Global Voices 2024 Summit in Kathmandu, Nepal. Photos by Jer Clarke. CC-BY-NC

Communication is a fundamental element of any community, and Global Voices (GV) is no exception. We communicate with each other to collaborate on work, to share our skills and experiences, and to simply connect and make friends. No matter what we are communicating or where, we have a duty to behave in accordance with the Community Ethics and Harassment Policy and to practice secure communication in accordance with the Communication and Safety Guidelines.

The many communication channels that we use have different purposes, so read on to figure out which ones to join.

Introduction

Generally, day-to-day communication at GV can happen using these main tools:

• individual emails and group mailing lists organized through tools like Google Groups and Riseup
• messaging apps like Slack, WhatsApp and Signal
• WordPress tools like the “Email Author” feature on the frontend of the website and the Edit Flow plugin in the backend of the website
• video calls on apps like Zoom, Slack, Google Meet and Jit.si
• the Community Blog and the “Announcements” category across other GV sites

Not all sections or teams will use all these tools, and it’s possible that communication happens elsewhere too, such as in dedicated Facebook groups.

Which groups and platforms should I use?

Depending on your point of entry to GV, you will be invited to join specific communication spaces. Each Newsroom Editor, Translation Manager and section head has their preference for where they organize their teams, so your main point of contact will let you know how you should be communicating with them and with your fellow teammates. There are also spaces where the wider GV community comes together to connect and communicate.

Below are some common communication needs with an explanation of what tools might be used and when, followed by a list of important communication channels in use at GV with details on how to join.

Collaborating around a story or a translation

Your Newsroom Editor, Translation Manager or section head will let you know which communication tools they prefer. When it comes to submitting a story or translation for review or receiving feedback on a story or translation, some of the common ones used include:

• Individual email between a contributor and their Newsroom Editor or Translation Manager
• Individual messages between a contributor and their Newsroom Editor or Translation Manager on Slack, WhatsApp or Signal
• Internal notifications and comments between a contributor and their Newsroom Editor or Translation Manager in Edit Flow, a collaborative feature in the backend of your story or translation within WordPress
• Video calls between a contributor and their Newsroom Editor or Translation Manager using apps like Zoom, Google Meet and Jit.si or Slack’s built-in video call feature

Connecting with your teammates

Different Newsroom Editors, Translation Managers and section heads have different preferences for organizing their teams. If you are a contributor who writes stories about a specific country or region, translates stories into a certain language, or specializes in Advox, Rising Voices or Civic Media Observatory work, ask your main point of contact to find out where you should be communicating with other contributors in your section.

Regional Editors in the Newsroom and Translation Managers in Lingua have their own dedicated mailing lists (Google Group) and Slack channels to discuss and coordinate matters related to their work as a group. Periodically, each team will come together in a group video call, usually on Zoom.

Connecting with the wider GV community

There are several spaces where contributors from across GV can come together.

The Community mailing list (Google Group) is an important channel for hearing about news related to Global Voices. It’s also a place where community members can share opportunities that they think will be of interest to others; announce that they are attending a certain event to see if other GVers will be there; start a discussion about a serious topic; ask a fun question to learn more about other community members, and more. The Community channel on Slack serves a similar purpose.

GV also has a “community” on WhatsApp which houses several group chats. One group called GV Bar is open to all contributors and is a space for general conversation, connection and fun. Other groups are specific to different interests (e.g. book club), geographies (e.g. Latin America) and languages (e.g. Francophonie).

Learning about important organizational news

Important news and opportunities related to Global Voices are sent to the Community mailing list (Google Group) and also referenced on the Community channel in Slack. Sometimes, they are also published on the Community Blog and/or one of GV’s websites under the category “Announcements.” These posts will then be promoted on the Community mailing list (Google Group) and also referenced in other specific spaces, including the Community channel in Slack.

Getting in touch with your community board representatives

Like all nonprofit foundations, GV is governed by a board of directors. You can see the members of the current board on the main Global Voices site and read more about the role of the board in the Roles and Responsibilities guide. The current board comprises nine seats: Two of these seats are permanently reserved for GV’s founders (Ethan Zuckerman and Rebecca MacKinnon); four are for external individuals who are appointed by the board; and three are for representatives who are elected by the GV community, one of whom represents contractors and two of whom represent volunteers.

The community board representatives are the community's spokespeople at the board level. As such, they should be in regular touch with community members, listening to you and familiarizing themselves with your opinions and concerns. Consult this guide to learn who your current representatives are and how to contact them.

If you already have their email addresses, you can email them directly. Otherwise, you can get in touch with them by locating their public profile on the Global Voices site and selecting the “Email” button below their biography.

Private vs. public communications

With the exception of communications published on Global Voices websites, the conversations on the many channels described above, such as Google Group mailing lists or WhatsApp groups, are considered private to the community and not intended for public dissemination.

