New Media - Activism & Development

A new breed of techno-savvy politicians?

One of my former colleagues e-mailed me an article from the Zimbabwean The Standard about the Zimbabwean politicians' use of social media: 'A new breed of techno-savvy politicians'.

An extract from the article goes:

Renowned Zimbabwean blogger, Chris Kabwato reckons that social networking is a great avenue for politicians, considering the number of people who have access to the internet.

“They are an educated lower to middle class urban population,” he said of the demographics of people who have access to the internet.

“This is a group who influence the main ideas in society.”

Read on here.

The article is sort of a Zimbabwean pendant to Jiang Alipo's article on 22 September 2010 for the Tanzanian Daily News ‘Jakaya Kikwete is now following you on Twitter’ and Elsie Eyakuze's blog post Politicians and New Media from August 31 2010.

The two articles and the blog post are all analysing the growing phenomenon where politicians in African countries start communicating via social media. A trend which in Tanzania's case was boosted during the recent elections in October 2010, which Ndesanjo Macha at Global Voices also picked up on here.

In Denmark there is a growing advertising industry specialising in advising politicians etc. on using social media strategically - and it is rare to find a Danish politician operate social media hands-on him- or herself.

The interesting part to me is, that this is a phenomenon in the making. And something - which in my experience - so far has worked rather autonomously, and in many cases based on the individual politician's access to and interest in social media. 

First, after practising the use of social media for a while the politician might experience a whole new way of communicating with the people who legitimises his/her position. (Or as Elsie at The Mikocheni Report in her blog post linked to above said with a twist of irony 'which gives a thin veneer of warmth to their interactions with thousands of ‘friends’ all over the country'.)

But, we know too little of those experiences yet. And in regard of Africa it is difficult to get clear or specific statistics or data, on i.e. Internet users, to make conclusions, which as seen in the articles linked to above also tend to differ depending on who you ask.

Random Hacks of Kindness - Hacking for Humanity

Random Hacks of Kindness (RHoK) is all about using technology to make the world a better place by building a community of innovation. RHoK brings software engineers together with disaster risk management experts to identify critical global challenges, and develop software to respond to them. A RHoK Hackathon event brings together the best and the brightest hackers from around the world, who volunteer their time to solve real-world problems.

More here.

The latest event took place this weekend. In i.e., Århus and Nairobi.

More about the Random Hacks of Kindness in Nairobi at Mentalacrobatics, where you have a full update in interviews, text and photos.

Ironically, from a Danish perspective (and as far as I can see), there is more information available from the RHK in Nairobi than the one in Århus.

Kenya Matters. iHub reviewed

I visited iHub in Nairobi in October, from where I followed Uchaguzu Tanzania in action.

At 'My Heart's in Accra', Ethan Zuckermann, reviews the iHub:

'Kenya’s not just part of the narrative behind Ushahidi, a platform used globally but developed by Kenyans to respond to a domestic political crisis. Kenya matters because it’s one of the places where the future of technology is coming into focus, where a generation of creative people are building the future, one experiment at a time. iHub makes sense because it’s the physical manifestation of the creative collaboration that took Ushahidi from idea to project to platform within months. I had to go to Nairobi before I really got it. And now I don’t want to leave.' 

Chech out my photos:

 

Working with networks - already there. Aid money or not

 

Listen to Rakesh Rajani from Twaweza in Tanzania explain about the four networks, which is already there in local communities - in East Africa - aid money or not.

Good point made, no matter what you work with in terms of development cooperation!

 

Northern Uganda: Refugees connecting via mobile phones and Internet

Refugees United are sharing updates from Adjumani, one of the most remote towns in northern Uganda, where I used to work back in 2005. In November 2005 I also got my hands on the first mobile Internet connection from Uganda Telecom, and since then things moved fast in terms of Information and Communications Technology - even in northern Uganda.

Refugees United now report in their newsletter:
In the refugee settlements in Adjumani, Northern Uganda, we're seeing good progress with the pilot project we've been running since September in order to test our SMS platform in partnership with Ericsson, MTN and UNHCR. So far, more than a thousand of the Sudanese refugees in Adjumani have signed up to use the service through the local UNHCR custodians and refugee leaders. We're looking forward to finish the final evaluations of the project by the beginning of next year, and expect to build on the experience we're gaining to expand into more areas in the region and reach even more people in search of loved ones. We will keep you updated on our blog as we move along!

