East Timor is studded with international organizations that are focusing on the country’s reconstruction and development. East Timor’s two-decade-long independence struggle against Indonesiaresulted in the country’s independence in 1999.However, after that independence referendum, Indonesian militias destroyed 80% of the infrastructure from which the country is still recovering today.
Thousand of international aid workers move to the country every year but one must wonder how much they consume locally. It is not uncommon when visiting a foreigner’s house in Dili to find furniture made by big international chains, or a refrigerator full of food from Australia, Argentina and the US. Meanwhile, 49% of the Timorese citizens live on 80 cents a day.It is possible to connect the markets – supply and demand – better?Are there technologies, such as SMS, that can be used to connect local producers with this market?
SMS As A Tool in Election Observation data sheet 4101 Views
Author:
Ian Schuler
Publication Type:
Journal article
Publication Date:
Apr 2008
Abstract:
In a short time, SMS messaging has demonstrated an impressive ability to help election-monitoring organizations overcome many logistical challenges to effective election oversight and protection of citizens’ rights.
The speed of communication and processing the flexibility and the coverage SMS can provide gives monitoring organizations a powerful tool for organizing volunteers and responding instantly to an evolving election environment. These tools allow groups to quickly collect a rich dataset of election information.
When combined with a reporting methodology that utilizes a representative sample of polling stations, SMS reporting contributes to a deep understanding of how elections are conducted across a country and whether the results reflect the will of the people. When shared with the public, these insights help citizens recognize their right to information about the electoral process. When citizens have more information about the electoral process and understand the degree to which elections represent their will, they are more likely to participate in the process and are better able to demand elections in which they can have confidence.
In contentious and politically tense situations, the ability to comment immediately on the conduct of the election can help to stabilize a potentially volatile postelection environment. Election-monitoring groups using SMS can quickly identify violations of citizens’ rights and alert authorities in time to have problems remedied on election day.
In addition to election observation, SMS has been used in other ways to protect the right to vote, such as voter education and voter registration. SMS text messages have provided a way for citizens to lodge official complaints and informal opinions on an election. However, citizens’ rights to transparency and accountability do not end with elections. It is easy to imagine how SMS could be used between elections to engage citizens and to protect civil rights. Citizen groups with experience collecting and providing information on elections might use similar methods to advocate for citizen interests in other areas. These tools could be used to monitor government service delivery and identify corruption. By systematically deploying to schools and clinics and reporting on resources available, groups would be able to determine whether their government is living up to its promises and identify areas where government managers are diverting resources.
SMS also could be used to report unfair and exploitive practices by police and government officials between elections. These exercises would experience different logistical challenges than election observation. Nonetheless, a cheap, easy, and ubiquitous tool like SMS could play in important role in making governments accountable to their citizens every day.
In India, especially in rural areas, men are often in charge of the family mobile phone. But Subhi Quaraishi, CEO of ZMQ Software Systems, thinks that phones are a great way to reach women as well.
"The goal of our program is to use technology to empower women," said Quaraishi, of ZMQ's new pilot program.
ZMQ is currently running a program to provide women with information on prenatal care via SMS. The messages, which are all in Hindi, contain information on vaccinations, exercise, diet, medication, and how to deal with emergencies that arrive during pregnancy. This is the only program of its kind in India, although other programs -- like a Grameen Bank sponsored program in Ghana -- also use SMS to give advice on prenatal care.
At 12:18 p.m. today, thousands of mobile phone alarms went off all over the world.
"It creates a ringtone symphony, and people find each other," said Ben Wikler, spokesman for advocacy group Avaaz.org. "Then they simultaneously call government offices."
The alarms, and subsequent phone calls, were meant to draw attention to climate change legislation on the eve of the United Nations Climate Summit, held this week in New York City. At each event, a flashmob of people all set their phone alarms for 12:18, held their phones above their heads when the alarms went off and then found the other participants. Flash-mobbers then used their phones to take pictures, and called government offices. There were about 1500 flashmob events in 130 countries, said Wikler.
