The ICT4D Collective is delighted to be assisting The Global Development Network (GDN) deliver its flagship Global Development Conference (GDC) 2025, taking place October 28-30 in Clermont-Ferrand, France, and virtually. Co-hosted by FERDI and CERDI, this year’s conference focuses on “Inclusive Digital Transformation – Bridging the Gap Between Promise and Reality.”
As ICT4D researchers and practitioners, we know technology holds immense potential for development, but we also see the risks of deepening inequalities and reinforcing existing power structures. GDC 2025 aims to foster a critical, evidence-based dialogue that moves beyond the hype. We’ll explore the complex interplay of social, economic, political, and ethical forces shaping our digital world, with a strong emphasis on learning from diverse global experiences, particularly within low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
Get Involved Now! Call for Papers: this is the chance for researchers to share original research on digital inclusion, governance, the digital economy’s impact on social development, or technology for climate action. Contribute your evidence to inform policy and practice! Deadline: May 16, 2025.
What to Expect: GDC 2025 will feature inspiring keynotes, thought-provoking plenary discussions, and engaging, practical sessions designed for interaction. It’s a prime opportunity to connect with fellow researchers, policymakers, civil society representatives, and practitioners from across the globe.
Registration Coming Soon: Interested in attending, either in person or online? Participant registration will open shortly!
Stay updated and find all details on the official GDC 2025 website: conf2025.gdn.int
Projectitis is the bane of much good research and practice, whereby often well-intentioned people get caught up in a vicious cycle of bidding for project funding, delivering outputs, producing evidence of success, and then bidding again for new projects. All too frequently, insufficient effort is expended on supporting those involved to continue delivering positive outcomes in the years following the end of a project. In 2019 we were fortunate enough to be part of a successful bid for UKRI GCRF funding for a five year research Hub focusing on migration for development and equality (MIDEQ). By its end in 2024 it was clear that our work package on how migrants might benefit from using digital tech had only really just begun to generate outputs and outcomes to benefit the lives of the migrants and migrant organisations with whom we were working in Nepal and South Africa, and that more work needed to be done to help ensure that these outcomes became a lasting legacy of our work together.
Some of our reflections at the end of 2023 about how migrants might actually benefit from the millions of pounds spent on the academic research undertaken during MIDEQ were published as Unwin, T., Casentini, G., Harindranath, G. and Lorini, M.R. (2023) What works for migrants: reflections on research practice in the interests of migrants (Egham: ICT4D Collective, Working Paper 1). This reinforced our determination to try to find ways through which we could continue to support those with whom we had started working during MIDEQ, and we have been very fortunate to benefit from small amounts of continued funding from Royal Holloway, University of London (ESRC Social Science Impact Accelerator, and a Research England Block Grant) which has enabled us to revisit colleagues in South Africa and Brazil to encourage deeper and wider impact and outcomes. We are very grateful to the Research Impact team (Emily Gow and Rachael Kendrew) for all of their support and flexibility in helping us take this forward.
Most recently, we have also benefitted from a further small grant from Royal Holloway, University of London’s Social Purpose Research and Knowledge Exchange Funds to enable Hari Harindranath and Tim Unwin to return to Nepal for a short visit in January 2024 to help put in place structures that will enable the work we initiated to become further embedded within the activities of our partner organisations, thereby helping to ensure outcome continuity. This work initially focused on three main areas: the Pardesi portal (https://pardesi.org.np), training resources on the safe, wise and secure/private use of digital tech by migrants, and cybersecurity guidance for small civil society organisations. However, the visit also provided an opportunity to explore future collaborative initiatives, especially with our partner organisation ACORAB/CIN, the Association of Community Radio Broadcasters in Nepal.
Our original meetings with migrant organisations in Nepal in September 2022 had emphasised the need that they had identified for an overarching portal for migrants to provide accurate access to relevant and reliable information about all aspects of the migration process. This was not at all intended to duplicate existing information, but instead to provide a simple way for migrants to access the important information that they needed and that is already available on various disparate sites. Originally, we had supported many of the main migrant organisations and people within the local tech community to come together collectively to create this resource, not least so that all of the important entities felt involved in its creation and maintenance. However, it had become evident over the year since the end of MIDEQ that this needed to be complemented by firm direction and leadership to ensure effective updating and development of the portal, and as a result of meetings held during our visit we are delighted that Pourakhi, a human rights defender organization run by and for returnee Nepali women migrants, has agreed to take on this role.
