Can Social Media Help Tackle Homelessness? [S5 E6]

There are now 100 million homeless and displaced people in the world, and the issue is becoming a major problems for most countries and cities around the world. The World's Big Sleep Out is a charitable initiative that aims to change that by encouraging 50,000 people to sleep outside in 50 cities around the world to raise $50 million for homeless charities.

In this episode of the Digital Download Podcast I talk to Josh Littlejohn MBE, the founder of The World's Big Sleep Out. Josh contacted me during the summer to help devise a social media strategy for the campaign, and in this show we discuss just how prevalent the issue of homelessness has become, what the campaign involves and aims to achieve, and what role social media plays in tackling such a huge global issue.

Here's what is discussed in this episode:

* What happens when you're awarded an MBE!

* Where Josh's ideas for tackling homelessness originated

* How funds from sleep outs help homeless people off the streets

* What fundraising and issue-based campaigns can and can't achieve

* How the issue of homelessness and displacement has grown in the last few years

* How important strategic political intervention is in tackling the issue

* What The World's Big Sleep Out is and how donations will be used

* Why the likes of Will Smith and Helen Mirren have become involved in the campaign

* How critical corporate involvement is to the success of the event

* Why social media is a primary driver of both participation and fundraising

* Whether social media plays an important role in charity and not-for-profit communications

* Whether trolling applies to charitable campaigns

* What you can do to help the homelessness issue

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