Eco City: Projection Mapping For Social Impact

Japanese artist Hidetaka Nakamura uses animation to bring about awareness about social issues in Cambodia. In this post, I talk about his Eco City project, he makes large screen projections of animations drawn by children on the wall of underground sewage plant. The children visit this underground sewage plant along the river front of Phnom Penh, they participate in pop quiz about environmental issues. The animated characters teach the children about recycling and garbage disposal.

This the second edition of the Eco city project in Cambodia. I'll be working with Hidetaka on the next projection mapping to bring real time animation of the drawings and immersive interaction of projection mapping next year. Stay tuned.

Polycom Communicator C100 Conference Speakerphone

Over the last years, I helped non-profits use technology for social impact. At times the technology solutions were complex; at other times they were off-the-shelf consumer electronics. In this post, I'll share an example that added value to the NGO Resource Centre in Hanoi, Vietnam.

NGO Resource Centre needed a solution to improve the audio quality of teleconferences. People connected to the NGO Resource centre's working group meetings using Skype from all over Vietnam and the world. We need an affordable conference speakerphone, non-profits often have very limited budget for technology. This device had to be simple to use, without the need for additional training and able to capture voice of half a dozen people sitting around a large conference table.

First I considered using regular Bluetooth hands free speakerphone, however they are really designed for use of single person and the quality of microphone is not suitable for conference use. After some research, I found the Polycom Communicator C100 that fitted the bill perfectly. We were able to buy this device locally in Hanoi.The feedback from NGO Resource Centre staff and the participants of the teleconferences was very positive. The audio quality was really great. The dual microphones provide great audio quality and speaker volume was loud yet clear. The Polycom C100 plugs into your computer and works with Skype software client on the computer out of the box.

When providing technology solutions, it is very important that the technology should make one's life easier not challenging. That means finding a solution that is easy to find locally, easy to use and within the budget.

And don't forget to share your experiences working with technology for social impact projects using the comment form below.

The Web We Want: An Open Letter (Video)

The Web is our largest shared resource. Let's keep it free and open for us, and for the next generation.

What kind of Web do you want? Tell us: http://mzl.la/1hHyqBq

Learn more about at webwewant.mozilla.org and WebWeWant.org global movement to defend, claim and change the future of the Web.

Sugar Learning Platform

Last weekend I attended the Vietnam Tech Conference 2014 in Hanoi. The event brought together educators from across south east asia to learn and share about the use of technology within the classroom.

My talk introduced the Sugar learning platform that was developed for OLPC laptops. Designed from the ground up especially for children. Sugar User Interfaces moves away from traditional 'desktop' metaphor. It makes collaborative learning a fun experience. There are numerous activities that promotes self-learning.

What is Sugar on a stick?

Sugar on a Stick is a Fedora® Spin Live USB operating system featuring the award-winning Sugar Learning Platform and designed to fit on an ordinary USB thumbdrive ("stick").

It will run on any recent x86-based computer that can boot from a USB stick (check the BIOS settings if it doesn't work straight away). This includes most Windows and Linux PCs and x86 Macs.

You can use SoaS to demo Sugar almost anywhere without disturbing the contents of the computer you use, and if people like what they see, you can install Sugar on a Stick to their hard drives or other sticks from the demo stick.

Learn more about Sugar on a stick here.

WakaWaka Compact Solar Power Charger and Light

Growing up in rural India, we experienced severe shortage of electricity. I spent many nights finishing home work by the light of the gas lantern. The lack of electricity adversely effect education and the overall development of the country. The WakaWaka project ('Shine Bright' in Swahili) aims to bring low-cost solar-powered LED lamps to developing countries. The project was successfully funded on Kickstarter crowdfunding site and went into production two weeks later.

What is WakaWaka Power?

A sturdy, highly efficient, sustainable, solar-powered LED lamp. The WakaWaka Light is as much an indispensable product for those in the West, as it is the solution for the 1.3 billion people living without electricity. It is twice as efficient as any other solar lamp on the market and is making a significant impact around the world.

Jackie Sawiris: He Must Be a Friend

My friend Jackie was assaulted in Amman. She has been fighting harassment through the objecDEFY harassment project.

objecDEFY Harassment is a women-powered, Arab world-based, self-perpetuating system that empowers women to combat harassment.

Please help break the silence and spread the word. Jackie speaks about her ordeal here.

"He Must be a Friend" (www.7iber.com)
"Must be a Friend" (www.sawtalniswa.com)

Visit the www.objecDEFY.com website and join the efforts to fight back.

Apps for Development Competition

The Apps for Development Competition aims to bring together software developers and development practitioners to use World Bank data in the creation of innovative software applications.

