Haiti

Also published on the TechSoup Blog.

I wrote a blog post a few months ago about Fab Lab, a network of community-operated workshops springing up all over the world. I was excited about Fab-Fi, Fab Lab's name for the simple directional antennas they're using to build a mesh wireless network all over Jalalabad, Afghanistan.

Of course, to get the full effect of what's cool about Fab Lab, it's useful to take a step back. Fab Lab isn't about free wi-fi; it's about providing people with tools to produce whatever they want, tools that were inaccessible to consumers only a few years ago. Afghans are using the same set of tools to bring the Internet to Jalalabad that this young man in south Boston used to build an electric violin:

The following post is by Lukas Biewald, originally published on CrowdFlower's blog and reposted with his permission.  Lukas is the founder and CEO of Dolores Labs and CrowdFlower, a crowdsourcing technology and resource.

Image source: Ushahidi

Friday night I was getting ready to spend the weekend working on my board meeting slides when my friend Ian Monroe came by the office and told me to talk to Robert Munro. Robert is a computational linguist who does research on large scale processing of text messages — an obscure subject until the earthquake in Haiti happened two weeks ago.Robert had been working with Josh Nesbit, cofounder of FrontLineSMS:Medic, an awesome NGO dedicated to building SMS based communication infrastructure for people in the developing world.

"Earthquakes don't kill people...poorly built buildings do." -- Elizabeth Hausler

On this week's episode of the AshokaTECH Podcast, host Alex Budak interviews the founder of Build Change, Elizabeth Hausler, an expert on sustainable building practices to prevent earthquake damage and an Ashoka-Lemelson Fellow.  Alex asks her for her thoughts on the recent tragedy in Haiti, and how similar catastrophies might be avoided in the future.  Elizabeth has faced similar challenges following earthquakes in India, China and Indonesia, and provides poignant commentary on the challenges that now face Haiti, as well as advice on engaging the community.  

As always, be sure to follow Alex on Twitter, @TheBudak, for updates on the podcast and your chance to have your own questions answered in future interviews.

Listen and subscribe to the AshokaTECH Podcast on iTunes

Or visit the AshokaTECH Audioroom to listen to this and all AshokaTECH Podcasts.

Image Source: Boing Boing

I previously wrote about different technology-enabled clinics that are using different innovations—from low-cost ehealth tools to converting shipping containers into clinics—in India, Kenya, Pakistan, and the Dominican Republic.

There has been a ton of news and blog coverage about what has been happening in Haiti over the last two weeks, most of the information being not so great, while some is more hopeful. I am happy to share some new of the hopefull kind.

Adding to the list of previously mentioned clinics, these inflatable plug-and-play hospitals that Doctors Without Borders/Medicins Sans Frontiers (MSF) have deployed in Haiti are really fascinating. This post on Boing Boing shares video and an interview with two MSF employees about the hospital and the challenges and successes in setting it up.

When: Friday, January 22, 2010

Where: Twitter, use hashtag #ICT4D

Local governments - from regional to village level - can be both a help and a hindrance to information and communication technology deployments in the developing world. Yet they cannot be avoided and should be brought into the project.

In the January Twitter Chat this Friday, we'll explore three vital questions any ICT practitioner faces when designing and deploying technology-based projects at the local level, using the #ICT4D hashtag in Twitter:

1. Do you work with local governments or bypass them? Why?
2. What are the keys to project success with local governments?
3. Where are examples of positive local government buy-in?

*Update* - We'll be looking at each question as it relates to Haiti, the immediate earthquake response, and the long-term rebuilding process.

Ashoka's Chloe Feinberg will co-host, along with @ICT_Works and @downeym.

We'll start at 12-noon Eastern Time ( http://bit.ly/Noon-worldwide ) with introductions, then move into the discussion.

Our hope is to learn from each other to find ways we can increase our impact and reduce failure, by engaging local governments.

-- Handy Twitter RT to let others know and join in the conversation  --