DIGITAL COMMUNICATION TRAINING FOR TRADE UNIONS - ILO-ACFTU South-South Cooperation project

In February and March 2021, ACTRAV organized a Training Needs Assessment Webinar Series for Trade Unions in Asia and the Pacific. The objective of these events was to analyze the key capacity training needs of trade unions in the region. Trade union representatives from South Asia, Southeast Asia, East Asia and the Pacific Islands participated in the discussion, which took into consideration the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on trade union functions and operations. Improving union leaders’ and union members’ technological skills, such as using mobile applications, online platforms and social media, was identified as the most important capacity training need in the region. During the webinars, trade union representatives noted that their limited technical know-how restricted the support unions could provide to their members during 2020. With technology as a key driver of change, ensuring that trade unions are able to make use of technology will be important in order to continue to strengthen union operations and prepare unions for the future of work. With this in mind, ILO-ACTRAV organised this training programme on Digital Communication for Trade Unions, under the ILO-ACFTU South-South Cooperation project. OBJECTIVES The Online Course on Digital Communication is designed for trade union representatives in Asia and the Pacific, and is a unique studying experience by a mix of self-study and collaborative activities. It aimed to (a) support workers’ organizations to manage the shift from traditional ways to the use of digital tools and resource in trade union communication; (b) enhance effort to teaching, engaging and influencing broader and diverse membership and audiences for lower cost through digital communication; and (c) provided insights on digital communication, tools and benefits, as well skills is using the web and social media and what to keep in mind when creating digital communication plans. CONTENT The course covered four (4) learning modules: Week 1. What is Digital Communication; Week 2. Types and Tools of Digital Communication; Week 3. Using Social Media Effectively; and Week 4. Planning a Communication Strategy. The course consisted of an estimated 10 hours of synchronous and asynchronous online learning, which included 22 tasks such as participation in webinars, completion of self-guided learning modules, online interaction and collaboration, and submission of assignments, and ‘application of learning plans’, among others. ECAMPUS The activity was delivered via the E-campus, the education platform of the International Training Centre of the ILO. The platform was used for the distribution of course information, training material, learning tasks, exchanges of good practices and experiences, feedback and multimedia content.