Earthquake in Haiti: How You can Help and Learn More

Posted by PrabhasPokharel on Jan 13, 2010

Relief efforts are ongoing after a powerful 7.0 earthquake that struck Haiti yesterday. Mobile phones play a huge part in relief efforts today, from supporting donations, citizen media coming from affected areas, to emergency relief coordination. Here are some links and information you might find useful in responding to and learning more about the Haiti earthquakes.  

Mobile Donations

[This section last updated 01/15/2010 12:59 pm]

Text message donations are exploding in the aftermath of the earthquake, similar to what happened in 2004 after the Indonesian Tsunami. $9 million has already been donated by noon on Friday January 15 just to the Red Cross via the 90999 number.

A list of all short codes to text to to donate on your phone bill in the United States:

  • Text HAITI to 90999 to donate $10 to the Red Cross for Haiti efforts. You can donate $10 up to three times, and 100% of the donations will reach the Red Cross Foundation. This effort is run by Mobile Accord.
  • Text YELE to 501501 to donate $5 to the Wyclef Jean's Yele Haiti Foundation. 501501 is run by Give On the Go, a service provider for the Mobile Giving Foundation. Ashley Nay, who is in Business Development at Give On the Go told MobileActive on the phone that "100% of the donations go to YELE" from these donations.
  • Text HAITI to 25383 to donate $5 to International Rescue Committee.
  • Text RELIEF to 30644 to get automatically connected to Catholic Relief Services and donate money with your credit card.
  • Text CERF to 90999 to donate $5 to The United Nations Foundation.
  • Text DISASTER to 90999 to donate $10 to Compassion International. 
  • Text HAITI to 85944 to donate $5 to the Rescue Union Mission and MedCorp International.

A list of all the non-US short codes that we know are serving as donation lines.

  • Germany: text HAITI to 81190 to donate $5 (out of which $4.83 will go to Aktion Deutschland Hilft).
  • Denmark: text Katastrofe to 1231 to donate 150 kr, or call 90 56 56 56. 
  • Canada: text HAITI to 45678 to donate $5 to the Salvation Army, again courtesy of the Mobile Giving Foundation.
  • Italy: text to 48540 to donate to the Italian Red Cross if you are on the WIND or 3 networks. If you are on Vodacom or TIM, text 48451 to donate EUR 2 (Telecom Italia users can also call this number). (Read More)
  • France: 80 222/Croix Rouge française, 80 333/Secours Populaire, et 80 444/Secours Catholique. One euro per SMS. (From a user)
  • Mexico: Telcel users can text 8888, donations will go to the Carlos Slim Foundation (Thanks @sorrelkydd)

More organizations that are working in Haiti in relief efforts are listed on  The NYTimes Lede Blog and more on MSNBC's How to Help page.

Ongoing Communications Efforts

[Update, as of 01/15/2010, ~1:30pm]

  • A good source for ongoing communication information is the Ushahidi Situation Room. We reported about the Ushahidi map for Haiti (Ushahidi is a mapping platform for crowdsourced crisis information) earlier, and it is being actively updated by the situation room setup at Tufts' Fletcher School. The Ushahidi blog also lists many of the other map-based information collection systems that have been set up.
  • This morning, Erik Hersman posted a mobile network update (01/15/2010, 10:03am) on the Situation Room page saying "Digicel is at 50% Voila & Haitel at 75%." USA Today reported yesterday that Jamaica-based Digicel has had problems getting themselves into Haiti, and that "the network is severely congested 'because of the number of people making calls and trying to receive calls.'"
  • A story on MSNBC from yesterday details some of TSF's work in Haiti. From the article:

Telecoms Sans Frontieres is hooking up terminals to facilitate communications for U.N. relief workers in Haiti, and will eventually let Haitians make free two-minute phone calls to anywhere in the world. The group's U.S. representative, Paul Margie, said the biggest challenge isn't technology but security. "The security and logistics situation on the ground is pretty bad, so finding secure locations to do these things is hard," he told me.

