Education

Jobs! Check Out Current Tech- and Mobile-in-Social-Change Positions!

Looking for a job in the field of mobile tech for social change and development? The MobileActive Discuss list and the MobileActive newsletter are great resources not only for talking about the latest issues and topics in the ICT4D world, but also for jobs. Here's a sampling of some of the recent openings posted:

Inveneo is seeking an ICTD Network Operations Engineer. The position is based in San Francisco with some travel. Available immediately.

There is an open Programme Coordinator ICT for Development (ICT4D) with the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation ACP-EU (CTA) in Wageningen, the Netherlands.

Human Rights Watch is seeking a Researcher on the Internet and Human Rights. The position is based in Washington, DC (or flexible). Deadline is May 18, 2012.

The Chiapas Institute of Health (ISECH) is looking to fill some technical positions for the Mesoamerican Health Initiative project in Mexico.

Tobacco Free Kids, based in Washington, DC, is looking for an experienced applicant for an Associate Director of International Communications (Social Media) position. The position will be open until filled.

The newly founded Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society (HIIG) in Berlin is seeking applications from researchers and phd candidates for several positions:
- Research Position at the Policy & Governance Section. Backgrounds in STS, Political Science, Sociology, Cultural Studies or Media and Communication Studies are especially welcome.
- Doctoral Positions at the Institute.

05.11.12 EKStallings Advocacy Democratic Participation Education Health

Sauti ya Wakulima

Sauti ya wakulima, "The voice of the farmers", is a collaborative, multimedia knowledgebase created by farmers from the Chambezi region of the Bagamoyo District in Tanzania. By using smartphones, farmers gather audiovisual evidence of their practices, and publish images and voice recordings on the Internet.

Since March 2011, the participants of Sauti ya wakulima, a group of five men and five women, gather every Monday at the agricultural station in Chambezi. They use a laptop computer and a 3G Internet connection to view the images and hear the voice recordings that they posted during the week. They also pass the two available smartphones on to other participants, turning the phones into shared tools for communication. The smartphones are equipped with GPS modules and an application that makes it easy to send pictures and sounds to the Internet. The farmers at Chambezi use them to document their daily practices, make reports about their observations regarding changes in climate and related issues, and also to interview other farmers, expanding thus their network of social relationships.

11.04.11 cubo23 Livelihood & Economic Development

How to Set Up an SMS System

SMS is everywhere, in an amazing diversity of applications. From enabling 'instant protest' in the Philippines, Spain and Albania, to election monitoring in Ghana, Lebanon, and Sierra Leone to HIV/AIDS education and support in Mexico and South Africa, we've seen that 160 characters can make a difference. This How-To covers the basics of setting up an SMS campaign system, looking at different approaches to suit your goals, budget and technical expertise.

What do you want the system to do?

Before you start, it's important to have a clear vision of how you want to use the system, and who the target audience might be. You should also do a level-headed audit of the resources available, including funding as well as staff time and technical expertise. If this doesn't look promising, take heart! Sometimes the most effective systems are the simplest, and you don't need a big budget for many types of SMS campaigns.