"It's a global climate wake-up call," said Wicker. Although the event that Wikler attended, in New York's Union Square, had only about 30 attendees, an event in India had more than 1300.
South Africans use the word hectic to mean anything from cool, crazy, fun, to stressful. I mean hectic as the last sense of the word when I describe my efforts to accomplish a fairly simple goal in South Africa: set up a blog that I could update via SMS for a quick demo.
In the US
If I had tried to do this in the US, I would have had a myriad of possibilities, some good, and some bad. I will go through these possibilities to show the scope of what could be available in many countries, but isn't.
MoTeCH: mHealth Ethnography Report data sheet 1060 Views
Author:
Mechael, Patricia N.; Dodowa Health Research Center
Publication Type:
Report/White paper
Publication Date:
Aug 2009
Abstract:
The number of mobile phone subscriptions has increased by approximately one billion between the end of 2007 and the end of 2008 (ITU, 2009). At the beginning of 2009, the number has surpassed four billion. With this, the use of mobile phones and networks in the mobile health has become increasingly popular in low- and middle-income countries, including Ghana where a broad range of mHealth initiatives are now being implemented.
This offers many opportunities to translate information and communications technology into gains, particularly for fighting disease and improving population health. This mHealth Ethnography serves as a critical entry point to both assess the initial state of information, communication, and mobile phone use for maternal and newborn health both within the health sector and the general population in the Dangme West District in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana.
Key study findings illustrate that there is a strong foundation upon which the MoTECH Project can build to advance the use of mobile telephony to support the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals for health. These can be divided into two broad categories – those within the health sector and those that extend services to target beneficiaries in the general population.
In June 2006, the Filipino government backed off its trial run of sex eduction in schools under pressure from the Catholic church. However, youth need a source of reliable, fast, and anonymous information about sexual and reproductive health. This NGO-driven initiative provides that.
SET is a fast, easy and anonymous way to get answers to everything you want to know about reproductive health and sex education. If you are in the Philippines, just text SET to the Sex-Ed Text number. You will receive a text containing a menu of keywords for sex-ed topics; simply reply with the keyword of your choice and information about that keyword will be texted to you right away.
Enables mobile commerce within the Canadian not-for-profit community regardless of the wireless carrier the donor uses. Also provides Canadian non-profits with an inexpensive way to communicate with their donors in a "green" paperless format.
Enables Canadian charities to receive and process donations over any mobile device, sign up for scheduled communications, and build an SMS database of donors.
Mobi is a java-enabled application allowing users to send and receive market information and other data over SMS, all from a user-friendly interface. For example, users can request commodity prices in nearby markets by choosing a location and commodity from menus. Mobi is highly extensible, allowing third party applications on the Esoko platform to include a mobile component, or to add free-form polls to the existing application.
Cryptosms provides sms encryption for mobile phones running j2me. It is open source and under GPL license. It uses a public/private key scheme. See cryptosms.org for more details and a list of supported devices.
Tool Category:
Runs on a mobile phone
Key Features :
Public/private key pair encryption of sms, exchange of keys, key verification via fingerprint, completely separate from the normal sms programme, no interference with normal phone operations, all data (keys, received sms, addressbook) is in a crypto container secured with a passphrase...
Patients on Anti-Retroviral Treatment (ART) often cease treatment, run out of drugs or simply forget to see the doctor regularly. When this happens, patients often build up resistance against ART, and it becomes harder to find a treatment combination that will effectively contain the spread of HIV in the body. If patients go to see the doctor regularly, their disease can be better managed.
TxtAlert is a messaging tool that uses SMS reminders to encourage patients on ART (Anti-Retroviral Treatment) to attend their doctor appointments regularly. The tool works with hospital/clinic medical records system to draw patient data and appointment dates from the system, then sends personal SMS reminders to patients.
In Africa alone, one million mobile phones are being added every week. The mobile phone is mostly being used as a person-to-person communication tool and that’s why the Dutch NGO Text to Change came up with the idea to use it as an educational tool on health. When TTC started in 2007 there were no case studies or proofs of concept on text message-based health education programs. TTC started a pilot in Uganda with the help of mobile phone experts, infectious diseases professionals and software developers; and has now expanded its program for a variety of clients and additional countries.
