Archive for category: Technology

Information and stories about technology news.

6 Tech Awards Laureate Startups That Improve Lives

Tech AwardsThe Tech Awards is an annual competition that recognizes work done by startups around the world that help to improve the standard of living in impoverished areas. Through the work done by these startups, many people are able to gain access to tools to better their education, communication and rights.

From the 2016 Tech Awards, the panel of judges recognized six Tech Awards laureates who have continued to improve communities over the last 15 years. Each startup won an award related to the work they do. These are the six companies and their impact on the communities they help.

Source International
Source International was named a Tech Awards laureate in 2014. In 2016, they won the Intel Environment Award. Source International is an Italian company that works with communities to deal with environmental pollution and health issues that arise because of it.

Source International provides these services free of charge in communities where their services work. Furthermore, they train local leaders to develop and promote environmental monitoring systems to benefit those communities.

Equal Access International
Equal Access International was named a Tech Awards laureate in 2003. In 2016, they won the Microsoft Education Award. Equal Access International is a non-profit organization that creates informative and educational media programs to address women’s rights and education issues in different countries across the world.

Equal Access International currently works in nine countries across Africa, Asia and the Middle East. They use a multimedia approach as well as direct community involvement to raise awareness of these issues, educate people on how to overcome these issues and train people to actively change unfavorable laws and legislation.

Souktel
Souktel was named a Tech Awards laureate in 2010. In 2016, they won the PayPal Equality Award. Souktel is a company that connects employers with employees using development and tech expertise to expand technological communication.

Souktel is focused in areas where unemployment is high due to the lack of access to communication. They work directly with companies to establish platforms for companies to use mobile phones, hotlines and more, while Souktel provides servers to host the platform, as well as customer support.

Angaza
Angaza was named a Tech Awards laureate in 2012. In 2016, they won the Katherine M. Swanson Young Innovator Award. Angaza works to provide affordable solar energy to areas that rely on more toxic forms of lighting, such as kerosene.

Angaza developed a pay-as-you-go platform that allows people in low-income areas to make micro-payments in order to pay for solar products. This creates an affordable way to access cleaner and safer energy for those who need it most.

IDE-India
IDE-India (IDEI) was named a Tech Awards laureate in 2004 and 2010. In 2016, they won the Sobrato Organization Economic Development Award. IDEI is an Indian organization that focuses on providing water access to poor and smallholder farmers. 57 percent of the Indian population relies on agriculture to provide for their families.

According to the Tech Awards website, “IDEI created a low-cost drip irrigation system and foot-powered water pump, which currently reaches 1.38 million households.” Through the improved accessibility of water for small farmers, they are able to generate more income and thrive as businesses.

D-Rev
D-Rev was named a Tech Awards laureate in 2013. In 2016, they won the Sutter Health Award. D-Rev is a company that creates medical technologies at affordable prices for low-income areas. This helps to close the quality healthcare gap for underserved areas.

One example of their medical technology is a phototherapy lamp used to treat jaundiced newborns. Most phototherapy lamps cost thousands of dollars; however, D-REV’s Brilliance phototherapy lamp starts at only $400. It also saves hospitals up to $240 per year on bulb replacements.

These six startups have worked to create innovative solutions to help those in need. From medical and agricultural technologies to communication accessibility, many underserved areas of the world are gaining access to important technologies to help their communities thrive. Not only are these startups improving the lives of those in impoverished areas, but the Tech Awards focus on important companies and organizations such as these increase their ability to help others.

– Rebekah Covey

Photo: Flickr

Be the Change: Social Good Summit 2017

Social Good Summit 2017Against the backdrop of a bustling New York City, several celebrities, social media influencers and representatives came together to discuss sustainability, technology and the future of the world. On September 16, 2017, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), 92Y and Mashable hosted the sixth annual Social Good Summit. The theme of the event #2030NOW evoked the question: what kind of changes await the world in 2030?

