About SOKONI

Welcome to SOKONI*

This global space allows Red Cross and Red Crescent volunteers and staff to discuss in forums; share experiences and National Societies-developed approaches; reflect on lessons learned; post questions, and access existing official guidelines and tools from existing IFRC websites. The forums are a virtual space to help build a strong community of Red Cross and Red Crescent Volunteers by fostering discussion and sharing best practices around the COVID-19 emergency response. This approach enables in-depth discussion and experiences sharing on specific topics, while at the same time guaranteeing the monitoring of the contents of the discussion and documents posted through thematic moderators.

The main features of SOKONI are:

Forums of discussion on thematic COVID-19 related issues moderated by experts in the different thematic areas, automatically translated into a large variety of different languages.
Space with resources to existing validated IFRC documents on thematic issues. These links will automatically access latest versions of documents from the IFRC GO platform, the IFRC extranet FedNet, and link to the GDPC – IFRC Business Continuity Plan Help Desk, and others.
Space to share documents directly uploaded by NSs representatives on thematic items treated in the forums: lessons learned, approaches, experiences.
Online map – Volunteers in Actions. Volunteers and NSs can share their activities and place them in the world map in real time.

This special “SOKONI” webspace will serve as the primary public website and marketplace where the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement can access and interact on all matters related to COVID-19. This website is embedded in the Volunteering Development Platform (VODPLA) – www.volunteeringredcross.org, which was created by the Americas Regional Office, through Volunteering and Youth Unit to support the priorities and needs of volunteers and NSs in the Americas. Thanks for your support and contribution to this initiative. For any questions about SOKONI: support.sokoni@ifrc.org

*SOKONI is a Swahili word for ‘marketplace’. In most cultures, the marketplace is a space to connect, to share, to exert curiosity and look for novelty, to get to meet others, communicate, test ideas, and listen to the cacophony of sellers, buyers and passers-by. SOKONI is such place to share ideas, in order to improve our response to COVID-19.