Text to Change (TTC) combines the need for innovative health education with the growth in use of mobile phones. Supported by African mobile providers, the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, FC Barcelona and other partners, Text to Change uses SMS to challenge mobile phone users on their health knowledge, refer them to HIV testing sites and gather sex and age data from participants which can be analyzed alongside the location of caller. Text to Change works location-based and is able to involve 20% of the local population in its quizzes. Data analysis show that 60% of respondents have basic knowledge on health with an average age of 19, and 45% female participation. Participants of these free multiple choice quizzes maintain their anonymity. They can win mobile phone minutes and soccer shirts as an incentive for participating. If a participant sends in a correct or wrong answer, he or she will receive a confirmation or correction SMS.
Tool Category:
Runs on a server
Key Features :
Text to Change (TTC) developed software in Uganda to be installed on a FreeBSD server directly connected to the sms connection of a mobile operator. TTC can log on remotely to that server to setup its text message programs. TTC the acquires a zero rated short code, negotiates connections to as many providers as possible and makes the text message services free of charge.
Main Services:
Bulk SMS
Voting, Data Collection, Surveys, and Polling
Location-Specific Services and GIS
Tool Maturity:
Currently deployed
Release Date:
2008-06
Platforms:
Linux/UNIX
All phones -- SMS
Current Version:
1.1
Program/Code Language:
PHP
Organizations Using the Tool:
Text to Change controls the software and hardware and conducts programs for organisations like: -UN-ECOSOC -WHO -USAID -Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs -Family Health International -The Aids Information Center -ZAIN -Kinyara Sugar, Uganda -Kasese Cobalt Company, Uganda
Number of Current End Users:
10,000-100,000
Number of current beneficiaries:
Over 100,000
Languages supported:
English, Runyoro, Luganda, Lutooro
Handsets/devices supported:
All mobile phones that can receive SMS.
Reviews/Evaluations:
*UN Foundation/ Vodafone Foundation report: http://www.texttochange.com/mHealth_for_Development_TTC.pdf
* ZAIN: http://www.texttochange.com/ZAIN-TTC.pdf
* The Aids Information Center, Uganda: http://www.texttochange.com/AIC-TTC%20Arua.pdf
Is the Tool's Code Available?:
No
URL for license:
Text to Change is open sourcing its software at the end of 2009
Panos Institute West Africa released a report in October 2008 exploring the connectivity of West African Radio Stations to the Internet, and their use of other information and communication technology including integration with mobile. The report presents results of a survey that was conducted in 220 radio stations in Ghana, Benin, Senegal, Mali, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, and Niger.
Radio, which "remains the most appropriate communication medium for social and development communication in Africa", does not have great online presence, but has higher use of mobile phone technology. The results vary drastically with type of radio station and the country it is operating in.
Question Box is an "all-questions-answered" service that attempts to democratize the world’s information for all the world’s people. Unlike many services that target only mobile or web users, Question Box takes into account the fact that some people are illiterate, some people are too poor to afford even a mobile phone, and some people (often times women) are shut out from communicating with certain people or information sources.
The service was started by Rose Shuman a few years ago when she got the idea to offer the internet and information found in things like Wikipedia to people who couldn’t read or who were otherwise disenfranchised. Since then the service has been piloted in many locations in India and is currently being piloted in Uganda.
Empleo efectivo de mensajes de texto (SMS) para mejorar la comercialización de productos agrícolas de pequeños productores data sheet 1271 Views
Author:
Jorge Luis Alonso G.