The 2030 theme serves as a benchmark for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) first agreed upon in 2015. All 193 member states of the U.N. signed on to work towards goals such as eradicating poverty, encouraging sustainable economic growth and taking action against climate change. The Social Good Summit 2017 takes a look at the ways the world can make these achievements.

Attending the summit were some influential and familiar faces including actress Whoopi Goldberg, activist Deray McKesson and U.N. Youth Observer Munira Khalif.

Positive Change via Technology

A hot-button topic at the Social Good Summit 2017 was technology and the changing face of connection around the world. Many speakers specifically mentioned the role of technology in fostering movements around the world. Founder of Care2, Randy Paynter, led a talk concerning social good technology. Care2 is a platform that allows its users to sign petitions of causes they support.

Randy demonstrated how the platform he helped create makes strides in the fight against global poverty. With Amazon Alexa’s new social good skill, he showcased the Care2’s donation capabilities and ended up donating to the U.N. Foundation. Throughout his presentation, he stressed how easy it has become to play a part in the movement to help the 800 million people living in extreme poverty.

Pushing for Equality

Another important issue at the summit revolved around SDG #5: gender equality. Speakers discussed everything from health to religion. SafeCity developer Elsa Marie D’Silva and director Ilwad Elman spoke about the importance of creating spaces for women at risk of violence. Within the context of the shocking statistics surrounding rape and sexual harassment around the world, the women detailed their ways of trying to end gender-based violence.

Elsa Marie D’Silva developed a nonprofit and an application that maps sexual violence and harassment in India. Ilwad Elman created one of the first rape-crisis centers in Somalia, which has now turned into a human rights center. Both women emphasized how important it is to create a dialogue around sexual violence and harassment in different countries. Elsa Marie D’Silva stated that normalizing the topic will help create change from the bottom. At the same time, Ilwad Elman made the point that even audience members could do their part and spread the messages through advocacy.

Help for Humanity

Another notable segment of the Social Good Summit 2017 featured Khaled Khatib and Mounir Mustafa, members of the Syrian Civil Defense, also known as the “White Helmets.” The White Helmets are a group of civilians on the ground in Syria, who risk their lives to help rescue victims of attacks in the country. The men stated that the war in Syria took lives regardless of people’s political affiliation, so they choose to save lives regardless of their political affiliation.

Mounir Mustafa made the point that because of the way the war captured the country, saving citizens is necessary, not optional. Khaled Khatib, only 22 years old, felt that he needed to be involved in the work in order to document the things they see. Both the men stressed that hope is important for victims in this war and any war around the world. This segment showcased both the importance of the Syrian conflict to the world and the resilience and persistence of the people in the middle of it.

The Social Good Summit 2017 created a space for people from all walks of life and careers to come together and speak on how they would like to see the world in 2030. It helped take another step in the direction of creating a collaborative, open-source conversation about sustainable development.

– Selasi Amoani

Photo: Flickr

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Tech Solutions That Improve Humanitarian Service Delivery

Tech Solutions That Improve Humanitarian Service Delivery

With natural disasters like the recent earthquakes in Mexico and Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Jose and Maria wreaking untold havoc, the question of how to improve humanitarian service delivery is all the more pertinent. Technology is quickly changing the way we respond to crises and will continue to transform our responses in the future.

According to the GSM Association, increased mobile connectivity is a lifeline that has made service delivery more efficient. Network operators can get in touch with anyone connected to a mobile device to warn them of incoming disasters and provide them with strategies to prepare for the worst. The rise of social media has given political leaders and news organizations similar powers to connect with their citizens and audiences.

In addition, mobile devices make humanitarian cash transfers easier—it is far more convenient and quicker to send digital money than cash—and improve access to energy. Especially in the developing world, many people live off the traditional “grid” but are covered by pay-as-you-go energy providers, who partner with mobile services, to ensure easy and orderly digital payments.

According to the World Economic Forum, robots are making a difference in how humanitarian aid is deployed, and they will likely do so to an even greater extent in the future. Certain areas become too dangerous during disasters for human responders to be able to assess needs or deliver aid, and robots (including drones) have the potential to mitigate that. Indeed, drones are currently being used, albeit in a limited manner.