Resources for migrants on the safe, wise and secure use of digital tech
Meeting with Minister Sharat Singh Bhandari, Minister of Labour, Employment and Social Security, and colleagues from Pourakhi
Meeting with Anjali Shrestha, National Migrant Resource Center Officer (NMRC)
During our original MIDEQ project we had developed a set of training resources in the six main languages used in Nepal to empower migrants to use digital tech safely, wisely and securely, with the original intention that these could be rolled out through the training provided by the Migrant Resource Centres (MRCs) in every province of the country. Despite previous meetings with government officials over the previous three years, changes in official roles and the evolution of government policies meant that we had not yet achieved this aim. Persistence and continued commitment nevertheless pays off, and we were delighted that we were able to share information about our work on this visit with the new Minister of Labour, Employment and Social Security, and that our good friend Anjali Shrestha (the National Migrant Resource Center Officer) has committed to finding ways through which counsellors at the MRCs can receive training based on the resources that we have already developed, supplemented by new posters and advice on key messages (see section on new resources being developed with ACORAB below).
Developing our partnership with ACORAB/CIN
The ACORAB/CIN studio
The ACORAB/CIN studio
During our initial MIDEQ work we signed an official parntership Memorandum of Understanding with ACORAB/CIN, the Association of Community Radio Broadcasters in Nepal, who helped to disseminate our original resources on the safe, wise and secure use of digital tech to their regular audience of 6.7 million people across the country. We have comntinued to work together in training and advocacy, with ACORAB/CIN for example participating actively in the workshop we held at the WSIS+20 session on the future of community media in Geneva in May 2024. Our latest visit to Nepal helped to cement this relationship, with Tim Unwin delivering a seminar on Community Radio in an Increasingly Digital World, and agreements were also reached on the production and dissemination of new resources on the safe, wise and secure use of digital tech. These will include posters and podcasts on key issues of importance to migrant digital safety and privacy.
Sharing information and exploring new ideas with international organisations
Tim Unwin receiving a certificate of appreciation from Prajwal Sharma at IOM
Meeting with Dollie Shaha at BBC Nepal
We worked closely with colleagues in international and bilateral organisations in Nepal during our original MIDEQ project and this visit provided a valuable opportunity to update colleagues in IOM, UNESCO, and the British Embassy about our work as well as to explore possible future synergies. All too often staff in these organisations move on to new roles and it is therefore very important to develop new personal relationships wtih their successors to ensure that valuable institutional links are maintained. This visit also provided a useful opportunity to meet with staff at BBC Nepal to learn about their work and relationships with ACORAB/CIN.
Meetings with migrant organisations and others involved in our MIDEQ work
One of the main purposes of our visit was to meet with the local migrant organisations wth whom we had worked during MIDEQ to learn more about their current activities and how we might continue to work together both on the pardesi.org.np portal as well as on propagating messages about the safe, and secure use of digital tech. In addition to thos colleagues depicted above and below, we also met with Bijaya Kimari Rai Shrestha from AMKAS and Anita Ghimire from ISER-N.
Measuring the real outcomes of our work for the lives of individual migrants and their organisations remains difficult. We are very hopeful that as a result of our visit many new initiatives will take place that will help us together to achieve lasting outcomes:
Under Pourakhi’s oversight, working with many of our original MIDEQ colleagues, the pardesi.org.np portal will regularlly be updated and enhanced.
Our basic resources on the safe, wise and secure use of digital tech will be rolled out for all the counsellors in the 77 Migrant Resource Centres by the end of the year, and awareness raising posters and leaflets in relevant languages will also be made available for them.
Our cybersecurity resources for civil society organisations will be translated into Nepali and distributed to relevant organisations in Nepal.
ACORAB/CIN will continue to share information about the importance of cybersecurity at individual and organisational level through its support for local community radio stations.
At an organisational level, we will continue to work with ACORAB to help them engage appropriately in relevant digitalisation processes, and with IOM in the delivery of their Migration School.
