The International Confederation of Midwives becomes social

I had a pleasant surprise the other day when I was told that the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) has set up a Facebook and Twitter account.

Global midwifery
The ICM is the organisation that represents midwives at a global level. It does a lot of campaigning to improve maternity conditions in developing countries and raise the profile of midwifery. But I am guessing the average midwife on the street knows little to nothing about the ICM and what it does, apart from the International Day of the Midwife on 5th May and the three-yearly conference it organises. The ICM has a website but it is not interactive, and I for one have found it difficult communicating with people at the ICM in the past.

Social media making the ICM accessible
So I am very pleased that the ICM is engaging with social media at long last. What I hope this will do is give the midwives on the street the opportunity to interact with the people behind the ICM, get to know what the ICM is doing, and in turn collaborate with the ICM in a far more inclusive way.

Challenge
The challenge for Anita, who is the ICM communications & media officer behind the Facebook and Twitter accounts, is to facilitate a two-way communication process which actively engages midwives.

Coordinating the International Day of the Midwife
The first task Anita wants to achieve is to coordinate activities for the International Day of the midwife on the 5th May. So if you are a midwife planning something, put the details on the Facebook page so we can share ideas, resources and fun.


Image: '331 - Last appointment?'
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