[Following was the section as it was posted the day after the earthquake, 01/13/2010, ~1:00pm]

  • We are hearing that Digicel, one of the main mobile operators, is intermittently working as of right now, and satellite telephone services has allowed many first-responders and witnesses to report via skype on the devastation in Haiti. Digicel has also committed $5 million for relief efforts. [WSJ]
  • Telecoms Sans Frontiers is deploying a team for support with emergency telecoms.  You can donate to their efforts at this page. From the article:

Port-au-Prince has been severely affected including critical services such as, electricity, water and phone lines. Communication appears to be almost impossible at this time, with phone lines down. Numerous buildings, including the United Nations building, are reported to have been seriously damaged.

Facing this humanitarian catastrophe, TSF has deployed an emergency team from the American base in Managua to provide a vital support in emergency telecoms. They are carrying satellite mobile and fixed telecommunications tools. Reinforcements will also be sent from TSF’s international Headquarters. In close contact with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid Department (ECHO), they are now flying to Saint-Domingue in order to rejoin Port-au-Prince as soon as possible.

At this stage there is very limited access because of debris and other obstacles on the roads. It seems that no communication can be made with the airport either, which is reported to be closed.

  • The Crisis Commons wiki is documenting some of the News, Data, and Communications efforts. In particular, they report about two mobile communication service efforts (they seek confirmation whether these are working yet): 

Information from the Ground  

Twitter Lists   

Twitter lists have become a quick-fire way to organize and aggregate  information related to events and topics. Quite a few twitter lists have  been set up by several news organizations after the Haiti  earthquake. Here is a sample:  

The twitter hashtag #haiti and a  search for haiti on twitter yield lots of info.   

US State Department/American Citizens  

Barack Obama in speech to Americans this morning listed  several ways in which the US government is trying to help relief  efforts in Haiti:  

  • Americans seeking info on family in Haiti should call  1-800-407-4747  
  • Updates from the White House's efforts will be put on  The White House Blog. From the Department of State, updates are coming on the official twitter-verified DipNote.
  • DipNote also says: Americans in Haiti can call the Embassy’s Consular Task Force at 509-2229-8942, 509-2229-8089, 509-2229-8322, or 509-2229-8672.   

Live Blogs / Other semi-live coverage  

Many blogs are covering the happenings live, and incorporating photos  and videos coming in from citizen reporters in Haiti:

  • Reuters has a page offering live coverage of events. Includes picture reports coming in through twitter, as well as News from other sources.
  • CNN iReport, a citizen journalism effort, is aggregating citizen-submitted videos and photos on this page.
  • The Lede Blog at the New York Times has ongoing coverage.
  • NPR also has ongoing coverage on its Two Way blog.
  • The Guardian also has liveblogging efforts.

(More here). Compiling citizen voices in Haiti are on this Global Voices Online page, to be updated as more content comes in.

YouTube

Youtube's search on earthquake Haiti yields many videos, and there are some dedicated channels and playlists on the cause like this one from CitizenTube.

References for Relief efforts

We have also compiled some references for those interested in reading more about previous relief efforts and resources that might help organizations running relief efforts:

If you are aware of other efforts or updates, please leave a comment. 

Earthquake in Haiti: How You can Help and Learn More data sheet 12010 Views
Countries: Haiti

MobileActive.org Seeks Researcher/Writer

Posted by KatrinVerclas on Jun 26, 2008

MobileActive.org wants to hire you! If you are a cracker-jack researcher and writer, we want you for research and stories from around the world about mobiles for social impact.  Some data entry on organizations and projects around the world using mobile phones to make the world a better place are also part of the job. Online and telephone research, interviews, writing reports and blog posts.

Must be a thorough researcher, and persuasive and clear writer. Living and working experience in developing country/ies a must. This is an ideal position for journalism graduate student with a great interest in mobile tech, or for a technologist interested in the social implications of the mobile revolution. Location in New York preferred but could be done from anywhere IF it's the right person. Fluency in Spanish or Arabic  a great plus. Some travel will be supported.

Send a resume, cover letter explaining why we should hire you, and at least TWO published pieces pertaining to this or a related subject matter of at least 300-500 words. Send your materials to katrin [at] mobileactive [dot] org. Search is open until we find the perfect candidate(s), so hurry.