With the number of people affected by humanitarian crises nearly doubling over the course of the past decade, technological solutions like these will be vital to minimizing the effects of the growing displacement crisis and the security risks and poverty it causes.

Gisli Rafn Olafsson believes one of the most important effects of technology on humanitarian service delivery is its potential to encourage a “bottom-up” approach that will soon replace the current, unwieldy “top-down” paradigm. With technology, the beneficiaries of humanitarian response can organize their own responses to wars and natural disasters rather than wait for help to arrive. A grassroots network is invariably the strongest tool and the best solution to improve humanitarian service delivery.

– Chuck Hasenauer
Photo: Flickr

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Bicycle Powered Washing Machine

Bicycle Powered Washing MachineDue to the lack of access to electricity and money, 14-year-old Remya Jose, from Keezhattor, India, created a bicycle powered washing machine. This machine created power through pedaling. As time goes on, this bicycle powered washing machine has the potential to make life much easier for families living without access to electricity.

In December 2014, Frank Clemente, Professor Emeritus of Social Science at Penn State University stated that no nation holds more of the world’s poor than India. At least 300 million people had no power at all and 700 million lacked access to modern energy services for lighting, cooking and water pumping. A simple task, such as washing clothes, is time consuming in India because many lack access to electricity.

It was with this in mind that Jose created her machine. She drew a diagram of it and her father took it to a nearby auto shop and asked workers to build it using his daughter’s instructions. The machine looks like a stationary bicycle connected to a metal box. It is composed of aluminum and has a horizontal cylinder in the center made of iron net wire.

To wash clothes, users put them into the cylinder, fill the box with water and detergent. The user then pedals for three to four minutes which rotates the cylinder at a very high speed with the clothes inside, cleaning them thoroughly. The soapy water drains out, the barrel is refilled and the process repeated.

There are many benefits to using the machine. First and foremost, it doesn’t require electricity in a region where electricity is rare. Second, it saves time. Washing clothes in the region took hours prior to the invention of Jose’s machine. With the machine, it takes about 30 minutes. Third, it can be used for exercising. The bicycle that powers it gives the user a workout. Fourth, it’s cheap. It costs about Rs.2000. Finally, it is mobile. One can pick it up and go. This is very practical for rural areas where it is used.

Unfortunately, the practicality of the machine has made it a turn-off for investors. Investors state that the machine is not commercially viable. So, despite the awards Jose received for the innovative invention, she has been looking for a job.

While investors may be uninterested in backing the bicycle powered washing machine, one thing is clear: Remya Jose made a difference. Her invention saves time and money for several of the world’s poor. In addition, it has inspired others to create improved versions of it to market to people interested in conserving energy. Jose’s story shows that with creativity, one individual can improve the lives of many.

– Jeanine Thomas

Photo: Flickr

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How Argentina’s Growing Tech Hub Came About

Argentina's Growing Tech Hub in Latin AmericaArgentina is one of three Latin American countries in the G20 and now has a booming tech industry. Though the industry has been on the rise since the 1980s after a major Argentinian recession, growth in recent years can be attributed to a few key factors.

One reason for Argentina’s growing tech hub is President Mauricio Macri’s new market-friendly policies. President Macri has sought to use the tech sector as a source for both new growth and reduced economic reliance on commodities. Though criticized, the policies Macri has introduced have helped the country reopen access to international debt markets and incentivized entrepreneurship. The Macri administration expects that 1.5 percent of GDP will come from the tech sector because of new policies.

The new law, called Ley de Emprendedores, or the Entrepreneur’s Law, replaces a previous law where approval and financing procedures took nearly a year to complete before entrepreneurs could legally launch their companies. The policy also allocates public funding to co-invest with private funding into businesses, by the means of the Fiduciary Fund for the Development of Venture Capital. This legislation is backed by both the Association of Entrepreneurs in Argentina and the Argentina Association of Private Equity, Venture and Seed Capital.

