Title: Amplify the voices of vulnerable and marginalized groups through Community Radio in Bangladesh
Source: Blog of the Association for Progressive Communications (APC)
Date (published): 28/11/2011
Date (accessed): 15/12/2011
Type of information: blog post
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
"Rural people of Bangladesh entered into an era of community broadcasting to amplify the voices of vulnerable and marginalized groups through 14 community radio stations around the country. Community Radio provides the local community access to information and through exchange of information, leads them towards empowerment. Empowerment is the process to link them to their rights, good governance and development process.

Community Radio stations are going to full transmission in Bangladesh.14 stations are pioneering to be on-air, aiming to ensure empowerment and right to information for the rural community. Community Radio Padma 89.20, Rajshahi district and Community Radio Nalta 89.20 of Satkhira district has started full transmission.
…
It can be mentioned that these Radio Stations will broadcast programs, mostly in local dialect within the people living around 17 kilometers of a Station. The Programs will cover social, economic, cultural and environmental issues.
...
Bangladesh NGOs Network for Radio and Communication (BNNRC) is promoting the advocacy with the government in relations to community radio with other organizations since its emergence in 2000 to open-up the Community Radio in Bangladesh to address critical social issues at community level, such as poverty, social exclusion, empowerment of marginalized rural groups and catalyze democratic process in decision making and ongoing development efforts.

As a result, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh acknowledged the importance of community radio and announced the Community Radio Installation, Broadcast & Operation Policy. Bangladesh is the 2nd country in South Asia in formulating policy for Community Radio."

Title: Qatar introduces ICT accessibility policy
Source: ictQATAR
Date (published): 29/11/2011
Date (accessed): 15/12/2011
Type of information: press release
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
"ictQATAR Introduces National E-Accessibility Policy to make ICT more accessible for persons with disabilities.

The Supreme Council of Information and Communication Technology (ictQATAR) took a major step towards ensuring all of Qatar experiences the full benefits of technology today with the introduction of the Qatar’s first eAccessibility Policy.

The policy aims to ensure people with disabilities in Qatar have equal access to the technologies that can enrich their lives, and covers a range of e-accessibility issues, including websites, telecommunications services, handsets, ATMs, government services, access to assistive technologies and digital content. The policy is effective immediately and ictQATAR will oversee the implementation of the policy across sectors and monitor progress.

“For many people with disabilities, information and communication technology can be a tremendously empowering and enabling tool, however, if these technologies are not fully accessible, they may actually become tools of exclusion or isolation. Qatar’s eAccessibility Policy, which was developed in consultation with numerous stakeholder groups, will make Qatar one of the most progressive countries in the region in terms of bringing the benefits of technology to people with disabilities. The policy balances the needs of the disabled community here with practical implementation requirements, thereby allowing organizations and relevant government bodies to enact the policy without undue burden,” said Dr. Hessa Al-Jaber, ictQATAR Secretary General.

The primary provisions of the eAccessibility Policy include:
* Requiring telecommunications service providers to provide accessible handsets, user interfaces, relay services, special rate plans, emergency services and accessible public payphones where appropriate.
* Requiring public sector organizations to develop websites and mobile content that can be accessed by persons with disabilities.
* Requiring all public sector organizations, including government owned banks, to implement service improvements that will ensure that public access terminals/kiosks and ATMs are available at strategic locations and usable by people with low vision blindness, deaf or hearing impairments, physical disabilities and reading problems.
* Requiring Qatar’s Assistive Technology Center (Mada) to establish a fund to improve access to assistive technologies (AT) and services, encouraging the wide spread procurement of ATs, spreading awareness of the available services and benefits of ATs and providing demonstrations, special training and evaluations.
* Calling to action all producers and distributors of digital media in Qatar to improve the accessibility of their content through accessible eBooks, online information and special captioning for video programming.

“The introduction of Qatar’s eAccessibility Policy is a major milestone for people with disabilities in Qatar. Mada is committed to working with ictQATAR and other organizations in Qatar to help in implementing this comprehensive policy. Mada will offer practical assistance to any company, ministry or organization that has a role to play in ensuring that the targets set in the plan are delivered. This is an exciting step forward for people with a disability in Qatar” said Maha Al Mansouri, Head of Training and Education at Mada. Mada was one of more than 30 organizations that provided input into the development of the policy, including government agencies, corporations and not-for-profit organizations serving people with disabilities.

