- change - Mailing Lists

Spring 2010 Course on Information & Communication Technologies and International Development (ICT4D)
by Melody Clark 13 Feb '10

13 Feb '10

Hello! I wanted to let you all know about a fantastic course being offered in the Information School during the Spring 2010 Quarter. The course will explore how information and communication technologies (ICT) affects development (ICT4D). The course number is INSC 598, and the course description can be found here <http://www.washington.edu/students/icd/S/insc/598rgomez.html>. If you have questions about the class, I'd be more than happy to try to answer them or you can email the professor, Ricardo Gomez, at rgomez(a)uw.edu. I have also attached a PDF of the course description and details. Hope to see you in this class - I, for one, am very excited about it! Melody -- Melody Clark MLIS Candidate 2010 - University of Washington Gates Foundation Global Libraries Graduate Research Assistant Getty Images Search Intern ALISS Co-President 2009-2010 iWorld Co-Chair 2009-2010 ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: mobile: 206.303.7910 email: melody.r.clark(a)gmail.com or melclark(a)u.washington.edu

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Lumana Hosts Microfinance and Microbrews Night in Seattle
by Yaw Anokwa 12 Feb '10

12 Feb '10

lumana started at uw and has given talks at change. if you don't know about lumana or the seattle microfinance community, now is your chance to find out more... ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Dear Lumana Supporters, I am excited to say that Lumana has been selected by SeaMo to be February's Microfinance and Microbrew hosts. SeaMo (http://www.seattlemicrofinance.org/) is well known in the Seattle community for hosting networking events and speakers series and providing a website that serves as an events calendar, jobs board, community forum, and news source for those interested in getting involved in microfinance. Join us as we talk about some of our most recent initiatives and enjoy a chance to meet other people working in the microfinance and sustainable development space. The event will be hosted at the Pyramid Alehouse on Thursday, February 18th from 6-9pm. To learn more, please see the attached event invitation or go to the Facebook event page: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=287554628479&ref=mf. We look forward to seeing you all there! The Lumana Team

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Sylvain Cibangu on Contributions of Cell Phones on Corn Growers in the Congo
by Yaw Anokwa 12 Feb '10

12 Feb '10

This Thursday at Change, Sylvain Cibangu will be discussing his upcoming work on the contributions of cell phones to economic development in Africa. Specifically, he is doing an information study of corn growers’ experiences in the Congo. "The last few decades, information and communication technologies for development (ICT4D) has been seeing unprecedented cell phone spread across the globe. By the same token, extensive literature shows cell phones to be the shaper of economic development in rural areas of developing countries. However, experts bemoan little to no systematic study showing cell phones’ effects on individuals’ development in rural areas, all of which is coupled with increased anecdotes, donor-sponsored stories, and context-independent figures. More particularly, the basic needs of users in rural areas have received little attention. In fact, cell phone literature has focused on m-banking, micro-credits, markets, prices, transactions, ease of travel, entrepreneurship, and the like, assuming that, as is the case in the developed world, users’ basic needs are taken care of. The present project seeks to fill this gap by investigating cell phone usages with regard to corn growers’ basic needs in the Congo. To this end, the projects employs the information model (iModel), combined with capabilities approach (CA). IModel focuses on information uses and context-specific users and needs whereas CA understands development as the expansion of human capabilities. The goal is to allow cell phone-led development that enhances corn growers’ capabilities." What: Sylvain Cibangu on Contributions of Cell Phones on Corn Growers in the Congo When: Thursday, February 11 at Noon Where: UW, Paul Allen Center, Room 403

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Evoke Network alternate reality game
by Ed Cutrell 12 Feb '10

12 Feb '10

Very cool-alternate reality game from World Bank folks & Jane McGonigal (of I Love Bees fame), designed for teaching about social entrepreneurship. Anyone know any of these folks or other things about it? It could be really interesting to see where this goes & how it works.... -ed http://www.urgentevoke.com/ Trailer: http://vimeo.com/9094186

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GHC Tech fellowships
by Yaw Anokwa 11 Feb '10

11 Feb '10

got a message from a friend who is the program director for global health corps. this sounds like an great opportunity for those folks who want to work in global health and technology. ---------- Forwarded message ---------- We've just opened applications for our second year of Global Health Corps fellowships--have had a pretty good response thus far--1800 applicants registered in the first 10 days! But we're lagging behind in recruiting on some of our more technical fellowships. We have two IT/tech fellowships this year--one with PIH Malawi and the other with Dignitas International in Malawi. If you have any friends/colleagues with some programming and/or IT skills that you think might be interested in working in Malawi for a year, any recommendations would be SUPER appreciated! You can check out the job overviews here: http://apply.ghcorps.org/fellowships/73 and here http://apply.ghcorps.org/fellowships/85 Programming/IT is an area that we generally found more challenging to recruit in last year, so if you have any thoughts about good places/sites/schools/blogs/communities to reach out to where we might encounter tech folks interested in working in Africa that would also be fab!

