March 2012 - change - Mailing Lists

Job: Teach Vacancies in Namibia
by Yaw Anokwa 12 Mar '12

12 Mar '12

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: <hci4d(a)googlegroups.com> "Dr. Heike Winschiers-Theophilus" <heikew(a)polytechnic.edu.na> Mar 12 09:24AM +0200 The school of Information Technology at the Polytechnic of Namibia is having a number of vacancies for newly created positions. We can offer contracts for 6 months up to 5 years which can be extended. We do substantial research in the field of hci with local rural communities, as well as in other areas and are also open to expand. Please contact me should you need any further details. Looking forward to your applications. Heike Winschiers-Theophilus

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Re: [change] Kony 2012
by Clint Tseng 11 Mar '12

11 Mar '12

Of course not, but that's never been the reality. The truth is neither here nor there. Relevant people have been discussing and taking action on Kony for a long time now. The US has committed troops to capturing him, the relevant countries have his capture as a primary objective. That you presume these things aren't true is part of what's wrong with this approach to storytelling. This article is a good analysis from that standpoint; better than I could formulate: http://www.ethanzuckerman.com/blog/2012/03/08/unpacking-kony-2012/ What I'm not convinced of is that a bunch of people hitting "Retweet" on questionably accurate agitprop from a shady charity is a positive social outcome. Even presuming that awareness is itself a valuable goal (a standpoint I'm not convinced of), I feel like what's happening with this "movement" is even a lower standard of awareness than we're used to. The campaign itself basically validates the belief in the viewer that all they have to do is link their friends to the video, and voilà, they've contributed social good. The probability that they then go do anything actually useful at all afterwards seems even lower to me than with other, older awareness campaigns I've witnessed or participated in. The best thing to have come out of this all in my mind is how well the counterargument has spread along with the video. Most Twitter celebs I see RT the video, then also RT the visiblechildren critique when it's brought to their attention. This is a good thing. The Internet is usually not this considerate to contrarian points of view. -Clint On Thursday, March 8, 2012 at 7:17 PM, Abhishek Bhardwaj wrote: > Would you rather that people not know it at all ? That there is no discussion about it ? > > I bet you for the first time in years people are genuinely taking an interest in Africa , everything starts from awareness. > > On Thu, Mar 8, 2012 at 9:04 PM, Clint Tseng <cxlt(a)cs.washington.edu (mailto:cxlt@cs.washington.edu)> wrote: > > You're presuming that getting people "excited" is a valuable goal in and of itself, regardless of the means. What's the gain? > > > > -Clint > > > > On Thursday, March 8, 2012 at 5:26 PM, Varun Arora wrote: > > > > > I respect what all of you are saying in terms of critique - but there is no way on earth he (the movie maker) would have been able to get people so excited and energetic in 30 minutes if he had cared only to be developmentally and logically and theoretically and politically correct. That doesn't resonate with youth who are too lost in their social media lives. They need quick, invigorating, actionable, triggered media on their face to feel provoked. I felt provoked. There is a reason why UN supported documentaries are not shared by every other teenager over 3 days on a viral social network - they struggle to be compelling, and are terrible story tellers. I highly doubt the folks at Invisible Children are not aware about the implications of their approach. They tried to tell a good story here - and they did an excellent job at it. And the fact that we are having these discussions on an important listserv is a blessing in disguise; we are learning more about policy implications of international peace efforts, than we would have ever cared to learn about had we not heard of Kony. > > > > > > I am an entrepreneur myself, and know how when you sell stuff, even if it is a social product and if it's going to challenge the Solow model of growth, it doesn't matter: you got to put it in lay man terms (sometimes very embarrassing) and over simplify what you are doing and offering. And often end up taking a completely different politically incorrect (not wrong, though) approach to resonate with your audiences. None of our research evidence and learnings are ever useful to any partner or investor or customer. None of our proven theories