Several civil society groups in Africa are using SMS messages as part of the global "16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence." The campaign, hosted by the Women of Uganda Network (WOUGET) in collaboration with Women'sNet and APC-Africa Women (AAW), has the theme "Demanding Implementation, Challenging Obstacles: End Violence Against Women." The groups will send an SMS on each of the 16 days of the campaign with a message relating to gender-based violence.
The campaign website lists three ways to partipate:
Mainstream press in the United States is picking up on the mobile revolution. In an article yesterday in the Wall Street Journal, Fish Phone, Sex Info, our friends in San Francisco, and medicine compliance programs are profiled:
In England, women have received text reminders to take their birth-control pills. In Australia, texting helped AIDS patients adhere to complicated drug regimens. And German researchers are examining how text messages can offer psychological support to bulimics. A recent study in New Zealand found that smoking-cessation programs were more effective in conjunction with supportive text messages.
Text reminders and health and consumer info lines are exploding in popularity, paving the way for innovative prorams in other areas as well that pertain to point-of-purchase consumer information, and using textig for civic and advocacy information that we are, of course, particularly interested in.
A new software project called Loadstone-GPS provides navigational assistance to blind and visually impaired individuals. The software, which is open source and can be downloaded for free, uses screen readers such as Mobile Speak and Talks and can be operated on a Nokia phone with the S60 smartphone platform.
Google announced today Android and of the Open Handset Alliance, throwing wide open the field of mobile applications for commercial and social and civic causes and potentially much cheaper handsets that are especially important in developing countries. We here at MobileActive.org think that this will spur developments for the social sector that are faster and cheaper -- an "Android for Good."
The Open Handset Alliance is a consortium of more than 30 tech and mobile companies and Android is its open platform. Google's support of the project and development of the new mobile app software stack that includes an operating system, moddleware and open applications development is significant and seen as a major competitor to other mobile platform providers such as Microsoft, RIM, and Symbian.
We reported a few days ago on the use of a text-to-screen campaign by the advocacy coalition It's OUR Healthcare! (IOH) in California. Now that the campaign is over, we've interviewed the organizers for more details on this innovative use of SMS in political advocacy.
Matt Lockshin, the online organizer for the It's OUR Healthcare! campaign sat down with us for a conversation. Lockshin told us that although the campaign dealt with some technical challenges, he was pleased with the quantity of SMS messages received and the response from media, political advocacy groups, and people in California.
Imagine buying drugs to cure malaria, only to find that the ineffective medicine contains a mixture of chalk and starch. Or imagine taking counterfeit birth control and finding yourself pregnant, or getting inoculated for meningitis -- as was the case with 2,500 people in Niger -- and finding that the vaccine was deadly.
Educational Message Services and Southern Nevada Health District will be launching a new SMS program to help LGBTs in Las Vegas connect to smoking cessation programs. A first of its kind software interface will enable program administrators to publish packages of information into an SMS platform. LGBTs will be encouraged to text the program to vote for favorite male models, clubs, DJs etc, then once opted into the network, they will receive a series of logic questions and answers to determine the kind of messages they receive at weekly intervals for the duration of the program, i.e. smokers, friend of smoker, or alerts about smoke-free events in Las Vegas. The project is being funded by a grant from American Legacy, and the data collected by the SMS messaging will be researched by Dr. William Evans at University of Nevada, Reno. For information, contact Jonathan, email: jonathan@emsmail.org, or call 805-653-6000
California Activist Coalition It's OUR Healthcare has launched a new SMS campaign broadcasting text messages on a screen in Sacramento. The campaign is in response to California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's latest health care proposal, which IOH says disregards issues of affordability, deductibles and coverage. The legislature is holding its first hearing on the issue today.
I had the great pleasure to meet Krista Dong and Zinhle Thabethe from iTeach who are at the frontlines of treating and preventing AIDS in South Africa, the epicenter of this global crisis. These amazing, committed and inspired women talk about their daily experience working with people with HIV and AIDS in Kawazulu Natal and how they think mobile phones could exponentially scale their work. As Krista says, "To deal with the scope of this problem, to even begin to make a dent, we need new ideas, crazy ideas. And everyone, everyone has a cell phone." Watch if you want to hear from frontline workers how mobile phones can revolutionize their social change work.
HIV/AIDS is one of the most significant human, health, and development issues facing Africa today. NGOs and health care providers are increasingly turning to mobile phones to address the unique challenges of AIDS awareness, prevention and treatment. "HIV/AIDS is arguably the most pressing development problem facing South Africa – and Africa," asserts a report by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF ) and Women'sNet, a South African network of people who use ICTs in gender-related advocacy and support. The report, titled "Rapid Assessment of Cell Phones for Development," is available here on the UNICEF website.
Hoy introduce MobileActive un recurso nuevo para los activistas movilistas. Esta guía de estrategia en español tiene información detallada sobre el uso de los teléfonos celulares en América Latina y estudios sobre los celulares usados por el activismo social en varios países latinoamericanos.