Qatar’s eAccessibility Policy supports numerous national initiatives in Qatar, including the Qatar National Development Strategy 2011-216 and Qatar’s General Family Strategy. The policy also supports Qatar’s obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, of which Qatar is a signatory.The full e-accessibility policy is available at this link."

Title: Open Data Kenya : Case Study of the Underlying Drivers, Principal Objectives and Evolution of one of the first Open Data Initiatives in Africa (Long Version)
Authors: Hanif Rahemtulla, Jeff Kaplan, Björn-Sören Gigler, Samantha Cluster, Johannes Kiess, Charles Brigham
Pages: 45 pp.
Source: Open Development Technology Alliance
Publisher: The World Bank
Date (published): 13/12/2011
Date (accessed): 15/12/2011
Type of information: Draft
Language: English
On-line access: yes (pdf)
Abstract:
"In July 2011, Kenya become one of the first African countries and 22nd internationally to launch an Open Data initiative, making over 160 government datasets freely available through a publicly accessible online portal. The initiative is expected to support greater public transparency and accountability, fundamentally changing the nature of citizen-government interaction. The release of public data online creates a platform supporting the development of third-party applications, enabling a vehicle for expanded public outreach and engagement leading to “a more responsive and citizen-focused government” (Madera, 2009).

This paper outlines underlying drivers, principal objectives and the evolution of the Kenya Open Data Initiative from inception to realisation. A comparative study of Kenya Open Data and related US and UK initiatives is included, highlighting implications for the applicability of a ‘default model’ in developing countries. This paper also provides preliminary insights into the platform’s access and usage patterns since the launch, as well as perceived present and future impact of this initiative in Kenya. Finally, it outlines the vision moving forward describing the principal barriers and supportive factors that must be addressed for the effective use of public sector information in Kenya.  Adopting a mixed-mode research design, the study draws upon surveys, observational data and interviews conducted with key actors."

Title: Realizing the Vision of Open Government Data : Opportunities, Challenges and Pitfalls (Long Version)
Authors: Björn-Sören Gigler, Samantha Custer, Hanif Rahemtulla
Pages: 16 pp.
Publisher: The World Bank
Date (published): 13/12/2011
Date (accessed): 15/12/2011
Type of information: Draft
Language: English
On-line access: yes (pdf)
Abstract:
"Actively promoted by a broad spectrum of stakeholders, the Open Government Data movement is gaining considerable traction, illustrated by the rapid proliferation of initiatives worldwide. While the preponderance of early experiments emerged in advanced economies, developing countries are increasingly optimistic about proactively releasing public sector information to achieve a multitude of policy goals. However, to what extent is Open Government Data replicable in developing countries, and what factors must be addressed if it is to be a catalytic change agent rather than mere development fad? Structured in four sections, this paper provides a literature review of the Open Government Data movement to date, critically assessing its transferability to developing countries and identifying challenges and limitations that will determine its relative social impact. The first section examines the philosophy, drivers and history of Open Government Data. The second section analyzes the modes of public sector information release featured in developed countries, assessing the validity of underlying assumptions regarding supply and demand when applied to developing countries. The third and fourth sections illuminate factors contributing to the success or failure of public sector information initiatives, drawing upon the cumulative experience of e-government, ICT penetration, institutional reform as well as Open Government Data initiatives to inform future efforts."

Title: Open Government: Which Way Africa?
Pages: 4 pp.
Source: CIPESA ICT Policy Briefing Series
Publisher: Collaboration on International ICT Policy in East and Southern Africa (CIPESA)
Date (published): 26/09/2011
Date (accessed): 13/12/2011
Type of information: briefing paper
Language: English
On-line access: yes (pdf)
Abstract:
"The Kenya government scored what many billed a first in Sub- Saharan Africa, when it launched an open data website in July 2011. To put it plainly, the government opened itself to greater scrutiny from citizens and oversight institutions by providing them better access to information in its hands, including on expenditure and procurement. Increasingly, other African governments will be put to task to follow suit, as progressive governments the world over move to embrace the concept of open government, of which open data is a crucial element.
South Africa seems to be leading the pack in Africa in embracing open government, a benchmark on which governments should increasingly be evaluated in terms of their commitment to be accountable to their citizens. In fact, South Africa is the only African country that is part of what is set to become a powerful and popular global movement to place openness at the centre of governance and development.

