Watch a presentation on this Online Global Consultation

 

Watch the UNDP high-level event "The Digital Future of Development"

More information

 

Read more about UNDP's high-level event; Digital technologies are revolutionizing global development, UNDP chief says
 


Welcome to an online global consultation leading up to the High-level side event of the 74th UN General Assembly. This consultation will take place from 23 August– 30 September 2019. It will provide an opportunity for all those interested in digital technology and how it can be applied to address global challenges.

The High-level side event at the 74th UN General Assembly in September 2019 will focus on “Disrupting Development: harnessing the power of digital to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals”. We want to bring your voice to the event to help address some of the challenges and solutions! that digital technology has in delivering better results in the countries and communities in which UNDP works.
 

To take this discussion forward, we propose the following two questions:
 

1. What are your biggest challenges and concerns when adopting digital technologies to address current development issues?

 

2. What are the breakthrough digital ideas you think could exponentially advance sustainable development? 

25 Aug 2019 - 2 Oct 2019

Comments (371)

Romolo Tassone
Romolo Tassone Moderator

Dear all

Many thanks for your participation over the last weeks - this Online Global Consultation is now closed. We’ve had many contributions from various sectors of society and from over 32 countries.

Thanks to all the moderators; they read every comment and facilitated a very productive discussion.

The outcomes were presented at UNDP’s high-level event "The Digital Future of Development". You can read more here; Digital technologies are revolutionizing global development, UNDP chief says, and watch a video recording of the event above this comment (and also here).

A video representing this Online Global Consultation was shared at the high level event. You can see the video above this comment at the top of the page.

Thanks again to each of you for making this consultation and the high-level event a success!
 

Regards
Romolo Tassone

Martin Cadena
Martin Cadena Moderator

Greetings everyone, and welcome to this online global consultation. Let's take this opportunity to bring your lessons learned and case studies -from the vast experience you have- in the frame of the two posted questions. I will be one of your facilitator, so please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any related question to the consultation.

Looking forward to read your inputs and comments

Martin 

Beniam Gebrezghi
Beniam Gebrezghi Moderator

(I repost here as my previous post might be lost in the thread)

To make the most out of this discussion and make it easier for everyone, we invite you to:

1) Introduce yourself briefly and share with us why you are interested in this discussion.

2) Mention the question(s) you are answering to. But feel also free to discuss anything related to the topic: the 2 questions are only there to start the discussion.

3) Summarize your key points when necessary, so everyone can make the most out of your post.

4) Feel free to rebound/reply, give comments or feedback to other people's posts to keep the conversation going.

And thank you Martin for kickstarting these great discussions. I will support you in facilitating the consultation; feel free to contact any of the moderators if you have any questions. Looking forward to reading all your comments.

Adam Rogers
Adam Rogers

In addressing the first question, I would like to bring up the power, presence and potential of social media in the new Millennium, and the influence it has in influencing mindsets and inspiring change— for better or for worse. Social Media thus has the ability to turbocharge efforts to achieve the SDGs. But what evidence is there out there of social media doing little more than seeking to raise awareness or self-promote? My concern is that it could be used for a whole lot more, but I am not sure exactly what.  Does anyone have any ideas, or anecdotal examples?

T Michelle Gapinsdal
T Michelle Gapinsdal

Before social media we used platforms and data banking. A good and dry environment was necessitates. So the truth is :  social media is backup, plan B.   

Martin Cadena
Martin Cadena Moderator

Dear Adam Rogers, 

Thank you for your comment. I agree on social media potential in contributing to taking action towards the SDGs. I have seen some examples where colleagues have used social media to invite people to contribute to a project (i.e., crowdfunding) or to participate in a specific activity (i.e., reforestation). However, I do not know how effective these invites were.

Regarding your point on awareness, do you have any particular example of a challenge in raising awareness and how social media contributed to the solution? 

Adam Rogers
Adam Rogers

Hello Martin, I would say the most recent example is the challenge of getting the word out about the Amazon Rainforest fires, and calling on international response. Local activists use photos and video and calls for action on social media to both organize local protests and to call on the G7 to put the fires on their agenda. It worked. 

Martin Cadena
Martin Cadena Moderator

Adam Rogers thanks for the example. The problem got all the attention now -digital technologies played a crucial role in that-, and from what I have read, there are some concrete actions in the course now to combat the forest fires.

Frank Dehnhard
Frank Dehnhard

Thanks to the GDH-team to put this important topic on the agenda.
We were frustrated that no ones seemed to care about IT 4 SDGs up to now.
Digital technology can become very useful to solve the SDGs. And social media as a small part has already proven to be effective. I don't think Fridays Fof Future would be what they are without social media. Neither would Greta be as popular nor would the movement have been growing so fast.
I believe the buring Amazon would still be unknown to most people.
And even online petitions have been working several times. If millions join and put pressure on politicians or companies it often works.
But there are many more areas where IT can become the solution to existing problems.
Please contact us for more details: frank.dehnhard at GLESI.org

Martin Cadena
Martin Cadena Moderator

Dear Frank, thank you for your comment and welcome to this global discussion. We would love to hear more about your ideas to solve specific development problems using digital technologies, so we can go deep about them in this forum.

Best

Martin

Patrick Tinayre
Patrick Tinayre

Bonjour,

Je me permets de porter à votre connaissance une initiative qu’il serait intéressant de prendre pour faciliter l’adéquation et la diffusion d’innovations qui pourraient améliorer la vie de beaucoup de monde dans les pays en voie de développement.

Il serait intéressant :

  • D’imaginer un site internet en plusieurs langues qui regroupe tous les plans open source, les vidéos tutorielles, comme en proposent par exemple le site lowtechlab.org ou l’atelier paysan, afin que tous les pays en voie de développement bénéficient (y compris hors connexion) de ces innovations. Il serait intéressant de soutenir et essaimer le travail du lowtechlab qui teste chaque technologie mise en ligne, indique le coût, le temps de réalisation et les différentes phases de réalisation.
  • De compléter ce site avec une description de tous les produits low tech qui facilitent déjà la vie des plus fragiles dans les pays en voie de développement, comme par exemple le bidon hippo water roller, l’eye phone ou un four low cost pour cuire les aliments sans danger et en économisant les ressources. Il faudrait répertorier tous ces dispositifs innovants qui améliorent la vie des gens dans certains pays et mutualiser la connaissance sur un site pour que les leçons soient tirées des retours d’expériences sur le terrain. Il serait d’ailleurs intéressant de procéder comme le lowtechlab qui analyse chaque innovation et ne met en ligne que celles qui ont réellement démontré leurs avantages sur le terrain, afin de favorise l’essaimage des solutions les plus abouties.
  • Une telle initiative existe pour les problèmes liés au climat par le biais de la Fondation Solar Impulse qui labellise les solutions après les avoir analysées et il serait intéressant de faire de même pour tous les produits ou services qui améliorent la vie des gens dans un pays et qui pourraient être déployés dans d’autres pays soumis aux mêmes contraintes. Une unité inter-agences pourrait être mise en place pour mettre au jour toutes ces innovations et favoriser leur essaimage : cela engagerait peu de moyens, mais contribuerait à une grande amélioration de la vie des gens dans les pays en voie de développement.
  • Indiquer les coordonnées des sociétés qui produisent ces biens afin qu’elles puissent être contactées par les pays intéressés et favoriser l’essaimage. Les prix doivent être indiqués et la mise en place d’unités de fabrication locales dans chaque pays devrait être privilégies à l’import pour favoriser l’appropriation des solutions par les gens du pays.
  • Dans tous les cas, je préconise un inventaire de chaque région de chaque pays en voie de développement et une liste des problèmes rencontrés par les habitants, comme par exemple le fait de devoir faire des kilomètres chaque jour pour aller chercher de l’eau ou le manque de bois pour faire la cuisine, et de chercher à mettre en face de chaque problème, un ou des produits ou services qui pourraient faciliter la vie des gens. Si par exemple, il s’agit de faire 10 kilomètres par jours pour aller chercher de l’eau à un point d’eau en portant un seau de 20 litres sur la tête, il serait indiqué de mettre en place la solution du bidon qui roule pour transporter plus d’eau, plus rapidement, avec moins de fatigue et plus de temps et d’énergie à consacrer à d’autres tâches, comme le commerce ou l’agriculture par exemple. Faire essaimer cette solution dans cette conditions permettrait le développement du commerce ou de l’autosuffisance alimentaire en ôtant des charges aux femmes qui sont le plus souvent chargées de ces corvées.
  • La démarche doit être systématisée après analyse des contraintes de chaque région et les entrepreneurs aidés à essaimer leurs solutions afin d’aider les populations dans l’attente à plus long terme, de la mise en place de réseaux d’eau, de gaz, d’électricité, …..

Cordialement.

Patrick Tinayre

http://lowtechlab.org/wiki/Explore

https://www.latelierpaysan.org/

http://www.solidarum.org/besoins-essentiels/hippo-water-roller-bidon-qui-roule-ca-coule-de-source

https://www.jeuneafrique.com/149477/societe/l-eye-phone-outil-prometteur-de-diagnostic-oculaire-dans-les-pays-pauvres/

https://www.latribune.fr/entreprises-finance/industrie/energie-environnement/bertrand-piccard-en-quete-de-1-000-solutions-pour-changer-le-monde-780315.html

https://solarimpulse.com/

Martin Cadena
Martin Cadena Moderator

Dear Patrick, thank you for your inputs, and for the subsequent detailed posts on your ideas and the examples of different initiatives which are using digital technologies to solve some development problems. The inventory of challenges could also be extended to developed countries, recognizing that one of the principles of the Sustainable Development Goals is its universality. As we may expect rapid changes in the environment during the next decades, new problems will be faced in developed and developing countries.

Patrick Tinayre
Patrick Tinayre

Bonjour,

Je me permets de partager avec vous un excellent article issu du dernier numéro de Harvard Business Review France car il aborde des points importants sur le marché qui sera le plus en croissance pour la décennie en cours et les entreprises Françaises doivent y prendre leur part en changeant leur approche de ces marchés pour profiter de la source de croissance la plus élevée dans beaucoup de domaines. Un point me semble important pour la croissance des entreprises en Afrique : la formation du personnel que j’aborde un petit peu plus loin dans ce courrier. L’Etat a un rôle structurant à jouer dans la mise en place de systèmes de formation dans les pays Africains, afin que les entreprises Françaises bénéficient des meilleures ressources humaines du pays.

L’Afrique est devenue un important laboratoire de tests pour l’innovation mondiale. Si vous êtes capable de créer un produit, un service ou un business model qui soit suffisamment rentable et solide pour réussir en Afrique, il y a de bonnes chances qu’il soit compétitif dans beaucoup d’autres régions du monde.

Nous ne voulons pas minimiser les difficultés liées au fait d’exercer des activités commerciales en Afrique (difficultés dont sont bien conscients les chefs d’entreprise ayant réussi). A cause d’infrastructures inadaptées, les sociétés devront mettre sur pied leur propre supply chain, par exemple, et, faute d’un enseignement public adéquat, il leur faudra former les employés aux compétences et mentalités de base. Mais, comme nous le verrons, ces difficultés offrent également des opportunités en termes de création de valeur.

Il s’agit de mettre au point un modèle de production antichoc comprenant une intégration verticale, la production d’électricité sur site, un engagement solide avec le gouvernement et une école dédiée aux métiers de l’industrie et du commerce. La production locale des biens pourrait être intéressante si en plus les industriels recourraient au co-investissement afin de rentabiliser au mieux les lignes de production : par exemple, plusieurs acteurs de l’industrie agroalimentaire pourraient partager les coûts d’investissements et rendre les chaînes de productions plus flexibles pour produire localement chacune des gammes de produits dans la même usine, en les adaptant aux goûts locaux grâce au crowdsourcing. La participation des clients à l’élaboration des produits me semble un point important afin d’ancrer durablement le produit dans les habitudes de consommation locales.

Un autre point important à prendre en compte : Aux Etats-Unis, le commerce électronique est en train de changer lentement des habitudes commerciales séculaires, alors qu’en Afrique, il est en train de créer des habitudes. Les gens font leurs premiers gros achats, tels que les smartphones, et leurs premiers achats en ligne simultanément. Ces innovations pourraient permettre à l’Afrique de contourner les coûts élevés du commerce de détail physique et de passer directement à un modèle de commerce électronique offrant aux consommateurs un choix plus vaste et des prix plus bas, quel que soit leur lieu de résidence. Le choix de s’allier à une plateforme naissante comme Jumia pour commercialiser les produits me semble une bonne option.

Enfin, avec un tel nombre de jeunes arrivant sur le marché du travail africain, l’innovation en matière d’éducation et de développement des compétences est essentielle. Elle est également utile au niveau mondial : plus de 75 millions de jeunes dans le monde sont au chômage, alors que de nombreuses entreprises ne parviennent pas à trouver des personnes possédant les aptitudes nécessaires pour occuper des emplois de premier échelon. Cela tient en partie au fait que de nombreux systèmes éducatifs ne fournissent ni les compétences techniques, ni les compétences comportementales nécessaires pour réussir et s’adapter à un monde du travail en rapide évolution. Afin de disposer de la collaborateurs parfaitement formés, il est important de mettre en place des formations qui proposent des programmes immersifs de « camp d’entraînement » d’une durée de six à huit semaines, destinés à renforcer la préparation à l’emploi dans les domaines concernés en dispensant les connaissances techniques adéquates mais également des jeux de rôle et à des exercices en équipe pour transmettre des compétences comportementales et psychologiques, telles que la ponctualité et la résilience. Afin de réduire le coût de ces structures tout en maintenant leur efficacité, les entreprises pourraient prendre exemple sur l’African Leadership University, ou ALU. Ses campus permettent aux étudiants de gérer leur propre éducation en utilisant la technologie, l’apprentissage en peer-to-peer et des stages de quatre mois dans des entreprises partenaires, donnant ainsi à l’ALU la possibilité de se débrouiller avec un personnel enseignant réduit. Leur université produit des talents qui rivalisent avec les étudiants de Harvard et Stanford, mais ils le font en employant un dixième du parc immobilier et ce, pour un dixième à un vingtième du coût. Ce modèle de formation existe déjà en France, par exemple en cuisine avec https://www.cuisinemodemplois.com/ mis en place par le Chef Thierry Marx pour rendre les apprentis immédiatement opérationnels en peu de temps. Resterait à déployer les filières de formation partout en Afrique. Cela pourrait également se décliner ailleurs en Asie, comme l’a fait par exemple la fromagerie Bel : https://www.novethic.fr/isr-et-rse/pratiquer-la-rse/bonnes-pratiques/isr-rse/en-travaillant-avec-les-vendeurs-de-rue-bel-veut-concilier-profitabilite-et-fort-impact-social-145393.html.