Will European tech companies miss out on Africa?

The question is asked by TechCrunch here, and illustrated by this statistic:

 

- and followed by noting 'a small but significant trend – European tech people taking more of an interest in Africa'.

10 days ago in Dar es Salaam I enjoyed the availability of Internet in your pocket, which from a Tanzanian is surely is an improvement of communication and life quality.

But obviously, for it to increase further it takes investments, and hence maybe also a new understanding of Africa from European investors?

Uchaguzi Uganda

Tanzania recently used the crowd-sourching tool Ushahidi for the elections in Tanzania on October 31 - Uchaguzi Tanzania.

Now, The East African reports that the Democracy Monitoring Group (DEMGroup) in Uganda is going to use the same tool for the elections in Uganda February 18, 2011 at Uganda Watch 2011.

Thad at the blog Labda Hata Mimi already questioned on November 13 the fact that Uganda Watch 2011 appeared to have chosen a different crowd-sourching tool.

“We shall use Ushaguzi Uganda but it will be very different from Ushaguzi Kenya and Tanzania,” said Sanne van den Berg, Hivos co-ordinator of ICT election Watch.

The article in The East African doesn't say how, but it will be very interesting to get insight into how experience from the Uchaguzi Kenya and Tanzania will be applied in Uganda to improve the crowd-sourching tool in a third East African election monitoring context. 

Do read Thad's excellent reflections on Ushahidi here which also links to Swahili Street's discussion here.

Finally, for the Kiswahili speakers do also keep an eye on Vijana FM here.

'Putting the ‘what’ and ‘how’ of development into people’s hands'

World Bank Launches New Tools to Empower Innovative Solutions to Development Challenges. Here, three selected clips from the press release:

''We are working to make data analysis and modeling tools more user-friendly, so that researchers, civil society, and local communities can come up with their own findings – and double-check ours,” said World Bank President Robert B. Zoellick. “We need to throw open the doors, recognizing that others can find and create their own solutions.”

“Imagine this: A health care worker or parent in a village, with a laptop or mobile device, can access development knowledge in real time through geo-coding and mapping,” said Zoellick. “She can upload her own data, throw light on the likely effect of new interventions, and mobilize the community to demand better or more targeted health programs.”

In a speech on September 29, at Georgetown University, Zoellick described the new Open Data, Open Knowledge, and Open Solutions Initiative. “This needs to be more than just a slogan. This needs to be a fundamentally new way of searching for development solutions, in a networked development architecture, where none dominates and all can play a part.”

Do also note, that the World Bank is calling on others to join the quest for innovative development solutions by holding the first-ever global competition to develop new software applications using the newly open data here.

Back to the headline - another clip from the press release - 'Putting the ‘what’ and ‘how’ of development into people’s hands' - is among one of the great potentials of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in developing cooperation - as I see it.

However, the distance between the good intentions in a press release to the actual and practical situation where we have citizens in a local community in, let's say rural Africa, double-checking the World Bank's findings, is in my opinion still very much dependent on factors beyond the availability of software applications and infrastructure.

Not only is it a matter of a certain knowledge and a set of technical skills, but fundamentally you also have to believe that new ICT can provide you with real influence on an agenda which often will be experienced as set by donors.

Secondly, researchers, the World Bank and other agencies must be truly open towards the fact that beneficiaries will actually challenge and double-check their findings if access is there.

I wonder which one will be the most challenging? 

Going mobile in Africa. From airport to airport

 
 

One more perspective on Uchaguzi Tanzania

Have a look at Labda Hata Mimi's reflections on TZ Elections on Ushahidi, looking to Uganda, and get another perspective of the Uchaguzi Tanzania from a US based volunteer.

Mobile phones need mobile charging

 

Recently having learnt that the majority of Internet users in Kenya and Tanzania access Internet via their mobile (see statistics here), this blog post from the Tanzanian blog 'Vijana FM' adds a relevant perspective: The availabiliy of charging mobile phones must be mobile, too.

