Social Media News Release

On 25th March 2010, 27 cities and towns in the UK & Ireland are among the 175+ international cities – from Moscow to Bangalore – who are rallying around education for global charity Concern Worldwide. The events will be part of the 2nd Annual Twestival, a worldwide fundraising initiative that uses social media, particularly Twitter, to focus participants’ talent and resources to benefit one cause on one day.
 
The 27 UK and Ireland cities hosting an event stretch from Cornwall to Dundee. Every Twestival is organised entirely by volunteers, and 100% of ticket sales and donations go direct to support educational projects and use social media to track and show people exactly where their money goes. The events themselves whilst originally based on meeting up with local Twitter users, have an eclectic mix of activities and settings this year, ranging from an Idlewild DJ set in Edinburgh, karaoke in London and samba in Dublin.
 
The theme of this year’s Twestival Global is education, and Concern Worldwide was chosen by the Global and Local Twestival teams for the work it does addressing the needs of the world’s 72 million poor and marginalised children who don’t have the life-changing opportunity to go to school.
 
UK tickets are selling fast to what always prove to be great events - http://uk.twestival.com will help you locate your closest Twestival.

“Organizing online and gathering offline allows Twestival to harness the incredible communication power of Twitter to propel participation in real events around the world,” said Amanda Rose, founder of Twestival Global. “There is no shortage of people who are passionate and want to help. The challenge is coordination, not participation. By using social media platforms such as Twitter, Twestival is able to connect hundreds of independent local events into a powerful global initiative. At last year’s Twestival, more than 1,000 volunteers and 10,000 donors raised more than $250,000  to provide clean and safe drinking water for more than 17,000 people. We know this works—and we’re determined to make it work for every child in the world that deserves an education.”

Karen Gallagher, Head of Concern NI said: “All of us at Concern Worldwide are very excited to be involved with Twestival and would like to thank everyone involved across the world for helping to raise vital funds and awareness for our education programmes. Twestival is a fantastic example of the difference that can be made when individuals join together to volunteer and take action.”

Claire Thompson, one of the UK’s regional Twestival co-ordinators, said “On the Twestival Global map, the UK & Ireland are buried under a sea of yellow dots, each representing a Twestival. The organising teams have worked their socks off to create superb events on no budget whatsoever, and have persuaded people to donate anything from raffle prizes through to venues and sponsorships.”

In order to better meet a goal of 100 percent donation, Twestival’s all-volunteer organizers have partnered with PayPal, which will allow supporters to donate via WhatGives?! widgets, waiving all fees up to $1 million. In addition Citrix Online will donate GoToMeeting to all those who are organizing Twestival events, and Amiando will waive all credit card ticketing fees to Twestival events, allowing for 100 percent of money raised to benefit Concern Worldwide projects directly.

In addition to the offline events on March 25, Twestival also will extend its online reach with such activities as TwestivalFM, allowing high-profile artists and musicians around the world including Moby, Jet, Metric and Ryan Adams to donate their songs to download for donations; Auction140, a global online auction of celebrity-donated items and experiences on eBay from celebrity Twitter users like Justin Bieber, Stephen Fry, Imogen Heap that features a live Twitter stream for the first time; an iPhone application; and live donations and results widgets that will enable real-time donations at local events. Twestival also has  partnered with Ustream to live stream the day’s events, starting in New Zealand and ending in Hawaii.
 
Originating in London, Twestival has become a global success story since its inception in 2008, with the festival turning into an annual international fundraising event, often referred to as LiveAid 2.0. 
 
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Notes to Editors
 
History of Twestival
In September 2008, a group of London Twitter users hosted an event called Harvest Twestival, connecting people offline for a bit of fun and for a good cause. The organisers planned the bulk of the event in under two weeks and pulled in sponsorship from people on Twitter. The event, which was originally intended for 30-40 people ended up with 250 attendees and a waiting list. After the enthusiasm of the first event, lead organiser Amanda Rose starting developing what is now known as Twestival; hosting simultaneous events around the world on the same day for the same cause.  

The first Twestival Global was launched with a tweet in January 2009 and barely a month later on 12 February, 202 cities hosted events to benefit charity: water.  Over 1,000 volunteers, crowdsourced through Twitter, contributed their skills; over 10,000 people participated globally; and countless others donated or used their creativity to ensure 100% of all proceeds went direct to charity: water projects.  The total raised in one day was over $250k through these events and online donations, resulting in 55 wells benefitting more than 17,000 people in Uganda, Ethiopia, and India.  

About Concern
Concern Worldwide was founded in 1968 to meet the needs of people living in extreme poverty, for whom every day is a fight for survival. Concern is a non-governmental, international, humanitarian organization dedicated to the reduction of suffering and working towards the ultimate elimination of poverty. Their mission is to help people living in extreme poverty achieve major improvements in their lives - improvements they can sustain without ongoing support. Concern meets the needs of these people in a caring and personalized manner, respecting their human and cultural dignity. They are committed to reaching the most vulnerable, even in the most difficult of circumstances.

Concern’s work is informed by a vision for change and their education programs target the poorest people in the poorest countries in the world, with particular emphasis on reaching out-of-school children such as girls, orphans, street children, working children, children affected by conflict, children affected by HIV and AIDS, and children with disabilities.

Concern’s education programs currently reach over 700,000 people in 25 countries across the regions of Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean.  Please follow @concern on Twitter to get a glimpse of their staff tweeting from around the world, including their efforts on the ground in Haiti.

UK Twestivals:
England Barnsley, Birmingham, Brighton, Bristol, Bury St Edmunds, Cornwall, Exeter, Farnham, Liverpool, Manchester, London, Newcastle, Norwich, Nottingham, Oxford , Plymouth, Reading, Stoke
Scotland Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness
Isle of Man 
Northern Ireland Belfast
Republic of Ireland Dublin, Galway
Wales Cardiff
 
For further information about this, please contact Claire Thompson or Jaz Cummins on email: twestivaluk@googlemail.com; call 0207 795 8147