Update on Myanmar/Burma Protests and Mobile Phones

Posted by KatrinVerclas on Sep 28, 2007

The Myanmar military continued to suppress demonstrations in Burma/Myanmar today with harrowing pictures of tear gas, guns, and beatings directed at the monks and many more civilian protesters, estimated at 70,000 people. We wrote earlier about the use of mobile phones in transmitting information. The BBC today has an update on the use of the Internet in getting information out of Burma, as the country is called by democracy supporters and dissidents. The article notes that mobiles were used to get information out of the country, but also as a tool by the military junta to disseminate rumors and false information. This is something that we have seen elsewhere - mobiles as a disruptive rumor and propaganda mill -- most recently in Sierra Leone.

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Grameen Village Phone Ladies: Unplanned Obsolescence After A Window of Opportunity?

Posted by KatrinVerclas on Sep 19, 2007

Grameen Foundation's Village Phone program has long been touted as the poster child for using mobiles in the economic empowerment of poor women. The program gives villagers in Bangladesh-- and now in several other countries -- access to microcredit to buy a mobile phone that can then be rented to other villagers who do not have a mobile of their own.

Much has been written about Village Phones in the media and in research reports, often describing in glowing terms the economic impact and gain in social status that the women in the program have achieved. Yet, most of these studies are fairly old at this point, predating the exponential growth of mobiles around the world.

Now questions are being raised in some mainstream media about whether renting out minutes on mobile phones is economically beneficial to the so-called village phone operators -- at a time when mobiles have become so much more ubiquitous, even in remote rural areas.

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Mobile Reporters in Africa: Guest Blog from AfricaNews' Mobile Voices

Posted by KatrinVerclas on Aug 14, 2007

We are pleased to welcome Bart Lacroix to MobileActive.org. He will be writing an occasional blog on AfricaNews' Voices of Africa project, an experiment in mobile citizen reporting. AfricaNews currently has three citizen reporters covering stories in their using mobile countries, phones to produce video footage, written reports and photographs.

Using GPRS-enabled phones, on-the-ground citizens reporters don’t need an internet connection at all - only mobile coverage - to send video, voice, and text. The Voices of Africa is deploying reporters in Ghana, South Africa, and Kenya to date who are using Nokia E61i phones to send in their stories. These countries have, admittedly, better mobile coverage than others, so are good for this pilot project. Bart will tell us how it's going, what citizens are reporting on, and what they are learning about content and technical production before sacaling up the project.

A bit of background from AfricaNews' press release:

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Texting It In: Monitoring Elections With Mobile Phones

Posted by KatrinVerclas on Aug 12, 2007

In Sierra Leone's national election today, 500 election observers at polling stations around the country are reporting on any irregularities via SMS with their mobile phones. Independent monitoring of elections via cell phone is growing aqround the world, spearheaded by a few innovative NGOs.

The story starts in Montenegro, a small country in the former Yugoslavia. On May 21, 2006 the country saw the first instance of volunteer monitors using SMS, also known as text messaging, as their main election reporting tool. A Montenegrin NGO, the Center for Democratic Transition (CDT), with technical assistance from the National Democratic Institute (NDI) in the United States, was the first organization in the world to use text messaging to meet all election day reporting requirements.

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NEW! Third MobileActive Guide Released: Mobile Phones in Fundraising Campaigns

Posted by KatrinVerclas on Mar 24, 2007

MobileActive is announcing the third MobileActive Guide, profiling strategies and civil society organizations using mobile phones in their work to make the world a better place. The MobileActive Guide focuses on using mobile phones in fundraising campaigns. It features case studies from around the world, strategies for using mobile phones in fundraiaing, and a how-to section for organizations considering using mobile phones to support their causes.

Download the Guide here.

Mobile phones have become a powerful emerging tool for participation in civil society. This five part series looks ways nonprofits have used mobile phones in their campaigns and the effective strategies deployed, and shares lessons learned.
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Why are ringtones-for-good so hot?

Posted by KatrinVerclas on Mar 20, 2007

In addition to Twitter and mobile phones as a vehicle for economic development, mainstream press and the avant garde public are fascinated with ringtones for good.  It is the one topic in mobile campaigns for a cause that consistently get press and attention from mainline journalists.  A case in point is the recently featured endangered species ringtones which have the press all, well -- ringing.

This from Peter Glavin's press release from the Center for Biological Diversity:

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A Gift to Denmark: A Whale in a Can on Mobile Video

Posted by KatrinVerclas on Mar 07, 2007

Greenpeace Argentina, as part of Greenpeace's global Whales Campaign, in a protest action yesterday delivered cans of fake 'whale' to the Danish Embassy in Buenos Aires.  The action was recorded clandestinely by the activists on mobile video.  According to Greenpeace, the Danish government is part of the pro-whaling meetings held in Japan. The cans were inscibed with "Whales Canned thanks to Danish support."

