Tal Flanchraych: Promoting Education and Gender Equality in Africa Through whyshouldWEcare.org

November 7, 2008

Tal Flanchraych recently graduated from the Annenberg School of Communication at USC. She is the founder of whyshouldWEcare.org, an online experiment involving social networking as a tool for connecting people to philanthropic issues in Africa.

We asked Tal to share her story with us. This is what she told the USC Stevens Institute:

Help us understand what you are up to (Describe your work / research):
Why should WE care? (www.whyshouldwecare.org ) is a social network built on the Ning platform (ning.com) that is focused on education and gender equality in Africa.

What drives you to continue pursuing this area of study?
Well, I initially started the site because of a contest involving social networking to promote awareness of African issues but now I continue to maintain it and participate in it due to my own growing concern for the issue.

Describe how your work might impact people’s lives, now and in the future. (What’s the potential societal impact?)
While initially built to teach my peers about the importance of supporting legislation for education, whyshouldwecare.org has evolved into a site where Africa activists upload content they care about, update the community on their work, and even collaborate.

How did you come up with the idea?
I'd always wanted to use the Ning platform and figured this would be a good opportunity to try it out.

What is the next step in the innovation process for you (and how might people help)?
The next step may be moving on from the Ning platform and identifying a different white label social network company that might be more suitable to the needs of my community.

What is the one innovation you can’t live without?
The Crackberry -- like many, I am an addict.

What would people be surprised to learn about you? 
I dropped out of high school and started college at 16 because I really wanted to get out of NYC (which is where I grew up).

What do you wish you would have invented?
LOL...cats.

What is the most fun you’ve ever had?
Every time I go on a spontaneous, sugarhigh adventure with friends.

Three favorite things about LA:
Sunshine, sunshine, and more sunshine.
Weather is one of the few things I particularly care about in a city.