Photo: Jacob Silberberg/Oxfam America

At an Oxfam America Hunger Banquet, the place where you sit, and the meal that you eat, are determined by the luck of the draw—just as in real life some of us are born into relative prosperity and others into poverty.

Unless you’ve been to one of these interactive events, it’s hard to explain how memorable, emotional, and inspirational it can be, to name just a few words we’ve heard from Oxfam supporters over the years. People often get in touch to tell us how a Hunger Banquet gave them a deeper understanding of hunger and poverty, or even a whole new perspective.

While this event has been a Thanksgiving seasonal tradition for nearly 40 years, we’ve seen social media bring a fresh energy to the scene that pushes the message far beyond the walls of the room and still captures that feeling of inspiration and connection.

So far, I’m impressed by the tweets I’ve read about people’s reactions to Oxfam America Hunger Banquets this fall. Believe me, I’m in the business of writing tweets–and I know how difficult it can be to convey such a BIG feeling in 140 characters. A few that caught my eye:

Just attended OXFAM’s #HungerBanquet !Great program! Loved the information and discussion! Raise awareness of world hunger! #OXFAM #CSU

— Perdeep Badhesha(@DeepNotShallow) October 16, 2012

Oxfam Hunger Banquet #dinner #rice instagr.am/p/QlKp19nmJg/

— Fiona Ian (@localskies) October 10, 2012

@hb_planning it was an enlightening experience! I was impoverished; but that was the tastiest rice I’ve had in my life

— SLiCE CSU (@slice_csu) October 23, 2012

OxFam Hunger banquet… #eyeopening

— Jess Ratliff (@jessygirl93) September 17, 2012

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Right now more than 18 million people in the western Sahel region of West Africa are facing a food crisis. Oxfam is aiming to reach more than a million people with aid. Here in the US, we’re also trying to bring attention to a crisis that hasn’t received much coverage in the news.

You can help spread the word by sharing our new “photo-infographics” (yes, I just made that term up), below, on your various social media pages. Initiallly, we wanted to create simple infographics to draw attention to some of the stark facts about the crisis. Then we had the idea to visually combine them with some of our recent Oxfam photos from the Sahel. We ended up using images from Mauritania and Burkina Faso—two of the countries hit hardest by the crisis. Hopefully, these photos are a reminder that behind every statistic is a person (or a family, or a community) trying to get by.

Here’s a little more information about the people and places behind the images:

Share this graphic on Facebook – Pinterest – Twitter

Aissata Abdoul Diop, a member of the Diawoud community women’s cooperative in Mauritania, holds drought-withered ears of corn from her fields. Lack of rain, combined with rising food prices, has put 700,000 Mauritanians at risk of hunger: about a quarter of the country’s population. People living in rural areas, like Diop, face the greatest risk. (Photo: Pablo Tosco/Oxfam)

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Last week, I asked a simple question on Facebook and Twitter: Fill in the blank: food security means _______.  I asked, not just out of curiosity, but because I hear the words “food security” floating around a lot in the Oxfam America headquarters. I knew that outside of the office it’s a term that could be interpreted in many different ways. And even though the term is academic, the concept is important. Hunger is an issue that Oxfam has been addressing for decades, but with climate change and soaring food prices, food security is back in the spotlight.

So that’s why we asked people to give us their take.  Read a few of their answers below, then tell us what food security means to you:

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Megan Weintraub oversees Oxfam’s work with social media and online advocacy.

It may seem strange, given the focus of my job, but I arrived late to Facebook. When I first considered joining, it seemed like a grand experiment in narcissism rather than a good use of my energy, and certainly not a tool for social change. Eventually, I caved when my niece was born and the photos went up. All of a sudden, I had a reason to join my friends and their friends in this bizarre space of “likes” and “wall posts.”

As a fellow Facebook skeptic, I understand Malcolm Gladwell’s critique of social media in his recent New Yorker article “Small change: Why the revolution will not be tweeted.” Gladwell challenges the notion that social media tools like Facebook and Twitter can create social change, pointing to several examples of our misguided assessment of their role in major global events like the protests in Moldova and Iran in 2009. His conclusions have sparked a public debate about the ways we use social media to educate and motivate supporters.

While working at Oxfam, I have collaborated with others to take advantage of the speed and scale of social media. We’ve organized events, posted videos highlighting the work of our partners, and updated supporters about Oxfam’s emergency response to the Haiti earthquake. These examples share more than space on the Oxfam America Facebook wall. They also demonstrate how “weak ties,” the connections between people who may never shake hands or share a meal, can bring supporters closer to social change taking place on the ground.

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Victoria Marzilli is Oxfam America’s social media specialist.

An Oxfam advocate poses for a picture in front of Oxfam's #WorldIWant posters at the Stand Up Against Poverty event at Lincoln Center in New York, New York, Sunday, Sept. 19, 2010, just prior to the UN MDG Summit. Photo: Jacob Silberberg / Oxfam America

Yesterday, President Obama announced a global development policy at the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Summit—a big step towards fulfilling US development promises and helping people lift themselves out of poverty. In addition to organizing events outside the UN summit and working to influence US officials, Oxfam America used social media to raise awareness and spur a conversation about how the MDGs can help us achieve the world we want.

Earlier this month, I posed that same question to Oxfam America’s Twitter followers: What does the world you want look like? Not just out of curiosity, but in order to raise awareness about the MDGs and how they help us achieve a better world—one without poverty, hunger, and social injustice.

Using the hashtag #worldiwant, we captured thousands of tweets from all over the world and brought a select few to this week’s UN MDGs summit in New York City, in the form of posters displayed during the event at Lincoln Center (see more photos on Flickr).  Here are a few of your creative responses that were among my favorites:

 @ClaudiaCostin: I want a world where kids go to school every day, knowing that this will make the difference in their lives. #worldIwant
*Claudia Costin is Rio de Janeiro’s Secretary of Education.

@voiceteam: #worldiwant – people can hold leaders to account and decisions that affect the poorest people are made openly and transparently
*Voice connects bloggers with important political events.

@SocialCauseGuru: #WorldIwant A world where violence against women is NEVER tolerated

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Lots of worry about Haiti here at Oxfam America today: we are concerned about our colleagues based in the country, and the relatives of our friends like Sophia Lafontant. At least two of our colleagues here in Boston used to work in Haiti for Oxfam and other organizations. They have friends who are no doubt struggling to recover.

So how can we find out what is happening while our friends and colleagues in Haiti get to the grim tasks at hand? This morning we took a good look at the media and one thing is for certain: Technology is changing the way we report on disasters like yesterday’s earthquake. With so much information available via cell phones and digital cameras, news agencies and others can learn things very quickly as long as the internet and wireless telephone networks are functioning. That’s a significant “if:” Our colleagues in England reported late last night, “One SMS was received from a member of the [Oxfam Great Britain] team indicating that most staff are well, however it has been impossible to contact and gain more clarity from the team.” Read the rest of this entry »

Tim Fullerton, Oxfam’s online communications manager, shares his thoughts on four years of reaching out to supporters.

If you are on Oxfam’s email list, are a fan of ours on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter, you’ve probably wondered to yourself, “Who is this Tim Fullerton character who’s always sending me emails? Is he real, or just some imaginary person who likes to fill my inbox with Oxfam stuff?”

Well I’m here to tell you that I am in fact real–and that I won’t be emailing you for much longer. Today is my last day at Oxfam, and whether you know it or not, you’ve been part of my extended family over the years: the 350,000 online supporters with whom I’ve developed a very close relationship.

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