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Beating censorship in Zimbabwe via SMS

Posted by KatrinVerclas on Mar 05, 2007

Gerry Jackson reports on Media Helping Media about the radio station SW Radio Africa outsisde of London that is sending sms headlines about news in Zimbabwe to it's subscriber base of about 2,000 mobile users. Jackson writes:

"We generate news headlines on a daily basis anyway - so this is just another way of using what already exists.

It’s nice and cost effective for any additional donor because there is only the one cost, actually sending the texts. In two months we’ve built up an address database of about 2,000 mobile phone numbers. Like many, Zimbabweans truly love their mobile phones and of course what we’re banking on is the virus effect.

We also get up to 100 requests a day to be added to the service so it’s growing rapidly. What becomes interesting is what business model to use?

Amnesty hits your wallet and Planned Parenthood your ear - What's Next?

Posted by KatrinVerclas on Mar 01, 2007

Amnesty International announced yesterday that it will accept payments on the UK via mobile phone that will get more money to the charity.  Billed as a "digital wallet", LUUP, the mobile payment vendor that Amnesty uses,  will " make it easier for people to make donations. Says Amnesty: "It will also enable the human rights organisation to receive up to 15 per cent more of the money than via PSMS methods such as regular text."

The UK arm of Amnesty ruled out premium rate text messages for donors as too costly. In Europe and in the US, network operators take a significant percentage of the revenue of premium texting -- up to 50% in some cases, and donations are limited to what are essentially micro contributions.  Using LUUP, however, means that donors can give up to £800 in the UK to Amnesty International, for example.

Philharmonic Ringtones

Posted by KatrinVerclas on Feb 22, 2007

And for this cold February day, something lighter:  The nonprofit New York Philharmonic is selling ringtones of its performances on its brandnew site. Ringtones cost around $3 US, and include well-known works by Brahms, Mozart, and Dvorak. Cute.

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Mobile Phones in Advocacy: MobileActive Guide #2 Released

Posted by admin on Feb 21, 2007

MobileActive is announcing the second MobileActive Guide, profiling strategies and civil society organizations using mobile phones in their work to make the world a better place. The MobileActive Guide focuses on using mobile phones in issue advocacy. It features case studies from around the world, strategies for using mobile phones in advocacy work, and a how-to section for advocacy organizations considering using mobile phones to advance their causes.

Download the Guide here. (Log in required)

Mobile phones have become a powerful emerging tool for participation in civil society. This five part series looks ways nonprofits have used mobile phones in their campaigns and the effective strategies deployed, and shares lessons learned.

SMS FOR A BETTER WORLD? A Global SMS Hub for Civil Society Organizations.

Posted by KatrinVerclas on Jan 24, 2007

Photo by loungerie, Creative CommonsI am part of a research project for the Gates Foundation on the future of global online advocacy, where I have been adding data and commentary on mobile content.  One of the ideas we have floated is a global SMS hub – a commercial aggregator for low cost global SMS campaigns.  

Why is this needed?
 

SMS is a critical tool for e-advocacy in the global south.  Given the high rates of mobile phone penetration in large parts of the world compared to Internet access, SMS allows a much wider reach than email.  However, mass SMS campaigns are not feasible option for many NGOs in the global south because of cost – costs that pertain both to the NGO itself and to potential campaign participants who must pay to text. Sending an email message (or a thousand) entails no excess cost for an NGO above the cost of an internet connection (which admittedly, can be formidable in some parts of the world).  However, if an NGO sends an SMS, it must pay per message (the global average cost is .10 US $), making mass texting thousands of messages prohibitively expensive. In addition, SMS  is in some countries still relatively expensive for consumers, making it somewhat unlikely that they would send an SMS message on behalf of an advocacy campaign.  

What would reduce the cost of SMS for social causes and allow for mass sms campaigns to become a reality for NGOs engaging their constituents?