Publication Type:
Report/White paper
Abstract:
La telefonía móvil reduce la “distancia” entre los pequeños productores y las organizaciones locales, facilitando y haciendo más efectivo el intercambio de información y conocimientos. A través del uso del teléfono móvil, las redes sociales se fortalecen, los productores se empoderan y el costo de acceso a la información se reduce. Son inmensas las posibilidades que ofrecen los mensajes de texto SMS (hasta 160 caracteres) para compartir información a bajo costo y en forma instantánea. Con base en la información reunida durante mi participación en dos foros de la FAO sobre telefonía móvil y la revisión de algunas experiencias desarrolladas en África, Asia y América, sugiero una estrategia mediante la cual los pequeños productores podrían mejorar la comercialización de sus productos agrícolas al hacer un empleo efectivo de los mensajes de texto (SMS).
Mobile phones use and social network development among small Malaysian retailers data sheet 1715 Views
Author:
Julsrud, Tom E.; Wong, Andrew; Roldan, Grace; Rohnes, Mette
Publication Date:
May 2009
Abstract:
In much literature on social capital, it has been a widely held assertion that networks of informal relations is beneficial for the development of local regions as well as larger nations (Fukuyama 1995; Putnam 2000; Woolcock 2001). Regional areas with a well developed network of informal connections and communities are believed to produce benefits leading to increased regional competitiveness, economic growth and prosperity. The last decade mobile communication tools have rapidly saturated several emerging markets in Asia and Africa (Donner 2008; Kumar and Thomas 2006). As a tool that is mainly used to connect individuals across space and time; mobile phones appears to have qualities that can spur social capital development for private persons as well as enterprises and larger regions. In line with this, some recent studies have found support the argument that mobile phones is beneficial for regional and local development (Goodman 2007; Jensen 2007). Still, others has been more reluctant and critical towards the “network effect” coming out of mobile phone usage among small enterprises (Chowdhury 2006) and some studies has found that private ties, rather than business relations are strengthened through the implementation of mobile phones (Donner 2004).
This paper addresses the question of mobile telephony usage and local development by looking at how mobile voice dialogues and SMS (text messages on mobile phones) are used by small enterprises in Malaysia. More explicitly, the study explores the kind of relations that are supported by these tools during the work day, as well as their physical proximity and perceived importance for business development. The study is based on in-depth studies of 12 small enterprises (between 5 and 20 employees) operating within agriculture, retail and financial services in the Selangor district. The paper presents initial findings, indicating differences in mobile phone usage between the three sectors, and highlighting general trends cutting across all sectors. Methodologically the study draws on quantitative social network techniques (to map mobile calls and SMS messages during a week), as well as qualitative interviews with managers and a sample of employees in the enterprises.
My post on Google's SMS services raised quite the storm in the waterglass. Erik Hersman took me to taks for, as he sees it, questioning that "if people who are claiming to help the poor should charge, and if so, should they make a profit."
However, this was not my point. My question was why, given the target audience as noted in the Google post and Grameen Foundation press release, for at least one of the services (SMS Tips) the cost per SMS comes at the highest premium price but is not advertised as such in the promotional literature and PR. Secondly, given that Google Labs in India makes a smilar SMS info service available at the regular cost of an SMS in India (which is exceedingly cheap), why does Google behave so differently in the African market, in essence colluding with the absorbitantly high costs of SMS there?
So I emailed Rachel Payne, Google’s lead in Uganda to clarify the costs that I only speculated about. Here is what she says, clarifying the pricing:
This work consists of two main components:
(a) a longitudinal ethnographic study in Kyrgyzstan that
demonstrates the importance of transportation resources in the
developing world and how to plan for an appropriate ICT
solution, and (b) the results of a proof-of-concept system
engineered to create a bottom-up, transportation information
infrastructure using only GPS and SMS. Transportation is a
very important shared resource; enabling efficient and effective
use of such resources aids overall development goals.
The system, *bus, involved the development of a hardware
device (a *box) containing a GSM modem and a GPS unit, that
can be installed on a vehicle and used to track its location. The
*box communicates via SMS with a server connected to a basic
GSM phone. The server runs route a prediction algorithm and
users can send SMS messages to the server to find when a bus
will arrive at their location.
The paper discusses the system and early testing, as well as the
development implications for a range of urban and rural
environments where transportation is scarce or inefficient, and
where a central authority or institution is not in a position to
provide robust information resources for users. We describe how
the solution is also situated within technology usage patterns
common to the developing world.
