About
The Grannies — Our Volunteer eMediators
The term ‘Granny’ is a gender and age-free term. The Grannies are women and men of all ages and all walks of life. Over the years we have welcomed volunteers ranging from 24 to 80 years old.
Who Are the Grannies?
The Granny Cloud, which began in 2008–2009, was originally called Self Organised Mediation Environments (SOME). The ‘grandmother approach’ was how the concept was described to emphasize the warm, encouraging nature of the interaction. The media picked up the word ‘grandmother’ and — since it was a relationship over the internet — the term ‘Granny Cloud’ developed and stuck!
All Grannies have been volunteers, coming from many different countries. English was NOT the native language for all of them. They have come from varied walks of life — educators, engineers, scientists, architects, government officials and homemakers. Some retired, some still working, but all sharing a passion for working with children.
The Granny Cloud Team
The Granny Cloud Team has many different people in it. At its heart are the children — our raison d’être — and, of course, the Grannies [the eMediators]. But there are other people working in the background: Coordinators (sometimes teachers at a school, sometimes community volunteers) who serve as the vital bridge between the children and the Grannies.