special issue: inauguration 2009 - National Peace Corps Association

Around the NPCA
PEACE CORPS CONNECT ANSWERS OBAMA’S CALL
FOR SERVICE AND CITIZEN ENGAGEMENT
A new social networking site for the Peace Corps community has the potential to unleash our collective energies
by Meg Garlinghouse
Two of President Obama’s
central themes while he was
campaigning remain paramount
since he has been elected. First, Obama
continues to emphasize the importance
of service and his commitment to
making it a more integral part of our
lives. Second is the idea that we, the
American people, have the knowledge
about and answers to many of our
nation’s problems and therefore, we
must participate in the solutions.
Peace Corps Connect (PCC) is
a terrific illustration of these two
themes. Powered by the National
Peace Corps Association, PCC was
launched appropriately on January
20th, 2009. Its mission is to engage
those who served in the Peace Corps,
or share the Peace Corps values, to
build communities that inform, inspire,
and promote understanding and
appreciation of other countries and
cultures and sustainable development
across the globe.
One of the inspirations for
PCC was the realization that there
currently is no central repository of
information that collects, organizes
and makes accessible the incredible
and often times unique knowledge
that Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs)
have gained through their service.
There are nearly 200,000 Returned
Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs)
and many are doing extraordinary
things. Moreover, these volunteers
have within their memory banks a
unique set of knowledge that is not yet
accessible to the outside world. This
information is incredibly valuable to
educational institutions, development
organizations as well as future Peace
Corps Volunteers. This content is
also compelling to the curious general
public, helping bring to life the
colorful culture (music, food, photos)
of countries around the world.
Peace Corps Connect was
further inspired and fueled by the
extraordinary amount of efforts
that are already organically growing
throughout the internet by the RPCV
and PCV community. The number
of blogs, wikis and websites continue
to multiply. Unfortunately, there is
currently no “hub” or centralized place
that makes this information easily
accessible. We are hopeful that we
will have the opportunity to either
formally partner or simply link to
many of these rich resources.
Continued on page 8
Spring 2009