Cela implique également de repenser le business model pour engager un véritable dialogue avec les clients en exploitant la technologie de manière imaginative, notamment pour réduire les coûts et les gammes de prix. C’est la garantie du succès.

Qu’est-ce qui pousse les innovateurs en Afrique à sortir du lit chaque matin, à naviguer sur ce terrain complexe et à continuer à développer leur entreprise ? Ce qu’ils possèdent en commun, d’après notre expérience, c’est une motivation plus profonde. Confrontés aux taux élevés de pauvreté de l’Afrique et à ses besoins en matière d’infrastructures, d’éducation et de soins de santé, ils ne voient pas seulement des obstacles au commerce ; ils voient des problèmes humains auxquels il leur appartient, estiment-ils, d’apporter des solutions. Pour réussir, vous devez être plus qu’un homme d’affaires. Vous devez être un citoyen d’adoption responsable. Si vous voyez un problème, réfléchissez à la manière d’en résoudre une partie. Ce qui est passionnant, c’est de se demander : “Quelle est la cause fondamentale de ce problème ? Que pouvons-nous faire pour nous attaquer à cette cause fondamentale ?” ». Il y a là une opportunité pour le secteur privé de s’associer aux efforts d’éradication de la pauvreté et de collaborer avec le secteur public et la société civile afin de favoriser la création d’emplois à grande échelle. Cela nécessitera un changement de mentalité chez tout le monde. Des secteurs entiers et des dirigeants eux-mêmes doivent se transformer de manière significative ; cela ne peut plus être comme avant. Cette tendance est à l’œuvre partout dans le monde et l’Afrique est un des meilleurs endroits pour faire évoluer les pratiques entrepreneuriales, d’autant plus qu’une entreprise qui aidera à résoudre une partie des problèmes rencontrés au quotidien par les Africains, s’ancrera durablement dans l’histoire du pays. « Il n’y a pas de plaisir à jouer petit, à se contenter d’une vie inférieure à celle que vous êtes capable de vivre. »

Le genre humain n’a encore jamais eu autant de ressources, de connaissances et de technologies à sa disposition, mais il reste encore beaucoup à faire pour que ces progrès se traduisent par des moyens de subsistance décents et des vies dignes pour tous les peuples du monde. Nous pensons que l’innovation de la part de petites ou de grandes entreprises peut jouer un rôle central pour relever les grands défis mondiaux et ouvrir la voie à une ère d’abondance collective. S’attaquer aux privations encore largement répandues en Afrique constituera une étape importante dans la réalisation de cet objectif. Mais les défis qui caractérisent l’Afrique sont présents de manière surprenante dans toutes les autres régions du monde. Ce qui fait que les innovations ayant vu le jour dans le laboratoire de tests qu’est l’Afrique revêtent une importance cruciale pour le reste de la planète.

Cordialement.

Patrick Tinayre

https://www.hbrfrance.fr/magazine/2019/03/24757-afrique-un-creuset-pour-la-creativite/

https://www.amazon.fr/Africas-Business-Revolution-Succeed-Worlds-ebook/dp/B078VF9S5Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1552683695&sr=8-1&keywords=ACHA+LEKE

Je me permets d’inclure l’article complet (sans les graphiques) qui vous donnera des exemples concrets de réussites et les moyens à mettre en place pour y parvenir et je ne peux que vous suggérer de vous abonner à cette revue qui produit des articles très intéressants et de haut niveau.

Combien d’entreprises en Afrique ont un revenu annuel de 1 milliard de dollars ou plus ? La plupart des cadres dirigeants internationaux avec lesquels nous nous sommes entretenus pensent qu’il y en a moins d’une centaine. Beaucoup répondent « zéro ». La réalité ? Il existe quatre cents organisations de ce genre – et elles ont, en moyenne, à la fois une croissance supérieure et une meilleure rentabilité que leurs entreprises analogues dans le reste du monde.

Nous avons conseillé bon nombre de ces entreprises lorsqu’elles se sont étendues rapidement à travers l’Afrique et au-delà, et nous avons observé un effet secondaire inattendu de ce bond de la croissance : l’Afrique est devenue un important laboratoire de tests pour l’innovation mondiale. Si vous êtes capable de créer un produit, un service ou un business model qui soit suffisamment rentable et solide pour réussir en Afrique, il y a de bonnes chances qu’il soit compétitif dans beaucoup d’autres régions du monde.

Nous ne voulons pas minimiser les difficultés liées au fait d’exercer des activités commerciales en Afrique (difficultés dont sont bien conscients les chefs d’entreprise ayant réussi). A cause d’infrastructures inadaptées, les sociétés devront mettre sur pied leur propre supply chain, par exemple, et, faute d’un enseignement public adéquat, il leur faudra former les employés aux compétences et mentalités de base. Mais, comme nous le verrons, ces difficultés offrent également des opportunités en termes de création de valeur.

Pour aider les dirigeants et cadres de grandes entreprises à identifier les innovations nées en Afrique dont ils peuvent tirer des enseignements, avec lesquelles créer un partenariat ou dans lesquelles ils peuvent investir, nous avons esquissé une taxonomie de six types d’innovation, que nous décrivons dans les pages suivantes. La technologie en est le fi l conducteur : plus que toute autre région peut-être, l’Afrique expérimente des avancées numériques pouvant aider les entreprises à surmonter les obstacles profondément enracinés et à réaliser des progrès exponentiels.

Low tech et High tech se dirigent vers l’inclusion financière

Dans les économies émergentes, 2 milliards d’individus et 200 millions d’entreprises n’ont accès ni à l’épargne ni au crédit, et beaucoup de ceux qui en disposent paient cher pour une modeste gamme de produits (voir l’encadré « Des millions d’individus exclus financièrement »). Le problème ne se limite nullement aux pays en développement. Aux Etats-Unis, un ménage sur 14 – soit à peu près 9 millions de personnes en tout – n’a pas de compte chèque ni de compte épargne, souvent pour des raisons d’accessibilité. Par ailleurs, 24 autres millions de personnes sont « sous-bancarisées » : bien qu’elles aient des comptes, elles ont également recours à des produits et services financiers coûteux en dehors du système bancaire, tels que les prêts sur salaire.

Pour servir les ménages exclus – et pour le faire de façon durable et profitable –, les banques et autres établissements doivent utiliser des solutions technologiques ainsi que des palliatifs low-tech. Les entreprises africaines en fournissent des exemples convaincants. Prenez Equity Bank, née d’une petite société de crédit foncier au Kenya en 2004. En 2017, elle avait plus de 12 millions de clients dans toute l’Afrique de l’Est, un actif de plus de 5 milliards de dollars et des bénéfices avant impôts de 270 millions de dollars. Le PDG fondateur, James Mwangi, nous a expliqué que le principal objectif de la banque était de « résoudre un problème social : le manque d’accès à des services financiers ». Il s’agissait pour lui d’un problème très personnel. « J’ai grandi dans une zone rurale, et ma mère n’avait pas de compte en banque. L’agence bancaire la plus proche se trouvait à 50 kilomètres, et le minimum nécessaire pour ouvrir un compte équivalait à plusieurs années de son salaire. » La réaction des Kenyans fut de garder leur argent sous leur matelas.

Moins d’un adulte kenyan sur dix possédait un compte bancaire au tournant du 21e siècle. Aujourd’hui, dans une large mesure grâce aux innovations d’Equity Bank, ils sont deux sur trois. « Nous savions qu’il nous fallait répondre aux besoins de personnes comme ma mère », souligne James Mwangi. Bien avant que n’arrivent les services bancaires par téléphone portable, Equity Bank introduisit ce qu’elle appelait la banque mobile : des mini-succursales de banque qui tenaient à l’arrière d’une Land Rover et qui allaient de village en village. Toutefois, l’innovation la plus connue de la banque est son modèle d’agence bancaire. Elle a accrédité plus de 30 000 petits points de service à travers le pays en tant qu’agents bancaires, capables de recevoir des dépôts et de gérer des espèces.

A côté de ces innovations, Equity Bank a profité de la croissance exponentielle de la téléphonie mobile en Afrique. En 2000, la région subsaharienne dans son ensemble avait moins de lignes téléphoniques que l’île de Manhattan. En 2016, il y avait plus de 700 millions de connexions par téléphones portables à travers le continent – environ une pour chaque adulte. Les téléphones cellulaires ont transformé la vie des Africains de manière importante, par exemple en remplaçant les transactions en argent liquide par des paiements instantanés et sécurisés via un téléphone portable. Il y a maintenant 122 millions de portefeuilles mobiles actifs en Afrique subsaharienne – plus que dans toute autre région du monde (voir l’encadré « L’Afrique, leader de l’argent mobile »). Ce développement a permis à Equity Bank d’abandonner ses Land Rover pour créer de véritables services bancaires mobiles grâce à Equitel, son application de services financiers sur téléphone portable, lancée en 2015. Equitel assure désormais la majeure partie des transactions en espèces de la banque et des déboursements de prêts, ce qui contribue à rendre l’entreprise extrêmement rentable.

De nouveaux partenariats pour le développement d’infrastructures

Les pays développés comme les pays en développement présentent des lacunes criantes dans le domaine des infrastructures du transport, de l’électricité et de l’eau, ainsi que dans celui des infrastructures dites « immatérielles », telles que les équipements sanitaires. Nos collègues de McKinsey estiment que l’écart mondial entre les dépenses actuelles et les dépenses nécessaires en matière d’infrastructures est de 350 milliards de dollars par an ; selon toute vraisemblance, la croissance ralentira, et les villes en pleine expansion subiront alors une pression énorme. Nulle part l’écart n’est plus grand qu’en Afrique ; ainsi, près de 600 millions de personnes n’ont pas accès à l’électricité. Ce déficit a suscité des collaborations audacieuses entre le secteur public et le secteur privé, collaborations qui pourraient servir de modèles à d’autres régions.

Un cas d’espèce : les accords « entreprise à Etat » conclus entre General Electric (GE) et divers gouvernements africains. Ceux-ci représentent une nouvelle frontière dans l’approche de la société à l’égard des clients du secteur public. Par exemple, l’accord entre GE et le Nigeria soutient le financement, la conception et la construction d’infrastructures d’une importance capitale, avec des projets incluant le développement d’une capacité de production d’énergie de 10 000 mégawatts, l’amélioration des aéroports, la modernisation et l’augmentation du nombre de locomotives de la société nationale des chemins de fer et la construction d’hôpitaux publics et de centres de diagnostic. Le PDG de GE Africa, Jay Ireland, qui vient de prendre sa retraite, décrit cette approche comme « un accord-cadre nous ayant permis d’adapter nos capacités en tant qu’entreprise aux problèmes auxquels se trouvait confronté le pays, et notamment d’ajouter de l’électricité sur le réseau, de renforcer la logistique et d’améliorer les résultats des soins de santé. »

D’autres innovateurs africains utilisent l’argent mobile, de même que les avancées dans le domaine de l’énergie solaire et du stockage de batteries, pour combler les lacunes du continent en matière de production d’électricité. On peut citer comme exemple M’Kopa, basé au Kenya, qui fournit des solutions abordables de production et de stockage d’électricité à base d’énergie solaire aux ménages n’ayant pas accès au réseau – et qui finance le paiement sur une période de douze mois au moyen de comptes d’argent mobile. Depuis sa création en 2011, M’Kopa a vendu plus de 600 000 kits ménagers et engrangé des investissements de multinationales, notamment l’entreprise japonaise de trading de matière première Mitsui. Autre exemple : celui de la société ougandaise Fenix, qui a vendu 140 000 kits d’énergie solaire, également grâce à l’argent mobile. A la fin de l’année 2017, Fenix a été rachetée par la française Engie, dans le cadre d’une initiative visant à utiliser les technologies numériques pour fournir à 20 millions de personnes dans le monde une énergie décarbonisée et décentralisée d’ici à 2020.

Des approches intelligentes de l’industrialisation

L’industrie manufacturière représente une autre catégorie d’innovations africaines pouvant s’appliquer à d’autres régions qui cherchent à construire ou à redynamiser leur base industrielle afin de répondre à la demande locale et de créer des emplois stables. L’un des pionniers est le Nigérian Aliko Dangote, dont le conglomérat Dangote Industries a réussi l’exploit de bâtir des entreprises manufacturières de grande envergure, alors que le pays était en proie à des coupures de courant chroniques, à la volatilité des taux de change et à d’autres obstacles, comme des supply chains locales sous-développées et une pénurie de compétences techniques. « Nous savions que tous ceux qui avaient tenté d’industrialiser le Nigeria avaient fait faillite », nous a déclaré Aliko Dangote. Il mit donc au point un modèle de fabrication antichoc comprenant une intégration verticale, la production d’électricité sur site, un engagement solide avec le gouvernement et une école dédiée aux métiers de l’industrie. Aujourd’hui, son groupe produit de grandes quantités de pâtes alimentaires, de sucre, de sel, de farine, de plastique et de ciment, auxquels viendront bientôt s’ajouter le pétrole raffiné et les engrais – tous produits de base importés traditionnellement par le Nigeria. La société a créé 30 000 emplois et fait d’Aliko Dangote la personne la plus riche d’Afrique.