Across all of these initiatives, we have put in place mechanisms to enable us better to understand the outcomes of our research-practice, not least so that we can share further information about what works and what challenges remain so that others can learn from our experiences. We believe that hearing from migrants themselves is one of the best ways to share such understandings (see videos here), and so this post closes with a short commentary from Swarna Kumar Sha from NNSM, the umbrella organization of civil society organizations in Nepal working in the field of labour migration and development, about his experiences of working with us.
We have been working since 2020 with partners across the world to develop basic cybersecurity resources for migrants, especially in Nepal and South Africa (funded by UKRI GCRF) , and have more recently extended this work to other countries (with funding from ESRC Social Impact Accelerator, Reseaerch England ODA, and Social Purpose Funding throigh Royal Holloway University of London). One of the most exciting of these new initiatives has be the collaboration between G. “Hari” Harindranath and Tim Unwin from the ICT4D Collective, and Dr. Heloisa Meloni in Brazil. This has focused mainly on developing localised versions of our basic training materials originally developed in Nepal into Brazilian Portuguese, focusing especially on advice that would be useful to those living nas periferias and in the favelas.
These resources were originally launched at a workshop on 12th September 2024 at the Casa Resistências in Maré, Rio de Janeiro, with a specific focus on how they could be used by the LBT community living there. Since then, the basic slide deck been subdivided into 16 short video clips by J Lo and Heloisa Melino and these can be shared on social media or used in many other ways to disseminate the advice on safe, wise and secure use of digital tech, especially for the LBT communities living in Brazil’s favelas. Some additional material is also included in clips 12-16 on topics such as deepfakes and using digital tech in violent contexts. Click on the links below to watch and listen to the videos:
We very much hope that these are helpful in many more Portuguese speaking contexts than just that for which they were original designed. They are made available under a Creatoive Commons BY SA license so they are free to use and adapt providing that new versions continue to be made available using the same license and appropriate credit is given.
Building on our research-practice in the MIDEQ Hub, funded by the UKRI GCRF, between 2019 and 2024, we have been working with colleagues in Brazil during 2024 to reversion and develop resources on the safe, wise and secure use of digital technologies. These were originally created with migrants and migrant organisations in Nepal and South Africa, but discussions with Dr. Heloisa Melino in Rio de Janeiro in September 2023 suggested that they could also be useful for those living nas periferias of Brazil. Subsequent funding from the UK’s Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) through its Social Science Impact Accelerator at Royal Holloway, University of London, enabled us to put this into action, and following design workshops in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro in April 2024, a series of new resources were developed in formats that would be appealing, especially for the LBT community in Maré.
These resources were launched on 12th September at the Casa Resistências in Maré, Rio de Janeiro. This was a vibrant occasion and provided important validation both of the value of these resources, and of their significance especially for the LBT community. Huge thanks are due to our friend and colleague, Heloisa Melino, for all the work that she did in co-ordinating and delivering this inspirational event (see images below).
Participants in the launch workshop were eager to express their views about the value and importance of these materials, and created these inspiring videos (in Portuguese):
For more information about this research-practice do click in the links below:
Many research (and practical) projects finish when the funding finishes; researchers and organisations quickly move on to the next source of funding, and new ideas. Even those who have the best intentions to measure real outcomes, rather than just outputs, very often do not have the time or funding to do so. As part of the UKRI GCRF funded MIDEQ initiative (2019-2024), members of the ICT4D Collective were from the beginning eager to try to work differently in their research with migrants on how digital technologies might be used to reduce inequalities. Some of our discussions around this have been published in our working paper Unwin, Casentini, Harindranath and Lorini (2023), but funding from a Research England Block Grant, the ICT4D Collective, and our own personal resources has recently enabled “Hari” Harindranath and Tim Unwin to return to South Africa in September and October 2024, eight months after MIDEQ funding had ceased, to meet with organisations and migrants in Johannesberg and Cape Town to learn from them about the outcomes of our work so far, and what lessons we mght learn from our engagement together, so that we can improve similar work that we might undertake in the future. Our findings are briefly summarised at https://ict4d.org.uk/technology-inequality-and-migration/zaoutcomes/, which includes some encouraging and inspirational videos from the migrants with whom we worked.
It is evident from their comments that our research-practice has indeed had many positive outcomes on their lives, interestingly not necessarily direly to do with digital tech, but more in terms of self-confidence, knowledge sharing and community building. However, the number of migrants with whom our team (Maria Rosa Lorini, Tim Unwin and “Hari” Harindranath) actually worked together was relatively small. The challenge remains as to how we can continue to support them to extend this work on the safe, wise and secure use of digital tech more widely, thereby making it more sustainable into the future. It is clear that nothing works without some funding, and relying on volunteers is rarely ever sustainable.