What is needed is a global SMS hub for civil society organizations, and possibly even one with toll-free numbers for SMS that would not charge participants. With a toll-free SMS short code, the sender would not have to pay to send the SMS to a particular number or better yet short code.  This would require short code requisition for many countries and agreements with all telephone operator in the country (or countries) in which the service is to be offered -- short, a global aggregator service with a twist, a Clickatell for Good.

How far off from being a reality is a global SMS hub for civil society?

The GSM Association recently completed trials of a hub-baed interoperability structure.  From it’s press release:

Mobile Banking in the Global South - Revolutionary Economic Change?

Posted by KatrinVerclas on Jan 21, 2007

mobile banking phoneMobile banking is taking off, with the potential to change entire economies where the majority of people currently are currently "unbanked," as the term goes. There have been been several very interesting reports and articles recently on the topic.  On the Foreign Policy blog, World bank consultant Christine Bowers writes about the enormous  economic implications that mobile banking has for the world's poorest:

How to Run a Mobile Advocacy Campaign (and how not to)

Posted by KatrinVerclas on Jan 14, 2007

Amnesty's campaign to close Guatanamo using SMS has been bothering me ever since I opted in to the mobile action network. Don't get me wrong - the web campaign is great and the pictures and stories on the blog are effective.

But the mobile campaign is all wrong.  Yes, mobile campaigns are a new medium, only beginning to show a return, and not well understood.  This is even true for big commercial campaigns that are only now sticking their toes into the mobile marketing waters.

But come on, advocacy organization, you are smarter than that. Mobile marketing is not rocket science, there is already a lot we know, and even as you experiment, use some common sense and pay attention to what you already know about engaging users and constituents.

So in order:

1. What's happening in the mobile marketing market that advocacy organizations should pay attention to (caution: this is US-centric!)


  • Carriers in the US are loosening up their previously tight restrictions on mobile advertising. Verizon, Sprint/Nextel, and AT&T are now allowing banner ads on their landing pages
  • More and more Americans have WAP-enabled phones, allowing them to do more and more on their cell phones, including watching video and photos, browsing the web, and of course, ubiquitous text messaging. rich media mobile messaging for greater brand and communication impact. Marketers now have at their disposal MMS (define), WAP push (clickable links to WAP-based multimedia content incorporated into SMS messages), and video shortcodes (consumers receive a video stream directly to their handset in response to texting to a shortcode).
  • Altogether more than 74% of US adults have cell phones -- and they do not leave the house without them (and their keys and wallets - the three things most adults walk around with at all times.)
  • Sms/texting is growing by leaps and bounds with more than 64.8 billion SMS messages sent in the first six months of 2006, up 98.8% from 32.6 billion in first six months of 2005.
  • Mobile marketers are salivating, with polls, contests, coupons, and even mobi-sodes, short sms serial stories hitting the commercial market.  Pepsi, Ford, Toyota, Burger King all have mobile campaigns, and more and more marketers are allocating hard dollars to "mobile marketing" budgets.
  • Visa announced its mobile payment platform, allowing cardholders to use their mobile phones to make purchases or conduct other transactions by tapping them against readers. Think 'just in time' fundraising.


But what's the ROI for mobile marketers - such as advocacy organizations?


Everyone agrees, the medium is young, it is risky when poorly done, and it'll take time to judge payoffs.  MobileActive's research of existing campaigns shows some interesting returns with sizeable opt-ins, and rather impressive open and forward rates for campaigns conducted by IFAW and Oxfam, for example.  We will be publishing more details from specific campaigns in the next MobileActive Guide on Mobile Advocacy.

While a lot of metrics are still elusive, Brandweek reports about a commercial campaign:  For the "Everydayrocks" text initiative, some 13,000 people opted in. And more than 75% of the entrants responded to SMS messages from the brand and/or redeemed mobile coupons. Only 4.8% opted out. Most telling, however, was that mobile emerged as the conduit with the best market reach; mobile outperformed radio by more than 64% and billboards by 24%. Overall, the mobile redemption rate was 28%, making it by far the most effective component."

We have seen positive other PR as well - a clever campaign, especially one that goes viral, will get earned media coverage and word-of-mouth exposure

What are advocacy organizations concerned about?

