On March 25, 2010, people in hundreds of cities around the world will meet together offline to rally around the important cause of Concern Worldwide by hosting local events to have fun and create awareness. Through this, it is estimated that we will be helping to provide education to about 72 million children around the world who are not enrolled in school.

Using social media tools such as Twitter and Facebook, we have managed to put together a spectacular event day in the short span of 3 weeks.

Local event attendees in the 175 plus cities around the world may simply register their support on the Twestival web site, and then spread the message through their tweets. Other than just doing that, here are some ways the general public can help out with:

-          Donate through Paypal; they’re waiving all fees up to $1 million to ensure 100% of donations proceed to the needy.

-          Bid in the Twestival auction on eBay; a large number of items donated by celebrities up for grabs.

-          Listen to Twestival FM where artisists and bands can upload their songs on the site and users can donate on a voluntary basis if they like the tracks.

-          Attend your local event or even better, volunteer and help out.

Twitter Dollars

Last year, Twestival Global raised about $250,000 for Charity Water; a non-profit organization who’s mission is to bring clean and safe water for people in developing nations. The event also brought about 17,000 people together around the world.

This year, our focus turns towards Concern Worldwide. At the time of this writing, the grand total of donations has reached nearly $308,000 and about 6,700 attendees. Even with the smaller turnout, the amount of donations smashed last year’s record by about 25 percent.

Twestival Singapore

I was part of the organizing team of Twestival Singapore and we only came together after a casual chat over Google Wave about 3 weeks prior to the event. From then on, we managed to pull in a couple of sponsors for our event and rapidly the whole event caught the attention of the media and the general public.

Our Twtvite page and Facebook event page had only 77 and 96 respectively, who RSVPed for the event but the turnout yesterday was a resounding success where more than 160 people showed up to have fun, network and donate towards this greater cause. On top of that Twestival Singapore has raise about USD 6,112 last night excluding all the other sponsorship figures that we have yet to tally together with the official sum.

Despite that, I’m please to announce that we are one of the top 3 countries with the highest amount of donation per 1,000 inhabitants; rounding up to about $1,225521 per 1,000 inhabitants. Now, who said that Singaporeans cringe at the very thought of donations.

On top of donations received, we had lots of people helping out with photography and volunteering their time to run the donations booth. To catch more of the photographs, you can visit the official Twestival Singapore Flickr group.

The Impact

With the rapid growth of new media; 600 tweets per second and the ever-growing 400 million Facebook users, it’s great to see that we are able to convert this massive statistics towards a greater cause. This Twestival, I believe is the catalyst for more movements to come.

It all started with Tweetsgiving; a global celebration that aims to change the world through the power of gratitude, based on the Thanksgiving theme. They managed to raise about $32,000, which is impressive for a movement purely based on new media.

Also, who could forget this year’s Haiti SMS appeal, organized by the American Red Cross. Using the virality of social media, they raised more than $32 million for the earthquake relief efforts. This mode of raising awareness is a proven model by the earlier 2009 Twestival.

Twestival has proved to be once again a successful framework for future campaigns to raise awareness of a certain cause on global scale.

I would like to thank everyone who participated in this year’s Twestival; organizers and participants alike for making this year a roaring success!

Photos via Inrsoul & Dazzachazza

Original post at Online Media Gazette

For those who are not able to make it down to Brewerkz for Twestival, Tech65 has generously set up their live streaming gizmos so that everyone can experience the festive mood we have here! Remember to donate at the same time through the top right hand button

Live Broadcasting by Ustream

Without them, we would not have any banners, name tags nor limited edition badges for tweeples attending Twestival Singapore tomorrow.

Which is why we are extremely grateful to O2 Advertising for coming on board with support for our logistics team by way of a donation that has enabled us to make all the above-mentioned items, a reality.

About O2 Advertising

Formed in 1995, O2 Advertising began as the offshoot boutique agency of an established advertising agency group in Singapore, the Ad Planet Group. Over time, O2 has built up a strong portfolio servicing a list of respectable clients, including Estee Lauder Cosmetics, Lion Corporation, Malayan Motors, Singapore Police Force and City Developments Limited.

The agency’s mantra: always strive to inject a breath of fresh air into integrated communications in Singapore, which is why it comes as no surprise that they now have an interactive shop called O2U that harnesses and integrates the fast-evolving digital communication highway as part of their client solutions.