L’Afrique abrite également un ensemble croissant de secteurs innovants, de la construction automobile aux produits chimiques, qui associe les dernières technologies aux avantages de la main-d’œuvre du continent pour répondre à la demande africaine et mondiale. Une analyse du McKinsey Global Institute suggère d’énormes possibilités d’accroître la production de telles « innovations mondiales », ce qui pourrait permettre à l’Afrique de doubler sa production manufacturière en dix ans. Au Maroc, par exemple, l’industrie automobile a multiplié par 12 ses recettes tirées de l’exportation, les faisant passer de 0,4 milliard de dollars en 2004 à 5 milliards de dollars en 2015, et a créé 67 000 emplois au cours de cette période. Les constructeurs français Renault et Peugeot ont investi ensemble plus de 2 milliards de dollars pour créer une capacité d’assemblage de 650 000 voitures et de 200 000 moteurs. Le Maroc s’est également doté d’industries dans l’aérospatiale et d’autres secteurs de pointe. Dans ces industries africaines de haute technologie, les entreprises ont recours à la fois à l’automatisation et à une main-d’œuvre qualifiée. Ce qui est tout à fait logique : au Maroc, par exemple, les coûts de la main-d’œuvre équivalent environ à un tiers de ceux des pays européens les moins chers. Et la main-d’œuvre africaine augmente rapidement ; d’ici à 2034, elle dépassera celle de la Chine et de l’Inde. A l’horizon 2050, la population du continent en âge de travailler sera de plus de 1,5 milliard (voir l’encadré « Un boom démographique »).

De nouveaux modèles de production alimentaire

Plus de 800 millions de personnes dans le monde, soit 11% de la population mondiale, souffrent de la faim, pour leur grande majorité dans les pays en développement, avec 520 millions en Asie et 240 millions en Afrique. Mais de nombreux ménages à faible revenu sont également concernés dans les pays riches, dont plus de 40millions de personnes aux Etats-Unis. Les Nations unies se sont fixé pour objectif de supprimer la faim d’ici à 2030. Pour y parvenir, le secteur agricole sera contraint d’intensifier les innovations en matière de technologie et de gestion afin d’améliorer les rendements, de même que les entreprises du secteur alimentaire devront créer des aliments nutritifs et bon marché, et reconfigurer les systèmes de distribution de manière à ce que ces produits puissent arriver sur la table de ceux qui en ont besoin. Dans tous ces domaines, l’Afrique est le foyer d’innovations passionnantes.

Prenez Babban Gona (« la grande ferme », en langue haoussa), une entreprise sociale nigériane au service des réseaux de petits exploitants. Ses membres bénéficient de perfectionnements et de formations, de crédits, d’apports agricoles, de soutiens marketing et autres services clés. Depuis sa création, en 2010, Babban Gona a engagé plus de 20 000 agriculteurs nigérians, qui ont en moyenne plus que doublé leurs rendements et augmenté leur résultat net, jusqu’à approcher du triple de la moyenne nationale. Les petits fermiers participants, qui sont généralement considérés comme présentant un risque de crédit élevé, ont un taux de remboursement de crédit de 99,9%, obtenu grâce au programme. Kola Masha, le fondateur de Babban Gona, souhaite engager un million d’agriculteurs dans le programme d’ici à 2025, fournissant ainsi des moyens de subsistance à 5 millions de personnes. D’autres programmes axés sur les petits exploitants sont en cours de lancement à travers tout le continent, et les grandes exploitations commerciales augmentent par ailleurs leur importance et leur production. Mis bout à bout, tous ces efforts pourraient éliminer à jamais la famine en Afrique. Notre analyse montre que les hausses de rendement favorisées par Babban Gona, si elles se répétaient à l’échelle du continent, seraient suffisantes pour nourrir la population croissante de l’Afrique et pour exporter vers d’autres régions.

Un nouveau type d’entrepreneurs technologiques est en train d’accélérer la « révolution verte » de l’Afrique. C’est le cas de Sara Menker, une ancienne courtière en matières premières à Wall Street, née en Ethiopie. Elle s’est rendu compte que les agriculteurs et les investisseurs ne disposaient pas des informations nécessaires pour choisir les cultures et les marchés, gérer la météo et autres risques, identifier où et quand investir dans les infrastructures. Aussi a-t-elle créé Gro Intelligence, qu’elle décrit comme « un Wikipédia pour l’agriculture, mais doté d’un moteur analytique plus puissant ». Avec des bureaux à Nairobi et à New York, la société compte des clients allant de fonds souverains et de fonds spéculatifs parmi les plus importants du monde à des négociants individuels en matières premières en Afrique et autour du globe. D’autres start-up du numérique donnent des conseils agricoles, des prévisions météorologiques et des suggestions dans le domaine financier, et aident les agriculteurs à mesurer et à analyser les données des sols afin qu’ils puissent appliquer le bon engrais et irriguer de manière optimale leurs exploitations.

Des produits de consommation accessibles et abordables

Cultiver davantage de plantes destinées à la consommation est une étape clé dans la lutte contre la faim, mais il est tout aussi important que les simples citoyens aient accès à des repas nutritifs et abordables. Les lecteurs de ce magazine connaissent peut-être les nouilles Indomie, l’un des produits de consommation les plus populaires au Nigeria (voir « Afrique : une nouvelle génération d’innovateurs », HBR édition française, août-septembre 2017). Vendues en paquets individuels pour l’équivalent de moins de 20 cents, ces nouilles peuvent être cuites en moins de trois minutes et combinées avec un œuf pour former un repas nutritif. Dufil Prima Foods les a introduites au Nigeria en 1988. Elles ont connu un énorme succès, et l’entreprise est rapidement passée de l’importation à la fabrication locale. Deepak Singhal, le PDG, nous a déclaré : « Nous avons créé un aliment approprié au Nigeria. Et, en l’espace de dix à quinze ans, notre nom est devenu très connu. »

Dufil a également conduit une innovation fondamentale en proposant les nouilles Indomie à tous les consommateurs du Nigeria. La société possède un réseau de distribution « de terrain » de plus de 1 000 véhicules, incluant des motos, des camions et des véhicules à trois roues. Quand les distributeurs ne peuvent pas aller plus loin à bord d’un véhicule, ils continuent à pied. Il s’agissait d’une innovation cruciale, car la société s’adressait aux consommateurs par le biais de milliers de petits points de vente, souvent informels, plutôt qu’à travers un réseau organisé de supermarchés. L’approche de Dufil en matière de distribution a attiré l’attention du monde entier : en 2015, Kellogg’s a investi 450 millions de dollars pour acquérir une participation de 50% dans la branche de ventes et de distribution ouest-africaine de la société mère d’Indomie, Tolaram Africa, et, en 2018, elle a déboursé 420 millions de dollars supplémentaires pour une participation dans la société d’industrie agroalimentaire de Tolaram.

Là encore, les innovations dans le secteur de la consommation en Afrique sont accélérées par les initiatives audacieuses d’entrepreneurs technologiques. La start-up d’e-commerce Jumia en est un exemple. Lancée en 2012, elle compte actuellement plus de 2 millions de clients actifs répartis dans 13 pays africains, et ses ventes doublent chaque année. Bien que Jumia n’ait pas encore pleinement mis en œuvre son business model – ni réalisé des bénéfices –, elle a attiré des centaines de millions de dollars d’investissement de Goldman Sachs, entre autres. Le Français Sacha Poignonnec, co-PDG de Jumia, fait observer que l’Afrique a 60 000 personnes pour chaque point de vente formel, alors que les Etats-Unis n’ont que 400 personnes environ par magasin. « Aux Etats-Unis, explique-t-il, le commerce électronique est en train de changer lentement des habitudes commerciales séculaires. Ici, il est en train de créer des habitudes. Les gens font leurs premiers gros achats, tels que les smartphones, et leurs premiers achats en ligne simultanément. »

Pour encourager ces habitudes, Jumia a créé le programme de vente JForce, dans lequel des agents font du porte-à-porte avec des tablettes connectées Wi-Fi, prenant les commandes des clients n’ayant pas accès à Internet. « Cela permet aux agents de devenir des entrepreneurs, explique Sacha Poignonnec, en gérant en fait leur propre commerce de détail en ligne depuis leur domicile. » De plus, Jumia a créé un service de logistique pour répondre à ses commandes de commerce électronique. En 2017, la société a livré 8 millions de colis, dont un grand nombre en zone rurale isolée. Et elle a construit une plateforme de paiement interne afin que les consommateurs africains aient davantage confiance dans les paiements en ligne. Ces innovations pourraient permettre à l’Afrique de contourner les coûts élevés du commerce de détail physique et de passer directement à un modèle de commerce électronique offrant aux consommateurs un choix plus vaste et des prix plus bas, quel que soit leur lieu de résidence.

Développer des capacités tournées vers l’avenir

Avec un tel nombre de jeunes arrivant sur le marché du travail africain, l’innovation en matière d’éducation et de développement des compétences est essentielle. Elle est également utile au niveau mondial : plus de 75 millions de jeunes dans le monde sont au chômage, alors que de nombreuses entreprises ne parviennent pas à trouver des personnes possédant les aptitudes nécessaires pour occuper des emplois de premier échelon. Cela tient en partie au fait que de nombreux systèmes éducatifs ne fournissent ni les compétences techniques, ni les compétences comportementales nécessaires pour réussir et s’adapter à un monde du travail en rapide évolution.

Generation Kenya, une organisation à but non lucratif comptant 180 employeurs locaux partenaires et qui utilise 37 lieux de formation à travers le pays, est une solution africaine pour combler le déficit de compétences des jeunes. Chacun des lieux de formation propose des programmes immersifs de « camp d’entraînement » d’une durée de six à huit semaines, destinés à renforcer la préparation à l’emploi dans des domaines tels que le commerce de détail et de produits financiers, le service à la clientèle et l’industrie du vêtement. Ces programmes ne dispensent pas seulement les connaissances techniques adéquates ; ils ont également recours à des jeux de rôle et à des exercices en équipe pour transmettre des compétences comportementales et psychologiques, telles que la ponctualité et la résilience. En 2017, plus de 8 000 jeunes Kenyans avaient suivi un programme Generation et 89% d’entre eux avaient trouvé un emploi officiel trois mois après l’obtention de leur diplôme – preuve encourageante que les programmes de développement intelligents peuvent préparer rapidement les jeunes, où qu’ils se trouvent, à devenir des employés hautement performants dans les entreprises modernes. (Pour information : Generation, aujourd’hui une organisation mondiale à but non lucratif, a été fondée par McKinsey, et nous continuons à la soutenir, aux côtés de fondations philanthropiques telles que l’Usaid, l’Agence des Etats-Unis pour le développement international.)

D’autres innovations éducatives africaines sont résolument high-tech. GetSmarter est une start-up sud-africaine qui propose des cours de certification en ligne à des étudiants du monde entier, avec l’assistance de tuteurs et de coachs situés à distance. En 2017, elle a été rachetée par la société edtech américaine 2U pour 103 millions de dollars. Autre exemple : l’African Leadership University, ou ALU. Ses campus à l’île Maurice et au Rwanda permettent aux étudiants de gérer leur propre éducation en utilisant la technologie, l’apprentissage en peer-to-peer et des stages de quatre mois dans des entreprises partenaires, donnant ainsi à l’ALU la possibilité de se débrouiller avec un personnel enseignant réduit. Son fondateur, Fred Swaniker, est un Ghanéen diplômé de Stanford qui a entrepris de créer un modèle d’entreprise pour l’enseignement supérieur à partir de rien. « Notre université produit des talents qui rivalisent avec les étudiants de Harvard et Stanford, nous a-t-il confié. Mais nous le faisons en employant un dixième du parc immobilier et ce, pour un dixième à un vingtième du coût. »

Comment accroître et soutenir l’innovation

Dans notre travail de consultation, nous avons vu un groupe diversifié d’innovateurs entrepreneuriaux et corporatifs en Afrique et au-delà créer des entreprises remarquables sur le continent. Bien que ces innovateurs diffèrent considérablement par leur couverture géographique et leur orientation sectorielle, ils considèrent tous les difficultés comme une incitation à l’innovation et une demande non satisfaite du marché comme un potentiel de croissance. Ils ont adopté des mentalités et des pratiques que les entreprises d’autres marchés pourraient appliquer avec profit à leurs propres stratégies de croissance. Cela devrait commencer par une compréhension fine et empathique des besoins des clients potentiels – rappelez-vous ce que M’Kopa a fait pour les personnes qui n’avaient pas l’électricité et ce que les nouilles Indomie ont fait pour les consommateurs à la recherche de repas bon marché, nutritifs et pratiques. Ce qui implique également de repenser le business model pour engager un véritable dialogue avec les clients, comme l’a fait Equity Bank via son modèle d’agence bancaire et ses innovations dans le domaine des opérations bancaires par téléphone cellulaire. Ces exemples suggèrent une activité supplémentaire, nécessaire au succès : exploiter la technologie de manière imaginative, notamment pour réduire les coûts et les gammes de prix.

