Results tagged “Geekcorps Mali” from Wayan Dot Com

Back before there was One Laptop Per Child and the 4P Computers it spawned, we had to hunt for information on ICT projects. Finding low-cost devices or the initiatives behind them was a challenge only solved by infoDev's comprehensive Quick Guide to low-cost computing devices for the developing world.

I can remember pushing to get the Geekcorps' Desert PC listed, and the pride I had in our entry. Flash forward five years, and I'm now tasked with updating this list. Time has changed more than my involvement with ICT, its also changed the entire ICT field. Now, new 4P Computing devices are coming on line every day.

Yet so are great data gathering tools, like this Google Docs form below. Please let me know what's your favorite ICT device via this simple interface:

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And be sure to spread the word far and wide via email, Twitter, and the like. You can even re-tweet the survey using this handy, short snippet:

Help update @infoDev's Quick Guide to low-cost ICT devices - please RT and add your favorite 4PC today! http://bit.ly/ict_device_survey
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In northern Mali, out beyond the famously remote Timbuktu, distances are vast and communication difficult. National borders often are less than lines in the sand, and the rule of law just a vague idea. In this power vacuum, bandits still hijack convoys, Tuareg stage rebellions, and terrorist organizations can take root and train.

Yet one brave organization is connecting remote Malian communities to reduce the threat of banditry or worse. Geekcorps Mali is building links between caravans, villagers, and local government - with information and communication technologies.

Geekcorps Mali has developed an innovative ICT intervention that marries FM radio broadcasting with Internet-enabled computers and digital audio recording to give a voice to local communities. The radio stations have become beacons of objective information and a de-facto early warning system for northern Mali and even the country as a whole.

Please join Olivier Alais, Director of Geekcorps Mali on Thursday, December 18 for a discussion of this Internet-enabled radio station model and its impact on northern Mali's security and society.

Our gracious host is the UN Foundation and I'll have coffee and donuts for a good morning sugar rush to wake everyone up.

Fighting Terrorism with ICTs in Mali
December Technology Salon
Thursday, December 18th, 8:30-10am
UN Foundation Conference Room
1800 Mass Avenue, NW, Suite 400
Washington, D.C. 20036 (map)

Do note that seating is limited and the UN Foundation is in a secure building. So the first dozen (12) to RSVP will be confirmed attendance and then there will be a waitlist.

Wayan Vota is a technology expert focused on appropriate information and communication technologies (ICT) for rural and underserved areas of the developing world.

He is currently the Senior Director of the Inveneo Certified ICT Partner Program, where he is developing a network of entrepreneurial information and communication technology companies focused on installing and maintaining rural and remote technology deployments across Africa and Asia. One aspect of that effort is ICTworks - an online community for ICT practitioners in the developing world.

Wayan Vota also develops unique, successful communities of practice through engaging, authoritative online content, and on- and offline organization through multiple distribution channels, including:

• Convening the Technology Salon, exploring the nexus of ICT and development
• Publishing OLPC News, the premier independent online community on One Laptop Per Child
• Developing the Educational Technology Debate for infoDev at the World Bank.

In addition, he has over a decade of global experience in design and development of technology-based solutions, including:

• Launching national professional social capital networking programs for Mercy Corps
• Promoting technology-based economic development programs for IESC Geekcorps
• Designing corporate financial workflows for PricewaterhouseCoopers, Moscow

When not off in distant lands or coveting clock-stopping hot technology, Wayan lives in Washington, DC, with his lovely wife Amy, daughter Hanalei, and the family mascot, Taxi Dog.

Other Sites by Wayan:

• ICTworks: ICT practitioners
• Educational Technology Debate: ICT and Education
• Technology Salon: ICT and International Development
• OLPC News: Following One Laptop Per Child
• Belly Button Window: Wayan's travel tales
• Hanalei Vota: Petworth's most beautiful daughter

Contact Wayan:

• Email: wayan at wayan dot com
• Skype Call: wayan_vota
• Yahoo IM: wayan_vota
• Google Talk: wayan.vota

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