As such, the startup technological field continues to grow with a new generation of companies. These companies include the Y-Combinater backed Bluesmart, satellite startup Satellogic which raised $20 million last year to build imaging satellites and Affluenta, a peer to peer lending platform, which raised $8 million last year.

The stars of Argentina’s growing tech hub are three internet companies located in Buenos Aires that are worth over a billion dollars: MercadoLibre, OLX and Despegar. MercadoLibre is the only internet company from Latin America that is listed on NASDAQ. As the Huffington Post states, “a startup ecosystem is flourishing” in Argentina.

– Gabriella Paez

Photo: Flickr

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Poverty Reduction and Data Collection

Data CollectionMillions of people across the world suffer from extremely impoverished living conditions and nations and organizations around the world have committed to greatly reducing this number by 2030. Surprisingly, data collection has and will continue to play a crucial role in this process.

In the last few decades, the world has experienced a significant decline in the portion of the global population that may be considered extremely poor. But how do we know this? Data collection is extremely important in determining a baseline for poverty as well as measuring successes in measures to eradicate it.

Data collection has taken several forms throughout the years, becoming more accurate and streamlined. However, there is still room for improvement in streamlining efforts, which takes human power, technology investments and funding. In short: without data collection, ambitious efforts toward ending global poverty may drag on or stall altogether.

Surveys are a primary means of data collection. Statistical groups see this as the best measure of current lifestyle conditions of those living in poverty. These types of surveys can measure levels of income, familial distribution, education, employment, gender ratios, birth rates and death rates across a large representative portion of any country’s population.

The coverage and frequency of these surveys has increased over time, making measurements that much more precise. However, this data still remains largely incomplete in many areas due to migration, refugee situations, and minimal access simply due to the level of danger.

Innovations in technology are helping to close inherent gaps in survey systems when it comes to data collection on poverty. Automating surveys make the collection even more accurate and organized as well as can become more widespread, reaching the once-unreachable. Cell phones and computers with Internet capabilities have carved out a new path for data collection, as they are accessible to most extremely poor countries. These technologies are also more fiscally responsible for the distributors in the long run.

Data collection is extremely important in continuing the battle against extreme poverty, to help better understand the problem at hand: what may be working, what is not, and what corrections will potentially make a huge impact.

– Casey Hess

Photo: Flickr

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“Chowberry” App Reduces Food Waste

ChowberryChowberry is an app combating hunger and food waste in Nigeria. The app was invented by Nigerian software developer Oscar Ekponimo. According to the Nigerian Tribune, Ekponimo has partnered with the program Project FoodAccess to connect impoverished Nigerians and non-governmental organizations with cheap food.

Chowberry works through several steps. The first step involves local grocery stores. As the store’s food products near their expiration dates, the stores begins reducing the food prices each day. The app alerts Nigerians and food organizations about the lowered food prices. Project FoodAccess specifically matches the food with families they register need it the most. These include families with young mothers and female breadwinners.

Chowberry helps to alleviate the problem of hunger, which affects Africa as a whole and Nigeria in particular. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, 223 million people in sub-Saharan Africa were hungry or malnourished from 2014 to 2016. Nigeria itself has been declared unable to feed its entire population by the World Food Programme.

Ekponimo himself has a personal experience with hunger. After his father had a stroke and could not work, his family could not afford to feed themselves. Chowberry has given Ekponimo the opportunity to help others going through similar situations.

The app has had a significant impact within different areas in Nigeria. The three-month trial run has fed 200 families and 150 orphans. Many Nigerians have requested that the program expand to more communities.

Chowberry also has assisted the 20 participating grocery stores. Food that would have been thrown out before now gets sold to families in need at a profit to the store. The helpful software has gained international recognition as well, winning the Rolex Award of Enterprise in 2016.

Ekponimo hopes that he can expand Chowberry to feed the hungry in other African countries. With continued innovation from people like Ekponimo, technology like Chowberry could be used to help put an end to hunger in Africa and around the globe.