Nous avons observé en outre que les innovateurs africains qui réussissent, loin d’être de doux rêveurs, sont plus conscients que quiconque des obstacles au succès et qu’ils instaurent une résilience à long terme dans leurs modèles économiques. Deepak Singhal, de Dufil, affirme qu’il faut « un cœur de lion » pour réussir dans un marché comme l’Afrique. « Nous disposons de notre propre entreprise de logistique, de notre propre matière première, de nos propres usines et de nos propres installations de conditionnement, nous a-t-il précisé. Maîtriser notre chaîne d’approvisionnement est très important. » Lors d’une enquête menée à l’échelon mondial auprès de cadres dirigeants, nous avons constaté que de telles mesures étaient étroitement corrélées à la croissance et à la rentabilité déclarées en Afrique (voir l’encadré « Renforcer la résilience de votre entreprise »). Compte tenu de l’instabilité croissante de la planète – sur le plan de la politique, des marchés, des échanges commerciaux ou même du climat –, les entreprises innovantes du monde entier auraient intérêt à envisager de telles approches.

Les entreprises doivent par ailleurs lutter fermement contre un autre obstacle majeur au commerce : la corruption, qui reste extrêmement répandue en Afrique. Nous conseillons aux clients de rester fidèles à leurs valeurs, quoi qu’il arrive. En Afrique du Sud, nous avons nous-mêmes testé ce principe, lorsque nous avons étudié brièvement la possibilité d’établir un partenariat avec une entreprise locale afin de soutenir Eskom, la compagnie nationale d’électricité, pour apprendre que cette entreprise appartenait à un personnage douteux lié à un scandale de corruption à l’échelle du pays. Bien que nous ayons mis fin aux discussions, nous avons tiré de douloureuses leçons de cette expérience, et appris notamment combien il est important d’avoir une connaissance approfondie du contexte de tout engagement potentiel et des acteurs impliqués.

Qu’est-ce qui pousse les innovateurs en Afrique à sortir du lit chaque matin, à naviguer sur ce terrain complexe et à continuer à développer leur entreprise ? Ce qu’ils possèdent en commun, d’après notre expérience, c’est une motivation plus profonde. Confrontés aux taux élevés de pauvreté de l’Afrique et à ses besoins en matière d’infrastructures, d’éducation et de soins de santé, ils ne voient pas seulement des obstacles au commerce ; ils voient des problèmes humains auxquels il leur appartient, estiment-ils, d’apporter des solutions. Prenez Strive Masiyiwa, le président d’Econet Group, une société panafricaine de technologie, médias et télécoms. Ses ambitions commerciales ne font aucun doute : il est le principal actionnaire de la plus grande société africaine d’infrastructure à large bande et de services de données, Liquid Telecom, en plein essor. Mais Masiyiwa a déployé la même énergie dans des initiatives philanthropiques. C’est ainsi qu’il s’est servi de sa fortune pour offrir des bourses à plus de 250 000 jeunes Africains. « Pour réussir, vous devez être plus qu’un homme d’affaires. Vous devez être un citoyen responsable, nous a-t-il expliqué. Si vous voyez un problème, réfléchissez à la manière d’en résoudre une partie. » Et d’ajouter : « Ce qui est passionnant, c’est de se demander : “Quelle est la cause fondamentale de ce problème ? Que pouvons-nous faire pour nous attaquer à cette cause fondamentale ?” »

Défenseure internationale des droits de l’homme (et présidente de l’ALU), Graça Machel souligne les responsabilités que doivent prendre les entreprises pour que puissent être atteints les objectifs des Nations unies concernant le développement durable. « Ces objectifs constituent un appel universel ambitieux visant à éliminer la pauvreté, à protéger l’environnement et à garantir à tous les membres de notre famille mondiale la paix et la prospérité, nous a-t-elle déclaré. Ils exigent que nous ne laissions personne derrière nous. » Pour Graça Machel, il y a là une opportunité pour le secteur privé de s’associer aux efforts d’éradication de la pauvreté et de collaborer avec le secteur public et la société civile afin de favoriser la création d’emplois à grande échelle. Cela nécessitera « un changement de mentalité chez nous tous, prévient-elle. Des secteurs entiers et des dirigeants euxmêmes doivent se transformer de manière significative – cela ne peut plus être comme avant. » Son défunt mari Nelson Mandela aurait été d’accord. Comme en témoigne une de ses célèbres citations : « Il n’y a pas de plaisir à jouer petit, à se contenter d’une vie inférieure à celle que vous êtes capable de vivre. »

Le genre humain n’a encore jamais eu autant de ressources, de connaissances et de technologies à sa disposition, mais il reste encore beaucoup à faire pour que ces progrès se traduisent par des moyens de subsistance décents et des vies dignes pour tous les peuples du monde. Nous pensons que l’innovation de la part de petites ou de grandes entreprises peut jouer un rôle central pour relever les grands défis mondiaux et ouvrir la voie à une ère d’abondance collective. S’attaquer aux privations encore largement répandues en Afrique constituera une étape importante dans la réalisation de cet objectif. Mais les défis qui caractérisent l’Afrique sont présents de manière surprenante dans toutes les autres régions du monde. Ce qui fait que les innovations ayant vu le jour dans le laboratoire de tests qu’est l’Afrique revêtent une importance cruciale pour le reste de la planète.

Patrick Tinayre
Patrick Tinayre

Frank Dehnhard,

Au niveau mondial : plus de 75 millions de jeunes dans le monde sont au chômage, alors que de nombreuses entreprises ne parviennent pas à trouver des personnes possédant les aptitudes nécessaires pour occuper des emplois de premier échelon. Cela tient en partie au fait que de nombreux systèmes éducatifs ne fournissent ni les compétences techniques, ni les compétences comportementales nécessaires pour réussir et s’adapter à un monde du travail en rapide évolution.

Une partie de la solution peut-être un grand campus numérique accessible malgré les nombreux problèmes de connexion que connaissent l'Afrique notamment. Sans emplois durables et stables, sans économie formelle, pas de développement durable possible à mon avis ou alors à petite échelle. Si la survie des populations prime, inutile d'essayer d'inculquer les notions de développement durable.

Martin Cadena
Martin Cadena Moderator

Patrick Tinayre thank you for taking the time to summarize the article. You have contributed with several insightful ideas and inputs on the use of digital technology to address development issues.

Is there any concern you may have when using digital technology for tackling development issues?

Patrick Tinayre
Patrick Tinayre

Bonjour,

Depuis 2016, le Low-Tech Lab parcourt le monde pour "repérer, expérimenter et documenter de façon collaborative" des low-tech pour permettre de "les diffuser au plus grand nombre".

Partout dans le monde, des inventeurs créaient des systèmes très ingénieux pour répondre à des problèmes locaux. En général, ces solutions pourraient intéresser des millions de personnes mais elles restent à échelle locale.

Pour chacune des technologies, ils produisent de la documentation, c'est-à-dire des vidéos tutos ou des tutoriels écrits qu’ils diffusent le plus largement possible. Ils commencent à avoir beaucoup d'impact grâce à leur plateforme. Pour l'instant, elle a bénéficié à 150 000 personnes originaires de près de 10 000 villes différentes dans le monde. De plus en plus de personnes les contactent également pour documenter des low-tech ou pour créer eux-même des Low-Tech Lab.

Ils ont étudié une quarantaine de low-tech depuis deux ans et demi et leur rêve depuis très longtemps, c'est de créer une NASA des low-tech. Beaucoup de moyens sont investis dans les high-tech contrairement aux low-tech alors que ces dernières possèdent un potentiel d'innovation gigantesque qui pourrait aider des milliards de personnes.

Il serait intéressant, dans le cadre de l’aide au développement de :

  • Les aider à trouver et financer un lieu physique où ils pourraient fabriquer et tester des technologies en lien avec tout un réseau de Low-Tech Labs, d'associations, d'entreprises ou d'écoles dans d'autres pays.
  • Les aider à développer des Low-Tech Labs dans le maximum de pays par le biais d’organismes gouvernementaux comme l’IRD, l’AFD, la banque mondiale, la banque africaine de développement, la banque asiatique de développement, ….
  • Les aider à développer leur réseau collaboratif en France et dans le monde, afin de créer un vrai Wikipédia des Low Techs.
  • De permettre à cette initiative positive de changer d’échelle eu égard aux multiples bénéfices qu’elle pourrait apporter à l’aide au développement.

Cordialement.

Patrick Tinayre

https://www.linfodurable.fr/technomedias/low-tech-lab-des-innovations-r…

Patrick Tinayre
Patrick Tinayre

Bonjour,

Dans le cadre de l’aide au développement, il serait intéressant de concrétiser certaines initiatives :

  • Près de 30% des MOOC consommés dans le monde sont consommés en Afrique, alors même que le taux de couverture est très mauvais. L’éducation est un enjeu central dans le développement du continent. Pourtant la majorité des dispositifs de formation ne répondent plus à la demande du marché, que ce soit en termes de volume ou de types d’enseignement. Les infrastructures universitaires sont restées inchangées depuis des années, alors que la croissance démographique a explosé. Face à ce postulat, la BAU university, a vu le jour, afin d’offrir aux étudiants en demande des formations. Cette université numérique est maintenant la plus grande université numérique au monde, avec près de 8000 étudiants. Il serait intéressant de créer une grande université numérique francophone et anglophone qui serve à diffuser les savoirs partout dans le monde (y compris chez nous) gratuitement. Pour compléter cette initiative, il faudrait y adjoindre des formations vidéo de toutes les technologies low tech utilisées à travers le monde et qui pourraient faciliter grandement la vie des gens, quels que soit leur pays. Le but de cette université serait de faciliter la transmission du savoir et de pallier aux défaillances éducatives que peuvent connaître les systèmes des pays en voie de développement.
  • Les taux de couverture internet et l’accessibilité et disponibilité des réseaux de communication étant très mauvais actuellement en Afrique, il sera nécessaire de permettre une utilisation hors ligne de ces savoirs. Pourquoi ne pas envisager par exemple un partenariat avec la startup camerounaise Eduair qui souhaite quand offrir un outil d’accès à l’éducation sans connexion internet ? La box répertorie ainsi une base de données de milliers d’articles, cours vidéo (Mooc), ouvrages éducatifs, références de livres et de mémoires, cours magistraux et épreuves. Chacune des box contient également toute la bibliothèque de Wikipedia.
  • En Afrique, l’entrepreneuriat n’est pas valorisé, car il ne génère pas de sécurité financière à court terme et les formations supérieures ne répondent plus au besoin des secteurs pourvoyeurs d’emplois, car elles sont restées inchangées depuis des décennies et surtout, elles ne sont pas conçues pour former des entrepreneurs. Il sera nécessaire de proposer des formations à l’entrepreneuriat sur le site de l’université en ligne car cela permettra d’offrir aux porteurs de projets et entrepreneurs des ressources et outils pour faire avancer les projets qui répondent aux enjeux de notre époque, et de distiller la culture entrepreneuriale dans la société. En Afrique, plus qu’ailleurs, les besoins minimums étant loin d’être tous résolus, l’entrepreneuriat revêt souvent un caractère de nécessité.
  • Actuellement, l’Afrique compte 8 millions d’étudiants. Un Africain sur deux a moins de 18 ans. Dans moins de 15 ans, à l’horizon 2030, ils seront 22 millions d’étudiants.
  • Désormais, la mobilité des étudiants africains s’effectue essentiellement sur leur propre continent. Une étude de Campus France relève d’ailleurs que ce continent attire plus de 20 % des étudiants africains en mobilité dans le monde. Les pays bénéficiant de cette mobilité intracontinentale sont l’Afrique du Sud (39 %), le Ghana (20 %), le Maroc (8 %) et la Tunisie (7 %).

    Cet élitisme filtré par l’importance des ressources a ses limites quand les besoins font davantage penser à une industrie de masse, notamment pour les niveaux ou la demande est la plus criante : techniciens, et autres professionnels spécialisés grâce à des cycles courts. La demande des gouvernements africains est explicite : un développement de parcours courts professionnalisant afin de pallier le manque de managers intermédiaires. Sans oublier le perfectionnement de la formation continue.

    Reste donc à dimensionner les structures de formation à la formidable demande qui enfle par-delà la Méditerranée :

    En incluant à ce campus numérique, des formations vidéos formant à des technologies low tech mises en place de manière aléatoire partout dans le monde mais qui ont fait leurs preuves pour résoudre des problèmes de société (agriculture avec la technique du Zaï par exemple, les formations du Barefoot college en Inde qui forme des femmes à devenir des techniciennes du solaire sans savoir ni lire, ni écrire, …..). Ces outils qui peuvent radicalement changer la vie des gens sur place doivent être proposées gratuitement et être diffusées le plus largement possible sur ce continent. Le travail du Low Tech Lab peut constituer un point de départ pour mettre en ligne ces savoirs dans la langue des différents pays pour être accessibles à toutes les personnes qui ne savent ni lire ni écrire.
  • Cordialement.
  • Patrick Tinayre

    https://www.lenouveleconomiste.fr/les-grandes-ecoles-francaises-a-la-conquete-des-elites-africaines-63656/

    http://lowtechlab.org/wiki/Accueil

http://www.eduair.org/fr.html

Martin Cadena
Martin Cadena Moderator

Thanks again Patrick. Regarding online courses, we have experienced good results when a facilitator is involved, as participants can ask questions and interact with each other and with the facilitator. The issue of language is something that digital technology and A.I. could help to address, using automatic translators -like the one I am using here to be able to interact with you in Frech and English-. 

The offline availability of courses is another important point. It would be great if participants could share solutions on how to make online courses also available in offline versions without losing quality/interactivity.

Patrick Tinayre
Patrick Tinayre

Bonjour,

Dans le cadre de l'aide au développement, nous devons exploiter les bénéfices de l'identification électronique. Les bénéfices sont multiples : à l'échelle de l'Europe, ces bénéfices sont estimés à 150 milliards d'euros annuels, soit environ 35 milliards rapportés à la France ou encore 1,5 point de PIB en plus pour notre nation. Il est difficile de trouver d'autres mesures ayant un aussi grand impact économique.