For our free resources on the safe, wise and secure use of digital tech on different themes and in multiple languages, see: https://ict4d.org.uk/sws/.
“Hari” Harindranth and Tim Unwin from the ICT4D Collective were delighted to have had the opportunity to participate actively in this year’s ICEGOV (International Conference on Theory and Practice of Electronic Governance) held in Pretoria from 1st to 4th October, and convened by our good friends at UNU EGOV, under the patronage of South Africa’s Department of Public Service and Administration, and organised jointly with the Univeristy of the Witwatersrand and South Africa’s Centre for Public Service Administration. The organising committee created a very convivial atmosphere, in which we were able to meet with acquaintances from the past and also made many new friends from across the world. On a more personal level, it was great being able to walk to and from the conference centre at CSIR every day which served to keep us fit, and we had just about adjusted to the altitude (c.1350 m) by the time we had to leave!
We were kept busy by the organisers, chairing a third of the conference’s paper sessions between us! Hari was joint session chair for two of the conference sessions (click on link for the detailed programme):
Hari also presented a joint paper on behalf of Maria Rosa Lorini and Tim on Mitigating Risks: Safe, Wise and Secure Use of Digital Technologies by Migrant Communities in South Africa. To our delight, this was one of three papers nominated by the conference panel for the best ongoing research! The proceedings will be published in digital format only as part of the ACM International Conference Proceedings Series (ICPS) so watch out for this if you want to read the full paper.
Highlights of the conference included keynotes by Prof. Tshilidzi Marwala (Rector of the UNU) on Digital Cooperation: International Governance of Emerging Technologies & the Global Digital Compact, and by Prof. Judy Dlamini (the Chancellor of Wits University) who gave an inspiring closing keynote. We were also richly entertained to a traditional South African braai and music at ithe conference dinner, where together we all sought to put to rights the world of global digital governance!
Particular thanks are due to the entire organising team, and especially to the tireless Flávia Barbosa who did so much behind the scenes to make our participation in the conference so productive and enjoyable.
Professor Luis Neves Domingos and Tim Unwin signing a partnership Memorandum of Understanding between the Centro de Informática da Universidade Eduardo Mondlane (CIUEM), Mozambique, and the ICT4D Collective on Monday 30th September 2024 in Maputo.
The ICT4D Collective is delighted to have signed its latest partnership agreement with the Centro de Informática da Universidade Eduardo Mondlane (CIUEM) at Eduardo Mondlane University in Maputo. This agreement builds on collaboration between the two organisations over more than 20 years, which began during the UK Government’s Imfundo initiative, and was then taken further through the Africa ICT4D university network that was funded by the UK’s Development Partnerships for Higher Education (DelPHE) scheme supported by DFID and the British Council, and subsequently by European EDULINK funding. This agreement has the following main intended outputs:
High quality research and practice on digital technologies, inequalities, social change and international development
Joint workshops and conferences to explore aspects of the inter-relationships between digital technologies, inequalities, social change and international development
Research visits and exchanges between partners, especially to enhance the experiences of early career researchers
Joint strategic interventions designed to enhance the wise and appropriate use of digital technologies, especially by marginalised communities and individuals
Joint research grant applications to relevant funding agencies and research councils
Policy recommendations on areas of mutual interests
More specifically, our work together will focus on developing and sharing local language training resources on the safe, wise and secure use of digital tech, and will initially concentrate on disseminating these resources to Community Radio stations through the agency of the Centro de Apoio à Informação e Comunicação Comunitária.
Signing this agreement also provided an opportunity for both Neves and Tim to discuss with the Rector of Eduardo Mondlane University, Prof. Dr. Manuel Guilherme Junior, further ways in which closer collaboration between Mozambican and UK-based researchers and practitioners in the field of digital tech for development can be developed in the interests of some of the poorest and most marginalised people in Mozambique.
This was also an excellent opportunity to learn more about the CIUEM’s recent achievements, and the exciting new facilities that they are developing, especially in the field of of digital engtrepreneurship and capacity development.