One more company that has jumped on board with a fantastic sponsorship is Crocs Singapore! Here’s what they’ll be giving away to 8 lucky winners:
• 3 winners will each take home a voucher, valid for any pair of Crocs
• 5 winners will walk away with a pair of vouchers, each valid for 20% off their Crocs purchase

So if you’ve been looking to get a new pair of Crocs, then this is the perfect opportunity for you to do so! And you can do so through two easy ways:
• Donate to Twestival via PayPal and show us your receipt to be entered in the lucky draw (you can also make your PayPal at our Lenovo laptop stations tomorrow)
• Show us your F&B receipt from Brewerkz tomorrow (get an additional entry in the draw if you spend more than $50)

Yes it’s that easy. So really, you have no excuse not to rock up to Brewerkz tomorrow to join us for an evening of merry-making, all for a good cause. And who knows what prizes you may go home with!

About Crocs Singapore

Originally intended as a boating/outdoor shoe because of its slip-resistant, non-marking sole, Crocs™ introduced its first Beach Model in November 2002 at the Florida Boat Show and sold out in two days. From there, their popularity grew. Sales poured in. By 2003, Crocs had become a bona-fide phenomenon, universally accepted as an all-purpose shoe for comfort and fashion.

Today, Crocs are available all over the world and on the internet as they continue to significantly expand all aspects of their business. And despite their rapid success, they still stand behind to the core values of Crocs Footwear, i.e. committed to making a lightweight, comfortable, slip-resistant, fashionable and functional shoe that can be produced quickly and at an affordable cost to their customers.

We’re excited to announce that Cisco has sponsored a Flip UltraHD pocket-size camcorder as one of the lucky draw prizes!

About Cisco

Flip Video camcorders have changed the way people capture and share video by making it simple, accessible and fun for anyone. Flip Video camcorders are pre-loaded with FlipShare software to enable easy organizing, editing, and seamless uploading to Facebook Video™, MySpace™, YouTube™ and other video sharing sites. Cisco’s vision for the consumer is to enable people to live a connected life that is more personal, more social, and more visual. More information about Cisco and its line of consumer products can be found at www.cisco.com/consumer.

Come on down and try your luck in winning the Camcorder!

Without these people, Twestival Singapore will definitely not be able to kick off. I would like to extend a big thank you to the organisers who are the backbone of the event.

Thank you for supporting us and Twestival SG!

We are glad to announce that Naïve and Whole Earth have generously pitched into Twestival by giving away $10 food vouchers to those who attend the event at Brewerkz.

About Naïve

Naïve is a food place at the heart of East Coast Road. They are called Naive because it represents why their food is so good; natural and simple. The unique thing about them is that they have a healthy Asian menu made up of purely plant-based ingredients with no meant, no seafood, no eggs, no onion, no garlic and no MSG. This is possible from 30 years of combined cooking experiences of their chefs.

About Whole Earth

Whole Earth planted its first seeds in 2003 to provide really good and flavourful food for everyone to enjoy. Each dish is a product of thoughtfulness that brings out the exciting flavours of Thai-Peranakan vegetarian cuisine. The rich Peranakan is creatively fused together with authentic Thai fare for fresh and flavourful Southeast-Asian cuisine. What makes its menu unique is not just in the preparation or the choice of the freshest ingredients, but also the immense passion that its skilled and experienced chefs sprinkle as that which makes every bite even more delightful.

Do that make your tummy rumble? Be sure to cure that by heading down to Twestival at Brewekz to grab these vouchers for a gastronomic dinner or dinner for yourself.

Having been on the radio airwaves for more than 20 years, Joe Augustin is certainly one of Singapore’s most vibrant personalities. As the mainstay on many a morning show, most of us have at one point or another woken up to his cheerful banter with a co-host.

These days, however, we no longer have to wake up at ungodly hours (as some might term the morning show slot of 6 - 10am) just to listen to him in action. In fact, you can take him (and his co-host Shareen Wong) wherever you go, and listen to them whenever you want to, without much fuss. And it’s as simple as downloading their podcast from Morning Jam.

But Joe’s not just a ‘faceless’ voice. In fact, you may have encountered him at your company’s annual dinner and dance, as he’s also an emcee, popular with both local companies and multinational corporations, with his gigs taking him as far as Mumbai, India, in recent times!

If you’d like to find out more about Joe and how you can engage his services, either as an emcee or a voiceover talent, you can check out his website, Radio Joe, or follow him on Twitter (@JoeAugustin). Or even better yet, join us at Brewerkz Riverside Point on Thursday, and get up close and personal with him!

Nutzstudio have generously agreed to provide us with their service and sound systems. To be honest, it’ll really help boost the event to a whole new level with their help. We can’t thank them enough for agreeing to help us out in the name of charity!

You can find out more about Nutzstudio through their Facebook page. On top of that, don’t forget to tell all your friends and invite them to head down to Brewerkz on March 25 for Twestival. To RSVP for the event, all you have to do is confirm your attendance on both Twitvite and Facebook. We’ll see you there!