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Letters of Inquiry for Grand Challenges Point-of-Care Diagnostics Grants
by Marisa Duarte 11 Feb '10

11 Feb '10

Maybe of interest to the group. Gates Foundation Letters of Inquiry for Grand Challenges Point-of-Care Diagnostics Grants http://foundationcenter.org/pnd/rfp/rfp_item.jhtml?id=282900018 Grants totaling $30 million will be awarded to organizations working to create technologies that can be used to assess patients at the point of care in the developing world

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ICT4D Research: Size and Growth
by Yaw Anokwa 09 Feb '10

09 Feb '10

Richard Heeks asks and answers an important question “How big is the ICT4D research field?” Any thoughts on his numbers? http://ict4dblog.wordpress.com/2010/02/08/ict-for-development-research-size…

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Web/ICT4D volunteer position in Guatemala
by Yaw Anokwa 05 Feb '10

05 Feb '10

A long-term Web/ICT4D volunteer position (includes room and board) just opened up with organization, AIDG, in Guatemala. ------- WEB DEVELOPER / IT GURU (Guatemala) - VOLUNTEER DESCRIPTION OVERVIEW The Appropriate Infrastructure Development Group (AIDG) works to provide rural villages in developing countries with affordable and environmentally sound technologies that meet their needs for electricity, sanitation and clean water. Through a combination of business incubation, education, training and outreach, AIDG helps individuals and communities gain access to technology that will improve their lives. Our model provides a novel approach to sustainable development by empowering people with the physical tools and practical knowledge to solve infrastructure problems in their own communities. Currently, AIDG Guatemala seeks a passionate and dedicated web developer / IT guru to support several exciting new initiatives within the organization. The roles and responsibilities of this position are described below. NOTE: THIS IS A VOLUNTEER POSITION (VOLUNTEERS RECEIVE MONTHLY FOOD AND BOARD REIMBURSEMENT). For more information on AIDG volunteers and interns, please refer to AIDG’s website (http://www.aidg.com) LOCATION: Quetzaltenango, Guatemala DURATION: 12 months POSITION DESCRIPTION: The successful candidate responsibilities will include: * Development of a sector-wide platform to help identify, evaluate, and support social entrepreneurs in developing countries * Development and maintenance of AIDG.net, AIDG's online library for the dissemination of technical designs and appropriate technology information * General web and IT support across the organization, including support of our multi-country IT infrastructure, maintenance of AIDG.org, support of AIDG's intranet/wiki, and the development of tools to facilitate the monitoring and evaluation of our R&D and Business Incubation activities. This is a full-time position with a commitment of 12 months, with preference given to candidates available for a longer time period. The position will generally require the applicant to work from 8:30am-5:00pm Monday-Friday (flexibly). PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS: Applicants interested in this internship should possess the following skills: * Prior experience developing and supporting large-scale data driven web applications * PHP/MySQL proficiency is required. Java / .NET experience is a plus * Hands on experience deploying and customizing open source CMS platforms such as Joomla.or Drupal * Solid web design skills, including HTML/CSS expertise. An eye for graphic/UI design and knowledge of Photoshop will be helpful * General IT support experience in a mixed PC/Mac/Linux environment * Strong leadership and communication skills * Demonstrated initiative and ability to work independently with minimal supervision * At least a basic level of Spanish. French is a plus as well. All candidates should possess strong communication skills, be self-motivated, and willing to work hands-on. AIDG seeks versatile, mature, friendly, independent, and dedicated individuals, who also possess a good sense of humor. APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS: Qualified applicants should send their cover letter and resume or CV to internships(a)aidg.org<mailto:internships@aidg.org> . Please include your earliest date of arrival and duration availability. -- Stephen Lee Director of Operations Appropriate Infrastructure Development Group (AIDG) +1.415.508.4464 http://www.aidg.org

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OpenMRS Developer Training Week 8-February-2010
by Yaw Anokwa 05 Feb '10

05 Feb '10

OpenMRS is having a Developer Traning week starting Feb. 8, 2010. If anyone is interested there's more information at the link below. If you can't attend physically, they will also be hosting it via a web conference. You should contact Michael Downey at mjdowney(a)iupui.edu<mailto:mjdowney@iupui.edu>. http://openmrs.org/wiki/OpenMRS_Developer_Training_Week_8-February-2010

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world bank is hiring in ehealth
by Yaw Anokwa 04 Feb '10

04 Feb '10

the world bank is hiring a senior ict specialist in ehealth. deadline february 11th. http://is.gd/7Gy3J

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