Foundation Uses World Cup to Raise Awareness About South Africa’s Plight

The Charles Stewart Mott Foundation is using the World Cup tournament as an opportunity to raise awareness about inequality in South Africa through an event-driven blog, Beyond the Games.

The foundation, in Flint, Mich., is using a team of guest bloggers from South Africa, which is hosting the event, to contribute posts about conditions in the country that coincide with the four-week tournament.

In one recent post, Ela Gandhi, a granddaughter of Mahatma Gandhi and a former member of South Africa’s parliament, openly questions whether the event can bring social and economic value to South Africans.

Ms. Ghandi, editor of Satyagraha, notes that some South Africans have sacrificed their livelihoods to accommodate the games and others have benefited from the tournament. She questions whether the games will create a stronger unity within the country.

“[South Africans] need to forge a broad, united effort that will last even after the World Cup – and use this event as a springboard to build a strong, vibrant, and warm South African nation,” Ms. Ghandi writes.

Can short-term blogs tied to current events help bring attention to a cause? Have you seen examples of other organizations that have used such a strategy to raise awareness? Post a comment below to share your thoughts.