Get your smart phones ready

Here at SPVA, we're looking at ways people search for information and we're also embracing digital and social media so we can share our information in different ways. 

So, for those of you lucky enough to have a Smart Phone, here's a SPVA QR code to scan that will take you directly to our website.

We'd be interested to know if you use QR codes to find information, so post a comment and let us know.

SPVA is getting more sociable

We launched our Facebook page today.  The page will complement our existing social media work on Twitter,  podcasts and videos, which can be found on our Social Media Hub.

If you use Facebook as a way of finding or sharing information then your help in raising awareness of our Facebook page would be greatly appreciated. Simply visit our page today and click on the share button on the left hand side of the page.

Find out why you need to stay safe online

Think before you . . .  

How an MOD campaign is helping the Armed Forces Community stay safe online . . .

With Twitter users sending 200 million tweets per day and over 700 billion minutes per month spent on Facebook, Social Media tools have become the quickest way to share information across the world.  But who are you sharing information with?

If you use social media as a way to stay in touch, then the online guidance produced for the MOD’s Online Security Awareness Campaign – Think before you share . . . – may be useful for you to enjoy the benefits of sharing information while staying safe online.

In our  latest podcast, SPVA presenter Joanne Lowe interviews Pippa Norris from the Directorate Media and Communications to find out more about the campaign.

Pippa said:

“Our campaign is for all the Armed Forces Community. We want people to enjoy using social networks but we also want to ensure they have all the information to protect themself online.  The information would benefit any member of the Armed Forces Community, so please take a listen to the podcast today”

Laurie Manton, SPVA Spokesman said:

“As part of the MOD, we at SPVA have a responsibility to raise awareness of the guidance so that wider awareness can be spread among members of the Armed Forces Community.  Our own staff use social media as a way to raise awareness of our services, so we have found the guidance useful and it will help us stay safe online too.” 

The podcast and other SPVA social media products are available to access on the SPVA Social Media Hub via the Veterans-UK website, www.veterans-uk.info , and on various social media sites such as iTunes and YouTube.

How personal do you want your profile to be?

The third video for the MOD Online Security Awareness Campaign is now online.

An MOD Civil Servant is using LinkedIn to share her personal information, but how personal does she want her profile to be?

What kind of YouTube hit do you want to be?

The fourth and final video for the MOD Online Security Awareness Campaign is now online.

A couple of solders are chatting about a video they've shared online, but what sort of YouTube hit do they want to be?


For more information, click here

Sharing information online

The Teaser for the second video to be released as part of the new MOD online security awareness campaign.

The Mother of an Airman in the RAF is using Facebook but it may not be friends and family reading her status updates.

The new online guidance provides tips on how to keep secure when online, the information is useful for all members of the Armed Forces Community.

Think Before You...

The MOD has just launched a new personal online security awareness campaign.

The campaign aims to encourage Service Personnel and MOD civilians to carefully consider possible repercussions before posting information on social networking sites.

There is also new MOD guidance - Think Before You . . . - for personnel using social media sites like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, which advises them not to put themselves or others at increased risk by releasing too much information about themselves or other operational details.

Risks to Service personnel - and potentially their families - include posting details and locations of troop movements, operational events, locations and travel details of ships or aircraft, as well as people's home addresses. If inadvertently released, information such as this could give the UK's enemies the upper hand. 

The guidance and products to download (web banners, posters, etc) would be useful for anyone in the Armed Forces Community.

Online videos have been released as part of the campaign and we'll be posting links to them shortly.

Latest Veterans Today video release

We have now released the fourth in our series of videos highlighting a variety of items of interest to the Service and veterans community.

In the latest edition of ‘Veterans Today’, presenter Don Goldie takes viewers on a tour of Ilford Park Polish Home.

Situated just a few miles from Newton Abbot in Devon, the Home provides residential and nursing care for those who qualify for admission under the 1947 Polish Resettlement Act.

This historic establishment, administered by SPVA, has been home to a thriving Polish community for over 60 years. The Home was founded as a result of a promise made by Winston Churchill to the Polish people during the Second World War.

Even today, the Home preserves its distinctly Polish ambience, which is reflected in the food, music and language shared by the residents.

During the programme, Clare Thomas who manages the home on behalf of SPVA, explains how the customs and traditions of the residents continue to be nurtured and how the community has, over the years, become firmly established as an integral and cherished part of Poland, set deep in the Devon countryside.

‘Veterans Today’ is available to view on the Veterans-UK website and is syndicated via iTunes and YouTube and other social media sites - you can find the links on our Social Media Hub.

Coming soon

Location filming for the next SPVA video

We're busy working on new social media products that we be releasing over the next few months leading up to Christmas, so just wanted to keep you posted on things to come.

There are podcasts planned on the new issue of Veterans WORLD (due out in the next couple of weeks), the continuing search for relatives of those killed at Fromelles and an interview with Jenny Green to discuss the Cruse Project which is supporting bereaved military families.

We've also got a new video in production, explaining the work of the Historical Casualty Casework Team which we will be posting on our YouTube channel and placing on our website in the next couple of months.

Keep an eye on our Social Media Hub for our new releases. Don't forget you can also follow us on Twitter and keep updated on news from SPVA.

SPVA embraces Social Media

Don Goldie and Clare Ellis, the SPVA podcast presenters

Podcasting is a really good way to get information to the Armed Forces Community (Service personnel, Veterans and their families) and the general public. Here in SPVA, we launched our regular programme of podcasts in February this year.

We've already released podcasts on the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme Review and The Ilford Park Polish Home. The podcasts are available from our Social Media Hub. If you prefer, they can be downloaded from iTunes. The link can be found on the Hub.

We are also on Twitter, so you can also follow our tweets.

SPVA puts veterans in the frame

2010 will see SPVA developing Social Media products, embracing the latest ways to communicate our information to the Digital Generation.

Our products are raising awareness of the services our Agency provides to the Armed Forces Community. Over the past few months, we've launched our first podcasts followed by the recent introduction of our first videocast. All are accessible via our Social Media Hub which includes links to our products on YouTube and iTunes.

For further information about our first video cast, check out our latest press release here