According to Brandweek, there still is considerable "consumer resistance, the main reason behind the carriers' historic refusal to open the gates to ad content."  Brandweek goes on: "Studies have shown that consumers are less than thrilled with the idea of receiving ads on their cells. While early adopter teens are among the biggest targets, three-quarters of cell phone users ages 10 to 18 said they do not think it's OK to be marketed to on a mobile device, according to a study of 2,000 users conducted by Weekly Reader Research, Stamford, Conn., on Brandweek's behalf. Forrester Research in Cambridge, Mass., found 79% of consumers are turned off by the idea of ads on their phones and a mere 3% of respondents said they trust text ads."

There are now strict guidelines, drafted by the Mobile Marketing Association, on opt-in and opt out procedures.  

It's my phone!  Be scrupulous about your opt-in practices, absolutely meticulous in following the mobile marketing code of ethics, and make your vendors follow them to the T.  Your brand is at stake, and people will get very annoyed if they perceive you spamming them.

But this is not stopping mobile marketers who are chomping at the bit.  

So, what do we know about effective mobile marketing?

Can we talk?
1. Mobile messaging should be about interaction, do not just pitch. A hard notion for advocacy organizations used to pushing email messages by the millions.  Mobiles offer a unique opportunity for interaction. Advocacy organizations need to think about mobile marketing as a conversation, a way to interact two-ways with their constituents.
2. Trust is key here as the mobile medium is so very personal.  Gain permission and offer relevant and timely content.
3. Pull people to mobile interaction through other media -- ads, billboards, the web and offer, in turn, mobile interaction with those media.  
4. Be careful about targeting your demographics and make your ask accordingly -- asking an older constituency to upload mobile photos is probably not going to be very successful.
5. Be relevant.  Offer timely news and functional updates that are of interest to your audience-- and be clever. Just by way of an idea: The American Lung Association could offer air quality updates via sms for where I live, for example.  In Amnesty's case, I would like to know how many others are signing the petition and how it's going -- what are others saying and how successful is the campaign? Send me an sms with an update since signing on -- I have not heard a lick from Amnesty since I signed the petition two days ago.
6. Mobile marketing works best when it's pull, not push, and there is an opportunity for people to express themselves - to 'talk' back, to suggest, to respond.  Humor works here!
7. Be multi-media.  Integrate your mobile marketing and messaging into your entire media and messaging campaing; do not let mobile be an add-on - it shows, and it costs you if not done well.

This is a world that is rapidly evolving.  Bandwith and technology improving al the time, we will see Internet- and TV-style ads, search, and much more branded content.  

For advocacy organizations, mobile marketing is used most effectively for facilitating a dialogue with their constituents.  This 'third screen' can create extended conversation, creating connections across online and traditional media exposures.

So what should Amnesty have done better here?

1. Do no ask me for my email to sign the petition, let me do it via sms.
2. Show what people are saying on the petition via sms, in real time on the blog, in ads, in public interest announcements -- in your other media campaign.
3. Tell me back how it is going -- what other people are saying, what is happening.
4. Communicate regularly with me VIA text, BUT remind me of how to opt out.
5. Ask me to forward a note, ask me to make a call, ask me to express myself in a some way in a poll, in a 160 character message, poem or statement.
6. Use humour, allow for humour -- it may be gallows humour in the case of Gitmo, but hey...

Overall: engage me, and do not let me feel that I am sinking in your typical advocacy 'push' hole that benefits you organizationally, but in the end has no impact on the issue, nor engages me in any way.  

In the end, because mobiles are so personal, there is a huge opportunity for a conversation that few advocacy organizations used to messaging OUT have any idea how to do effectively.  Mobiles are very much a read/write medium in the web 2.0 fashion and only those organizations willing to hear back and engage in 'it's the conversation, stupid' will end up running catchy, creative, engaging, and innovative mobile campaigns.

Women in South Africa, Domestic Abuse, and Mobile Phones

Posted by KatrinVerclas on Jan 12, 2007

Following on the heels of the BBC feature on the revolutionary growth and availablity of mobile phones in Kenya, OmyNews features a new project-to-be in South Africa's KwaZulu Natal province.  The UmNyango Project of Fahamu, a MobileActive participant, equips rural women in the Province with free text messaging to report on violence against them and their children, and report other abuses.  The project coordinator, Anil Naidoo, says: ""This is the first time in KwaZulu Natal that we know of, where SMS technology has been used to directly empower women in this way.