The Competition challenges participants to develop software apps related to one or more of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The apps could serve to raise awareness, measure progress, or help achieve the MDGs. The app should also use one or more datasets from the World Bank Data Catalog, found at http://data.worldbank.org.

For example, a technology student or an employee in a computer company can create a program that predicts the concentration of internet use in various parts of the world 5 or 10 years from now.

Or, a government office can get data from Doing Business and create an application that would locate the country that is most conducive for the country's investment based on trading across borders and taxes.

The following link has a video with many other ideas that came out of a meeting between software developers and development specialists in the warm-up to the competition launch: http://appsfordevelopment.challengepost.com/resources#ideas

Who can enter? Entries may be made by any individuals or teams, including researchers, academics, policy makers, non-profit or civil society organizations, private sector companies, statisticians, software developers, social entrepreneurs, etc.

What kind of “apps” or applications are eligible, and how will they be assessed? Any software application—whether web-based, mobile, SMS, smart phone, desktop, or tablet—that includes World Bank data will be qualified, as long as it meets the eligibility requirements set forth on the official Competition website.

Prizes

First Prize $15,000 USD
Second Prize $10,000 USD
Third Prize $5,000 USD
Honorable Mentions (5) $2,000 USD Each
Popular Choice Award $5,000 USD
Large Organization Recognition Award: The Large Organization Award winner will receive public acknowledgement, but no cash prize.

Deadline for submissions is January 10, 2011.

For more information, rules, and submission guidelines, go to www.worldbank.org/appsfordevelopment


Apps for Development Competition Video Conference - Hanoi

This video conference session is organized to brief you about the competition in details. The video conference will be held on Tuesday, November 02, 2010, from 6pm to 9pm.

Venue: Vietnam Development Information Center, 2nd floor, 63 Ly Thai To, Hanoi.

For registration, please contact Ms Vu Thi Nha, office phone: 04-3934 6845, email: nvu2@worldbank.org.

Web Accessibility Initiative in India: Technology, Standards and Implementation workshop

W3C India office and Yahoo! India Research & Development is organizing a Workshop on Web Accessibility Initiative in India: Technology, Standards and Implementation on 11 December 2010, Bangalore. Workshop would provide the technology developers, web service and solution providers, Policy makers, NGOs and users a unique platform for understanding the common needs and implementation issues.

The special focus of workshop will be on multilingual requirements in web accessibility area and capturing the requirements for Indian languages as per W3C WCAG 2.0 Standards.

The details of the workshop may be referred at: http://www.w3cindia.in/wai_conf/waiweb.html .

The workshop is free of Cost and the last date for registration is 25th November 2010.

Topics to be Covered in Workshop

W3C and Web Accessibility Initiative

• Overview of Web accessibilty and role of W3C Standards
• WCAG 2.0
• WAI-Accessible Rich Internet Applications (WAI-ARIA) 1.0

Web Accessibility Status in India

• Challenges Multilingual web Access
• Adoption of W3C WCAG 2.0
• Guidelines for Indian Government websites-Roadmap from Web Accessibility respective and Accessibility of PDF and OFFICE documents
• Certification,Compliance and Evaluation tools
• Casestudy : Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment

Emerging Technology and Web Accessibility Implications

• HTML 5.0 and Accessibility
• Mobile Web and Accessibility
• Accessibility Issues for Next Generation Devices

Technology Development for Multilingual Accessibility in India

• TTS In Indian Languages
• Braille Interface in Indian Language

Business and Strategic Perspective of Web Accessibility

• Industry Session

Summary and Recommendations

Jump-start Camp on Web Technology For Non-profits

A four-day workshop on the essentials of using open-source software for non-profit uses. Workshop content will not be demanding in terms of existing skills and will require only curiosity, enthusiasm and openness for successful participation. This workshop will act as a catalyst for concerned individuals, resources and urgent needs in the field of web technology for non-profit use. The potential for non-profits to use the potential of web-publishing, social networking, online communities and SMS will be explored through case-studies and examples as well as rapid hands-on exercises.

For this workshop the OpenSpace Pune website will be taken up and as an exercise and as a project and in the four days we will learn quick and effective ways of using free and open source software to address the needs of a network based organization like OpenSpace. Tools for networking, discussion, mass-action, advocacy and activism will be explored. Enthusiastic workshop participants will have the opportunity to continue an engagement (with a stipend and other benefits) with OpenSpace for the technology projects.

To apply email Renu Iyer at renu@openspaceindia.org with the required information requested on the events page.

Namma Dhawani (Our Voice) Community Radio

A film made by the Namma Dhwani community radio team. Short and effective, showcasing potential of community radio in India