8 mins read
The LGBTQ+ Pride Month is celebrated every year in June across the globe to recognise the way lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people have shaped history. It also commemorates the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan, a series of demonstrations that became a watershed moment for the Gay Liberation Movement.
However, despite the strong support that the Pride movement receives internationally, millions of people continue to be mistreated and discriminated against in various parts of the world.
Activists spend their entire lives combatting the social stigma and shame that the members of the community are subjected to.
Fortunately, the digital age has added momentum to the movement, allowing increased participation and enhanced awareness even in remote areas. Not only does a hyper-connected world enable quick information dissemination, but it also facilitates greater discourse and stronger dissent.
With the movement now spanning the globe, the effective utilisation of cloud services can greatly help activists, not just to collaborate across borders, but to even garner more support for the cause.
Before we understand how cloud communications can power up the LGBTQ+ movement, let us first understand how digitalisation has enabled cloud protests.
The new age of social movements
Modern protests are best described as clouds of ideas spanning different communities. In the age of social media, nothing has remained local. Activists, too, take to social media platforms to propagate their messages to the masses. This helps different people join a movement and spread its message.
Compared to the age-old way of marching in the streets, modern social movements rely on the cloud for remote participation at incredibly low costs.
Cloud protests eliminate traditional paraphernalia such as posters and pamphlets in favour of soft resources that are easily accessible and can be shared quickly.
This has fundamentally changed the way people extend their support for a cause. People can now enter movements at any time, with hashtags, online petitions and more, and choose any material they want to share––irrespective of their location.
So, how does the cloud make this possible? It offers centralised access to data and communication tools.
As movements spread across the city, a country or even continents, more and more people require directions and information. Thanks to cloud services, activists can spread a centralised narrative within the entire network in real-time. This allows social movements to generate a collective identity.
Take the ongoing movement ‘Skolstrejk för klimatet’ or ‘School Strike for Climate’ organised by teen climate activist Greta Thunberg. While her fight began in Sweden, it has quickly moved to various parts across the globe.
What’s even better is that the essential argument for the fight against climate change is unhampered. This consistency, previously unavailable, has been made possible through the use of cloud services.
Cloud communication tools for LGBTQ+ movements
Cloud communication tools are quickly saturating the business world. They improve processes and enhance team productivity. Additionally, they help organisations by:
- Making remote working easier
- Securing data and communications
- Allowing seamless data sharing
- Improving internal and external communications
- Bringing running costs down
Focussing our attention on these business benefits, one can quickly understand how these would help social movements spread their messages too. If a large company, with thousands of employees, is able to improve its workflow using cloud services, then the same principles can be applied to social movements.
Thus, let us have a look at the different cloud communication tools that the LGBTQ+ movement can use to spread its message.
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IVR systems
An IVR or an Interactive Voice Response system is a cloud telephony solution that offers automated call management. With the help of an IVR, organisations are able to quickly route callers to desired destinations without any errors. It also provides self-service options, enables surveys and feedback, and allows people to RSVP with the help of keypad or voice inputs.
LGBTQ+ movements can use IVR systems to inform callers about upcoming events organised by the community. People who wish to join the cause can thus stay informed about the various ways they can lend their support. They can also confirm or deny their participation.
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Voice broadcasting
Ever received a call from your local politician, asking about your experience or any changes you may want in your locality? Needless to say, the politician does not sit and call each person to chat with them. They employ the voice broadcasting tool.
LGBTQ+ members and organisations can also use this feature to reach out to different people and talk about their movement. They can target areas where information about the cause is scarce and add new participants to the movement. Better yet––the voice broadcasting tool allows messages to be recorded in various accents and languages as well.
So, LGBTQ+ members can reach out to audiences in their native accents and leave a greater impact.
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SMS alerts
SMS alerts are automated text messages that can be sent to a large audience at once. With this tool, LGBTQ+ organisations can quickly and easily send reminders to people about upcoming webinars or protests in their localities. All they need to do is add the text to the dashboard and schedule a time––the portal automates the rest of the process. No manual intervention needed.
One advantage of broadcast SMSes is that they work even in areas that have poor connectivity. So, your audience is bound to get the message no matter where they are. Furthermore, unlike calls, these messages remain stored in the inbox. So, people needn’t scramble to quickly grab a notebook and jot down important details. It’s all there in their device.
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Free phone numbers
Toll Free numbers serve as great helpline numbers. These numbers are free to call. Thus, organisations can offer 24×7 assistance, counselling or grievance resolution to members who need help without the latter worrying about costs.
Additionally, these organisations can use the number masking feature along with free phone numbers to safeguard the privacy of both the callers’ and volunteers. This way, both parties don’t need to give out their personal contact details and can even connect anonymously.
Support groups can also invite members to share their stories via free phone numbers that they can later disseminate among the community at large. 0800 numbers can also be used to deliver important information across geographies and encourage people to stay updated.
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International numbers
Movements are no longer just local. If there is enough participation from the local community, the movement can quickly cross borders. This is thanks to the power of the Internet and particularly social media.
Thus, LGBTQ+ movements can add different international phone numbers for various geographies to their communication arsenal. This way, people seeking or offering support can reach out to support groups at standard local rates or even free of charge.
So, whether it’s members seeking refugee status, international journalists looking to interview protest leaders or a beneficiary wanting to offer financial support to the movement––everyone gets the help they need.
With an international phone number, your movement can truly become global.
In a nutshell
As the Pride Month of 2021 comes to an end, there is still a lot of work needed to be done for the LGBTQ+ cause. And extending support to the cause, even at a large scale, can be easy and cost-effective if organisations or support groups deploy cloud communications solutions.
If your local organisation is looking to utilise the features of cloud communication in their movement, then look no further than Acefone. With our list of customisable services and competitive prices, you will be able to spread your message to a wider audience. Just write to us at [email protected] or call us on 1888-859-0450.
