As part of the 2023 Community Council consultation on the benefits people gain from participating in GV, and the incentives offered to contributors, we conducted a poll to gauge the Council's opinions on the topics outlined in this year's Issue Paper.

This year's Council broadly addressed the question of how to ensure that members of the GV community remain motivated and are supported and empowered. The paper reviewed the foundations of our community model, and the goal of the Council discussions was to test the current model for strengths and weaknesses, assess its viability in the context of various Global Voices sections and projects, and come up with plans and ideas for how to make it stronger and more sustainable.

Ninety people—about 45% of the Council membership—responded to the poll.

About the poll respondents

Section 1: Benefits & incentives

The first poll question offered members a list of current benefits and incentives and asked:

Which current benefits or incentives matter most to you? (Select all that apply)

“Being part of a global network of writers, translators, researchers and activists” was the option selected by the largest number of respondents. “Improving your skills, knowledge, and work experience” and “Having a platform to share information about your country and community” were in second and third place, respectively.

Section 2: Restructuring newsroom benefits and incentives

The second set of poll questions were about the newsroom.

1. Indicate which of the proposed features for restructuring the newsroom you are in favor of seeing implemented.

“Expanding initiatives such as co-productions, paid research and writing opportunities, and fellowship program” was the option selected by the largest number of respondents. “Clarification/structuring of contributor benefits and creating new incentives” and “Commissioning budgets for regional editors” were second and third, respectively.

2. What kind of effect do you think the restructuring of newsroom benefits and incentives will have on Global Voices?

A plurality of respondents thought the restructuring of newsroom benefits and incentives would have a “Positive” effect on Global Voices, with the second largest group selecting “Very Positive.”

Section 3: Media training

The third set of questions were about media training.

1. How important do you think media training is for Global Voices contributors?

The majority of respondents said that media training was “Very important” for Global Voices contributors. 22% of respondents said it was “Important.”

2. In which types of media training would you be interested in participating? (Select all that apply)

“Media literacy and narrative analysis” was the option selected by most respondents, with “Advanced training in online research, open source investigations” a very close second, and strong support for the other options as well.

Section 4: Community Clubs and Conversations

The fourth set of questions were about Community Clubs and Conversations.

1. What features of the community clubs and conversations initiative do you find most important? (Select all that apply). 

“Open to all contributors” was the feature of clubs and conversations the largest number of respondents considered most important. “Discussions lead organically to actions” and “Community-driven process for proposing new clubs” were second and third, respectively.

2. How likely are you to participate in community clubs and conversations?

A plurality of respondents said they were “Very likely” to participate in community clubs and conversation.” 31% selected “Neutral”. 

Section 5: Building/modeling the social media of the future

The fifth section of the poll was about building the social media of the future.

1. How interested are you in the idea of Global Voices building a social media initiative?

A plurality of respondents said they were “Very interested” in the idea of building a social media initiative. 26% selected “Somewhat interested.”

2. Which features of a social media initiative do you find most appealing? (Select all that apply)

“Transnational, multilingual networks” was the option selected by the largest number of respondents. “Topic-based public networks/communities” was the second most popular choice, with “Face-to-face interaction and in-person meetups” and “Content and participation rules based on GV mission and values” just a point apart for third and fourth, respectively.

3. Would you be interested in participating in discussions and clubs in a GV social media initiative?

A plurality of respondents said they were “Definitely” interested in participating in discussions about a GV social media initiative. 27% said they were “Possibly” interested.