The ICT4D Collective was delighted to be involved in delivering an online workshop/seminar with our partners ACORAB (the Association of Community Radio Broadcasters) and CIN (Community Information Network) in Nepal on 24th July. This drew on our previous work in Nepal, as well as the session on community radio that we ran earlier in the year at WSIS+20 together with other organisations and partners. These form part of our increasing work on cyber-security. Some 70 participants, mostly journalists from community radio stations, participated in the two-and-a-half hour workshop which had four main aims:
To share information and ideas about the work that members of the Collective have been doing, mainly with migrants, on the safe, wise and secure use of digital tech in Nepal, South Africa, Brazil and Mozamibique;
To provide participants with advice that will hopefully be of value to them both personally and in their professional lives;
To share resources on cyber-security that can be used through community radio to advise listeners in Nepal; and
An opportunity for discussion and dialogue between participants
The slide deck used for the workshop is available here, and we would love to hear any feedback or suggestions about the content through our contact page.
During one of our research visits to South Africa in January 2024 it became abundantly clear that many small and poorly resourced civil society organisations have little experience of using digital tech safely, wisely and securely. Drawing on good practices across the world, as well as our subsequent experiences in and with colleagues from Brazil, Nepal and Mozambiaue, we have therefore produced a short (12 page) guide to help such organisations understand the risks they are at from the use of digital tech and how they can be mitigated. This contains useful tips, graphics that can be copied and reversioned into posters, as well as links to more detailed sourcers of information, and it is freely available in English under a Creative Commons CC BY SA license.
Please get in touch using our contact page should you have any comments on how this could be improved or to discuss developing versions in other languages or for other contexts, and do please share information about this resource through your own networks.
Members of the ICT4D Collective and friends had an exciting and very busy time in Geneva during the 20th anniversary meeting of the World Summit on the Information Society between 26th and 31st May, 2024. Our full agenda is available here, but we summarise below details of the two main sessions that we convened.
Community Media Networks: envisioning the future (Session 331)
We convened this session on 29th May with ACORAB/CIN , BNNRC, TaC-Together, Youth IGF, Cape Town TV, CEMCA, and ICT4D.at, highlighting the importance of community media in reaching some of the world’s most isolated and marginalised people. Our very distinguished line-up of speakers and moderators included (in order of speaking): Pramod Tandukar (Executive Director, ACORAB, Nepal), AHM Bazlur Rahman (CEO, Bangladesh NGOs Network for Radio and Communication), Dr. R Sreedher (Tele Learning and Community Radio Practitioner), and Philomena Gnanapragasam (CEO Asia-Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development), with Tim Unwin (ICT4D Collective) and Paul Spiesberger (ICT4D.at) also being moderators.
Towards a better understanding of the interface between digital tech and the physical environment (Session 332)
This session (convened by The Digital Environment System Coalition, ICT4D.at and TaC-Together with YouthIGF) provided an overview of the agenda being developed by the Digital-Environment System Coalition (DESC), and an outline of our proposed contribution to the ITU’s Partner2Connect initiative. It emphasised the need for a completely new was of understanding the interactions between digital tech and the environment, that is much more holistic than the existing emphasis of the “global community” mainly on climate change, carbon emissions, and e-waste.
The ICT4D Collective is delighted to be participating actively in the upcoming WSIS+20 week of activities in Geneva, especially since 2024 is also the 20th anniversary of the foundation of the Collective, which was created in 2004 to conduct the highest possible quality of research in the field of ICT4D primarily in the interests of poor people and marginalised communities, and making the results of this available freely to the global community.
Geneva from the ITU
Members of the Collective are actively engaged mainly in the following sessions at WSIS+20:
All of these events have been convened jointly with our partners and friends or we have been invited to participate in their sessions as speakers and moderators, and we are most grateful to them for such collaboration. Please do join us at WSIS+20 – we promise to try to make our involvement exciting, interactive and challenging. Should you wish to contact us and arrange meetings during WSIS, do please use our contacts page.