– Cortney Rowe

Photo: Flickr

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Overcoming Language Barriers for Education in Malaysia

Education in Malaysia
Whether in textbooks or spoken in lectures, language is crucial in effective education. Without a common means of communication, many students will be left behind. While education in Malaysia has predominantly used Malay, the country’s official language, in its classrooms, some Malaysian schools also include more English, Chinese and Tamil cultures into their curricula.

In most instances, immense diversity is a privilege to instill greater global awareness, but, in the Malaysian education system, it has hindered progress, especially in keeping up with other countries’ educational opportunities. To keep up in an ever-changing economy and job market, education in Malaysia needs to establish a common language for all schools.

Despite its linguistic differences, Malaysian education is goal-driven and focused on improving itself. The government released an ambitious Malaysia Education Blueprint in 2013. The detailed plan hopes to achieve universal access and full enrollment of all children from preschool to upper secondary school, improved student test scores, and reduced urban-rural, socio-economic and gender achievement gaps, all by 2020.

To meet such high standards, however, promoting a mother tongue language for education in Malaysia is key. The benefits of doing so include higher enrollment and success rates, especially for girls and rural-based students, and greater parent-teacher communication. The students that tend to feel the most marginalized, those from poorer households, are more likely to attend school, retain information, and participate in their learning.

Other countries in the region with similar struggles serve as examples of how to overcome potential language barriers. Laos has dozens of diverse languages that are mainly spoken in rural, impoverished communities. However, with education requiring fluency in Lao, the official language, children from different ethnic backgrounds were left out. With UNICEF’s support, the government took a “Schools of Quality” approach that starts children in their native language and slowly transitions them into Lao. The change has been a successful way to boost student morale and attendance.

Such benefits of a mother-tongue-based education will propel Malaysia to become a world leader in a digital economy. Students who face language barriers in their education have limited opportunities to reach their full potential. If students fall behind in understanding their studies, they will also fall behind when facing an increasingly technical-based economy. Acquiring skills in technology and STEM-related fields requires a quality, forward-thinking education as a foundation. That education appropriately requires a cohesive language to teach and learn.

Education should be an accessible service to every person, regardless of their language, ethnicity or socioeconomic status. Education in Malaysia is on the right path to improving its system, but an important step forward will involve overcoming language barriers. Other countries in the region serve as testaments to the positive growth in preserving the mother tongue, and, with continued support, Malaysia too can experience this progress.

– Allie Knofczynski

Photo: Flickr

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Mobile Empowers Farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa

Mobile Market Technology Empowers Farmers in Sub-Saharan AfricaAlthough Africa as a continent possesses 54 diverse and independent nations, those nations located below the Sahara Desert are often grouped into one region. Though it is helpful to use this regional grouping in some instances of data gathering and processing, it is also important to ensure when doing so that the individuality of the nations is not lost and is, instead, carefully noted, as such individuality creates significant statistical differences. For example, although it can be easily asserted that 54 percent of the total African work force is found in the agricultural sector, such a statistic is entirely off-base when considering the case of nations such as South Africa, Angola and Mauritius, where less than 20 percent of all employment is found in agriculture, or nations like Burundi and Madagascar, where over 80 percent of employment is in the agricultural sector.

That being said, the impact of a nation’s agricultural systems is still so significant that a one percent increase in agricultural per capita GDP would actually cause a decrease in the poverty gap five times larger than a one percent increase in per capita GDP of any other area. Further, it is a widely shared belief amongst development economists that the area most impacted by agricultural growth is in non-farm income and employment. In other words, no matter how large or small a nation’s agricultural sector is, it has an immense impact on the nation overall. As a result, it is no wonder that addressing the agricultural sector is inherently necessary in the effort to address the 40 percent of the world’s poor that live in the Sub-Saharan Africa region.

Such is exactly why the work of Esoko Networks Limited is so important. As a technology platform that works to bridge the information gap for farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa, Esoko strives to improve the production yield and make farmers more market savvy through multiple facets – and all through the personal ease of the ever-ubiquitous mobile phone. Esoko provides up-to-date market information such as current prices and also includes weather alerts – the latter being an increasingly serious matter, as fluctuating environmental conditions due to climate change has forced changes in agricultural practices in many areas. Additionally, Esoko allows individuals to share information regarding agricultural practices and technologies, old and new, effectively creating a farmer-specific library of information from which to learn and improve one’s production.

