The important election you’ve (probably) been ignoring

raulism

The American midterm elections are fast approaching, and a lot is at stake, but there is an even more historic election that is happening even sooner.

The Republic of Guinea will finally get to choose its president this Sunday, the first time in the country’s history. It will probably be the only country moving from military rule to democracy in 2010.

I’m very proud that our organization Alliance Guinea was able to collect data from more than 17,000 SMS messages we received from Guinean citizens during the first round of elections in June. The patience and dedication of the Guinean people were more powerful than decades of autocratic and erratic rule.

While the first round of elections was inspirational, the delays in the final round of voting have increased tensions and paranoia. In this chaos, Alliance Guinea’s crowdsourcing project becomes even more important, and it all starts with our volunteers.

Thanks to your help, we will be able to collect reports from Guineans, then categorize, date and map them in real time….

Our ability to collect this data depends on the courage and determination of our volunteers. All you will need is a computer and a connection to the internet.

Most of the work does require French, and many of the messages use Guinean French SMS language. We’ve had some experience in that, so we will have other volunteers who can help.

Alliance Guinea has been successful in working with both Guineans and non-Guineans. I’m proud that we work across all the ethnic lines in Guinea and that we’ve helped facilitate the frank, constructive dialogue that the country needs. We are a small group that relies on volunteer effort, so your contribution means a lot.

There are so many causes in the world. It is hard to manage your time. I count my volunteer hours for Alliance Guinea as among the proudest accomplishments in my life. I feel very lucky to help a country on its road to democracy. If you think that you would like to help the founding of democracy, please sign up to volunteer and please, be patient with us; it’s a fully volunteer organization.

To volunteer:
Fill out this form: http://bit.ly/Volunteer4Guinea
If you have questions, email us at
[email protected]

Visit us at:
http://www.allianceguinea.org/

Spread the word about our Facebook group at:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=166627000126

Explore our crowdsourcing page at:
http://www.allianceguinea.org/ushahidi/

Thank you! And Vive la Guinee!!