Je crois également qu’il serait intéressant de coupler ce système d’identification électronique des citoyens, avec une initiative d’automates de données afin que chaque citoyen remplisse une fois ses données et qu’elles soient systématiquement pré-remplies, quelque soit le site sur lequel l’internaute se rend. Beaucoup de temps de gagné pour les citoyens et les entreprises.

Des pays européens l'ont fait, avec des gains en matière de qualité du service public, de sécurité ou de lutte contre l'évasion fiscale.

Plus d'une soixantaine de pays dans le monde sont en train ou ont mis en œuvre des systèmes d'identité électronique, dont 24 membres de l'Union européenne. Ainsi, l'Estonie l'a intégré dans la quasi-totalité de ses services publics et commerciaux. L'ensemble des informations médicales, fiscales, familiales des citoyens estoniens sont rattachées à un identifiant unique, simplifiant drastiquement la vie quotidienne de chacun d'entre eux.

S'il convient d'accéder en urgence au dossier médical d'un usager victime d'un accident de la route inconscient, et donc incapable de donner son consentement, un superviseur assermenté en donnera l'autorisation aux services de secours, et seulement à eux. Les éventuels abus de fonctionnaires indélicats sont lourdement sanctionnés, et font d'ailleurs régulièrement l'objet de condamnations au travers d'un tribunal spécialement constitué pour cela. En outre, le système a été conçu de sorte à ce qu'il soit impossible d'accéder de façon simultanée à un grand nombre de dossiers afin de limiter les risques de piratage.

En face, les opportunités s'expriment sur de nombreux axes : réduire les coûts de transaction, de sorte à permettre de nouvelles catégories de services : embarquer dans un avion, rentrer dans un musée sans faire la queue, utiliser des transports de façon multimodale (train, vélo…) sans nécessairement s'être abonné à chaque service, supprimer les reçus et notes de frais en papier et en faciliter la gestion.

Cela permet aussi d'accroître très significativement la productivité administrative en facilitant l'automatisation des traitements de dossiers : il n'est plus nécessaire de ressaisir sans cesse date et lieu de naissance. Au-delà, l'identité électronique permet d'envisager de nouvelles formes d'actions publiques au sein desquelles les services deviennent personnalisés : prioriser l'accès à certains services publics aux publics précaires par exemple, mettre en oeuvre des analyses épidémiologiques de qualité…

Les bénéfices sont aussi évidents en matière de fraude ; cela permettrait de mieux repérer les fraudes sociales et économiques ; et l'identification des auteurs de transactions financières de façon plus certaine représenterait également un avantage évidemment décisif pour lutter contre l'évasion fiscale.

Certes les risques existent, mais pour autant, le Danemark, la Suède ou l'Estonie ne semblent pas avoir versé dans la dictature ; leurs citoyens y sont unanimement attachés tant cela leur simplifie la vie. Repousser son adoption reviendrait à affaiblir la souveraineté de l'Etat, en laissant toute la place pour agir aux plates-formes digitales privées, américaines, ou même chinoises.

Cordialement.

Patrick Tinayre

https://www.lesechos.fr/idees-debats/cercle/la-france-doit-accepter-les-benefices-de-lidentification-electronique-1024534#xtor=RSS-145

https://www.ieif.fr/revue_de_presse/le-boom-des-automates-de-saisie-de-donnees

https://www.lesechos.fr/tech-medias/hightech/laffolant-regain-de-forme-des-editeurs-dautomatisation-des-logiciels-1023297

https://www.uipath.com/fr/

https://www.automationanywhere.fr/

Martin Cadena
Martin Cadena Moderator

Thank you Patrick. Identification is something that definitely digital technologies can help with. This is also a topic subject to some concerns. I would like to invite participants to share solutions regarding some associated challenges to electronic identification, such as privacy and data security to avoid identity fraud.

Peng Ang Goh
Peng Ang Goh

Martin Cadena 

With regards to identification in terms of privacy and security to prevent digital fraud, what is measured can be managed.  In our system of identification, as also mentioned in my post, only the necessary data will be collected so as private information such as id numbers and id cards will not be compromised, as well as to provide a platform that is equal opportunity for users and avoid any discriminatory practices.  Only the basic information will be applicable.  We use a peer-to-peer feedback system to help maintain the integrity of the data.  

Thank you for your comment and if you have any other questions, please let me know. 

Yours sincerely,

Darryl Goh 

Patrick Tinayre
Patrick Tinayre

Bonjour,

Je me permets de rebondir sur un article mettant en avant une action structurante menée par la Corée du Sud vis-à-vis des services douaniers du Ghana dans le cadre de l’aide au développement.

Il serait intéressant d'accentuer ce genre d’actions de structuration des services dans les pays en voie de développement car cela peut permettre à ces pays de garantir l'efficacité et la transparence des processus et de mieux pouvoir développer leurs politiques de développement propres.

La numérisation des systèmes permettront à leurs services de mieux faire rentrer les recettes, d’être plus efficaces et de proposer une certaine transparence à la population. La numérisation des processus sont les actions structurantes les plus bénéfiques pour le développement de ces pays et les actions qui bénéficient du meilleur taux de réussite parmi toutes les actions de développement.

Cordialement.

Patrick Tinayre

http://www.commodafrica.com/11-04-2019-la-coree-du-sud-va-moderniser-et…

Patrick Tinayre
Patrick Tinayre

Bonjour,

Un rapport de l'Institut Montaigne souligne le manque de compétences de nos représentants à l'Assemblée Nationale. Il en va peut-être de même pour les représentants politiques des pays en voie de développement

Une des solutions serait de travailler avec l’Estonie pour digitaliser entièrement les process de décision dans les ministères, assemblées, sénats, ....

Le développement numérique fait partie intégrante des réformes politiques, économiques et administratives entreprises au cours des 25 dernières années en Estonie. Les solutions électroniques simplifient la gouvernance de l'État, rendent les services plus accessibles à la population et améliorent la transparence du processus décisionnel.

En Estonie, les documents sur les projets de loi, les traités et les questions administratives sont saisis, puis signés numériquement. Cela rend le processus numérique du début à la fin.

Il serait possible de former tous les parlementaires dans le cadre de l'e-Governance Academy et d’enclencher la digitalisation de tout le processus législatif. Ceci devrait permettre de sensibiliser un maximum de parlementaires aux bouleversements engendrés par la révolution numérique qui impacte tous les aspects de notre vie.

Un autre impact positif de ce mode de fonctionnement serait une plus grande transparence de la vie politique vis-à-vis des populations.

Cordialement.

Patrick Tinayre

https://www.riigikogu.ee/en/press-releases/board-of-the-riigikogu/nestor-shared-estonias-experiences-e-parliament/

https://www.lepoint.fr/technologie/numerique-nos-deputes-sont-ils-si-nuls-09-12-2018-2277750_58.php#xtor=RSS-221

https://ega.ee/

Patrick Tinayre
Patrick Tinayre

Bonjour,

Je me permets de rebondir sur le dernier rapport Doing Business de la Banque Mondiale pour porter à votre attention le fait qu’une administration en ligne réduit généralement les lourdeurs bureaucratiques et la corruption.

Il serait donc intéressant pour permettre le développement des pays en voie de développement, de créer une task force qui regroupe tous les acteurs susceptibles de les aider à mettre en place une e-administration semblable à celle de l’Estonie qui reste la référence en la matière.

Cette task force pourrait être épaulée par une autre task force qui aiderait ces pays à simplifier leurs procédures avant de les digitaliser. Le rapport Doing Business constituerait une bonne base pour commencer, mais je crois qu’il serait nécessaire de rajouter d’autres indicateurs afin de créer un véritable tableau de bord de pilotage pour tous les pays, afin de libérer la croissance.

La mise en place d’un site internet regroupant les bonnes pratiques de chaque pays pourrait servir d’inspiration aux autres pays pour développer leurs propres services.

La digitalisation de la chaîne administrative peut être la clé qui réduira drastiquement beaucoup de freins au développement des économies émergentes, et contribuera certainement dans la même mesure à la réduction de la corruption.

Cordialement.

Patrick Tinayre

http://www.banquemondiale.org/fr/news/immersive-story/2018/10/31/doing-…

ATHARVA SUSTAINABLE
ATHARVA SUSTAINABLE

Martin, Thanks for providing this great space to express our viewpoints.

Answer to your second questions: One way to advance sustainable development goals is to trend hashtags periodically on social media and educate people about sustainable products. It will be prolific when climate activist educates people and share their initiatives on social media platforms. People want to see the outcomes of the actions taken by the activist in their areas, regions or country. When people see actionable items, which can be easily managed and initiate at affordable cost, I believe people would like to use sustainable products and will realize the importance of climate action. I would suggest sharing sustainable products, action plans and the results achieved by using sustainable products on the digital platform. 

Martin Cadena
Martin Cadena Moderator

Thank you for the comment. Sharing successful stories and tangible impacts, plus a call for action is a good way to engage with people. Would you mind to share examples of platforms you may know which are doing this?

Beniam Gebrezghi
Beniam Gebrezghi Moderator

Hello everyone, and thank you Adam Rogers, ATHARVA SUSTAINABLE, Patrick Tinayre and Frank Dehnhard for your active participation and inputs. I am happy to join as a moderator for this global discussion, along with my colleague Martin.

To make the discussion easier and as insightful as possible for everyone, we invite you to:

1) Introduce yourself briefly and share with us why you are interested in this discussion.

2) Mention the question(s) you are answering to. But feel also free to discuss anything related to the topic: the 2 questions are only there to start the discussion.

3) Summarize your key points when necessary, so everyone can make the most out of your post.

4) Feel free to rebound/reply, give comments or feedback to other people's posts to keep the conversation going.

Thank you and looking forward to reading great discussions!

Dinh-Long Pham
Dinh-Long Pham

Hello everyone, glad to be part of this global discussion.

My name is Dinh-Long and I now work in the youth team at UNDP Bangkok Regional Hub (with Ben, who commented above). I focus on the programmes for youth entrepreneurs: incubation, acceleration programmes and coworking spaces, as well as 21st century skill programmes. I worked with several entrepreneurs using technology to address the SDGs, so I'm super interested in this topic!

 

I want to address the first question: my main concern is that while digital technologies can accelerate the implementation of the SDGs, more and more complex technologies also have a significant carbon footprint (e.g. data centers, electronic waste) or negative social impact (e.g. electronic parts coming from war zones). Furthermore, these issues are well known to the public (my assumption). I wonder how can all stakeholders take this into consideration?

Martin Cadena
Martin Cadena Moderator

Thank you Dinh-Long for introducing yourself and for your comment on addressing the first question. Do you have any solution you want to share on how to reduce the carbon footprint or social impact from data centers or technology waste? perhaps good examples related to circular economy in this area?

Best

Martin

Dinh-Long Pham
Dinh-Long Pham

Mmh 3 things come to my mind:

1) The FairPhone, a groundbreaking smartphone company that wants to revolutionize the smartphone industry. They offer smartphones that are made with parts respecting the environment and the people, and each part can be replaced easily. 

2) Many projects are decentralizing data centres to people's home, so that the heat generated serves for the household's own consumption (e.g. for heating during winter). Briliant idea. 

3) There are more and more talks about the Proof of Stake mechanism, which is a newer consensus mechanism for the blockchain that consumes way less energy that the original Proof of Work mechanism. 

Martin Cadena
Martin Cadena Moderator

Thank you Frank Dehnard and Dinh-Long for completing the comments and raising the point that we always have to count all the possible externalities when talking about digital technologies solutions.

Peng Ang Goh
Peng Ang Goh

Hi Dinh-Long,

Some of the commentary has rightly pointed out so how some of the companies can be more environmentally friendly, but you can also refer to my post about my startup to help promote that as well.  In regards to negative social impact, our identification system uses a peer-to-peer review system apart from online moderators, raising red-flag concerns, community policing, we also intend to use video profiling, online assessments, in-person meetings and parental guidance restrictions to improve accountability of the user.  Feel free to let me know if you have any other questions.  Thank you.

Best regards,

Darryl Goh

MUHAMMAD AYAZ KEERIO
MUHAMMAD AYAZ KEERIO

Digital is good tool for understanding the SDG goals and proper implementation, how one thing I have addressed here that most of the population living in least developed countries were illiterate, so we have need to capacity building of those communities through volunteers for understanding of digital media and how SDGs work.

Martin Cadena
Martin Cadena Moderator

Dear Muhammad, thank you for your comment. To make the most of it, we would love if you could introduce yourself briefly and share why you are interested in this discussion, and mention the question(s) you are answering to. 

If you also have more information to share, regarding a solution in capacity building for understanding digital media, that would be great too.

Best

Martin

 

Daan Boom
Daan Boom

Dear community members:

My name is Daan Boom and I work in Africa for a financial development institution. Good to see this initiative Romolo and Nina and the other members. While I don't work at this very moment on digital developments, the subject is close to my heart. In particular digital inclusion. We have seen over the last decade many cases where digital technologies played an important role in reducing transactions costs (remittances), health, and disaster preparedness to name a few. What I consider a major roadblock is still affordable, inclusive connectivity, coupled with digital skills and literacy, are essential elements in the fight against inequality. It can be acknowledged that digital creates enormous benefits, it also worsen existing divisions between countries, regions and communities. Those who have the means ($, devices, signal and bandwidth) and those who don't or have to cross some distance and simply does not have the capacity to  read and understand. I don't think the problem is the supply side of digital technologies but improving access. The solutions may be simple but difficult to implement. Having a development dedicated fund to address some of thew shortcomings  (like the GEF for the environment) might be a path to consider just aimed at bridging digital inclusiveness.

