Thank You for a Groundswell Year
"To me, this is what digital technology is all about, empowering one woman to help empower another, bridging the gap between the urban and rural, the vocal and the voiceless" - Stella Paul, World Pulse, India
Log on. Rise up!
When our 2016 community impact results came back, my jaw dropped. The numbers represented a doubling over the previous year. Our online community members across 190 countries reported that networking on World Pulse had enabled them to empower a groundswell of 913,200 more people in their communities, thanks to their stronger community organizing, technology trainings, awareness campaigns, radio broadcasts, and girls education programs. And, that's just the beginning! In addition to running our safe, supportive online sanctuary for women 24 hours a day, World Pulse launched three new programs in 2016 designed to further elevate women community leaders who are using digital tools to make change. I hope you enjoy learning in the following report how your support made the difference for hundreds of thousands of women and girls with improved health, education, environment sustainability, ending violence, and more over the past year.
While we are proud of our progress, as we know too well, the global pace of change is still not happening fast enough for women and girls. It is painful to witness. Yet, as we head into more unpredictable worldwide social and economic shifts, I have utter belief in World Pulse's north star - the power of women to make positive social change combined with the power of technology to unite us and speed up this change. Together we are on a mission to advance the pace and unlock the creative human potential of women and girls globally to make a difference - one click, one comment, one connection at a time. Thank you for your steadfast partnership on this journey. Log on. Rise up!
Yours in solidarity,
Our Network
Our online community is making transformational digital connections 24 hours a day
The World Pulse Model
We are a digital accelerator for emerging women leaders to increase their impact
Stories of Impact
These are just a few of the 913,200 lives our community reported they impacted in 2016 thanks to your support!
Nakinti, Cameroon
Champion for Girls Education
“90% of our girls live in places with no telephone, no electricity, no radio signals, no accessible roads; the list is long. We launched ‘Girls Lead’ clubs in schools to educate and empower young girls in topics they know little or nothing about such as sex education and Internet technology.”
Nakinti’s clubs bring powerful skills and resources to girls in villages throughout rural Cameroon, teaching 165 girls the basics of digital technology and providing them with solar powered lights and chargers so they can study for school. By networking on World Pulse, Nakinti gained confidence to begin her clubs and raised $3,000 from online supporters, fueling her goal to impact 1,000 girls in the next year.
Sister Zeph, Pakistan
A 'Malala' with a laptop providing free digital education to girls
“Now is the time to bring technology to all women in the world who are not connected so that all women can think equally. If women do not share their stories with the global community, there is no solution.”
When she was just thirteen years old, Sister Zeph started recruiting girls to attend free classes at her open-air school in rural Pakistan, where 52% of women are illiterate and issues like child marriage and honor killings run rampant. Through mentors and resources she found on WorldPulse.com, Sister Zeph secured a significant grant to build her own school, where she now works with fellow teachers from around the world to livestream a full curriculum (including coding lessons) for over 200 students annually and growing.
Araceli, USA
A university teacher collaborating with rural communities in Kenya to build mobile medical health services
“I am forever grateful to World Pulse for being the spark. Now that the health and economic situation of the communities have improved, for the first time we have a computer center and we can now introduce the girls to World Pulse – it’s a beautiful circle.”
As a public health teacher at the University of Wisconsin, Araceli dreamed of engaging her students to make a real difference in rural health care. After logging on to World Pulse she connected directly with women leaders in Kenya who were eager to partner with her. Five years later, Araceli has successfully established a service-learning program called "Health by Motorbike" that serves remote regions of Kenya, working hand in hand with local women leaders and her students. Today the health programs are sustainably run by local women leaders, serving 7 villages and 120,000 people resulting in significant improvements in health and economic indicators.
Urmila, India
A Menstrual Empowerment Revolutionary Breaking the Silence Worldwide
"Using technology and internet is important for women to access information. That is why I talk about World Pulse whenever I talk about periods, sexual and reproductive health because it trains women on digital skills and empowers them."
Urmila Chanam is determined to break the harmful stigma around menstruation in India, where 23% of girls drop out of school when they get their first period. She's boosted her on-the-ground education outreach—and her growing global social media campaign—by using World Pulse to speak out, attracting material and moral support from around the globe and sparking similar movements in Nigeria, Malawi, Uganda and Rwanda. Today, Urmila has reached over 7,400 girls with life-changing access to information and resources.