Who is in The Open Gov Partnership?
The Open Government Partnership (www.opengovpartnership. org), or OGP, is a new multilateral initiative that aims “to secure concrete commitments from governments to promote transparency, empower citizens, fight corruption, and harness new technologies to strengthen governance”. The African countries currently eligible to join the OGP are Kenya, Liberia, Ghana, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda – and of them, by September 20, 2011, only Tanzania and Uganda had not indicated their plans to join the OGP. These countries derive their eligibility from their “demonstrated commitment to open government” in the key areas of budget transparency, access to information, asset disclosure by politicians and officials, and citizen engagement.

Overseen by a steering committee of eight governments and nine civil society organisations, the Partnership launches in September 2011, when the eight governments on the steering committee will embrace an ‘Open Government Declaration’ and announce their country action plans. More countries will subsequently be invited to join the partnership."

Title: Unlock local research potential with open access
Author: Leslie Chan
Source: SciDev.Net
Date (published): 08/12/2011
Date (accessed): 11/12/2011
Type of information: article
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
"The developing world is not well served by traditional research publishing, but can break new ground with open access, argues Leslie Chan.

Free and unrestricted access to research results and publications, known as open access (OA), is key to speeding up scientific discovery. There is also growing evidence that OA maximises the impact of research through better dissemination and uptake of research findings.

But how can we make this a truly global and sustainable endeavour? This was much discussed at the recent Berlin 9 Open Access conference in Washington DC.

There was a recurrent theme: that in today's highly networked, open-knowledge environment, the traditional scholarly communication system — with the journal article as the key currency — can no longer serve the diverse needs of scholarship and discovery.

Conventional methods of evaluating research impact based on journal citations, particularly the reliance on Thomson Reuters' journal impact factor, need to be reconsidered and redesigned to reflect new scholarly practices and the diverse means of engagement enabled by OA and the new wave of web tools ('Web 2.0').

OA offers an opportunity to rethink what constitutes research impact, how to reward scholarship and how to encourage research sharing — issues of particular importance for the developing world."

Title: A Discussion on Local Content within the African Context
Author: Will Mutua
Source: Afrinnovator
Date (published): 06/12/2011
Date (accessed): 10/12/2011
Type of information: article
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
"When listening to discussions on local content, it is sometimes a bit vague what the intended meaning is. Is it content that is created locally for local consumption exclusively? Is it content that is just created locally but could be consumed by anyone, anywhere? Is it content that is not necessarily created locally but is consumed locally? If anything really, just the term ‘local content’ is quite ambiguous in itself as really what we are concerned with here is ‘Local Digital Content’. What really is local content? And why is it that there’s such a push for more local content?

In today’s globalised world, it has become harder and harder to any one or any nation to exist in it’s own little cocoon, disconnected and totally cut off from the rest of the world. Over time the developments in telecommunications, faster and more efficient means of transport, the Internet, the World Wide Web, and other factors have led to an ever more increasingly connected world where people, goods, services and perhaps most importantly (in a world that relies heavily on the knowledge economy); information. At the heart of the local (digital) content is really about information represented as bits and bytes stored on computers and travelling rapidly across networks.

Perhaps a more refined term that would help us understand local content is ‘locally relevant (digital) content‘. The real value of local content is in it’s relevance within a particular culture. That relevance is what makes it desirable for consumption by people within that locality. Again, however, globalisation has led to a situation where sometimes there are gray areas between differing cultures from different parts of the world. The fact is that cultures have been opened up to influence from other cultures that are both near and far from the physical location of a people. So as far as local content is concerned, there could be, as we will see, a lot of content that is interesting for people within a specific culture that is not necessarily restricted to that locality.

But why the push towards promoting local content? Even Internet Father, Vint Cerf, noted the significance of local content and was among the 3 key memes we identified during his talk at the Nairobi innovation hub during his visit there. Governments are also seeing opportunities local content significantly, in Kenya for example, the Kenya ICT Board has set out a very focused agenda for local content in it’s ‘Tandaa‘ initiative."