Nina Grinman
Nina Grinman Moderator

Daan Boom , great to have you part of this consultation. Thank you also for your comment on the importance of digital inclusion and the suggestion for a dedicated fund similar to the GEF fund.  More information here for those of you unfamiliar with the GEF Fund. In your area of work and considering your vast experience in knowledge and learning, what would you suggest are the top three areas that we need to address in terms of digital inclusion?

Sangeet Gopal Kayastha
Sangeet Gopal Kayastha

1. What are your biggest challenges and concerns when adopting digital technologies to address current development issues?

- The main challange which i see is the apps which are build by many organizations are too heavy. Too heavy in a sense, some cannot be installed in cheaper android phones. Some are too heavy as it consumes lots of data and many apps are not built to consume less data rather have HQ pictures which consume more RAM and data.

 

2. What are the digital breakthrough ideas you think could exponentially advance sustainable development

- At present context, we just focus on creating the apps on IOS and Android whereas the most easy platform which can be accessible by everyone easily via phone or PC " i.e Website" seems to be neglected and taken as " Non Innovative Idea". 
People need choices and making the information available on all platform makes more sense. 

I believe very few people will download the apps to access the information which they only need for 1-2 times. Whereas more people will access the website to get information if they need the information as there is less hassle of downloading the apps.

- The breakthrough ideas that are sustainable are to create a platform or invest in platform which do not need investment on the long run (such as website) rather than the ones which need investment again and again .

Nina Grinman
Nina Grinman Moderator

Sangeet Gopal Kayastha , thank you for comment and for identifying that simplicity is sometimes the answer. Do you think the use of websites and platforms that are mobile friendly are useful only for those not wanting to download an app or will this address other user groups?

Frank Dehnhard
Frank Dehnhard

Nina Grinman and Andrei, I think we have to differentiate between working programmes that help you in your life (=APPs on a mobile, often also using the hardware of the phone and) and standard homepages that usually just deliver information (text, videos, ...).
I think often it could be possible to create APPs in 2 versions. One for more advanced mobile devices and one for older versions. Even an iPhone 1 was working properly and people were happy to own one.

Askar Raymkulow
Askar Raymkulow

Hello. Sorry for my poor English. 

1. I think that the main concern of adopting digital technologies is so called 'fake news'. It is very difficult to verify if the news is real of fake.Some criminals and politicians use them to reach their goals.

2. Digital education is the most important idea to cope with inequality in order to reach sustainable development. It means that modern technology creates a lot of opportunity to improve poor people's life. Accessible education, especially online digital education creates equal opportunity for people in different countries. People from developing countries can study online in foreign school. 

Nina Grinman
Nina Grinman Moderator

Thank you Askar Raymkulow for your comment. Do you have any examples of accessible education for people in developing countries that you can share with us? Also, this consultation can be accessed in over 100 languages. You should be able to type in your own language (there is a button on top right that says "select your language") so language should not be barrier for this consultation.

Frank Dehnhard
Frank Dehnhard

Nina Grinman and Askar,
as long as you have online access the whole world of education is open to you.
From Khan Academy to Udacity, TED Talks and thousands of smaller tutorials and education help.
It certainly could become better but at least it's accessible. But there are still many people without access. Without PC, Laptop or smartphone. Often even without electricity.
I tried to push a project to collect "old" devices in the richer countries and ship them to the poor communities, then teach the people to update and even repair them, install browsers and more, give them to the people/children in need to go online and learn.
IT could replace classrooms and universities!
There are millions of still working devices in drawers or basements. But it would need funding... A big project with huge impact...

Dr. Fotios Fitsilis
Dr. Fotios Fitsilis

Dear Dev Hub members,

  • Challenges and concerns

Since the topic is rather fuzzy when referred to SDGs (rather that to a single point of discussion), I would respond by saying that (a) technological and data openness could belong to the major challenges. (b) Regulation of advanced algorithms could be another one. 

To (a): One could refer for example to the FAIR data principles and to the notion of "open science" at large. As for (b), uncontrolled algorithmic decision making could lead to systemic failures of higher orders of magnitude and hence endanger the whole concept of implementing and monitoring the SDGs. My new book Imposing Regulation on Advanced Algorithms tackles these issues.

  •  Breakthrough digital ideas 

The principle of the 'algorithmic monitor', e.g. to crowdsource research on algorithmic misconduct, could be an interesting idea in this vast and deregulated field. This idea is explained in detail in the mentioned book. 

 

Beniam Gebrezghi
Beniam Gebrezghi Moderator

Thank you for your comment. Could you summarize the key points your book is addressing regarding these topics? It would be greatly valuable for all the members!

Charlotte Scott
Charlotte Scott

Hello. I am the project lead for ZayoHub, a Zambian NGO that is using technology to support the realisation of SDG targets in remote rural Zambian communities. The realities for many are not the digital technologies as such, but rather exclusion and inequalities when it comes to whether they can use them. ZayoHub is building tech-enabled community centres, and providing financial services, renewable power, access to computers and internet, mobile phone signal (where none was previously available), livelihoods and education programmes etc. We use technology to reduce remoteness - so, for example, livestock farmers can get to talk to a vet adviser via Skype, and local clinicians use connectivity to see advice on difficult cases. The impact of mobile money has been well documented, and we have found a similar appetite. We also support schools with digital education content, access to TV and computers. We manage these programmes, scattered across remote areas, via digital management programmes. Some of our programmes are manual - for example, we rent robust bicycles, fit for the local terrain but too expensive for our communities to buy - but technology helps us to monitor performance, while the bikes are GPS enabled which means we will find them if they are not returned. Our services are a blend of free, commission based (like mobile money) and chargeable (like watching the Africa Cup on TV!). We use our tech to share messages that never usually reach these communities - we have a partnership with the Health Ministry to share health education IEC, for example. So we aim for sustainability. None of these services would work easily on a stand-alone basis, as the costs would be high. But we share investment in power, connectivity, infrastructure and management across our diverse services, so the whole package becomes cost-effective and sustainable. We believe this would be a good topic for sharing at the proposed meeting, and will be happy to share more info. Meantime please check out www.zayohub.com thanks

 

Nina Grinman
Nina Grinman Moderator

Thanks Charlotte Scott for this very insightful comment. Can this project be scaled up and adapted to other communities/regions?

Charlotte Scott
Charlotte Scott

Nina Grinman thanks for your question.

The ZayoHub project is certainly intended to be scalable. Indeed, the project becomes sustainable and impactful at scale. Our first stage is very much proof-of-concept, and we have been establishing and testing scalable interventions. The next stage is to scale, which in fact will accelerate impact. There are partners that will provide resources when we scale (sponsorship, for example), and we are in a stronger position to build links between markets and producers when we have the largest network. 

One small bit of data... we have installed a good solar system at each hub, which runs all our technology (for the hub, for the connectivity, for the schools etc), and also provides a surplus that we use to charge 50W batteries, which are then available for rent at a low cost (think gas canister model - you pay for the power, and bring the container back to switch out for a new one). Since the end of Q1 this year, when we launched this in four project locations (rural villages) as a trial, we have had 28,700 days of rental, and supplied the energy equivalent of 215,000 regular D-batteries. This has significant environmental impact, as well as extending access to renewables for domestic power. This model is dependent on its underlying technology - we can monitor, track switch on (and off) the smart batteries that it uses. 

 

Charlotte Scott
Charlotte Scott

One additional piece of info: We are working in communities where the poverty rate is 80% or more. There are no roads, usually no phone signal, no power, no other projects etc; they are at "the last mile" in terms of service delivery, with a small school and nurse-led clinic.

Andrew Mayer
Andrew Mayer

1. What are your biggest challenges and concerns when adopting digital technologies to address current development issues?

Resilient energy resources to power digital tech.  Energy itself should become digital and needs to happen ASAP. 

2. What are the breakthrough digital ideas you think could exponentially advance sustainable development? '=

Read here... https://www.peaceopstraining.org/cotipso/theses/increase-use-of-sustainable-energy-technologies-united-nations/

Martin Cadena
Martin Cadena Moderator

Dear Andrew Mayer, thank you for your message and for participating in this discussion. It would be great if you could expand your comment by (1)  introducing yourself briefly and share with us why you are interested in this discussion, (2) mention some solutions you might know on resilient energy resources to power digital technologies, and (3) summarizing the main points of the thesis you kindly shared.

 

Chris Chinien
Chris Chinien

Greetings from Montreal, Canada.

It is with immense pleasure that I am joining this important discussion. First of all, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the UNDP and staff for hosting this discussion. 

Later today I will introduce myself and provide you with an indication of the focus of my contributions to address these two critical questions.

Warmest regards to All!

Chris

Pedro Portela
Pedro Portela

I'll take a shot a question 2: 

- It's a combination of digital idea with a "new" paradigm of thought and understanding complexity of the SDG problem. The combination of the key ideas from complexity and network science combined with digital technology like participatory social systems mapping could have a huge impact. 
Networks scale exponentially. Whenever we talk about "viral spread" or "cascades" or tipping points we're describing a phenomenon that has a network powering it. So, unless we understand how networks work (not digital social networks, the real life networks) and we put this knowledge and tools into the hands of changemakers, we are waisting a lot of opportunities. 

So, my suggestion: Network Science + Graph Technologies

Here's more about this idea

 

Martin Cadena
Martin Cadena Moderator

Dear Pedro Portela, thank you for your inputs and raising the relevance of understanding how networks work. We appreciate if you could please introduce yourself and share with us why you are interested in this discussion.

Do you have any specific solution to share on how the use of complexity and network science and digital technologies are being used to address development issues?

Peng Ang Goh
Peng Ang Goh

Martin Cadena 

Please see my recent post on the 20/09/2019 about a specific example of how this could work. Thank you.

Best regards,

Darryl

Dr. Rantastia N.A
Dr. Rantastia N.A

Digital technology will play a critical role in the achievement of the SDGs, although innovation will most likely affect progress in both positive and negative ways.  How can we collaborate so that the good does come through? But at the same time, we know in our own operations there are a host of potential pitfalls and negative impacts that we want to mitigate as much as possible.

Dr. Rantastia N.A
Dr. Rantastia N.A

Beniam Gebrezghi 

Extent of Technological Externalities for Human Resources, Population Control, and Environmental Effects and Remedies for those Externalities There are substantial positive externalities of human resources and negative externalities of population growth and economic growth on the environment. 
Negative externalities (for the consumer) lead to too much data gathering. Examples of negative externalities include:
– identity theft;
– other forms of third party data use for questionable purposes such as spamming or direct marketing;
– loss of personal data such as credit card numbers due to a lack of security of the servers where the data are stored.

Peng Ang Goh
Peng Ang Goh

Dr. Rantastia N.A 

Kindly refer to my recent post on the 20/09/2019 about the solution that I am working on in regards to this.  Thank you.

Best regards,

Darryl Goh

Saripalli Suryanarayana
Saripalli Suryanarayana

The second question the best answer in today world is about 1 billion and more people are on Citizen recognised services in a short span of 2012-2018- 6 years.India and its Adhar card.

[b]About 0.4 billion people are enjoying high speed mobile data-unlimited at very low cost-India,and JIO-of Relience of India.

[c]Reach of national disbursals for Framers and low income groups,and issue of Cooking gas in subsidy for poor families happened,along with enroling around 0.3 billion to Bank accounts.

[d]We have developed our own credit cards like china,and trying to keep our digital transactions servers and records in India.That also helps our biggest health scheme of the century in the world.

[e]We have started monitoring-drunk driving,accident makers by linking their all cards together.

[g]The highest is putting the full business,and property in one card,making impossible for freak,multiple scandles,in money,across borders.

Martin Cadena
Martin Cadena Moderator

Dear Saripalli Suryanarayana thank you for your inputs and addressing question 2 with some great examples from India. Are there any concerns you might have regarding the adoption of these solutions?

Saripalli Suryanarayana
Saripalli Suryanarayana

Martin Cadena We want more contactless,bureaucrats so that the haressment for common user shall be hassel free.Similarly,citizens have to come forward with more ETHICKS,and Politicians shall not make a CABINET IN THEIR HOME,AND STICK TO THE Constitution.

More awareness is needed in cleanliness,and production of small machinary,and use of such in small town cleanliness.

We are happy with construction of 0,2 million bio toilets are in use in 61,000 trains.Similarly so many millions of toilets are constructed across the country,and maintenace is good.We need cost effective women toilet cloth,at Menstrual cycle.Looking for good investors in to these fields.

Martin Cadena
Martin Cadena Moderator

Saripalli Suryanarayana thank you for the comment and for sharing your concerns. Regarding the second part of your message, could you please highlight what was the role of digital technologies in the solution of the construction of the toilets?

 

Peng Ang Goh
Peng Ang Goh

Martin Cadena 

My concern about this is that it is only for India.  What about the rest of the world?  Thank you.

Sincerely,

Darryl

GBADI
GBADI

Bonjour à tous et à toutes,

Je suis Brigith Gbadi, Experte en genre dans un programme agricole.

Ce que je veux expérimenter c'est l'alphabétisation via le mobile pour permettre aux femmes à la fois à apprendre à lire et à vendre leurs produits ou services.

L'analphabétisme constitue un frein dans l'utilisation des réseaux sociaux par les femmes. Car beaucoup suivent à la lettre les informations reçues sans les vérifier ou les éprouver. Une formation des femmes dans la vérification des informations leur permettra d'utiliser au mieux les informations distillées par les réseaux sociaux. 

La construction de maisons digitales dans les Institutions de Formations et d'Education Féminine est un créneau pour permettre aux femmes analphabètes de se familiariser avec le numérique et de l'utiliser dans leurs activités génératrices de revenus. 

