2nd XUNICEF Community Communications Meeting : Tom McDermott

 

XUNICEF Community Communications Meeting — Summary of Main Points Second Online Discussion, February 19, 2026

Member Survey A first draft questionnaire was presented by Margherita. Carina shared the Word document for those participants who had not seen it earlier. Beyond the survey, Margherita put forward several specific proposals for making the community more interactive and inclusive: periodic thematic online discussion sessions on topics such as pensions, healthy living, and AI; a "Culture Club" for monthly cultural discussions; a UNICEF collective memory section featuring interviews and essays from long-serving staff; and mini-reunions as a complement to the full global gathering. A related proposal emerged for informal periodic online social gatherings — described as "cafeteria"-style drop-in sessions — with different members taking turns hosting or leading them.

Action: Saad Houry and Margherita Hanini Amodeo agreed to collaborate on drafting a simple membership questionnaire (yes/no, multiple choice) to gauge the range of interests and community activities in which members would like to participate. They plan to finalize the draft and send it to Tom for review before distribution to the full membership via email and the blog.

Member Directory and Privacy The current member list on the blog shows names and locations only. Members wishing to contact another member are directed to contact Oscar or the editors. Several participants noted that the process of finding a fellow member's email address is cumbersome, and the group explored whether a more accessible contact system could be introduced while respecting members' privacy preferences. There are serious concerns about making email addresses fully public. The group discussed two alternatives: asking members individually whether they would consent to having their address posted, and restricting the list to password-protected access — though the latter was felt to be too complicated for many members.

Editorial Transition (March 31 deadline) The editorial team announced in December that they planned to step down at the end of March, hoping that new volunteers would step up to keep the blog running. Since then, four new volunteers have agreed to join, and there are possibly others who have expressed interest. One or two current team members plan to continue after March, and all current members have agreed to help and mentor the newcomers before and after the handover. Given the short time remaining, however, it is not certain that the blog will be able to continue in its present form.

Tom McDermott and Detlef Palm are stepping down at the end of March. Doreen is on extended sick leave while recovering from surgery. Fouad Kronfol will continue in an advisory and institutional memory role.

The four new editors who have agreed to join are:

• Rob Carr (Tirana), taking over Features from Doreen
• Joachim Theis (Tokyo), becoming photo editor and working to renew the Instagram channel
• Soji (Nigeria) — no assignments discussed yet, but meanwhile reaching out to national focal points in Africa to seek articles
• Tim Sutton (New Zealand) — no assignments discussed yet
• Mary Ann (Philippines) — no assignments discussed yet

Major concerns:

• who will lead the team
• who will have the practical skills of posting on Blogger
• who will handle the daily flow of articles arriving from contributors
• the geographic spread and the differences in time zones, particularly as three of the newcomers are in the Pacific region.  

Several participants urged that at least two members of the outgoing team remain involved on a rotating basis to ensure continuity. Tom and Detlef indicated they would remain available for technical support and contributions, but not in active daily posting roles.

Doreen's Recovery The discussion of Doreen's surgery prompted broader reflection on how the community could better support members going through health crises.

Platform and Communications Options Three options were discussed for community engagement beyond the blog:

• Google Groups (Forum): Researched by Carina Prakke as a "central marketplace" allowing open threaded conversations on any topic, linkable to Google Calendar and Google Meet, and accessible without a Gmail account. Seen as complementary to the blog rather than a replacement. One advantage: the Forum already exists as a Google Group but has been inactive for some time.
• Google Chat/Spaces: Researched by Oscar Fernandez; functions more like WhatsApp for real-time exchange. One issue: both Google Groups and Chat Spaces require a Google account, and at least 469 of the roughly 1,200 members do not currently use Gmail. One solution: members can open a Google account without using it for Gmail, keeping their current email provider.
• A new or continuing Blog: Consensus that the blog should continue as the primary vehicle for pushing content outward to the community. Its strength is one-way information delivery; its weakness is limited interactive capacity.

Action: Carina and Oscar agreed to collaborate on a pilot test of Google Groups and Google Chat with a group of roughly 15 volunteers before any broader rollout.

Membership and Newly Separated Staff XUNICEF now has approximately 1,200 members, with 56 new members joining since January 2026 — largely attributed to outreach by Niloufar, Carina and others. Rob Carr raised an important point: many recent joiners are staff separated from UNICEF involuntarily at the end of 2025. Their needs differ significantly from those of long-retired members — they may be seeking peer support, career networking, and a sense of community rather than institutional nostalgia. The forum model was seen as potentially well-suited to meeting those needs.