on economic development are even looked at. The only people who question you about that are people at conferences and classrooms; we are living in bubbles, and if we cannot learn to communicate important and proven theoretical ideas in crisp and pervasive media, we will be left behind. > > > > > > > > > Varun > > > > > > On 03/08/2012 08:04 PM, Abraham D. Flaxman wrote: > > > > to make this critique a slogan, "Know Why 2012" > > > > > > > > Sent from phone > > > > > > > > ----- Reply message ----- > > > > From: "Amer Dahmash" <adahmash(a)gmail.com> (mailto:adahmash@gmail.com) > > > > Date: Thu, Mar 8, 2012 4:27 pm > > > > Subject: [change] Kony 2012 > > > > To: "Yaw Anokwa" <yanokwa(a)gmail.com> (mailto:yanokwa@gmail.com) > > > > Cc: "Change Group" <change(a)change.washington.edu> (mailto:change@change.washington.edu) > > > > > > > > I think the Invisible Children response is great but I feel that it fails > > > > to address one of the biggest problems with their campaign which one > > > > of my friends captured by referencing Paulo Freire's theory of False Generosity: > > > > > > > > "When a system is structured so that there are oppressors and oppressed, > > > > some of the oppressor class feel genuine compassion toward the suffering of the oppressed. > > > > They move to isolate that suffering and to aid it, not to address the structures of society which > > > > are the root causes. Thus, to the extent that they relieve any suffering they do so by hiding from > > > > themselves the genuine causes, their own privilege as oppressor class members." > > > > > > > > An over-simplification perhaps but that's what the Kony 2012 campaign smacks of to me. > > > > -amer > > > > > > > > On Mar 8, 2012, at 3:56 PM, Yaw Anokwa wrote: > > > > > > > > > Invisible Children has written a response at > > > > > http://s3.amazonaws.com/www.invisiblechildren.com/critiques.html > > > > > > > > > > http://visiblechildren.tumblr.com/post/18954353409/not-alone has links > > > > > to other critiques. > > > > > > > > > > On Wed, Mar 7, 2012 at 19:32, Yaw Anokwa <yanokwa(a)gmail.com> (mailto:yanokwa@gmail.com) wrote: > > > > >> You may have heard about Kony 2012. It is a film and campaign by > > > > >> Invisible Children that aims to make "Joseph Kony > > > > >> (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Kony) famous, not to celebrate > > > > >> him, but to raise support for his arrest and set a precedent for > > > > >> international justice." The film is at > > > > >> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4MnpzG5Sqc. > > > > >> > > > > >> While almost everyone agrees that Joseph Kony is a bad person, > > > > >> Invisible Children has been criticized for their approach. Grant > > > > >> Oyston lays out some of those arguments against Kony 2012 at > > > > >> http://visiblechildren.tumblr.com/post/18890947431/we-got-trouble. The > > > > >> follow on posts are also informative. > > > > >> > > > > >> The spread of the Kony meme, both for and against, has been possible > > > > >> only because of social media. In that sense, it's quite relevant to > > > > >> those of us interested in leveraging technology for change... > > > > >> > > > > >> Yaw > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > > > change mailing list > > > > > change(a)change.washington.edu (mailto:change@change.washington.edu) > > > > > http://changemm.cs.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/change > > > > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > > change mailing list > > > > change(a)change.washington.edu (mailto:change@change.washington.edu) > > > > http://changemm.cs.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/change > > > > _______________________________________________ change mailing list change(a)change.washington.edu (mailto:change@change.washington.edu) http://changemm.cs.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/change > > > -- > > > Varun Arora > > > Information Systems Management | Class of 2012 > > > Carnegie Mellon University > > > Mobile/Cell: +1-412-478-2164 (tel:%2B1-412-478-2164) > > > varora(a)andrew.cmu.edu (mailto:varora@andrew.cmu.edu) > > > http://www.varunarora.com > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > change mailing list > > > change(a)change.washington.edu (mailto:change@change.washington.edu) > > > http://changemm.cs.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/change > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > change mailing list > > change(a)change.washington.edu (mailto:change@change.washington.edu) > > http://changemm.cs.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/change > > > > > > -- > Regards, > Abhishek Bhardwaj