Nina Grinman
Nina Grinman Moderator

Thank you GBADI for your comment around mobile literacy for women so they can learn and read and facilitate selling products or services. Could you give us an example of a case where this has been used? What worked?

Peng Ang Goh
Peng Ang Goh

Nina Grinman 

The growing problem may not just be for women and literacy but for even bigger roadblocks such as structural unemployment or retraining for the digital industries.  In my post on the 20/09/2019, you may find out more on the solution I am working on.  To incorporate training and development into a social network so as when users experiment with new activities and meet a diverse group of participants so that the exchange of ideas can motivate them to seek further education.  Community leaders and influencers will be identified, incentivised, rewarded or even hired to be carry out this role more regularly based on the positive feedback of the participants and in-house managers. 

Best regards,

Darryl Goh

Gamunu Jayasinghe
Gamunu Jayasinghe

1. What are your biggest challenges and concerns when adopting digital technologies to address current development issues?

Literacy/education to understand sustainable development goals and user friendly appropriate digital technologies to further sustainable development goals.      

2. What are the breakthrough digital ideas you think could exponentially advance sustainable development? 

Processes and digital technology that will empower the end user to meaningfully engage in furthering sustainable development goals.     

Beniam Gebrezghi
Beniam Gebrezghi Moderator

Thank you Gamunu for sharing your ideas. Do you know any project, do you have any example that addresses what you mentioned?

Peng Ang Goh
Peng Ang Goh

Beniam Gebrezghi 

Please see my post on the 20/09/2019.  Feel free to let me know if you have any other questions.  Thanks!

Cheers,

Darryl Goh

Beniam Gebrezghi
Beniam Gebrezghi Moderator

Thank you Suryanarayana for sharing your work. Could you summarize your key points and recommendations here, so that everyone can benefit from your work?

Saripalli Suryanarayana
Saripalli Suryanarayana

Beniam Gebrezghi In brief what the research apart from health aspects covers is[1]Use of modern equipments,to measure huge rainfall in 2-3 hours duration.[2]Measurements and storage [as well drainage of habitat centers] of water[with proper lining to avoid huge percolation loss-in increased heat to soils,in summers].[3]Most important all have to learn is TREATING THE WASTE WATER AND USING IT for horticulture,toilets etc.

FINALLY-TIME HAS COME

TO SEGGREGATE WATER BASED ON USE-Highly treated water for drinking.and less treated for bath,clothes,thus reduce costs and storage facilities.

Ms Shirley
Ms Shirley

Civil and Human Rights - Research Policy Advisor, United States

Greetings everyone, I agree wholeheartedly with Dr. Fotios Fitsillis’ comment.

Technology is a two-edged sword.  While it is efficient and increases production, there are also ethical, legal, social, and economical implications that have not been addressed, as in the case of Artificial  Intelligence (A.I.).  The projected magnitude of displacement in the labor force, costs and risks are yet to be determined, and machine learning algorithms are violating civil and human rights with no repercussions.  

A.I. contributes to social and economic inequality, and the lack of concern and the absence of regulations is very troubling.  More likely, the unchecked implications of A.I. will lead to yet another human rights crisis.

Martin Cadena
Martin Cadena Moderator

Thank you for your comment and for pointing at the potential negative impacts of A.I. Do you have any example/solution to share on how to address these concerns (i.e., the potential of digital technologies to increasing inequality)? 

Sanjay
Sanjay

Hi, I am an IT professional and am interested in the SDG goals and the UN's ambitiousness in achieving it and would like to contribute in some ways for it.

Of the 17 SDG goals I would like to share some ideas on few of them.

Goals:

- GOAL 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

- GOAL 13: Climate Action

One of the major contributor of green house gas emission is considered to be air travel and which is also one of the fastest growing travel modes. A simple aid in reducing the air travel is to substitute it by rail or efficient road travel for people who could afford to do it (we can't realistically force people to make such a choice).

One of the ways to help climate change conscious people to contribute is to provide a smartphone app which would track their air travel habits and provide substitute rail or road transport options. There are ways this could be done by the app which i could elaborate on request, but the main point is that the app would be aiding a person to make wiser travel decisions. The app would be gathering statistics on how much CO2 emissions has been prevented and thus encourage the person to reduce air travel further and make him feel good and develop a sense of contribution towards SDGs.

Governments could promote this app by hosting an ad for this on their websites and other appropriate places and may be even start a reward system for people with good record of preventing CO2 emissions.

 

Summary: A simple smartphone app which would help the user avoid air travel and take an alternative rail or road transport and thus prevent avoidable CO2 emissions and bring more employment to the rail and road transport industry.

 

Beniam Gebrezghi
Beniam Gebrezghi Moderator

Thank you Sankay for sharing your idea to tackle SDG 12 and 13, it is very clear. Do you know any existing organisation/project that is offering similar solutions?

In Sweden, there is even a word for it: "flygskam" (in English, "flying shame"), which comes from a movement to boycott plane transportation. 

Sanjay
Sanjay

Beniam Gebrezghi after reading your comment I did a web search and found that there are similar apps which suggest a better commute way or help in ride share or give better suggestion for food etc.

And there is even an initiative by a local govt. in India for creating an app to reward citizens for eco-friendly living. (https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/coming-soon-an-app-…)

But i guess there isnt an app for flight transport alternatives suggestions. I was hoping maybe the UN might be developing this in-house or even I could take this up if time permits me from my daily work.

Megan Sutton Mercado
Megan Sutton Mercado

I'm a Language and Education specialist with SIL International, and I consult on literacy projects in non-dominant languages in sub-Saharan Africa, as well as conducting research on language and education. As that might imply, language is one of my main concerns with digital technologies. New initiatives need to take into account the large number of people who are not fluent in a language like English, Arabic, or Mandarin. Language is key to disseminating information and skills, so supplying resources in languages that people cannot understand will not help them in the way that resources in appropriate languages will. There is a tendency to assume that just because someone lives in a country where a European language is used officially, most of the people who live there speak it, but statistics from Ethnologue.com make it clear that is not the case. Some major points to consider:

1. Does the new technology allow people to type in any script or writing system? 

2. How will the technology be built to facilitate human translation? Given that machine translation only works for languages with large amounts of translation between them, artificial intelligence will not serve speakers of many languages well, even the somewhat larger ones like Indonesian, Swahili, Yoruba, or Hausa. Many translations will need to be done by humans.

More generally, I'm concerned that initiatives gravitate toward the newest, most exciting technologies, when often older ones will be more effective. As another poster pointed out, websites can be more helpful that apps, but there seems to be less excitement about them. People may be very motivated to become literate so they can read and write SMS, but I don't hear much about leveraging that.

Another breakthrough has already happened; we just need to keep it in mind. Bill Gates said two decades ago, "Content is king." Devices are not king. The internet is not king. Content is king. People use technology to access information, stories, songs, and conversations with other people; they don't use it for its own sake. One breakthrough that has already occurred through digital technologies is widening the number of content creators. Communities can make and disseminate materials that matter to them. For example, Bloom layout software (bloomlibrary.org) simplifies publishing, enabling more people to participate. Wikipedia provides a platform for regular people to share about the topics that matter to them. Youtube gives people a way to share their creations and opinions. A breakthrough idea is leveraging technology so that communities can create the information they need to fulfill the SDGs themselves, through the learning methods that will serve them best.

Beniam Gebrezghi
Beniam Gebrezghi Moderator

Thank you Megan for sharing your concern. Have you heard of any existing solutions using the technologies and approaches you mentioned?

Megan Sutton Mercado
Megan Sutton Mercado

Beniam Gebrezghi – thanks for responding. I work for SIL International, which has been serving non-dominant language communities since 1934, and we are present all over the world. We have a team dedicated to writing systems technology that designs fonts, keyboards, and other technologies for non-dominant languages. They would know how to ensure that solutions can be typed in any language, as well as addressing issues that I do not even know about. 

Regarding community-based materials development, SIL members also facilitate workshops where community members create, illustrate, and edit the materials they want. Many of these workshops use Bloom software for laying out the materials. It's much simpler and easier to use than Microsoft Publisher, so more people can get involved. Bloom can export to e-books, which can be used on e-readers if digital devices are available, or if not, the same content can be printed. The whole process bypasses traditional publishing houses, which probably can't make enough money printing materials in non-dominant languages.

Bloom is also an example of translation-friendly software. Because it was created to serve languages all over the world, it includes a simple way to translate its interface. A bilingual person using the software can fill out a table of the terms used in the interface, and the program plugs in those words so that other speakers can use the program in a more familiar language. It also has features that allow people to easily translate existing books and even create bilingual books. It's a great example of language-aware software, and I'm sure there are other examples.

A key point about Bloom is that it isn't about the technology. It's about content creation. The technology brings more people into the process and enables them to focus on the information and stories, rather than input and data.

I'm not trying to say that SIL has all the answers, or is the only one doing great work in this space. I'm just more familiar with our work than with the multitude of other projects around the world. As I mentioned, I also think Wikipedia does great work. They serve as a platform for people to create and share the knowledge they believe is valuable, rather than predetermining what people should learn.

Does that help? Please let me know if you'd like more information about any of this.

David Stodolsky
David Stodolsky

I am a Senior Scientist at the Institute for Social Informatics. I have developed and scientifically tested breakthrough ideas based upon digital technologies. I have shown how to improve dialogue management, democracy, and the management of contagious diseases. 

Response to question 2:

Communicable disease is a major burden on development. Recent research shows it is a dominant factor impeding the achievement of women's equality. More people now have mobile phones than have toilets. Deployment of a smartphone application incorporating mesh networking and automated negotiation has the potential to dramatically reduce communicable diseases and sexual violence. I have outlined the communication and security architecture making this possible:

Stodolsky, D. S. (1997). Automation of Contagion Vigilance. Methods of Information in Medicine, 36(3), 220-232.  

https://sites.google.com/a/secureid.net/dss/automation-of-contagion-vig…;

This earlier model has been elaborated:

Stodolsky, D. (2017, January 17). Flirting failures, non-consensual sex, and stigma: Information technology solutions? Presented at the Sex, Consent & Technology Workshop. University of Copenhagen, Denmark.

https://groups.io/g/MedicalEthics/message/5

 

 

Bob Stuart
Bob Stuart

I have been very unhappy with the capitalism creeping into every corner of the internet.  We need open-source, user-supported, ad-free social media and web searches.  I want to find the appropriate technology, not the well-promoted stuff.  I hope that we could achieve at least bank-transaction security to give users only two addresses, one very securely anonymous.  This would make on-line polling easy, and a bit more revealing if there are fewer public votes.  Advertising takes up so much bandwidth and hardware that it might even cost less, while supporting real journalism. 

Beniam Gebrezghi
Beniam Gebrezghi Moderator

Thank you Bob for sharing your frustration. Do you use/know any resource/tool/software/technology that goes along what you mentioned?

Andrei Fucec
Andrei Fucec

Hi everyone,

I'm glad someone finally came up with an initiative like this. Congratulations!

Regarding the 2 questions, they are very big/consistent, so a simple answer is hard to give, mainly due to the implications that the tech has in our lives. Still, I will do my best to be brief.

First thing one can see is that you can join this website only (why??) through Facebook, Google, Linkedin or Twitter, when we talk about 'social media'. This is hilarious, considering the subject. Is "concerned" the right word to use when you don't see login options like VKontakte (Russia) or Weibo/WeChat (China)? To name just a few. I'll let the others judge that. Considering this event is held by the U.N. and backed by it, one more reason to question this.

From another perspective, a certain (and big) concern is the simple fact of how many people around the world still confuse the "mobile phone" with the "smartphone". Which are 2 completely different things. The "mobile phone" is what it's called and the "smartphone" is a device. Yes, let's get back to basics. A device (a spying device, more or less, that is another subject, worth debating, simply because many conveniently dodge it).

Directly connected to this first concern, is the (maintained!) lack of education about the tech devices, starting from the simple usage and moving on with more details like the SAR Factor. Which, obviously, is the main cause for brain cancer. In a civilised world, perhaps the client's health would come first, instead of the profit. So, a marketing budget would include a certain % of expenses directed to warning the client about the risks of owning a mobile phone/smartphone, about the SAR Factor and other similar matters. In a way, this would/should be similar to the photos/texts on the cigarette packs. And yes, in exactly the same way, as long as a child (<18 years old) does not have the right to buy cigarettes/alcohol, he should be forbidden to own/use a smartphone. This is where education is lacking. And where there's no education, people are being (very easily) manipulated and companies make (huge) profits. Education and culture are lacking both for parents and for children. This is where the consultants have a lot of work to do, together with the public and/or the private bodies.

Also, it's very easy to spot the string of the 'quiet advantages' that benefit a number of actors: the espionage agencies (all, unfortunately) and their puppets, the governments, financial institutions as well as the big corporations. So, when there are so many and big actors who have only profits to rip off, where are the scientists/specialists who are supposed to warn against the overuse/excessive use of tech devices like the ones mentioned above?

Regarding a big challenge, it's worth considering a simple question: why is there no single company manufacturing a smartphone with a battery lasting 2 weeks? Not to mention 1 month? For there is (I hope everyone knows) definitely, the tech to do that. Except someone only misses the will to do it. So this is a real challenge.

 

The 2nd question is a punctual one, so let's say one idea would be the transfer of data/property through online platforms based on blockchain. From values like knowledge to money, or to almost any other good/service. This could have a huge impact, on the SDGs, in the short and mid-term.

Far from being close to finish, I have to end here, mostly due to the space issues.

 

Best regards!