Overall the conference is worth a visit to see yet another aspect of the ICT4D movement. The ICT4D conference is more an event from the private sector for the private sector and governments. Although some researchers were present, many of the exhibition booths and sessions were held by for-profit organisations. Everyone working in the ICT field as an engineer understands that ICTs need constant funding for software development and maintenance and there is nothing wrong with earning money while doing some good with ICTs. It is estimated that 70% of ICT4D projects fail and having a business model behind any ICT4D initiative can only be a plus if it successfully balances profits and benefits for its users. Unfortunately some sectors such as education or health can never be profitable if you do not discriminate the most marginalized. One challenge we saw was that this is yet another ICT4D event where only a subsection of the movement is represented. Others such as researchers, UN organisations, target groups (marginalized people) or engineers were mostly absent. This also applies to other conferences where for instance the private sector is absent and we do not know of any event or conference where all stakeholders are involved equally – please let us know if you do.
Ghana’s Minister of Communications and Digitalisation, Hon. Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, opened the 12th ICT4D Conference. She emphasized Ghana’s leadership in digitalization while acknowledging the global connectivity gap and the need for digital inclusion for older generations. This timely conference coincided with a critical situation in Africa at the time, with multiple submarine cable cuts disrupting internet access across Sub-Saharan Africa. These challenges underline the importance of building sustainable, local digital infrastructure for long-term progress in Africa’s digital transformation.
What was rather troubling was the involvement of Microsoft and their keynote speech where they wrapped their business case into a shiny development aid gift wrapping paper. The Microsoft speaker started to explain that we are living in an overall changing world and the new big factor is artificial intelligence (AI). He stated that some countries are left behind and Microsoft wants to solve this problem. 10 million for Microsoft’s OpenAI to close the “digital divide” and “democratizing” AI by providing access to the people – where the problem starts. Once more the “digital divide” is misused and a 2 billion offline population is connected to a system where they will become customers rather than free citizens. Furthermore, why would you call connecting people to a product “democratizing” it? Microsoft will call all the shots and is owning the technology. Just as ever and today, they will not open their technologies for anyone but themselves and call acquiring more customers “democratizing”. Do not let you get fooled by the “Open” in their product’s name. OpenAI is not controlled, owned nor adaptable by the people. Only open source LLMs and open source software can live up to these high standards of a democratized technology and Microsoft/OpenAI defiantly do not. In the second part he presented the true reason why they sponsored the event, their Digital Development Program (DDP):
“During UNGA78, we also unveiled Microsoft’s Digital Development Program (DDP). Our DDP program is a comprehensive platform that supports low- and middle-income countries who receive international development assistance. These countries, with 1.8 billion citizens, represent 23% of the world’s population. Participating countries will benefit from pro bono digital advisory, affordable cloud solutions, skilling, and capacity building tools to help governments modernize their infrastructure and provide critical services. Cape Verde, Angola, and Ethiopia are among the first countries leading the way in harnessing the potential of this program and to have a real impact towards a more equitable and inclusive digital economy.”
In short, they will grant governments of low- and middle-income countries 35% discount on Microsoft products until 2030. Full price from 2030 onwards of course. Not only is this just plain business and has not much to do with development, it also has the following consequences:
Governments of low- and middle-income countries will be completely depended on a foreign software company and lose their sovereignty
In the future all software related expenditures of governments will go outside their economies to the pockets of an US based company
No local software industries will evolve as it will be impossible to compete with the 35% discount – Microsoft plans here on the long run to destroy all local competitors
The US government will further expand its soft power and will control foreign national infrastructure to surveil internal communication of other governments
“The Principles for Digital Development serve as a compass for those working to promote sustainable and inclusive development in today’s complex digital landscape. Using these Principles as a starting point, policymakers, practitioners, and technologists will be better equipped to ensure that all people can benefit from digital initiatives and from the broader digital society.”
Digital Development Guidebook
The Digital Development Guidebook was presented and discussed. Overall a good guidebook and definitely worth reading and discussing. The checklists seem to be thought through and helpful for future projects. Listing expert organization, underline the importance of open source software and a focus on digital literacy is something we very much appropriate. A bit confusing is the fact that the guidebook advocates for Digital Public Goods, ownership, free and open source software while probably nobody at the conference was using Linux nor other free software while Microsoft was promoting exactly the opposite in their keynote and they mark “ChatGPT” as the main achievement in 2022?
Projects, Talks & Discussions
This blog post is a collaboration between Tobias, Jack and Paul who report from sessions they visited and overall impressions.
