Getting Social, for the Public Good.

Social Media Week 2012 is from February 13 to17 and the theme is Empowering Change Through Collaboration.Social Media Week is just around the corner, with some great events scheduled from February 13-17. It’s a global phenomenon with events in Hamburg, Hong Kong, London, Miami, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Sao Paulo, Singapore, Tokyo, Washington DC – and Toronto of course.

This year the theme is Empowering Change Through Collaboration, and the organizers are asking YOU to explore how social media is changing governments, businesses and organizations around the world.

See the short promo video for Social Media Week. 

The events are free, and there are a number of sessions geared specifically to non-profits, the arts, and the public sector. So browse through the schedule, register for the sessions that catch your eye and get ready for some great discussions about how social media can help the voluntary sector collaborate and do more good work.

After a first glance at the Toronto line-up, here are some of the events that I think might appeal to my friends in non-profits.

Monday

• Digital Storytelling and Live Performance (Hosted by Theatre Centre) 
• Sub-Saharan Africa: The Other Social Media Revolution (Hosted by Journalists for Human Rights)
• Social Media: Successful Audience/Community Engagement in Arts & Culture (Hosted by Canada's National Ballet School)
• Now Trending: Social media & the charitable sector (hosted by Artez Interactive)

Tuesday

• Social Art, Social Media. (Hosted by Art Gallery of Ontario)

Wednesday

• Social Media, Crowdsourcing and Microvolunteering for Charities and Non-profits (Hosted by Fundchange, Koodonation and Telus)
• The Social Media Remix: A discussion with marketers and non-profits (Hosted by The Remix Project)

Thursday

• An Evening on the Evolution of Democracy (Hosted by CitizenBridge.org)

Writer friends and colleagues from the Professional Writers Association of Canada may be interested in two sessions:  Digital Journalism for pay, hosted by PWAC Toronto and Getting Serious About Travel Blogging, hosted by Toronto Travel Massive

Between events you can stop by the SMWTO Coffee House by ING Direct at 221 Yonge Street. They’re offering free coffee and Wifi all week. Enough said.

If you’re looking for more discussion and to compare notes about sessions geared to non-profits, join members of the Cause to Market Meetup Group the week after on the evening of February 22.

To stay updated follow the Social Media Week Toronto Twitter account @smwto or like the Facebook page for Social Media Week 2012.

There are lots of good sessions on the Toronto schedule already, and event submissions are accepted until January 31st. So there are more to come.

Which sessions are you most excited about? Is there anything you'd like to see on the schedule that's not there yet?