Electricity is fundamental for being on-line via your mobile phones, and electricity is still a scarce and unreliable resource in rural Africa (i.e., see here Africa at night). Hence, alternative ways of charging your mobile phone is necessary. 

Internet in your pocket

This young man was hanging out in Libya Street in central Dar es Salaam the other day.

He said: 'Send me this photo'.

I said: 'Give me your e-mail, then - or your post box number.'

He replied that the only thing he could give me was his mobile phone number (which unfortunately doesn't work well with photo files this size.)

Tanzanians are - apart from the physical meeting - easiliest contacted over the mobile phone, no doubt. And many Tanzanians will agree that having access to a mobile phone has improved their quality of lives, simply because it makes life easier.

The guarterly telecommunication statistics from Tanzania Communication Regulatory Authority (TCRA) here, amongst them an overview of the most popular mobile phone operators and growth, look like this:

1.1 Subscriptions per Operator

MONTH VODACOM ZAIN TIGO ZANTEL TTCL BENSON SASATEL TOTAL January 2010 7,031,449 4,858,359 4,246,596 1,423,781 273,954 3,143 13,028 17,850,310 February 2010 7,132,907 4,801,932 4,268,786 1,418,161 268,009 3,155 13,997 17,906,947 March 2010 7,274,987 4,699,412 4,295,862 1,432,172 265,471 3,190 14,825 17,985,919 AGR 2% -2% 0.6% 0.3% -2% 0.7% 7% 0.4% April 2010 7,455,029 4,740,350 4,371,403 1,518,641 252,711 3,205 16,281 18,357,620 May 2010 7,669,498 4,923,801 4,449,676 1,708,685 250,271 2,700 16,009 19,020,640 June 2010 8,013,574 4,923,660 4,495,151 1,888,739 252,813 2,406 16,452 19,592,795 AGR 4% 2% 1% 12% 0.03% -13% 1% 3%

Competition between the mobile phone operators have lead to varied services and prices. It is not unusual to meet a Tanzanian with two (or maybe three) mobile phones in order to harvest maximum benefit.

Vodacom is the biggest operator, and according to Wikipedia 'Vodacom Tanzania is the second telecom company in Africa, after Vodacom, to switch on its 3G High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) which was available only in Dar Es Salaam in early 2007^[2].'

I left Tanzania for Denmark in March 2010, and on my return here in November I realise that all you need is a Vodacom sim-card and an EDGE, GPRS or 3G cellphone enabled for WAP or Internet - for  access to the Internet: The mobile Internet in your pocket, on your phone! 

According to Vodacom 'you can get the internet on your phone for as little as Tsh 500 (almost 2 DKK) per day, with Vodacom's Cheka Internet.' 

Accessing the Internet on my mobile is a completely new experience to me, and I am still experimenting in regards of how much I pay for what, and how the Tanzanians go about using it.

Definitely great potentials here in terms of new ways of communicating internationally, too.

Inputs on the experience with the mobile Internet in Tanzanian are very much welcome!

Envaya: A platform to connect and empower civil society organisations in Africa

Community-based organizations (CBOs) play a fundamental role in civil society, but many lack access to technologies that would advance their efforts and strengthen their impact. Envaya helps to bridge the digital divide by providing easy-to-use online tools that allow CBOs to publish and collaborate on the internet, and that enable larger NGOs and governments to better support local efforts. Envaya’s technology increases the capacity of the civil society sector to create systemic change.

More here.

The Tanzanian Tech Scene



'Tanzania’s tech sector is rising, but better reporting is needed' - find here an interesting article on the Tanzanian tech scene.

Internet on your mobile

While in Kibera last week I met with an environmental NGO to have a discussion about communication. The organisation cooperates with two Danish NGOs, where part of the project is to facilitate communication between Kenyan teachers and pupils in Kibera and Danish teachers and pupils

Part of the communication is supposed to go via the flip cameras, which are both cheap and easy to operate - and we went on brainstorming - informally - on the challenges and potentials of using social media from a Kenyan perspective.

The guys took me instantly by surprise. All were on Facebook on their mobile, checking several times daily, in fact several times during our session, and not only for the sake of my camera. The thing is that access to i.e. Facebook via your mobile in Kenya is relatively cheap (8 KSH for 10 MB - 'which is a little for a lot' according to the people I spoke to this day).