Reimagining Digital Transformation through Digital Public Goods (DPGs)
Speakers: Abisola Fatokun, Sabeen Dhanani, Ms. Nita Tyagi, Dileep Bapat, Seth Akumani, Lauren Kahn, and Moritz Fromageot
Decision-makers and development professionals across the globe have increasingly understood the importance of Digital Public Goods (DPGs). DPGs promise significant changes in communication between citizens and authorities and in the way services are provided. A key example of the introduction of DPGs was the introduction of an eHealth system in India based on the Aadhaar ID. Due to the size of the Indian population it was not possible to reuse respectively import an existing system from another country. Another key point was that the solution was not pushed from the top down, but rather according to the approaches of “Empowerment comes when people build solutions” and “it is people who bring in the transformation”. DHIS 2 was mentioned several times as a prime example for a successful Digital Public Good. The discussion concluded in the statement that people design solutions that meet their needs – It’s not digital transformation, it is people transformation.
Speakers “Enabling Tech access for local market Systems strengthening”: James Haithcoat, Sildio Mbonyumuhire, Meshack Mbinda, Dorien Asampana, Karen Hampson, Gidraf Wachira, Andrew Karlyn, and Worlali Senyo Speakers “Harnessing Technology for a Climate-Smart Future”: Karen Hampson , Gidraf Wachira, Andrew Karlyn, Dorien Asampana, and James Haithcoat
The Big Discussion on Food Security and Climate Tech stressed the power of technology to bolster local markets, optimizing supply chains and connecting producers directly to consumers. It also highlighted the need to leverage technology for a climate-smart future, promoting precision farming, weather forecasting tools, and resilient crops. The conversation acknowledged the digital divide in rural areas, emphasizing the importance of last-mile solutions like solar-powered equipment to bridge the gap and ensure farmer access to information and markets. Farm Radio was recognized as a vital tool for understanding farmers’ needs, underlining the importance of listening to the listeners to tailor effective solutions. Federated data was seen as crucial for documenting farmers and informing policy decisions, emphasizing the need for collaboration and data sharing to achieve food security and sustainability. Ultimately, the discussion resonated with the message of collective action: “Those of us who can do more should do more, but together we can do a lot.” In his contribution, Worlali Senyo, a member of ICT4D.at and the Country Manager of Farmerline Limited, highlighted a significant financial gap that must be addressed to empower farmers to fulfil their responsibilities. He emphasized the importance of ensuring poverty alleviation among farmers and advocated for a comprehensive approach that incorporates introducing them to the carbon market. Farmerline Limited is already walking the walk. They are equipping farmers with cutting-edge tools for monitoring, traceability, and data analysis. This not only helps farmers, but also paves the way for a future where they can benefit from carbon credits.
The crux of the food security challenge hinges on our resource allocation. The quandary lies in our allocation of efforts: are we truly prioritizing effective food distribution, whereby regions facing scarcity are systematically pinpointed and supplied with surplus from areas of abundance within national, continental, or global contexts? Or are we inadvertently tilting the balance towards a singular focus on production efficiency, channelling our energies solely into boosting yields without adequately addressing the pressing issue of equitable food access and distribution? This dilemma presents a compelling research opportunity. By delving deeper into the effectiveness of both distribution and production efforts, we can illuminate the path towards a more comprehensive and sustainable solution for global food security.
Greening ICT4D: Tackling our impact on the environment and climate
Speakers: Mariela Machado, Morten Risgaard, Ms. Onica N. Makwakwa and Joel Urbanowicz (Moderator)
The Plenary discussion on “Greening ICT4D: Tackling our Impact on the Environment and Climate” highlighted innovative initiatives like Japan’s Smart Farming, showcasing the potential of technology to reduce the agricultural sectors carbon footprint. However, a critical challenge emerged – the inadequate management of electronic waste (e-waste), particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. This exposes a significant gap in the region’s approach to sustainable waste management.
A Call to Action: Addressing the E-Waste Challenge
The discussion emphasized the need for a multi-pronged approach:
Policy and Strategy Formulation: There’s is a pressing need for robust policies and strategies that encourage responsible e-waste management by producers, consumers, and waste handlers. Research efforts should explore effective policy frameworks that incentivize environmentally sound practices throughout the e-waste life cycle.
End-of-Life Management Solutions: Organisations more so in Sub-Saharan Africa lacks proper infrastructure and cost-effective solutions for handling e-waste at the end of its lifespan. Research is crucial to develop sustainable e-waste collection, recycling, and disposal systems tailored to the region’s context.
