E-support

Project duration - from 1993 until today and further on…

The purpose of the project is to facilitate the participation of NGOs in Croatia towards the positive changes in society through logistics and the use of information and communication technology (ICT).

Goals of the electronic support project:
- To provide technical means and new technologies in order to enable networking and cooperation among the NGOs in the country and the whole region
- To collect information important for the efficient functioning of the organizations and their viability
- To enable services which supplement the limited capabilities of the organizations in cooperation with the media and promotion of their activities in the public
- Active promotion of their work and the value of civil initiatives dedicated to non-violence and community development

The project directly supports organizations involved in the protection and promotion of human rights, independent media, journalism and publishing, women's groups, independent educational projects, youth projects, psychosocial projects, organizations involved with environmental protection and other alternative art projects in Croatia.

Local organizations and members of international non-governmental organizations and foundations are amongst the 350 regular ZaMirNET users (subscribers).
The average number of ZaMirNET's web visitors in September was above 10000.

The use of ICT for presenting the activities of the NGO's
The usefulness of Internet is underestimated and there are a few organizations that systematically promote their activities through this media. A lot of NGO's don't have enough skills to create content suitable for dissemination through the Internet, although some of them have participated in training for web publishing. The organizations often do not recognize the potential of new technologies or the specific advantages this technologies can have for promotion of its work and values of the organization. Financing is an important factor, because web design and maintaining, as well as web hosting, are not available to all NGO's, especially when a lot of organizations are having trouble with covering their basic office costs.

Information and communication technology can be used for the distribution of information important to other organizations and citizens for their competent participation in creating public politics and general decision-making. In that way, technology is used with a purpose of democracy development. Better promotion of NGO activity on the Internet also enables easier involvement of the young population that often and with ease uses the Internet. In that way it is possible to get the support of wider public for the civil actions, which unfortunately today attract a small number of people.

Enabling information exchange
NGO coalitions that carry out campaigns on a national level require an efficient and reliable information structure. Quick and efficient sharing of information is critical for the coordination and efficient functioning of various coalitions and networks. But travel costs are high: the price of conferences, accommodation… all these are expenses which a lot of NGO's cannot afford themselves. That is why there is a need for a large number of lists on a national, regional and local level. An efficient service is also needed, which will create web sites in order to inform and recruit citizens as volunteers, create useful databases containing information available to NGO's, but also to the local and regional media.
Besides that, logistics that enables the systematic exchange of information also supports regional co-operation and in that way contributes to diminishing the consequences of war and nationalist politics. Connecting people from various ethnic groups and various religions can prevent new conflicts. It is important to create an alternative source of information, since the mainstream media often contribute to the escalation of conflicts or distracting the attention of the public from the real problems. In that way, citizens can have access to information from an independent source, which enables them to compare information, and really choose the relevant ones.
This makes it possible for the public to supervise and control the work of the public administration, which is sometimes unrealistically presented by the mainstream media.
Basically, ICT enables organizations that work as promoters of civil society to develop stronger coalitions and significantly influence issues that are important for the society in general: disarmament, human rights protection, peace building…

Online education
There is no permanent, free education in topics that are important to NGO's. Trainings which include travel and accommodation costs are too large expense for many organizations which, on the other hand, have a need for education suited to their specific needs. The capacities of training organizations are insufficient because of the limited number of capable instructors on one side, and large needs by the organizations, on the other side. Consulting is also expensive because persons who can offer such services are usually to a maximum degree involved in the work of their original NGO's and don't have enough time for traveling.
Information and communication technology can successfully make distance learning possible and provide on-line training on the basic and advanced levels.
Educational material can be permanently accessible on the web in the native language, and for those who speak English the size of available educational material is unlimited.
Besides, it can be noted that discussion between organizations on important topics are held only occasionally. Lot's of important ethical and theoretical questions remain insufficiently discussed and the attitudes remain uncoordinated. Internet can facilitate the organization of discussions on issues important for the everyday work of organizations and help defining the ideological platforms for their activities. Further on, online discussions allow the participation of wider public, not only NGO's. This can contribute to the defining and public presentation of NGO attitudes towards certain issues and help the wider public understand the ideological background of the NGO activities.

Internet accessible archive
The documents of civil initiatives are arranged in various NGO offices. Most of them are carefully collected and selected. Unfortunately, they are not elaborated and accessible for the wider audience, so they cannot be used for educational purposes, i.e. for students, and/or for public awareness about the accomplishments and relevance of civil initiatives. There are also valuable documents that can strongly support the advocacy of NGO's.
We also believe that the documentation can provide a valuable and encouraging insight into the activities of self-organized citizens who work constantly towards positive changes in the society.
A systematical maintaining of such archive documentation can provide information about the real effects of NGO's. Besides the wider audience, donors and relevant governmental institutions can utilize this information when establishing criteria and priorities for assigning funds to organizations or, the other way round, the NGO's can utilize indicators of their efficiency during lobbying for change of politics towards the NGO's.

Activities
- Internet access
= 24 hour Internet connection and e-mail services

- E-support
= creating and facilitating electronic conferences, mailing lists, forums, chat rooms
= hosting NGO web sites on the ZaMirNET server
= user support (telephone and on-line) 7 hours a day
= software installation for new members
= minor hardware repairs
= logistics support for civil activities
= software solutions for on-line petitions and research

Online education and training
1. Online discussions on various topics like:
= social reforms and health care system reform
= passing laws concerning NGO's - the status of general welfare organizations and tax exemptions
= governing for results
= the antiglobalist movement
= war and human rights
= strategic use of ICTs

2. Basic online training on:
- NGO management
- writing project proposals
- fundraising
- volunteer work programs
- project evaluation
- public advocacy
- public relations for NGO's

- technical (ICT) education and training
= training in using Microsoft Office
= basic training in MS Word, Excel, Access
= basic Internet training - e-mail service and searching the net
= training in installation procedures for basic software programs
= Windows installation and setup
= Microsoft Office installation
= anti-virus programs installation and maintenance
= basic training in hardware maintenance
= advanced training in web development
= web design training
= training in server maintenance, LINUX

For organizations located in Zagreb, training can be organized upon their request. ZaMirNET technical team will provide the training. We have several years of experience in working with information-communication technology. This training will enable NGO staff to easily and competently use ICT.

- web design
= designing and creating web pages for organizations and civil initiatives

ZaMirNET designers were awarded the HR WEB TOP 100 Prize in 2000 for the ZaMirNET web site (www.zamir.net).

The organizers, "Vidi" publishing house, Croatian National Television (HTV) and Croatian Telekom (HT d.d. - HiNet) chose the ZaMirNET web site among 657 other sites.
Also, BUG, an informatics magazine, awarded the web site of Youth Club "Mocvara", designed by a ZaMirNET's web designer.

- Design of NGO advertising material
= creation of visiting-cards, annual reports and leaflets

- Information service
= web portal with NGO news
= Croatia/the region/the world
= Cross posting (redistribution of information received through various mailing lists)
= Tenders and vacancies in the non-profit sector (advertising)
= NGO database of the wider region, thematically and geographically organized
= Advertising of civil actions and campaigns - volunteer recruitment
= Announcements and reports on happenings (conferences, meetings, etc.)
= Links to various web sites