Today MobileActive introduces a new resource for mobile activists. Our first Spanish-language Strategy Guide provides detailed information about the use of mobile phones in Latin America and case studies of mobiles used for social activism in different Latin American countries.
MobileActive.org series on mobiles in development continues. Here is guest writer Abi Jagun from the University of Manchster who deconstructs the hype on mobiles in civil society:
By the end of 2007 about half of the world’s population will be using mobile phones; and it is likely that this proportion will continue to increase as more people - predominantly in developing countries - get connected to mobile telecom networks.
The benefits of mobile phones continue to be widely publicised. In particular, they allow people to receive and communicate information interactively and/or simultaneously by voice and data -- beyond the physical limitations imposed by geography. But is the hype useful for a throughtful exploration of the potential of mobiles in development, or, in fact, a hindrance?
According to the Times, Verizon has refused to be part of Naral Pro-Choice America’s text message program. Verizon told Naral that it “does not accept issue-oriented (abortion, war, etc.) programs — only basic, general politician-related campaigns (Mitt Romney, Hillary Clinton, etc.).” Other wireless carriers have agreed to join the program, Txt4Choice, which allows users to sign up for SMS messages from Naral.
Programs all over the world have shown how mobiles can be an effective tool in providing services to homeless individuals, people with AIDS, and other marginalized populations. Here are a few of the most effective efforts to involve mobiles in innovative ways.
The stereotype is that homeless people don't need mobiles. Why bother with a phone when you can barely afford to put food on the table or don't even have a bed to sleep in? But several different projects have shown that mobile phones can be an important stepping stone in brealing a cycle of poverty. Most importantly, mobiles allow homeless people to get jobs. Employers aren't likely to respond to a resume that lists the phone number of the local homeless shelter, or worse, one without a phone number at all.
Owning a mobile is becoming an indispensable element of young people's lives all around the world. This well-done 30-min video focuses on mobiles in education, explores whether mobiles are a force for good, or an example of technology gone awry; and offers a lot of cultural analysis of how young people use mobiles.
Produced by teachers.tv about young people's use of mobiles (albeit UK-focused), it is a good look at the world of young people with mobile phones, and the impact on schools and education. Young people are mobile natives and schools and NGOs better take heed.
According to the Star, "groups of gangsters in the eastern Sarawak state on Borneo island are believed to be holding women from the Philippines, Indonesia and China as prostitutes for foreign labourers working at the massive Bakun hydroelectric dam construction site in the state." One of the women obtained the mobile number of a reporter from the English daily and began sending SMS messages that the Star reported to police. A police raid resulted in the arrest of a local pimp and 10 women from Indonesia, the Philippines and China.
Meanwhile, in the Ukraine, three of the country's carriers are collaborating with the International Organization for Migration and set up a toll-free trafficking hotline. According to a report on Radio Netherlands, "customers of Ukrainian mobile phone service providers KyivStar, MTS and life:) can dial '527' from their handsets in order to receive information and advice from the IOM on migration and trafficking issues." The short code routes calls to a free IOM service providing information on the current realities facing migrants abroad including human trafficking and the consequences of irregular entry and stay in foreign countries. Migrants can also request information on legal methods of migration.
HGgry 4 fsh? FishMS, a text service in South Africa helps consumers choose environmentally safe seafood. Watch the Video and read on.
A new tool from Sassi (The Southern African Sustainable Seafood Initiative) helps consumers make informed choices about the seafood they buy. Here is how it works: A consumer texts in the name of a fish to the number 079-499-8795 and gets back a message indicating "whether to tuck in, think twice or avoid completely."
Sexual education is entering the mobile age. In Singapore, famous "Dr Love" offer answers to sex-related questions to the predominatly Muslim population via mobile phone. Half-way around the world, SexInfo doles out sexual health info to teens in 160 characters on the Unites States West Coast, and similar services operate in London and in Australia.
Indonesians are invited to send a text message with any sex-related question to a panel of volunteer local doctors who will either send them a message back or use their question to help compile information on a website.
The brains behind the idea, Wei Siang Yu, who is nicknamed "Dr. Love" for his flamboyant methods of teaching Singaporeans about sex, told a press briefing his scheme would turn conventional sex education on its head.
Protest campaigns in recent weeks in China and Pakistan are pointing to a quickening pace of social activism primarily enabled by mobile phones.
On May 31, 2007, authorities in Xiamen halted construction of a large petro-chemical plant, following a furious Internet, street, and text campaign. The story began on a few local blogs, spread wide on the Internet with sites like antipx.com, and street graffiti.
On March 25, according to news reports in the Asia Sentinel, Sydney Morning Herald and others, a text message began circulating:
Ethan Zuckerman has written a solid overview of mobile phones in international activism. It is re-posted here under its Creative Commons license. For additional resources, see also the mobileactive.org Strategy Guides on using mobile phones in elections, advoacy, and fundraising.