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Seeking African Organization to Head Network for Africa
by Yaw Anokwa 10 Mar '12

10 Mar '12

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: SHOPS Project <info(a)shopsproject.org> Date: Fri, Mar 9, 2012 at 6:30 PM Subject: Wanted: African Organization to Head Network for Africa To: christine.prefontaine(a)gmail.com View as Web Page<http://www.mynewsletterbuilder.com/tools/refer.php?s=5750982757&u=25985255&…> Subscribe<http://www.mynewsletterbuilder.com/tools/refer.php?s=5750982757&u=25985257&…> Unsubscribe Send to a Friend<http://www.mynewsletterbuilder.com/tools/refer.php?s=5750982757&u=25985259&…> *Seeking African Organization to Head Network for Africa* The Strengthening Health Outcomes through the Private Sector (SHOPS) project, a global initiative funded by the United States Agency for International Development, invites expressions of interest by African organizations to assume management of the Network for Africa. The online community comprises 380 members from African Ministries of Health and the private health sector. Through its activities, the network raises awareness of the positive contribution and potential role of the private health sector in meeting public health objectives in family planning, reproductive health, and HIV/AIDS. Its purpose is to: - Foster the exchange of experiences in working with the private sector - Share tools, materials, and best practices in working with the private health sector - Build the capacity of African Ministries of Health to steward and partner with the private health sector Visit the community at www.shopsproject.org/network4africa<http://www.mynewsletterbuilder.com/tools/refer.php?s=5750982757&u=25985261&…> . Read the eligibility requirements and expression of interest procedures<http://www.mynewsletterbuilder.com/tools/refer.php?s=5750982757&u=25985263&…> . Download the application form in Microsoft Word<http://www.mynewsletterbuilder.com/tools/refer.php?s=5750982757&u=25985265&…> . Questions and inquiries, please contact Thierry Uwamahoro at Thierry_Uwamahoro(a)abtassoc.com *SHOPS ***is USAID's flagship initiative in private sector health. It works to involve nongovernmental organizations and for-profit entities in addressing the many health needs of people in developing countries. The project focuses on increasing availability, improving quality, and expanding coverage of essential health products and services in family planning and reproductive health, maternal and child health, HIV/AIDS, and other health areas through the private sector. <http://www.mynewsletterbuilder.com/tools/refer.php?s=5750982757&u=25985267&…> Abt Associates Inc. • 4550 Montgomery Avenue • Bethesda • MD • 20814 http://www.shopsproject.org Subscribe <http://N4AJanuary2012Newsletter> | Unsubscribe<https://www.mynewsletterbuilder.com/tools/subscription.php?username=shopspr…>| Preferences<https://www.mynewsletterbuilder.com/tools/subscription.php?username=shopspr…>| Send to a Friend<https://www.mynewsletterbuilder.com/tools/forward.php?username=shopsproject…>| Report Spam<https://www.mynewsletterbuilder.com/tools/abuse_report.php?username=shopspr…> <http://www.mynewsletterbuilder.com/newsletter_content/> [image: Bookmark and Share]<http://addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=250&username=xa-4c3d031130dfb2e3&url=http…> <http://www.mynewsletterbuilder.com/email/newsletter/1411267213#fblike>

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ICTD 2012 - Invitation to Global Impact Study open data session
by Yaw Anokwa 10 Mar '12

10 Mar '12

If you will be at ICTD2012, make sure to check out the Global Impact Study on Monday. ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Melody Clark <melclark(a)uw.edu> We hope this finds you well, and we look forward to seeing you in Atlanta! The Global Impact Study is leading an open session (http://ictd2012.org/opensessions/202) on Monday, March 12 from 2:30pm-6pm about open research and open data. The session will provide a background of the Global Impact Study and our open research approach, as well as give participants the opportunity to learn more about our survey instruments and dig into the user survey data. The session will also explore the challenges and practical issues of opening up large datasets to the public. The session is, of course, open, so there is no need to RSVP. If you’re available on Monday afternoon and interested, we’d love to see you there! We’ll see you in Atlanta! Melody, on behalf of the Global Impact Study team -- Melody Clark Research Coordinator | Global Impact Study Technology & Social Change (TASCHA) http://about.me/melodyclark melclark(a)uw.edu | 206.685.7819 Twitter: @ictimpact | @melodyrose14 www.globalimpactstudy.org

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Job: Media and Crowdsourcing Project Manager in Niger
by Yaw Anokwa 10 Mar '12