US Mobile Activism Coming to Life

Posted by KatrinVerclas on Jan 11, 2007

In today's New York Times there is a full-page ad for Amnesty's Close Guantanamo campaign -- complete with a short code for a text-in campaign. Text believe to '30644; to opt in to the Amnesty campaign. This is the frst time that a major campaign is using a text component in their work  here in the US. Of course, it's par for the course elsewhere in the world, but organizations have been cuatious here for fear of annoying supporters, and unsure of the ROI of the investment.

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Endangered Species Ringtones

Posted by KatrinVerclas on Jan 08, 2007

 

 

picture of endangered species ringtone campaign

Great idea:  The nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity offers free ringtones of rare and endangered animals. Download their haunting hoots, sensational songs and crazy croaks to your cell phone. Available are calls of the blue-throated Macaw, Beluga Whale, Boreal Owl, Mountain Yellow-legged Frog, Yosemite Toad, or any one of over forty other endangered critters.  Ringtones are free and available here. Nice way to build a list as well.

 

 

Get a Job! Openings Around the World in Mobile Tech and Development

Posted by AnneryanHeatwole on Feb 28, 2012

If you are looking for a job in the field of mobile tech for social change and development, the MobileActive Discuss list and the MobileActive newsletter are great resources not only for talking about the latest issues and topics in the ICT4D world, but also for jobs. Here's a sampling of some of the recent openings posted:

  • A new effort focused on mobile security is looking for a number of ethical hackers. The organization is currently hiring for a Tech Researcher for a mobile security lab, and a Mobile Application Developer for open source/security applications. Based in either New York City or Washington, D.C., no deadline listed. 
  • The New America Foundation is hiring! From policy research to mobile development, there are many Washington, D.C. opportunities available.

Want to help develop a new mobile tool to promote democratic organizing, civil society, and free speech? For this Mobile Developer opening, applicant must have least 3 years of professional programming experience, preferably in mobile applications. (This deadline is fast approaching – a resume, cover letter, and three references are due by Feb. 29th)



Southern Innovator Magazine, Issue 1: Mobile Phones and Information Technology

Posted by EKStallings on Feb 27, 2012
Southern Innovator Magazine, Issue 1: Mobile Phones and Information Technology data sheet 316 Views
Author: 
Gitta, Cosmas; Editor
Publication Date: 
May 2011
Publication Type: 
Magazine or newspaper article
Abstract: 

These success stories culled from across South America, Asia, Africa and the Middle East profile entrepreneurs, public private partnerships and civil society efforts to meet the challenges of life in the modern world from the perspective of the developing world. This first issue of Southern Innovator showcases the transformative role that mobile phones and information technology have played in the developing world over the past decade.

In searching out these stories of development progress that span the globe, we have seen instances where home-grown ingenuity and technologies to solve every-day problems offer real solutions, as in the case of Maker Faire Africa. We are also looking for those stories that have far-reaching applicability, as in the case of Ushahidi—a crisis-mapping technology developed in Kenya that has gone global. These snapshots of Southern triumphs also show a generation concerned about meeting the Millennium Development Goals and it is our hope that they spur others to action.

Featured?: 
No

Senegal: Monitoring and Mapping the Election

Posted by KatrinVerclas on Feb 27, 2012

The election in Senegal has been contentious with election monitors reporting numerous violations at the polling stations but also noting where the process went well.  A new online system, SeneVote2012, developed by One World, maps incidences and poll reports by the accredited election reporters of the Coalition of Civil Society Organizations for Elections (COSCE). 

According to One World, COSCE, the on-the-ground partner, deployed 500 trained observers reporting on the voting process at 1500 polling stations around the country.  The observers sent data directly from the polling stations via SMS. By the time of this writing there we more than a 1,000 reports, both indicating peaceful conduct at the polls as well as irregularities. COSCE is an independent election monitoring colaition that regularly publishes its findings in order to help strengthen the electoral process. COSCE election monitors are accredited by the Senegalese Election Commission.

SMS-powered election monitoring has been deployed numerous times, most recently in Nigeria where 8,000 trained monitors systematically reported on the conduct and results of the election via SMS.  

What is new here is the close-to real-time mapping of the monitor's reports. 

As One World points out, the COSCE reports and map should not be confussed with citizen reporting:  

Senegal: Monitoring and Mapping the Election data sheet 1932 Views
Countries: Senegal