Perhaps most exciting, this technology also has a feature which allows buyers and sellers to identify and connect with each other – creating a mini-market that can focus specifically on interactions between smallholder farmers while also providing access to larger markets. As a final measure, Esoko has included a system to survey the individuals who use their technology. This system has been so effective that it has brought down UNICEF’s profiling error rate to an astonishing zero percent – it was previously at 55 percent.

Overall, Esoko has been found to increase income for those farmers who use it by about 10 percent- and all by simply creating a network for farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa to communicate, connect and learn.

– Kailee Nardi
Photo: Flickr

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UNITAR Provides Instruction to Least Developed Countries

UNITAR Provides InstructionThe United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) is the main training sector of the United Nations. UNITAR provides instruction and aptitude development activities to assist mainly developing countries with a concentration on “Least Developed Countries (LDCs),” “Small Island Developing States (SIDS)” and additional assemblies and precariously vulnerable nations, including those in disputed circumstances. The Institute incorporates topics in the broad areas of setting the stage concerning the 2030 Agenda, reinforcing multilateralism, furthering environmental sustainability and green development, improving resilience and humanitarian assistance, promoting sustainable peace and promoting economic development and social inclusion.

Capacity for the 2030 Agenda
UNITAR provides instruction and delivers a range of projects, e-training courses, in-person seminars, webinars and education sessions/conferences. This instruction is done with the intent of assisting national jurisdictions and stakeholders to develop the capability for mainstreaming, executing and analyzing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This Agenda challenges all countries and stakeholders to cooperate in the implementation of global objectives at all levels.

Strengthen Multilateralism
UNITAR seeks to empower representatives to participate in intergovernmental deliberations as well as management.
Globalization is increasing, and the consequences of multilateral conversation and collaboration are growing. The demand from the Member States for training and capacity development in the field of multilateral diplomacy will continue to rise. UNITAR supports the Member States by conveying knowledge related to the practices, policies and methods of multilateral working conditions and United Nations intergovernmental machinery.

UNITAR provides instruction based on a unique focus on contemporary diplomacy-related topics including colloquies related to climate change, trade and intellectual property issues.

Promote Economic Development and Social Inclusion
To attain sustainable growth and development and to accomplish global objectives including the U.N.’s Millennium Development Goals, advancing nations including Least Developed Countries (LDCs) must understand current and future challenges affecting the environment. Many countries are inadequately outfitted to design, execute and monitor adequate expansion plans. UNITAR helps LDCs to increase their capacities for trade, finance, investment and intellectual property, assisting achievement related to their development priorities, altering procedures to create workable plans.

Advance Environmental Sustainability and Green Development
As countries persevere in building solutions to conquer impending environmental hurdles and to advance low carbon growth, UNITAR shares solutions gathered from its experience, analyzing learning requirements, designing tailored learning approaches and using the latest in instructional design techniques.

To advance the objective of furthering environmental sustainability, UNITAR provides instruction while partnering with U.N. associates, as well as additional associations and nations to develop well-organized learning tactics, as a means of delivering climate resilient development production. UNITAR focuses on increasing skills in analysis of vulnerabilities and risks and strategies to create resilience to climate change.

Research and Technology Applications
This area of work includes most of the organization’s research efforts in the areas of technology applications and innovation. UNITAR is home to an advanced center of excellence for satellite imagery and data analysis, UNITAR’s Operational Satellite Applications Program (UNOSAT). The center is active in research, applications and specialized training. Twenty-first-century technology will confront climate change, facilitate resilience and involve citizens in the work of the U.N. In this area, UNITAR provides instruction utilizing tools to promote information and knowledge about adult learning principles and instructional design approaches for all the Member States.

By focusing on these areas, UNITAR hopes to empower the world with knowledge, especially in creating sustainable solutions for the future.

– Heather Hopkins

Photo: Flickr