In Washington, DC, members of feminist organizations of long standing and feminist members of the blogospere met face to face for the first time. Now comes the hard part: to see what each group might offer the other.
Interview with Mary Nyakira of BROSDI/CELAC Uganda during the MobileActive 2008 conference in Johannesburg South Africa.
Following the initial rush of Information and communication technologies for development (ICT4D) projects in rural Africa, many did not yield the anticipated outcomes, and interest has been dying down. People then began talking about “sustainable ICT” projects, in which it was understood that projects would become self-sufficient after their initial donor-led investment and set-up period. But with the use of mobile phones gaining in popularity, popular rhetoric has begun to question the need of ICTs beyond the mobile phone.
With no fixed-line service and mobile phone operators reluctant to invest in rural areas, the Fantsuam Foundation decided to provide VoIP to customers on its wireless network in northern Nigeria.
Dan Simmons visits a project in Kenya that helps blind and partially sighted users compete in a jobs market that values computer skills.
A Ghanaian software company helps farmers get a fairer deal for their crops.
The United Nations Foundation and Vodafone Foundation’s Technology Partnership (Technology Partnership) are expanding their mobile health (mHealth) program in Africa.
Meet Rael Lissoos, a economist turned geek entrepreneur. While I have been talking about Village Telcos, Rael has been out building one in Orange Farm, a township about an hour south of Johannesburg.
New wireless networking breakthroughs have inspired communities to build their own communications infrastructures and have spurred the development of innovative applications and services. Wireless networking for communities, citizens and the public interest has leveraged inexpensive and flexible technologies and provided broadband access as well as community media applications. Community wireless networks have mobilized groups of citizens, local governments, non-profit organizations, and development agencies to collaborate in creating locally-appropriate communications tools.
This case study, by Ms Kathleen Diga from IDRC, examines the spending behaviour of households with mobile phones in rural Uganda and whether such strategies such as substitutions have affected the well-being of these community members.