2016 Online Community Survey
"As a result of my participation with World Pulse, I . . . "
The magic of World Pulse
Time and time again, we witness soulful online connections deepen into real-world impact for women's lives
"For me, World Pulse remains an ocean of resources! Time and time again I tap into it for my personal and organizational development. The people I connect with keep me inspired and motivated to do my work mobilizing women with water, sanitation, and climate change intiatives" - Olanike, Nigeria
New Programs
In 2016, thanks to you, World Pulse launched three new programs to elevate and strengthen women changemakers everywhere
Our online community has been clamoring for more leadership opportunities and in 2016 we delivered! Our new Impact Leaders program equips the most high-impact women digital changemakers with seed funding, promotion, and advisors to help her achieve her goals. Story Awards is our new storytelling for social change program where our editors promote the best stories rising from our network to media outlets and provides financial compensation to the authors. Our new cohort of Ambassadors are World Pulse's on the ground wave of digital trainers who are ensuring women in their communities are confident to use the worldwide web to share their voices, access resources, and take action.
Introducing our Academy
Due to popular demand, we converted our women's digital empowerment trainings into an online Digital Changemaker Academy
Thanks to your support, in 2016 we established the first global online academy for grassroots women leaders to learn how to use digital tools to make social change. The curriculum features a suite of training levels from beginning to advanced on multi-media storytelling and online movement-building. Our most recent class of 30 advanced graduates from Syria to Jamaica reported that they went on to impact over 10, 023 more women in 21 countries within 2 months with their digital action campaigns and offline movements!
A few of the global challenges they are tackling: Programs to end honor crimes and child marriage. Safehouses and resource centers for women fleeing violence. Mobile maternal heath services. Economic empowerment for women with disabilities. Water and sanitation programs. Solar power programs to support girls education. Legal initiatives for forest conservation. Campaigns to end the stigma of widowhood. Political campaigns to put more women in office. Safe cybercafes for women to access economic resources, and much more.
New user experience
Designed for deeper connections that support our members to make more change
In November we rolled out a new user interface that features easier sign up, topical and regional customization, resources embedded in stories to drive more impact, and a new interactive giving option called Changefunders.
World Pulse voices featured
In 2016, 70% of women's stories that were promoted by World Pulse's editorial desk were picked up by media partners
"Thanks to World Pulse, a place where there are no stigmas or taboos, a place where you can tell your story without being judged or laughed at, I summoned enough courage to tell mine for the first time. My story was picked up by Time.com and shared with an even larger audience. I am humbled and honored. - Marie Kuja, USA
Future Forward
The timeline for women's equality just got moved up
With great pride, we thank you for your support of our impactful year using digital communication to lift and unite the unheard voices of women into a force for global change. We look forward to continuing to learn with you as we push ahead to activate World Pulse’s worldwide growth and expansion. In 2016 we are proud to have unveiled our new strategic plan to digitally connect 10 million people to women changemakers who in turn mobilize 1 billion more in their communities across the globe.
This year we are launching a three-year $15 million fund campaign to fuel this plan and grow our Changefunder revenue model to become a sustaining funding stream for our operations. In 2017 we will make vital strides forward on our plan by expanding three areas: digital training, global outreach, and impact tracking, ultimately strengthening more women leaders to change the lives of millions more in their communities. Our digital empowerment training programs will grow to reach 10,000 more women from marginalized regions globally who create a multiplier effect in their communities from the US to India. We will also expand our global storytelling and outreach partnerships to double our network of online supporters who are strengthening these top women changemakers with moral and resource support. On the technology front we are excited to launch the first phase of a unique online Impact Dashboard which will motivate our users to track their real-world impact in fun, achievable steps. This dashboard also help World Pulse better capture and understand our members' impact, which we believe is under-reported today. These are just a few of many steps forward we will take in the next year with your support to exponentially grow a connected movement of women who are using their digital skills to rapidly transform their social, economic, and political conditions for the better.
We look forward to partnering with you in this historical endeavor. We are grateful to take our next steps with you to speed up the change and ensure that at the click of a button every woman and girl can be heard, connected, prosperous, and free.
