye to lots of new friends in preparation for the trip home. It’s been a very busy but satisfying event partly because it’s given me the opportunity to conduct various focus groups with the donors attending.
The focus of these question and answer sessions was to ask the donors themselves what information they want to see more of and what systems of delivery suit their busy schedules best. You’ll be seeing the results of these sessions feeding back into the work SCRIPTORIA produces over the next year. So watch this space.
The point here, of course, is the fact that these kinds of focus groups are key to any really good (more…)
Last year a client asked me if I knew of a light-weight whiteboard that they could easily carry around with them when working in the field in Africa. I ummed and ahhhed a bit, but couldn’t suggest anything lighter than a foldaway aluminum one - which isn’t ideal. This isn’t the first time I’ve been asked this question strangely enough - it’s come up a few times in training courses. So, I was really pleased to stumble across the new magic whiteboard recently.
I’ve spoken at various government meetings in Africa this month on the subject of development communications, and I’ve also given a couple of training courses with other members of the Scriptoria team. Several people at these events have said to me that something they find very hard is emailing PowerPoint and Word documents containing photos to colleagues - because their email simply can’t cope.
Like so many of you out there, I took the time last week to listen to President Obama’s inauguration speech.
This is just a very short post to wish everyone a happy 2009 and to say thanks for taking the time to visit us and listen to our news and views.
Did you know that there’s a raft of decomposing plastic twice the size of the continental United States stretching from Hawaii to Japan? I didn’t either until I read the proofs of 
