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A quick look back on the year that was for SpunOut.ie

Blog: 2007 summary and plans for the year ahead.

Article by : SpunOut.ie

Happy new year to all the SpunOut.ie friends and family. We’re well and truly ready for another big year at SpunOut.ie and we are now busy knuckling down to action.

2007 was a massive year for us. Some of the highlights and achievements over the last 12 months included:

 

  • Setting up and launching our new Galway office.
  • Hiring 2 new staff and commissioning freelancers.
  • Completing another re-design of SpunOut.ie, improving accessibility, including audio on articles and publishing over 200 new articles online.
  • Developing a range of SpunOut.ie video features.
  • Working with Galway One World Centre and MediaForum to run a highly successful ‘media for social change’ conference in Galway entitled Media Moves.
  • Coordinating the Tough Times national youth mental health and suicide prevention campaign including a brilliant launch event at Whelan’s in Dublin.

  • Gaining massive national and regional media attention including features and mentions on RTE news, Nationwide, Primetime, 2 FM, Today FM and in all the national papers.
  • Devising a new 3 year strategic plan.
  • Securing financial investment for the coming years from the HSE and a major philanthropic body.
  • Setting up a new National Advisory Network.
  • Winning a scholarship and participating in the GK3 event in Malaysia.
  • Winning an Eircom Golden Spider Award for ‘best community or charity website in Ireland’.

  • Youth Board member Ian Howley wins first runner up in Barnardo’s Helping Hand Award for voluntary work.

  • Completing the first phase of our new marketing strategy.
  • Participating in a range of networks including the Action on Suicide alliance, the National Office for Suicide Prevention’s mental health awareness campaign steering group, the Technology for Wellbeing group, The European Youth Press days in Belgium and Macedonia, The Irish Youth Media Foundation, the Social Entrepreneurs Ireland network and at numerous events, talks and conferences throughout Ireland.
  • We were also busy with all the usual promotional and outreach activities, developing partnerships and alliances, developing our policies, procedures and operating systems and the less exciting behind the scenes work of continuously developing Ireland’s best youth website.


Plans for 2008

2008 looks set to be the year where we really make our mark. Plans are well underway for a major expansion programme that will involve:

  • Hiring an Operations Manager and Youth Participation Officer.
  • Completing a major content and site review.
  • Starting a redevelopment process that will see SpunOut.ie feature more multimedia and activism related materials and resources.
  • Rolling out a new marketing and promotional programme.
  • Developing a new youth participation programme.
  • Setting up partnerships with like-minded agencies and companies.
  • Fundraising to help us meet our funding gap and prepare for ’09 and beyond.


What all of this means is that we’re not going to be sitting back on our bums. We want to turn SpunOut.ie into a world class website, reach and involve more and more young people and to make a real difference to people’s lives and to our country and planet.

After a year of hard slog and set-up we’ve got good foundations laid so now it’s well and truly action time.

Watch this space!