News

Mobile Education Program Expands to Tanzania

Primary school teachers in rural Tanzania will soon be accessing educational videos and text content ‘on demand’ with the aid of a mobile phone. Through the Bridgeit program, mobile phones will be equipped with a software catalogue and player that downloads educational content directly from the server to a TV in the classroom.

Initially launched in the Philippines where it has benefitted more than 100,000 5th and 6th graders, Bridgeit in Tanzania is being supported through a $2 million grant from USAID to the International Youth Foundation.

Next Generation FrontlineSMS Launched

Kiwanja.net just released a new version of its free text messaging platform – FrontlineSMS – opening up the potential of two-way group text messaging to the global nonprofit community.

Since it was first released in 2005, FrontlineSMS has been adapted in over 40 countries for a range of activities, including blood donor recruitment, assisting human rights workers, promoting government accountability, election monitoring, the capture and exchange of price information, coordination of healthcare workers, and the reporting and monitoring of disease outbreaks. A new FrontlineSMS website also enables NGOs to connect and share experiences.

mPedigree: Combating Counterfeit Drugs

The growing incidence of counterfeit drugs poses a serious public health threat worldwide. To address the issue, the founders of mPedigree in Ghana have piloted an SMS-based drug authentication system. Learn more in an interview with co-founder Bright Simons.

MobileActive08 Call for Proposals

To be held in Johannesburg, South Africa from October 13-15, MobileActive08 will convene practitioners, researchers, technologists, and donors to explore how mobile technology is being used to advance social development and the work of NGOs. SANGONeT and MobileActive.org invite interested individuals to submit session proposals and ideas for showcasing products and/or mobile applications. The deadline for submissions is 30 June 2008.

Mobile Technology Helps Meet Development Goals

Mobile technology is transforming the way advocacy, development, and relief organizations accomplish their institutional missions, according to the results of a global survey released by the United Nations Foundation and The Vodafone Group Foundation. The survey found that 86% of non-governmental organization (NGO) employees use mobile technology in their work, and 25% believe it has revolutionized the way their organization or project works. Thanks to members of the ShareIdeas community who participated in the survey.

Accompanying the survey is a new report, Wireless Technology for Social Change: Trends in NGO Mobile Use. The report’s 11 case studies of groups active in the areas of public health, humanitarian assistance and environmental conservation provide real-life examples of innovative use of mobile technology to meet development goals.

Cell Phones Changing the World

Recent articles in the New York Times and Economist spotlight the far-reaching impact of mobile phone technology on issues ranging from family life, work, relationships, and education to efforts to combat global poverty. The 14-page Economist Survey traces the growth of "digital nomadism” as more and more people live on-the-go lives made possible by wireless communication. The effects of the mobile revolution run deep, influencing the language people use, how they interact, how public spaces are constructed, and even traffic patterns.