E-waste Reuse and Refurbishment: Exploring the potential for e-waste reuse and refurbishment can significantly extend the lifespan of existing equipment and reduce the need for new electronics. Research could investigate ways to create local markets and incentives for refurbishing and reusing e-waste.
Infrastructure Sharing and Global Collaboration
The discussion recognized the importance of infrastructure sharing as a means to minimize the carbon footprint of ICT4D initiatives. Additionally, it highlighted the need for substantial global efforts, particularly in the Global South, where a lack of adequate e-waste management policies and infrastructure presents a critical gap in sustainable development. Collaboration across different stakeholders – governments, NGOs, technology companies, and research institutions – is crucial to bridge this gap.
Bridging the Gap: A Sustainable Future for ICT4D
By addressing these challenges and gaps, ICT4D initiatives can contribute to a more sustainable future for Sub-Saharan Africa. This will allow the region to bridge the digital divide in an environmentally responsible manner, ensuring inclusive growth and a greener future.
Speakers: Nyagaki Gichia, Lindsay Kincaid, Daniel Ganyoame, Maryam Lawan, Vincent Wang (Moderator)
It was a vivid discussion about education and hubs/spaces where learning can happen. Most parents think these spaces are only for children, so how could a hub become inclusive for all ages to access education? Bringing in parents as participants into their children’s education raises its importance and also targets adult’s education. One presented solution was to offer services for adults such as searching online for jobs so they get in touch with the hubs or schools.
The following challenges for education were mentioned:
Safe space for women to find comfort, make it social and look at the social context. Usually women come with their kids and you need child care taking to facilitate time for education.
Localize content, use local dialect to make material accessible
Context of family – the husband often needs to approve so his wife can participate
Always take the cultural context in consideration. One speaker mentioned that in one of their projects, instead of free t-shirts for women’s graduation they handed out free scarf as most women came fully covered due to their Muslim background
Young girls needed to be at home to do choirs and the program needs to consider this. Parents need to be on board
Connecting the Unreached; Accelerating Dignified Development to Amplify Shared Prosperity
Speaker: Ms. Peace Delali
I was not expecting much from BLUETOWN Ltd.’s presentation at this panel discussion. It felt like another company pitch. But then Ms. Peace took the stage, and everything changed. She was not there to sell; she was there to share the incredible work BLUETOWN is doing to bridge the digital divide. Their approach is ingenious. They use a network of strategically placed, solar-powered base stations to deliver local cloud content to students and underserved communities. They even empower locals to monitor the network, troubleshoot basic issues, and escalate problems when needed. This creates a sustainable model that keeps content local and avoids the high cost of undersea cables.
BLUETOWN’s projects are a shining example of how to make ICT truly accessible in Sub-Saharan Africa and the greater global south. Their focus on local content ensures its relevance and accessibility, while their community involvement creates a sense of ownership and long-term impact. This is the kind of innovative thinking we need to bridge the digital divide and empower people everywhere.
I was tuning into a session from Cadasta about mapping land for vulnerable communities via GIS technologies. Their “tools empower vulnerable communities to affordably and easily document, map, and secure inclusive land and resource rights at scale for a more sustainable and equitable planet” as vast land has not yet officially claimed by the people who actually live there since generations. They mentioned the following projects they worked on:
Protecting Indigenous Land through self recognition and registration in Cambodia Indigenous peoples Organization
VSG Association of Saamaka Authorities – Empowering Saamaka Communities: Strengthening Territory Governance and Resources Management
JKPP Indonesian Community Mapping Network
They focus a lot on training people and illustrated how they categorize “mappers” from beginners to experts and what kind of services in terms of trainings & technologies they then offer.
In the end participants raised the question if they are also working with governments as just mapping without officially acknowledging would not be enough. They do work with governments but this adds further complexity to a project and often officials are not welcoming to these kind of empowerment. Unfortunately, what I completely missed in the discussion and presentation was the fact that land often is claimed by more than just one person or group. It is still unclear to me how they decide who actually has the right to map a certain area and then state that they own it? Someone who can afford their services and is in control of the technology can raise claims to properties of others which showcases the power such a technology encapsulated.
ICT4D Collective 