10 Mar '12

---------- Forwarded message ---------- Anahi <anahiayala(a)gmail.com> Mar 09 09:51AM -0800 Hey all, Internews is seeking a Media and Crowdsourcing Project Manager to implement an exciting new journalism and crowd sourcing program in Niger. This small but ambitious program focuses on the extractive industries sector in Niger. It seeks to improve the capacity of selected civil society and media organizations to promote citizen participation in the drafting, approval and oversight of the implementation of laws and regulations governing natural resources management. Internews is seeking a multi-talented professional – someone with both traditional and social media journalism skills. The perfect candidate will be a trainer, an innovator, a subject specialist, and a passionate believer in the power of information to improve lives. The trainer is someone who can engage with journalists to provide specialist trainings focusing on issues of transparency, in the wider context of investigative and economic journalism. The trainer will also work with journalists to use mobile phones, cameras, and video, and to gather information from social media, blogs, community meetings and focus groups to monitor the natural resources industry. The selected trainer will work with local media (radio, print, social media) to mentor them to produce reports on natural resources management, laws and regulations; information spots will educate the public on specific issues (such as policy implementations, management of revenues, unions, child labor, community relations with mining companies and human rights); and investigative reports will provide detailed insight on issues such as mining code reform, the natural resource economy, and international supply chain transparency initiatives in the private sector. The innovator and social media skill set will be used to invite citizens to participate in monitoring the effects and the outcomes of the mining activities in their communities by using their mobile phones for citizen crowdsourcing. The incoming SMS (and possibly IVR for voice messages) will be then mapped to provide a spatial and temporal dimension to the information collected that will allow an understanding of which are the most affected communities and the variation of the phenomenon over time. The system will directly link the crowd to the local media that will be managing the incoming information received by the local population to follow up on stories on the ground and provide an overall picture of the actual outcomes of those activities on the local communities. An outreach strategy will advertise the system to local communities, while local media will manage it. See full job posting and how to apply here: https://sj.tbe.taleo.net/SJ11/ats/careers/requisition.jsp?org=INTERNEWS&cws… Please, fill free to get in contact with me if you have any question. Cheers, Anahi Anahi Ayala Iacucci Media Innovation Advisor, Africa Region Internews I&M Building, 12th Floor, Kenyatta Avenue, PO Box 7219, City Square 00200, Nairobi, Kenya Mobile (US): + 1 202 550 5214 Mobile (Italy): +39 345 80 53 067 Mobile (Kenya): +254 706 623 650 SkypeID: anahiii | Twitter: anahi_ayala | aayala(a)internews.org |

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Heeks on Understanding Mobiles and Livelihoods
by Yaw Anokwa 09 Mar '12

09 Mar '12

Richard Heeks has a written a nice blog post on Understanding Mobiles and Livelihoods... How can we understand the impact that mobiles are having on the livelihoods of the poor? We all know that mobile phone use has grown exponentially in developing countries. And that phones are having an increasing impact on the livelihoods of the poor by providing market prices, by supplying health information, by enabling financial transfers, etc. But we know a lot less about how to conceptualise all this. Can we just pull some development studies ideas off-the-shelf? Or do we need to do more than this? A new working paper in the Development Informatics series – Understanding Mobile Phone Impact on Livelihoods in Developing Countries: A New Research Framework (http://www.sed.manchester.ac.uk/idpm/research/publications/wp/di/) – argues the livelihoods approach is a good starting point. But that it needs modification. The livelihoods approach suggests four potential impacts of mobiles on the assets that underpin all livelihoods... More at http://ict4dblog.wordpress.com/2012/03/09/understanding-mobiles-and-livelih…

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Job: Research Fellow at UN University
by Yaw Anokwa 09 Mar '12

09 Mar '12

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Peter Haddawy <haddawy(a)iist.unu.edu> We are recruiting a Research Fellow at UN P3 level (equivalent to Asst Prof) in ICT4D. I’d appreciate if you could please circulate the vacancy announcement. It’s also available on our website: http://iist.unu.edu/announcement/research-fellow Best, Peter Prof. Peter Haddawy Director | UNU-IIST | Macau, China Furthering Sustainable Development through Information and Communication Technology tel +853 8504-0471 (direct) tel +853 2871-2930 | fax +853 2871-2940 www.iist.unu.edu haddawy(a)iist.unu.edu

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Job: Product Manager at Global Impact Investing Network
by Yaw Anokwa 09 Mar '12