At the same time, privacy cannot be guaranteed in any large group, so please do not share sensitive information there. By using tools such as Google Groups, Slack and WhatsApp, we allow our conversations to be stored on those companies’ servers; you can consult each company’s terms of service to learn about their policies. In addition, each member of the group can be individually vulnerable to hacking, which could allow an attacker to see and potentially expose group conversations. If you need to communicate sensitive information, consider using a safer tool such as Signal. See the Communication and Safety Guidelines for more information.

As administrators of these spaces, Global Voices also has access to subscription data about members. To learn about how Global Voices handles personal data, read our Privacy Policy.

List of communication channels

Below is a non-exhaustive list of communication channels in use at GV, based on their target audience.

Entire GV community

Name: GV Community
Type: Google Group mailing list
Purpose: A universal mailing list for everyone involved in GV. Used for major announcements as well as discussion and sharing between contributors about Global Voices, our mission and related issues and opportunities.
How to join: Make a request to join using this form.

Name: #community
Type: Slack channel
Purpose: A universal channel for everyone involved in GV. Used for major announcements as well as discussion and sharing between contributors about Global Voices, our mission and related issues and opportunities.
How to join: Make a request to join using this form.

Name: #suggestion-box
Type: Slack channel
Purpose: A universal channel for everyone involved in GV to make suggestions, be it a story idea, a project proposal, a community activity, etc.
How to join: Make a request to join using this form.

Name: GV Bar
Type: WhatsApp group housed within the Global Voices WhatsApp community
Purpose: A universal channel for everyone involved in GV. Used for discussion and sharing between contributors.
How to join: Make a request to join using this form.

Name: GV Club Francophonie, GV South Asia and other interest groups
Type: WhatsApp groups housed within the Global Voices WhatsApp community
Purpose: A place where GV community members can connect over their shared interests, geographies or languages.
How to join: Talk to other members of the group to learn how to join.

Name: Community Blog
Type: Global Voices subdomain
Purpose: A place for GV contributors to share stories about our lives, homes, travels and encounters, to reflect on our work, and to share ideas about our field.
How to join: If you already have an account on the Community Blog, just log in and create a draft post. If not, use the Write a Post form to submit your first post and we'll create an account for you.

Name: GV Community Council
Type: Google Group mailing list
Purpose: A place for members of the Community Council to discuss issues as part of the Community Council process. See the Global Voices Community Council guide to learn more.
How to join: If you are a member of the Community Council, you will be invited to join the mailing list. If you are a member but haven’t been invited, please request to join by visiting the Google Group page.

Newsroom

Name: GV Newsroom Editors
Type: Google Group mailing list
Purpose: Newsroom Editors and the Core Team use this list for announcements and discussion related to editorial strategy and the day-to-day editorial operations of the Newsroom.
How to join: Editors within GV should be added to and removed from this group as necessary. If you are a Newsroom Editor and are not subscribed, please contact the Managing Editor.

Name: Groups based on geography or language spheres, including GV CEE and Europe, GV Americas and more
Type: Google Group mailing list
Purpose: Some editorial groups within the Newsroom, regional or linguistic, have a Google Group for announcements and discussion between Newsroom Editors and writers.
How to join: If you write about a specific geography or language sphere, you will be invited to join the mailing list. If you haven’t been invited, please contact your Newsroom Editor.

Lingua

Name: GV Lingua
Type: Google Group mailing list
Purpose: Translation Managers and the Core Team use this list for announcements and discussion related to translation and the day-to-day operations of Lingua.
How to join: Translation Managers within GV should be added to and removed from this group as necessary. If you are a Translation Manager and are not subscribed, please contact the Lingua Director.

Name: Non-English target languages, including Arabic, Bangla, Russian and more
Type: Google Group mailing list
Purpose: Some language communities have a Google Group for announcements and discussion between Translation Managers and translators.
How to join: If you are a translator working into a non-English target language, you will be invited to join the mailing list. If you haven’t been invited, please contact your Translation Manager.

Name: Into-English language combinations including French into English, Spanish into English, and more
Type: Google Group mailing list
Purpose: Some Newsroom Editors who manage teams of into-English translators use a Google Group to coordinate their teams.
How to join: If you are a translator working from a non-English language into English, you will be invited to join the mailing list. If you haven’t been invited, please contact the Newsroom Editor with whom you are working.

Rising Voices

Name: Rising Voices
Type: Google Group
Purpose: A discussion group for contributors to and participants in Rising Voices.
How to join: Visit the Google Group page, click on the “Ask to Join Group” button or the “Contact Owners and Managers” button, depending on whichever appears for you. In your message, please explain who you are and your interest in joining the list.

Special in-person and virtual gatherings

On special occasions, we host in-person gatherings, which provide a forum for communication too. Every few years, Global Voices holds a summit in a different location to bring as many contributors together as possible. In the past, we've been able to invite some of our most active volunteers to travel to these summits at no cost. We will always strive to bring as many people as possible.

At other times, GV community members have organized their own gatherings online, when they attend the same conferences in person or when they have the advantage of living in the same cities or regions. You can reach out to your main point of contact at GV for support.