The development of access to Internet in Kenya has gone and is going fast, partly due to the access via mobile.

But is this good or bad?, I asked. And what do people use it for?

Communication, social networking, official purposes, finding information, following European Soccer, checking Facebook, in particular, were some of the answers.

Obviously, people see it as a clear advantage that you yourself can access information, but also contribute. And their statements are backed by the following data (click on the links to see source):

• 'Only 1.7% of Africans are on Facebook, but since there is only 10.9% Internet penetration, we see that 15.9% of African Internet users are on Facebook.'
• 'According to the research, Kenya is ahead of its peers in East Africa in social networking with an average consumer spending atleast 6.5 hours per week, followed by Tanzania — 1.6 hours per week — and Uganda 1.5 hours per week.'
• “Growth in social networking has been fuelled by the transition from the PC to mobile.  Mobile users spend on average 3.1 hours per week on social networking sites compared to just 2.2 hours on e-mail,” reads the report in part.'

Model of Internet Usage and Population Growth in Kenya:

YEAR	Users	Population	% Pen.	Usage Source
2000	200,000	30,339,770	0.7 %	ITU
2008	3,000,000	37,953,838	7.9 %	ITU
2009	3,359,600	39,002,772	8.6 %	ITU

 

 

Promoting politics by SMS

 

The two Tanzanian political parties Chadema and CCM used SMSes in their campaigning before the election last Sunday.

Where CCM's message is explaining that Kikwete is the best and should be voted for, Chadema is practially providing options for direct support - amongst other by mobile banking.

Thanks to my friend saving these for me to photograph!

'M' for mobile + 'Pesa' for money = Mobile Money

 When you travel through Africa you will gradually discover that Africa, compared to my personal experience from Europe, operates much more mobile and flexible. Especially in terms of communication Africa has moved fast within the past few years, and some initiatives are targeting surprisingly well where people live or how they move about.

Have a look at the World Bank's infrastructure statistics for Kenya here. The numbers for mobile and fixed-line telephone subscribers (per 100 people) have in Kenya gone from 13.7 (2005) to 42.7 (2008) - in only 3 years!

In regard of communication in terms of mobile phones you can have your phone repaired or charged in road side dukas (photo above from Kibera), you can buy air time everywhere - from small dukas in Kibera (photo below), the expensive shopping malls or from vendors on street corners in tight morning Nairobi traffic.

Two years ago M-Pesa was introduced whose initial concept and design was Kenyan, and initially sponsored by the UK-based Department for International Development (DFID) in 2003–2007 - according to Wikipedia where you can read more).

M-pesa is a money transfer service where you can send as little as 100 shillings (1,24 USD) over your mobile phone. But there is more to it: You can also buy goods with it; or pay your water bill. And the newly added service M-kesho is a bank account where customers can earn interest from as little as KSH

M-PESA has transformed many Kenyans' (and Tanzanians') lives, because it gives people working far away from their families a safe opportunity to send money home. In a place where you might never own a credit card, this gives you the option of still being able to pay without having to carry cash.

Do also read Kenyan views upon Safaricom here and here, more about Safaricom's services here.

Community Reporters in Kibera

 

Friday I was introduced to Kibera Community Development Agency - KCODA - in Kibera to talk about their monthly newspaper 'Voice of Kibera' (not to be confused with this website), and their on-line TV channel on Youtube, Kibera News Network.

Collins Odhiambo is - in the brief video clip above - explaining that KCODA got Internet at the office only three weeks ago, and that it now serves as a work tool, but also as an Internet café for the youth in the Kibera, where they aren't, at least not yet, charged a fee. Before the access point in the office they had to go to cyber cafés around Kibera, which obviously delays a work process.

KCDOA is supported by a Danish NGO, which I used to work for previously - and Collins did in fact visit Denmark some months ago (which explains how he got his t-shirt). Collins Odhiambo is one of KCDOA's community reporters, and he explains that he and his colleagues check out what's going on in Kibera, then they'll go to report it with flip cameras, go back to the office to edit and put it on-line - and the world will watch it, as he says. See examples here: Kibera News Network.