09 Mar '12

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Laurie Quan <blueturnproductions(a)gmail.com> Date: Thu, Mar 8, 2012 at 12:05 PM Subject: Technical Product Manager To: Social Enterprise Jobs <social-enterprise-jobs(a)googlegroups.com> The Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to increasing the scale and effectiveness of impact investing globally. Impact investments are direct investments, including those into funds, made with the intention of generating social & environmental impact and a financial return. Depending on the circumstances, impact investments produce financial returns that can range from below market to market-rate and include opportunities in both emerging and developed markets. The GIIN addresses systemic barriers to effective impact investing by building critical infrastructure and developing activities, education, and research that attract more investment capital to poverty alleviation and environmental solutions. The Impact Reporting and Investment Standards (IRIS) initiative is one of the GIIN’s four core program areas. IRIS provides a catalogue of terms and definitions that can be used to describe the social, environmental, and financial performance of an organization. The IRIS initiative also maintains a hub of IRIS-compatible performance data collected from across the impact investing field and used to produce industry reports and analyses. The Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) is looking to hire a manager to guide and direct the development of the IRIS data infrastructure and technology platform. This person will also provide strategic and technical product support to other GIIN programmatic areas. The Technical Product Manager will report to the IRIS Director. Responsibilities will include the following: Product Management • Manage the development of the IRIS technology infrastructure, including the data management platform, data submission tools, and IRIS websites • Oversee the IRIS initiative’s technology roadmap, including identifying and specifying requirements for future product development and identifying appropriate technology vendors to ensure successful implementation of requirements • Develop operational protocols and processes related to data inventory and management, internal and external data reporting, website content upgrades, and user registry filings • Identify and evaluate vendors and technologies that may be relevant and/or supportive of IRIS Data Acquisition and Management • Develop and manage data security, data quality and data access/usage policies • Develop and manage technical integrations with data sharing partners • Oversee the integration of data from different sources and create basic tools to monitor the integrity of the data • Prepare datasets for analyses by combining, formatting, and scrubbing data contributions Other • Support other GIIN initiatives in designing, evaluating, and implementing technical solutions to support programmatic needs The Technical Product Manager must have product management experience including a track record of taking projects from concept through to final implementation. Experience working with data systems and complex data sets is a plus. The ideal candidate is an analytical, organized, resourceful, and collaborative individual who is highly motivated by our mission and entrepreneurial, goals-driven culture. Additional Qualifications: • Prior experience and demonstrated success product managing data- oriented technical systems and software applications • Bachelor’s degree required • A broad mix of technical and product management experience that includes some or all of the following: vendor supervision, database management, systems integration, and management of web applications and business intelligence tools • 7+ years of work experience with a strong preference for experience related to the reporting, measurement or management of financial or non-financial performance data • Experience working with a variety of information systems and data files, including large and complex files • Creative and user-focused approach to designing products and processes • Fluency with Excel, including basic programming functions, is highly desired • Knowledge of XBRL and programming experience in XML, Java, or PHP is a plus • Passion for the use of investment capital to address social and environmental problems, a deep commitment to the growth of the impact investing industry, and belief in the role that high-quality information can have on social and environmental issues • Detail-oriented, with high standards of performance • Team-orientation, with strong interpersonal skills and the ability to work both collaboratively and independently, effectively building relationships with internal and external stakeholders • Entrepreneurial style, with an enthusiasm for working in a dynamic start-up environment Full-time role in a flexible, entrepreneurial culture. This position will be based in New York, NY. Competitive compensation, commensurate with experience. Email resume and cover letter to Laurie Rud at lrud(a)thegiin.org by March 16, 2012. The GIIN, a special project of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, is an equal opportunity employer. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis so we strongly encourage early applications. No phone calls please. Only qualified candidates will be contacted.

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Summer Fellowship Opportunity in Ghana
by Yaw Anokwa 09 Mar '12

09 Mar '12

More at http://www.lumana.org/get-involved/become-a-fellow ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Michael Kaemingk <michael(a)lumana.org> To: change(a)change.washington.edu Cc: Date: Thu, 8 Mar 2012 14:44:47 -0800 Subject: Summer Fellowship Opportunity in Ghana I'm writing on behalf of a small Seattle based microfinance nonprofit called Lumana. I've attached a fellowship opportunity for the summer that someone involved in Change may be interested in. It'd be great if we could forward this opportunity to your club members. Please let me know if you need clarification. Best, Michael Kaemingk -- Michael Kaemingk Project Manager (p) 360.739.5396 (e) michael(a)lumana.org (e) kaemingk(a)seattleu.edu

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Seminar announcement: Change
by Nicola Dell 09 Mar '12

09 Mar '12

In preparation for the spring quarter I wanted to invite you all to register for the one credit Change Seminar (CSE590C1, SLN:12542) on Thursdays at noon in the Paul Allen Center (Room 203). Change <http://change.washington.edu/> is a group of faculty, students, and staff at the UW who are exploring the role of information and communication technologies (ICT) in improving the lives of underserved populations, particularly in the developing world. We are cover topics such as global health, education, microfinance, agricultural development, and general communication, and look at how technology can be used to improve each of these areas. This quarter we will be alternating between talks by invited speakers and group discussions. Those who sign up for credit may be asked to participate in leading one of the discussions (this requires very little work and can be done in groups). We are in the process of scheduling speakers, so stay tuned to our calendar <http://is.gd/3PkTF>, Twitter <http://is.gd/3PkVk>, or mailing list <http://is.gd/3PlkS> for more information. Please consider enrolling. If you are unable to enroll, feel free to come to any of the meetings you are interested in attending! The seminar is available for all UW students and the content is designed to be widely accessible. We encourage students from all departments to enroll/attend if interested. Please forward this message to the relevant mailing lists, and we hope to see you on Thursday March 29th at noon in Room 203 of the Paul Allen Center.

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