conference
Posted by AnneryanHeatwole on Dec 09, 2011
We recently attended the mHealth Summit 2011 to learn more about the latest developments in the mobile health field. The conference brought together developers, practitioners, NGOs, representatives from corporate industries, and government officials to discuss the current state and future of mobile health.
Several key trends emerged among the discussions, focusing on: local buy-in and capacity building, the importance of building partnerships and trust among communities, and the need to transition from short-term pilots to scalable, sustainable mHealth projects.
Scale, Sustainability, and Hype
There was a lot of discussion at the mHealth Summit 2011 about the number of failed pilot projects and the hype around mobile health. More productively, there was considerable discussion on what steps can be taken to reduce the waste (including financial, time, and community good-will) that results from launching unusable, unscalable, or unsustainable mobile health projects. The honest assessment of challenges in the m-health field led to discussions about scalability and sustainability.
Posted by AnneryanHeatwole on Dec 02, 2011
It may be the end of the year, but that doesn't mean mobile events are slowing down! With conferences, calls for research, developer meet-ups, and networking opportunities, you won't get bored this December. Check out what's happening with mobiles this month:
- 5 December, Mobile Monday Las Vegas (Las Vegas, USA) The inaugural Las Vegas Mobile Monday meeting will feature presentations of mobile applications, product demonstrations, and discussions about social media outreach and investing.
- 5-7 December, mHealth Summit (Washington, D.C., USA) The third year of the mHealth Summit looks at how multiple sectors (including governments, NGOs, the telecommunications industry, and academia) can work together to create mobile health projects that improve health systems around the world. We'll be reporting from there.
- 6 December, The Guardian Mobile Business Summit 2011 (London, UK) This event focuses on the business side of mobile use – branding, user engagement, content creation and delivery, and mobile advertising. The event also has a large focus on networking for attendees.
- 6-9 December, MobiQuitous 2011 (Copenhagen, Denmark) For researchers and practitioners in the mobile and computing worlds, MobiQuitous offers a chance to share research and learn from workshops and discussions.
Posted by AnneryanHeatwole on Nov 01, 2011
Making health initiatives more accessible through technology can help patients and doctors keep themselves better informed about health and wellness. On October 25th, The Path of the Blue Eye hosted unNiched: Scratch, Sniff and Learn, a short conference focusing on innovation in the health marketing and communications world. Fard Johnmar, one of the founders of the Path of the Blue Eye project, introduced all the speakers and explained that the event is about " really getting people together from different disciplines, so that they can learn from each other and improve health and wellness."
Seven organizations gave short presentations on their health and technology initiatives before the group broke out into smaller discussions and demonstrations. Three of the projects presented at unNiched with a mobile focus: MoTeCh, a program using mobile phones to connect community health workers and beneficiaries in Uganda; Ubiqi, a mobile tracking tool for patients with chronic disease; and InStrat, a personalized SMS health alert system. While introducing the mobile technology section of unNiched Johnmar said, "So mobile – you'll see in today's presentations and by interacting with our innovators – really means empowerment, education and finally, most important for me, behavior change." Watch a short video featuring excerpts from the mobile UnNiched presentations below to see how the organizations are using mobile in their work, and read on for a description of each project.
Posted by AnneryanHeatwole on Oct 04, 2011
A new month brings new events, so check out everything that's happening in mobile-for-development land this October!
- 4-7 October STAR-TIDES Technology Demo (Washington, D.C., USA) This free Tech@State event "showcases innovative, low-cost, sustainable technologies for stressed populations, post-war, post-disaster, and impoverished [communities]." Visitors can interact with the technology and there will be live demonstrations throughout the event.
- 4-7 October Planet of the Apps Europe (London, UK) If you're looking for an event that focuses on the business side of mobile development, Planet of the Apps highlights mobile strategies and opportunities for developers, manufacturers, operators, and marketers.
- 6-7 October DroidCon UK (London, UK) Love Android? The latest DroidCon is a two-day event for Android developers; the first day features a community-led Barcamp and a democamp where developers can showcase their work and lead discussions, while the second day features presentations from top Android developers.
- 14-16 October Data Without Borders (New York City, USA) Do you have data you want analyzed? Data Without Borders is hosting a kickoff "datadive," a weekend of bringing together NGOs with data experts for free consultations and data analyzations.
- 18-20 October RIM DevCon Americans (San Francisco, USA) Want to learn how to develop for the BlackBerry platform? The two-day DevCon Americas is a "showcase for the latest innovations and breakthroughs with the BlackBerry Development Platform. Thousands of BlackBerry enthusiasts come together for sessions, demonstrations, hands-on labs and keynotes — all focused on creating mobile applications for the powerful BlackBerry platform."
- 27-28 October Tech4Africa (Johannesburg, South Africa) Tech4Africa looks at mobile, web, and emerging technology in Africa. The event has panel discussions, workshops, and Ignite pitches examining trends in technology and information, specifically for the African market.
Posted by KatrinVerclas on Jun 26, 2008
Preparations for MobileActive08 are in full swing! MobileActive08 is all about mobiles for social impact - and submissions for some great sessions on mobiles in health, data collection, humanitarian relief, advocacy, human rights, environmental protection and other areas.
We are still accepting proposals for sessions for MobileActive08 with YOUR ideas for mobiles of social impact until June 30th. MobileActive08 will take place in Johannesburg October 13-15.
If you want to run a workshop, give a talk, showcase your project or product in the SIMplace or SIMlab, submit a proposal! Deadline is June 30th for submission of proposals; general event registration will open AFTER that date.
We've gotten dozens of great proposals from some of the most stellar names in the field. But we want to hear from you! Here is how it works:
Posted by CorinneRamey on Mar 07, 2008
Two upcoming conferences will address issues relating to mobile phones in development.
The International Development Research Centre (IDRC), a Canadian organization focused on helping organizations in developing countries use technology, will be hosting a conference on mobile phones used to improve access to health services in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The conference will be held on March 17 and 18 in Florianópolis, Brazil. More information is available on the IDRC website.
A WC3 workshop on the "Role of Mobile Technologies in Fostering Social Development" is currently accepting proposals. According to the website, "The goal of the workshop is to understand specific challenges of using mobile phones and Web technologies to deliver services to underprivileged populations of developing countries."