Obviously, the access to the Internet has had a big impact on KCDOA's activities, and I think KCODA is a rather interesting example of the fact that you don't need a mansion of an office to communicate to a wider ordience; and that social media offer a great potential in terms of documenting and sharing.

However, I did also discuss with KCODA's Programme Coordinator, Julius Ayoma, the challenges of integrating different social media with each other, while also making cooperation between different initiatives on the ground in Kibera. He pointed out the challenges of sharing versus stealing, which surely is an issue which needs adressing when working with media in general - social media just makes it easier to share/steal. Having myself previously experienced suddenly seeing myself on a photo in a Tanzanian newspaper, I know this is a challenge, but nevertheless ethics, creative commons and crediting are issues to be dealt with.

• Check out Creative Commons here, and get advice on how to licence your work, keep your copyright and allow sharing.
• View photos from KCODA's office here.

Mobile application reconnects refugees with loved ones

In support of the millions of people who have fled from conflict and disaster areas, Ericsson and Refugees United, in partnership with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and mobile operator MTN in Africa, have launched a project to locate and reconnect refugee and IDP (internally displaced persons) families through the innovative use of mobile phones and internet.  

More about the initiative here.

Photos from the Uchaguzi Tanzania's situation room at the iHub in Nairobi

 
More photos here.

Uchaguzi live in action at iHub in Nairobi

 

Tanzanians are voting today, 31 October 2010 to elect the President of the United Republic of Tanzania, President of Zanzibar, Members of Parliament and Members of the Zanzibar House of Representatives.

Through the Uchaguzi platform civil society monitors the elections in a cooperation between citizens, election monitors, Tanzanian NGOs and a team based in Nairobi.

Have here a quick look behind the scenes of the Uchaguzi from the situation room in Nairobi around 10 this morning. Some volunteers have been here since yesterday, and more are coming in, in fact now the number has already doubled from the time of recording. 

Basically, there are two situation rooms in Dar es Salaam - the Legal Human Rights Centre, and the Bagamoyo University (office in Dar es Salaam) where Friends of Education and HakiElimu are operating from (check the live report from one of the situation rooms in Tanzania here.) And then there is the one in Nairobi, supporting the two situation rooms in Tanzania.

Do also have a look at the on-line Situation Room for the Tanzanian elections here. 

Personally, I am here to learn how crowd-sourching works practically - hoping to understand the processes behind the updates here. In particular, I am curious on understanding how civil society benefits from using a tool like Uchagzu.

Follow more election updates on Twitter here: #uchaguzi and #uchaguzitz.

And go on for more updates here:

Global Voices

The Mikocheni Report

Labda Hata Mimi

Swahili Street

Involving the population in monitoring problems

 

Have a look at Daraja's post here on monitoring rural water supplies via crowd-sourching. If you are new to crowd-sourching have a look here for the definition, but do also check Ushahidi for probably the best crowd-sourching example in terms of developing countries and civil society activism.

In very short, crowd-sourching is about involving the population in the process of monitoring a problem, then putting the collected data on display on i.e. a web site. In this example the population reports problems with access to water via their mobile phones.

However, there are lots of nuances in this - in order for it to work in practice. For instance, does the availability of mobile phones and types decide who get to report.  

 

Testing the Flip Camera: Into Kibera

 

Before I left for Kenya I bought a Flip Camera (see here). I tested it today when I went to Kibera.

(Having few techical skills in this regard) I reckon the quality is fine for distributing short video clips via web, even if it is filmed from the back seat of a taxi going down a rough road.

However, the absolutely best part of it, is that it is small, meaning it is easy to operate and doesn't attract too much attention or scare anyone off.

Uchaguzi. Tanzania Decides - now up and running

UCHAGUZI, TZ is a platform that leverages on USHAHIDI's web and mobile-based technology software, enabling unprecedented collaboration between election observers and citizens to monitor elections in near-real time.

Check it out now - the Tanzania elections are on Sunday, and it will be interesting to see how the crow-sourching tool will boost information in this regard.

UCHAGUZI is a collaborative initiative between TACCEO, Tanzania; HIVOS, Netherlands; Haki Elimu , Tanzania; Jamii Forums, Tanzania; TWAWEZA, CRECO, Kenya in association with USHAHIDI and SODNET, Kenya as technology & strategy partners.

