Tradition meets technology : building caring community online

Abstract

Community has historically provided an essential psycho-spiritual framework for nursing. Changes in communication technology pose challenges for nurses internationally who create communities across borders. This article discusses The Bamboo Bridge online community, a project responding to the global call for nursing education about the complementarity of nursing and healing traditions. The project explores how technologies such as Centra and Ning promote community building and encourage belonging in members from 5 continents and 10 countries. This article includes detailed accounts of the project design, examples of cultural diplomacy as the emerging theoretical framework, and an African member’s perspective of online community.