The Challenge of Defining ICT4D Or Why Erik Hersman is ICT4$
Yesterday, Erik Hersman (aka. White African) dropped a blog bomb into the sometimes contentious debate around the term ICT4D – information and communication technologies for development. In his The Subtle Condescension of “ICT4D” post he says: I have cognitive dissonance over the term “ICT4D“. The term “ICT4D” is confusing, hypocritical and has a whiff of […]
Read MoreCrazy Marathon Training: Running the Dead Sea in Jordan
The Dead Sea is a bit more humid than I expected. At 7am, I’ve only run 3 miles and I am already coated in sweat. More sweat than mid-summer runs in Washington, DC. I am just dripping sweat. I think I’m even sweating from my eyeballs. That’s how humid the Dead Sea is, even at this early hour in early October.
Through the sweat I look around and take in the view. Bright red mountains banded by clear blue waters and crystal blue skies. Not a tree or human in sight. An utter silence from the thick air broken only by my labored breath and tired footfalls.
Read MoreIn the Company of Giants: I am an infoDev Mobile Apps Labs Implementer
infoDev is implementing the ambitious “Creating Sustainable Businesses in the Knowledge Economy” program with the Government of Finland and Nokia to expand the impact of mobile applications in the economic and social advancement of the developing world. A major component of the Creating Sustainable Businesses program are five regional mobile application laboratories, in Africa, Asia […]
Read MoreEducational Technology Debate: an expanding community of practice
In May 2009, infoDev at the World Bank launched the Educational Technology Debate in conjunction with Unesco with its first topical discussion, “Are ICTs the Best Educational Investment?” between Tim Kelly of infoDev and Wayan Vota, consultant to infoDev. From this humble beginning, the Educational Technology Debate is now an expanding community of practice. The […]
Read MoreApps4Dev: Smartphone Application Development as ICT4D
The rise of the smartphone has unleashed a wave of excitement and income generation across the software development community. Applications that can run on iPhones, Android phones and Blackberry’s, can be written quickly, and on the cheap, and have generated outsized returns for their creators. Even more impressive is that this application revolution is just […]
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