Title: Amplifying Somali Voices Using SMS and a Live Map: #SomaliaSpeaks
Source: The Ushahidi Blog
Publisher: Ushahidi.com
Date (published): 08/12/2011
Date (accessed): 08/12/2011
Type of information: blog post
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
"Somalia has been steadily slipping from global media attention over the past few months. The large scale crisis is no longer making headline news, which means that advocacy and lobbying groups are finding it increasingly difficult to place pressure on policymakers and humanitarian organizations to scale their intervention in the Horn of Africa. I recently discussed this issue with Al-jazeera’s Social Media Team whilst in Doha and pitched a project to them which has just gone live this hour.

The joint project combines the efforts of multiple partners including Al-Jazeera, Ushahidi, Souktel, Crowdflower, the African Diaspora Institute and the wider Somali Diaspora. The basis of my pitch to Al-jazeera was to let ordinary Somalis speak for themselves by using SMS to crowdsource their opinions on the unfolding crisis. My colleagues at Al-jazeera liked the idea and their editorial team proposed the following question:

Al Jazeera wants to know: how has the conflict of the last few months affected your life? Please include the name of your hometown in your response. Thank you!

So I reached out to my good friend Jacob Korenblum at Souktel. He and I had been discussing different ways we might combine our respective technologies to help in Somalia. Souktel has been working in Somalia and providing various SMS based solutions to several organizations. Jacob had previously mentioned that his team had a 50,000+ member SMS subscriber list. This proved to be key. Earlier this week, the Souktel team sent out the above question in Somali to about 5,000 of their subscribers. An effort was made to try and select geographically disbursed areas.

We’ve since received well over 2,000 text message replies and counting. In order to translate and geolocate these messages, I got in touch my colleagues Vaughn Hester and Lukas Biewald at Crowdflower in San Francisco. Crowdflower uses micro-tasking solutions to process and structure data flows. They were very keen to help and thanks to their support my Ushahidi colleagues Rob Baker and Linda Kamau were able to customize this Crowdflower plugin to translate, categorize and geo-locate incoming text messages..."

Title: Farming By Phone
Author: Isaiah Esipisu
Source: COP17 CLIMATE CHANGE DURBAN 2011
Date (published): 30/11/2011
Date (accessed): 06/12/2011
Type of information: blog post
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
"Francis Mburu used to keep indigenous cattle in Entasopia village in the semi- arid Kajiado region, 160 kilometres southwest of Nairobi. However, increasing temperatures and frequent droughts in Kenya have made this difficult in recent years.
But now, in an area that has never had electricity, where education is not a priority or sometimes not an option at all, residents of Entasopia are using a solar-powered internet facility to adapt to the changing climatic conditions.
The Nguruman community, largely composed of the Maasai ethnic group, now has access to an ICT facility locally known as Maarifa (“knowledge” in Swahili) Centre. Here they are able to access climate adaptation information via the internet, videos and books. The Arid Land Information Network (ALIN), in collaboration with the Kenyan government, founded the project.
According to Samuel Nzioka, the field officer for ALIN, most of the videos shown at the centre are practical lessons in local languages aimed at boosting the understanding of the concepts of climate change and adaptation, and basic dry-land farming knowledge..."

Title: Do Open Educational Resources Actually Increase the Digital Divide?
Author: Wayan Vota
Source: Educational Technology Debate
Date (published): 05/12/2011
Date (accessed): 06/12/2011
Type of information: blog post
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
"We have often focused on Open Educational Resources (OER) in the Educational Technology Debates. We talked about the need for creating digital content and examples of existing Open Educational Resources. But this month we’re going to ask a controversial question:

Does OER actually expand the digital divide?

The proponents of Open Educational Resources are right to point out the need for digital content. There are few if any locally relevant resources for educators in the developing world – local language being a major issue. So is access – to the hardware required to view content and often the Internet access to reach it. In addition to content, and the access to reach it, teachers need the skills and training to convert good content into great lessons.

But let us say that all these prerequisites exist – content, access, training:

Does that mean teachers will actually use it?
And who will they use it with? Students already advantaged with socio-economic resources or the underprivileged learners that are the ostensible focus of many educational technology interventions?
Most importantly, regardless of the benefits for the privileged, how can we create better OER benefits for the poor?
Please join us this month for what we all expect to be a lively and informative conversation – your input can start right now in the comments below. You can also submit your extended thoughts as a longer independent Guest Post of at least 500 words. Please email Guest Posts to editors@edutechdebate.org. We will be publishing Guest Posts throughout the month to maintain the conversation."