Googling Africa

The Google office in South Africa is no different from the Google office in Washington -- from the outside. Tucked into a sprawling, high-tech office park in Johannesburg, Google's hip, young Africa team has taken the company's beanbag-chairs-and-jeans culture global. But in practice, their mission is different -- and far more difficult. They're out to prove that Google can be an African verb.

Read more here.

Facebook Arrives in Tanzania

Find here a very well-written blog post on the world wide web's newest users.

Lots of perspective and examples from how Facebook is entering Tanzania - a country with people keen on using the media - but for the majority part - with short, practical experience with the world wide web.

The Flip Camera

 
I just bought a Flip Camera (Video Ultra 2), the cheaper version, which I am going to test in Kenya and Tanzania.

According to the Wikipedia:

• All Flip camcorders record at 1280 x 720 resolution using H.264 video compression, AAC audio compression and the MP4 file format as of September 20, 2010.^[6] The UltraHD, which I bought, uses 2 AA batteries.
• All models lack a memory card extension slot, and all models can be connected to a computer with a pop-out USB connector, without the need for a cable. It is simple to use, providing automatic gain, digital zoom, monaural sound, and a very simple clip-navigation interface with a D-pad and two control buttons.

Usually skipping the technical details, I am most keen about is the fact that the camera works without cables, and that it is handy, easy and ready to use. I am not so happy about that it only uses AA batteries (though, I use rechargeable ones), and that it appears easier to replace than to repair.

Moreover, I am still trying to figure out if the format only makes sense to use in terms of social media platforms, and I am keen on finding out how easy it is to use in practice - filming and then sharing - in a place where ideas might be plenty, but electricity and money scarce. 

Check out the Flip Camera User Guide.

AfriGadget and Grassroots Reporting Project

AfriGadget is a website dedicated to showcasing African ingenuity. A team of bloggers and readers contribute their pictures, videos and stories from around the continent. The stories of innovation are inspiring. It is a testament to Africans bending the little they have to their will, using creativity to overcome life’s challenges.

In particular, I am curious to find out more about this project, during my visit to Nairobi next week:

 
AfriGadget’s goal is to leverage the power of current and emerging technology such as video cameras, digital cameras, laptops and phones to bring quality content online and eventually on television.

Read more here.

IPO48: From idea to business in 48 hours!

 

From idea to business in 48 hours!

IPO48 is a boot-camp-style initiative to build new web and mobile services in just 48 hours. The best team gets 1'000'000 Ksh (10K EUR) in investment! 

IPO48 takes place on the last weekend of October in Nairobi, Kenya. Hosted by Strathmore University. I will be in Nairobi during this event, and will swing by, at least to get inspired.

Read more here.

Ushahidi: Information Collection, Visualization, & Interactive Mapping

 

Anybody with the slightest, tiny interest in social media and Africa knows of Ushahidi.

In fact, I noted during two courses earlier this year that the participants might not be familiar with the concept of crowd-sourching, but they knew Ushahidi.

During my visit in Nairobi in the coming week I am going to meet Erik Hershman, who is a co-founder of Ushahidi, and well-known from his inspiring blog White African.

Lot of good things have been said about Ushahidi, which was developed in connection with the post-election conflicts in Kenya in December 2008 in order to make people report and map what media might ignore. Later Ushahidi has been a model for many other crowd-sourching platforms and Ushahidi's goal 'is to create a platform that any person or organization can use to set up their own way to collect and visualize information'.

For instance, at the moment the Tanzanians are preparing for elections on October 31 by setting up Uchaguzi, a crowd-sourching model build on this concept.

Crowd-sourching is an interesting example of how activism, civil society and information technology go together and offer practical solutions. However, crowd-sourching is not the solution to all problems. Obviously, it can be abused, and both education of the people going to use it, and verfication of the inputs are rather important aspects.

I am in particular interested in the fact that civil society and the IT-sector cooperate; That ideas from Kenya spread so fast; and am I am curious in hearing what's in it for the people involved.

Evidently, I am also interested in taking back inspiration to the Danish civil society on a point where Africa might be moving along very creative lanes.