MISSION
Meedan is a global technology, 501(c)3 not-for-profit that builds software and programmatic initiatives to strengthen journalism, digital literacy, and accessibility of information online and off.
They develop open-source tools for creating and sharing context on digital media through annotation, verification, archival, and translation.
They work with technologists, newsrooms, fact-checkers, public health professionals, NGOs and academic institutions on award-winning projects from election monitoring to pandemic response to human rights documentation. This work supports their vision of a more equitable internet.
VALUES
Meedan’s seven core values reflect their operating principles, organizational culture and best practices as a team. They developed them with all their staff during team retreats and online conversations and seek to embody them in their daily work both within the organization and in the broader professional world.
Be global
Meedan operates globally and thinks globally. This includes working in and with underrepresented countries and regions, especially in emerging economies. While their organization is headquartered in California, their staff and partners operate in a number of different latitudes and time zones.
Practice empathy
Empathy is in a sense the base value at Meedan. To practice empathy they must have semantic, political, and ideological modesty and a deep respect for context—this occurs naturally in global systems where in the course of their collaborations they recognize and constantly bump into the fragility and contextuality of meaning.
Collaborate in community
They believe in designing with, not for, whether that’s designing a new initiative from the ground up or supporting a partner in their existing work. Collaboration requires holistic thinking and multistakeholderism, and they make active contributions to the global journalism, fact-checking, human rights and technology communities. Healthy communities are the byproduct of good collaboration.
Encourage inclusion
They encourage diverse thinking and diverse teams and recognize at the same time that with diversity can often come competing viewpoints. The tension that arises from diversity is not only inevitable, it is also desirable: it avoids the comfort of a single viewpoint that leads to narrow understandings and narrow experiences.
Own their impact
They value measurable impact, using both quantitative and qualitative metrics. Their work is more than words—they want to effect change for the benefit of others. Meedan team members are self-reliant, proactive agents who understand and buy into the overall organization direction, and they take responsibility for the organization’s overall success and commitment to deliver impact.
Embody awesome
In everything they do, they try to embody awesomeness in all its forms. They take pride in their work and in their individuality as people. That could mean an occasional “Fancy Friday” or Mario Kart tournament, or just being excellent to each other in drop-in virtual coffees with staff and partners.
Respect context
The meaning of a word is found in its use. They began as a language technology project grounded in a desire to show the linguistic contextuality of media narratives and build empathy. They have remained committed to the idea that their software should do a better job of holding, documenting, explaining, and sharing digital and semantic and linguistic contexts.
