As part of the 2021 consultation of the GV Community Council, a poll was conducted to gauge support for different activities, approaches and models around which Global Voices could build its future mission.

The poll was based on Community Council 2021 Issue Paper: Global Voices @ 20, which lays out the context for the consultation, and defines the various “Models” that feature in the core questions of this survey.

The poll was conducted using Google Forms, and the results are below. Note that “open ended” responses have been removed to avoid identifying anyone, but they will be summarized and addressed in a follow-up post by our executive director Ivan Sigal.

Thank you to the Council members who gave their time and participated in the poll!

Which of these issues do you think are most important for Global Voices to address? Select three.

• Lack of access to information 16 (34.8%)
• Lack of contextual and explanatory analysis 30 (65.2%)
• Ingrained cultural biases and attitudes 22 (47.8%)
• State and state-affiliated politics, propaganda and disinformation 27 (58.7%)
• Sensation-driven news and media environment 15 (32.6%)
• Social media filtering and sorting 11 (23.9%)
• Ignorance of the languages of others 12 (26.1%)

Which of the following approaches do you think are most important for Global Voices to pursue to address this imbalance? Select two.

• Advocating for changes that support online human rights in political contexts 16 (34.8%)
• Making stories and information available in more languages 17 (37%)
• Fostering community-sourced news and information 11 (23.9%)
• Advocating for changes in social media platform and mass media outlet practices  10 (21.7%)
• Exchanges of knowledge and information grounded in local and personal experience 25 (54.3%)
•  Supporting community-driven news and internet advocacy leaders and organizations 12 (26.1%)

What changes would you most like to see in the world as a result of Global Voices’s work? Select two.

• Underrepresented communities create information and knowledge that positively influences civic life 21 (45.7%)
• People have the right and freedom to express their opinions on important civic issues 10 (21.7%)
• Stories with local perspectives are available in more languages 12 (28.3%)
• Networks and organizations outside the global north have significant influence in building a more people-centered internet 14 (30.4%)
• Media and internet platforms promote broad and diverse participation in civic discussions 9 (19.6%)
• Audiences have access to contextual information that helps them understand complex issues 24 (52.2%)

Which of these models do you consider to be most important for Global Voices’ mission. Select two.

• Building understanding across communities 23 (48.9%)
• Protecting and expanding human rights online 17 (36.2%)
• Fostering participation in the creation of civic knowledge 17 (36.2%)
• Restructuring information ecosystems 14 (29.8%)
• Incubating and catalyzing 7 (14.9%)
• Supporting the multilingual internet 14 (29.8%)

If you had to choose only one model, which would it be?

• Building understanding across communities 14 (29.8%)
• Protecting and expanding human rights online 8 (17%)
• Fostering participation in the creation of civic knowledge 6 (12.8%)
• Restructuring information ecosystems 7 (14.9%)
• Incubating and catalyzing 6 (12.8%)
• Supporting the multilingual internet 6 (12.8%)

Please explain why you chose the model you selected in the previous question.

Long-form answers omitted to ensure privacy.

Which of these models do you consider to be least important? Select two.

• Building understanding across communities 11 (25%)
• Protecting and expanding human rights online 11 (25%)
• Fostering participation in the creation of civic knowledge 10 (22.7%)
• Restructuring information ecosystems 17 (38.6%)
• Incubating and catalyzing 20 (45.5%)
• Supporting the multilingual internet 2 (4.5%)

Are there any models or approaches you think are important that we did not consider?

Long-form answers omitted to ensure privacy.

In what ways have you contributed to Global Voices?

• Translated a post 26 (55.3%)
• Authored and original post 34 (72.3%)
• Participated in conversations on GV’s Google Groups, Slack channels or other spaces 34 (72.3%)
• Conducted research 17 (36.2%)
• Edited stories 21 (44.7%)
• Managed a Lingua translation team 10 (21.3%)
• Led a regional newsroom team 11 (23.4%)
• Received a Rising Voices microgrant 0 (0%)
• Participated in a Rising Voices project 3 (6.4%)
• Other 10 (21.3%)

With which section/s of Global Voices are you affiliated?

• Lingua 20 (43.5%)
• Newsroom 21 (45.7%)
• Advox 10 (21.7%)
• Rising Voices 8 (17.4%)
• Civic Media Observatory 9 (19.6%)
• Other 9 (19.6%)

In what year did you join Global Voices?

• 2005-2009 39.1%
• 2010-2014 19.6%
• 2015-2019 26.1%
• 2020-Present 15.2%

How old are you?

• 18-25 13%
• 26-35 21.7%
• 36-45 32.6%
• 46-55 28.3%
• 56 and older 4.3%

What is your gender?

• Female 57.4%
• Male 31.9%
• Other 8.5%
• Prefer not to answer 2.1%

Are you currently an active contributor to Global Voices?

• Yes 84.4%
• No 11.1%
• No, but I’m planning to start contributing again soon 4.4%