At 12:19 am this morning, our Facebook page crossed 100,000 fans. In the span of 3+ months, we've built a community that truly cares about climate change. When C4C launched in September, we had no idea how massive we could actually grow this community on our way to Durban. Every step of the way, we have learned new ways to engage with you, new ways include everyone in the conversation, and most definitely, we have learned how to listen to what you have to say.
You shared over 670 stories on climate change through our photo/video competition, and you wrote over 25 blog posts during African Voices on Climate Change (AVCC) week. Your comments, your shares, your photographs and your videos have made C4C what it is today. We set out to learn from you and hear from you and you did not disappoint.
This is not simply a community of people that just "like" a page and then don't engage. Our Facebook community actually engages in global climate change discussions on the page. On average, you are having 15,000 daily conversations on our wall. Your contributions ensure that over six million people are exposed to the climate change conversation on a weekly basis.
The underlying beauty of this engagement is not that it is a conversation happening in Africa, but it is truly a global engagement. For example, Indonesia, Pakistan, Peru, Algeria, and Egypt drove a majority of the conversation on our wall this week. The age range of those engaged in this critical climate change conversation is also very encouraging. The youth bulge is truly showing that it is concerned with its future. By far, the greatest engaged demographic was between the ages of 13 and 24. The gender gap narrowed slightly in the last month and could use some improvement. So far the spread sits at 64% men and 36% women. We could use more voices from girls and women. We have highlighted how climate change has a gender dynamic, where women are more negatively impacted than men, especially in Africa, so raising the voices of women in this conversation is of critical importance.
Of course, the C4C team shouldn't take all of the credit for all this engagement. Behind our success is the institutional power of over 110 partners, from small grass roots NGOs to large UN organizations. This network of partners has shared content and promoted the C4C platform to their global audiences. This has served to drive traffic to our various social media platforms and growing our global audience.
As the C4C team packs up to head to Durban this week, we are more than ecstatic at crossing this symbolic milestone and representing your voices at Durban. We will share your views, your concerns, and your stories. Stay tuned this coming week as we announce the winners of our photo/video competition. But don't stop engaging because COP17 is finally here. The conversation must now continue on towards Rio+20 next June. Make sure to check this blog, Facebook wall, and Twitter streams for updates from Durban.
Thank you, everyone, for your valuable contributions so far.
