Brightwave (UK), September 2014 - UNISON, one of the UK's largest trade unions and Europe's largest public-service union, has launched a new online learning community using Brightwave's award-winning total learning system "tessello". Unveiled for the first time at their National Delegate Conference in June, where delegates from across the union came together to decide the union's policies and priorities, Organising Space has been launched as the union's new, pioneering secure social-learning microsite exclusively for activists and staff.
Launched to approximately 1,800 members of UNISON's activist community, the union is expecting more than half of this number to be signed up to the platform in the first two weeks. With more than 1.3 million members, a key challenge for UNISON is ensuring the ongoing exchange of ideas, action, and success across the community.
Driven by the social and collaborative environment provided by tessello, Organising Space has been designed to support relationship building and the effective sharing of knowledge, learning and experiences. One of the earliest adopters of "tin-can" technology, the tessello platform allows activists and staff to share content, have discussions, ask experts, and seek support from peers.
Crucially, learners can bring offline, informal learning experiences into the community to share not only best practice, but success in the organising space. With a quarter of UNISON'S members joining from private-sector employers, there is an expectation within the community for access to the best tools and resources to help them work quickly and effectively, as well as to add value. The new platform provides activists and members with a solution to exchange information quickly, supporting UNISON's strategy to be an agile, responsive organisation with its finger on the pulse of the issues facing its members.
Roger McKenzie, Assistant General Secretary for UNISON said, "For the first time we will have a dedicated online resource that properly supports and advances our ability to deliver effective trade-union organising right across the union. This is a crucial tool in facing up to the challenges of the modern industrial-relations landscape, building a stronger, more sustainable union for all our members."
