ICT4Democracy East Africa October Newsletter

The October Newsletter of the ICT4Democracy East Africa Network can now be downloaded HEREThis brochure covers the activities of the network partners and focuses on how they are leveraging different ICT platforms to enhance transparency and civic empowernment. The utilized technologies include crowd sourcing platforms like Ushahidi; social media platforms like YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter; and digital and traditional media like websites and radio.

Highlights in the newsletter include details of KHRC’s human rights violations monitoring, CHRAGG’s progress with the complaints handling system, iHub Research’s MGovernance Field work update, TI Uganda’s toll free line, a report on citizen journalism training by CIPESA and ToroDev and WOUGNET capacity building activities during the month of October.

 

Lessons from the Field for BoP Developers

We live in a bubble called Nairobi.

There has been a rapid uptake in adoption of mobile services and other web-based applications in Nairobi; however, away from Nairobi, many do not know of the existence of some of these applications and services or their usefulness. This is in reference to developers who are working on applications designed for those people at the base of the pyramid (people who earn less than 2.5USD a day (BOP))

iHub Research is carrying out a survey on the potential for technology in the water governance by finding out what the citizens’ thoughts on service delivery and if they have had any need for a mobile/web or other services as a medium to send and receive information between the citizen and the government/service provider in the water sector. From the 5th to 20th September 2012, researchers were out in the field collecting data. I had the privilege to join the research team at various points during the research.

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mGovernance Workshop: Potential of Technology on Water Governance in Kenya

On July 5, 2012, iHub Research hosted a workshop aimed at engaging different stakeholders in Kenya’s water sector to identify and discuss current interactions between the stakeholders, understand how transparency, service delivery and citizen participation are currently being applied in the sector and identify the potential of mobile applications/platforms in promoting sustainable urban and rural water development.

Workshop participants were drawn from the government, the tech community, civil society, residents of various areas including the Kibera slums, media, academia and NGOs.

Water governance is the thematic focus of the mGovernance in Kenya Project.

Full insights from the workshop are available here. In addition, the report on technology use in Kenya’s water sector is also available for download here.