On July 5th, Mexicans will go to the polls to elect new members of the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of Congress. Two Mexican initiatives, Cuidemos El Voto and Anulo Mi Voto, are using SMS in different ways to make people's voices heard in what they fear will be a less-than-democratic election.
Cuidamos El Voto
By simply sending a text message, citizens will be able to report any voting irregularities or other problems. But Oscar Salazar hopes that Cuidemos El Voto, the vote monitoring system, doesn't receive too many texts.
"We really hope that the number of incidents is low, this will mean Mexican democracy is for real," wrote Salazar in an email interview with MobileActive, who is coordinating the project. "However, if this is not the case, we want to provide NGOs and common citizens with the tools to enforce this process."
At a small agrarian cooperative in Chile, farmers with little access to the internet have a new source of farming information: text messaging. The messages, a combination of national and international news and farming information about topics like weather and pricing, are part of a project called DatAgro, which aims to bring relevant farming information to rural populations that have little access to computers.
DatAgro is a collaboration between Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit DataDyne and the Santiago-based Zoltner Consulting Group, which looks at ways that ICTs can be used for development. The project is primarily funded by a $325,000 Knight News Challenge Grant and will continue until November 2010.
Sharek961 is another effort in Lebanon to monitor the election there today on June 7. Unlike LADE which uses more than 2,000 trained volunteer election monitors to systematically report from polling stations throughout the day, Sharek961 aims to get ordinary Lebanese citizen to text, call, and email in incidences from polling stations, crowdsourcing the conduct of the critically important election there.
According to Sharek961's press release,
"Sharek961.org [is[... empowering citizens to report in Arabic and in English, through four means; SMS, email, Twitter and web reports. Reports can address anything election-related happening around the country, from political rallies and polling queues to vote-buying and violence. Sharek961 anonymously publishes these reports alongside news reports, blog posts, photos, videos and tweets, on an interactive map, making them publicly available to all citizens, media outlets, and organizations."
Lebanon will hold a critically important parliamentary election on June 7, and election observers from around the world have descended on the country. However, as in many other countries now, there are local organizations and citizen efforts on the ground that are using mobile technology for sophisticated election observation efforts. The Lebanese Association for Democratic Elections (LADE) and the Coalition Libanaise pour l’Observation Elections (CLOE), for example, have put in place an extensive SMS reporting system, for example. LADE will deploy a total of 2,500 volunteer citizen observers throughout the country directly at the 5181 polling stations.
How to Write Great Copy in 160 Characters data sheet 7714 Views
Author:
MobileActive
Abstract:
A quick guide on writing effective text messages in persuasion and advocacy campaigns.
Be clear about your goals
In order to write effective copy for your text message campaign, keep two goals in mind that all social marketing messaging should achieve to be successful:
It should generate more new supporters or constituents in new areas or
It should generate more activities (actions, donations, etc) from existing supporters
Messages are determined by the goal that you want to achieve. For example, you'd communicate differently if you want to generate new supporters than if you'd want to stimulate a specific activity, such as making a phone call or a donation.
Trying to accomplish both goals in your message is hard and may make the point blur.
So, it's important that you articulate the goal of the mobile campaign clearly before writing any messages.
Strategic Considerations
Before designing a mobile social marketing campaign using SMS, consider:
The world's largest democracy, India, is holding its general election this year. The month-long elections to the 15th Lok Sabha, the Indian Parliament, will be held in five phases between April 16th and May 16th when the final results will be announced.
As India's 714 million voters prepare to elect their 543 representatives, they are witnessing a range of digital initiatives from political parties, civil society organizations, media houses and even corporations. In fact, some observers are calling this India's first digital elections.
Leading the packed ballot is 82-year-old Lal Krishna Advani, the prime ministerial candidate of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, who has embarked on an Obama-style new media campaign. Part of the campaign are a blog, a blogger outreach program, one of the most aggressive online ad campaigns ever seen in India, and an ambitious SMS campaign that will reach 250 million of India's 400 million mobile subscribers.