 

 

Beniam Gebrezghi
Beniam Gebrezghi Moderator

Thank you Andrei for sharing your concerns. Are you aware of existing solutions that are tackling the issues you mentioned? Dinh-Long Pham mentioned earlier the FairPhone, when it comes to fighting planned obsolescence in the smartphone industry.

Maria Hanania
Maria Hanania

El primer desafío es identificar que es desarrollo y para quien, ya que las áreas geográficas y las etiquetas por área geográfica definen mucho las capacidades de los países.

Lo que es desarrollo sustentable para Centroamérica no lo será para Europa, o para Asia o África. Cada región tiene capacidades diferentes y fortalezas diferentes.

Hablar de adoptar tecnologías digitales por ejemplo en Centroamérica no es lo mismo que hablar de esas tecnologías en Europa ya que la primera zona geográfica no termina de llegar al uso cotidiano de estas tecnologías como lo haría Europa. Si no hay un programa de equiparación de capacidades tecnológicas en estos países, aumentara más la brecha entre los países desarrollados y los que están en desarrollo, los últimos tienen graves problemas de derechos básicos, como el derecho a la vida, derecho a la salud, derecho a la seguridad, derecho a vivir en condiciones dignas, derecho al trabajo y a la movilidad social no se puede pensar que tengan condiciones óptimas para adoptar tecnologías digitales para abordar el desarrollo.

Es importante el uso de tecnologías digitales para abordar el desarrollo sustentable, pero para eso debemos llevar a ciertas regiones geográficas del planeta, a una equidad en estas capacidades. Debemos manejar consensos en que significa Desarrollo para cada zona geográfica pero desde el sentir de cada región no desde la periferia, no es una sola receta para  cada país, cada región debe definir que es Desarrollo y sobre eso avanzar  a la equiparación de capacidades tecnológicas no solo digitales, se debe desarrollar capacidades de innovación, productividad, competitividad, análisis y estudios e  investigación científica  que desencadenan la tecnología en todos sus ámbitos.

 

Si desarrollo lo orientamos a garantizar las necesidades y derechos de los ciudadanos de hoy y del futuro podemos enfocarnos en el recurso del agua, de bosques, de oxígeno, en fin de biodiversidad y el hábitat, el uso de scanner digitales  para detectar posibles contaminaciones ambientales, el monitoreo de especies tanto terrestres como acuáticas,  la composición de los suelos para el cultivo etc. Podría ser una tecnología digital para mejorar sustancialmente la calidad de vida de las personas en una región

La tecnología digital disponible para el aprendizaje en todos los niveles también es un potenciador de capacidades. Por ejemplo dispositivos conectados en red para acceso a biblioteca, interacción con grupos temáticos  diversos alrededor del mundo, lo que en otros comentarios llamaron redes de redes.

Beniam Gebrezghi
Beniam Gebrezghi Moderator

Thank you Maria for sharing your thoughts. Indeed, it is primordial that everyone understands the same definition of development. The penetration of digital technologies is indeed uneven across regions and territories and thank you for reminding that and for sharing examples of technologies that could bridge this gap. This is definitely in line with the 2030 Agenda: behind the SDGs is the "leave no one behind" principle, that guide each stakeholder to pay particular attention to vulnerable and marginalized groups. 

Please do share if you know additional examples of digital technologies in this matter.

Peter Burgess
Peter Burgess

I will try to stay fairly close to the questions posed at the start of this conversation, that is:

Q1. What are your biggest challenges and concerns when adopting digital technologies to address current development issues?

Q2. What are the breakthrough digital ideas you think could exponentially advance sustainable development?

My involvement with computers and electronic data processing goes back to the time when they operated with vacuum tubes, and my own career has evolved as the technology has evolved. My background is university training in engineering and economics, as well as training in accountancy. I have had several years in corporate management in the USA where my work had a focus on profit performance improvement and where I learned a lot about management and moving the needle far and fast in a good direction. My management strength was mobilizing data to get people to make better decisions. I wanted data that were quick, cheap and good enough to enable others to make the best possible decision in their area of responsibility. I also wanted follow up data to show whether or not people were in fact making performance better or not. Speed was of the essence.

The second half of my career has been working as an independent consultant for the UN, the World Bank and others. Many ... most ... of the people I was fortunate to work with have been very impressive and highly motivated and doing work that was well worth doing. At higher levels, however, I have not been impressed with the management of these organizations. The systems and structures are sub-optimal which is a nice way off saying pretty much dysfunctional and ineffective. I recognize that it is an enormously difficult task to change this, and for most people who have tried, it has been the end of their careers. Nevertheless it needs to be done, and this is where something of a digital revolution is needed exponentially to advance sustainable development.

So, with respect to Q1 I would observe that development and deployment of digital technologies need to partner with human understanding to address current development issues. Every time we expect that technology will solve a problem without having a deep (and sound) understanding of human issues, there will be failure. Modern technology is very very powerful, but most of the data are not designed very well for management action, especially action involving human beings and complex communities. This must be changed.

With respect to Q2 and the idea of a breakthrough digital idea, I argue for better management information. We need to change the way we keep score in the global socio-enviro-economic system. If we change the way the game is scored, we will change the way the game is played. Post career, I have been working to develop a way to use enhanced management accountancy so that social and environmental impacts may be managed as efficiently and effectively as money is managed (and in the corporate sector, profit is maximized). This requires a new system of numbering that is easy and widely accepted ... something that is less difficult now given the power of modern computation ... but the purpose must be very clear. The goal is not merely to have great data, but to move the needle and have great progress and performance.

My past experience both in running a fairly large factory (some 1,300 workers) and trying to improve development performance informs my thinking. Summarized data is good for reporting what has been done, but is not useful for planning and decision making. Disaggregated data are needed so that people closest to the problem are able to relate to the data and be part of decision making. Another way of saying this is that country level data is not very helpful, rather the data must relate to a place where people live their lives. Data flows should be designed so that the process of collecting data informs local people so that they can see that they are making progress and be incentives to get more progress.

A last point, is that summarized data about progress should become the foundation for the development and humanitarian assistance community to mobilize the financial resources that are essential for success at scale. I have argued for decades that the UN has the biggest job on the planet, yet has only about 10% of the money needed to do the job. This will not change until there is the sort of performance reporting that gets the attention of those that control the world's money. This could become possible if we embrace the right digital data strategy.

I am not good at short messages ... but this is the core of what I think I need to say.

Respectfully

Peter Burgess

Beniam Gebrezghi
Beniam Gebrezghi Moderator

Thank you Peter for your very valuable insights. To summarize, the challenge is to come up with easy-to-use data systems, which are created not for the sake of having a fancy technology but for the sake of fostering smooth decision making. Then, there is a need for more disaggregated data, in order to make it more relevant in different contexts. Finally, the data has to be embedded in the strategy; or in other words, the decisions should be data-driven with a strong and well-thought monitoring & evaluation system.

Megan Sutton Mercado
Megan Sutton Mercado

I really appreciate your point that "data must relate to a place where people live their lives." Country boundaries often don't capture useful groupings. I also think it is critical that local people can understand the data and know how to use it. One example of this was an initiative by RTI in Kenya to customize a monitoring and evaluation system so that Ministry of Education employees could track which schools had been evaluated and how they were doing. 

Adeyemi Egbeleke
Adeyemi Egbeleke

Beniam Gebrezghi 

RE : Beniam Gebrezghi • Programme Specialist, Civil Society and Youth (UNDP Bangkok Regional Hub)at UNDPfrom Sweden  • 1 day ago   Moderator

"Thank you Peter for your very valuable insights. To summarize, the challenge is to come up with easy-to-use data systems, which are created not for the sake of having a fancy technology but for the sake of fostering smooth decision making. Then, there is a need for more disaggregated data, in order to make it more relevant in different contexts. Finally, the data has to be embedded in the strategy; or in other words, the decisions should be data-driven with a strong and well-thought monitoring & evaluation system."

I am  Yemi  founding  partner  of ESG monitor  system  and  the  above comment  by Beniam  is  the  solution  we have been  developing  at  ESG monitor .  Please  find the  attached  presentation.  Feed back  and  support  are  welcome .  Thank you.

Simon Gilmore
Simon Gilmore

1. What are your biggest challenges and concerns when adopting digital technologies to address current development issues?

A lack of compatibility, vendor lock-in, proprietary software and standards. We have seen many examples of well-meaning projects finishing and the country/government or organisation not being able to maintain the systems they were given through development funding. The next funder comes along and has to start from scratch as they don't want to pay for someone else's licences or their software/hardware is not compatible with existing systems. Enterprise and proprietary software has it's place in the world as it allows companies to make money, spend on R&D and make better products. However, when implementing digital solutions as part of ODA (Official Development Assistance) thought should be put into what will happen 5 or 10 years in the future when the country receiving assistance needs to start funding the solution themselves or another organisation is asked to come and assist again.

2. What are the breakthrough digital ideas you think could exponentially advance sustainable development? 

Open source and open standards are not breakthrough ideas but the concept of development funding requiring openness might be. Being able to easily build on existing systems and working with other organisations with similar goals means that less money needs to be spent to acheive a better outcome. Initiatives like MOSIP, Startup Commons, OpenID Connect, Principles for Digital Development and FOSS encourage the use of standards that mean projects can be improved upon instead of replaced years in the future.

This can also apply to data standards but that could be a separate conversation. Being able to access and use data in the future means that better decisions can be made on how ODA money is spent. Generating good quality data, in the right format and having it accessible is the only way things like AI and other analysis can be useful. A colourful PDF report with fancy tables and graphs is a nice way to say your project was successful, but is that data in an open data hub so that the next organisation can use it, add to it and build a more useful solution in the future?

Beniam Gebrezghi
Beniam Gebrezghi Moderator

Hello Simon, thank you for sharing. Openness of softwares is indeed a pivotal topic in this discussion. Are you aware of any publicly known example that could illustrate your Q1? 

William Tarpai
William Tarpai

Hello and Greetings to all Participants,

I am writing from Salt Lake City, Utah in the US while attending the UN Civil Society Conference - https://outreach.un.org/ngorelations/slc-conference   Check out some of the events by streaming online thematic sessions.  If you have any questions or know of any participants you would like me to talk with, write back as it is 3 day conference which started today.

Concerning the 2 questions: 1. What are your biggest challenges and concerns when adopting digital technologies to address current development issues? THERE will be a session on Wednesday about unintended consequences that I intended to attend: How to handle the complexity of our technology and make true progress for our social and environmental well being.

2. What are the breakthrough digital ideas you think could exponentially advance sustainable development? 

I have been talking today about SDG 17 - Targets 18 and 19 about needs for disaggregated data and developing measurements of progress.  

 

 

 

 

Beniam Gebrezghi
Beniam Gebrezghi Moderator

Hello William, thank you for sharing this great event, especially since Civil Society is close to my heart! We are looking forward to hearing more about Wednesday's session; greatly appreciate if you can share back with us the key points. As for Q2, would you have any examples or could you share with us your key points?

For everyone's information, targets 18 and 19 of SDG 17 are:

-By 2020, enhance capacity-building support to developing countries, including for least developed countries and small island developing States, to increase significantly the availability of high-quality, timely and reliable data disaggregated by income, gender, age, race, ethnicity, migratory status, disability, geographic location and other characteristics relevant in national contexts.

-By 2030, build on existing initiatives to develop measurements of progress on sustainable development that complement gross domestic product, and support statistical capacity-building in developing countries.

HARISH YADAV
HARISH YADAV

Digital technology is revolutionary approach in development  and economic progress.It is helpful in transparency,equality and development of small scale industries.

Beniam Gebrezghi
Beniam Gebrezghi Moderator

Thank you Harish for sharing your thoughts. Do you have any examples to illustrate how digital technology is helpful in transparency, equality and development of small scale industries?

Bob Stuart
Bob Stuart

Many years ago, we used to struggle with our state of the art LCD displays, ruefully calling them "grey on silver."  Now, we have wonderful displays, and the contrast is usually set so low it is still hard to read.  That's why I have not read this thread.  The entire discipline of typography seems to have vanished when everyone got desktop publishing, with no instructions.  Even these san-serif fonts are elegant to look at, but slow to read.  Legibility is the absolute basis of written communication, and it is being ignored. 

Beniam Gebrezghi
Beniam Gebrezghi Moderator

Thank you Bob for the feedback on this platform and sorry to hear that you have troubles using it. Please do share if you have additional feedbacks. What would be your recommendations to improve this platform?

Bob Stuart
Bob Stuart

Beniam Gebrezghi  Thanks for reading.  I am using Firefox, and this composition box is quite legible in black and white.  The postings are all grey on white, though.  Grey is an option suitable for graphic designers adding a few letters on top of an illustration in an artistic way.  I can't think of any other good use for it, or lowered contrast in general.  We never see books printed on grey paper with darker grey type.  The sign-up forms here were nearly illegible - I had to go over them twice to find all the steps. 

Megan Sutton Mercado
Megan Sutton Mercado

I agree that typography is a key part of good communication. Is there a way this page can be changed to a more readable font, as soon as possible? Perhaps Bob has some suggestions?

Bob Stuart
Bob Stuart

Megan Sutton Mercado   I am no expert at font selection, but I know that serifs do improve legibility, while the other details affect the presentation in subtle ways.  Good typography is like clear glass - it helps you see the whole message without making itself obvious. 

There is a small army of designers who were trained for print magazines and presumably learned about fonts but who are now making a hard-to-use mess of all the electronic magazines.  Perhaps they can branch out and use that one specialty for more than scorning comic sans in the comments. 

Beniam Gebrezghi
Beniam Gebrezghi Moderator

Bob Stuart thank you for clarifying the issues you have with our platform. We are gathering all the feedbacks at the moment so we can further improve the platform.

Ashwini Sathnur
Ashwini Sathnur

The primary challenges that would be faced due to the revolution of the digital technologies would be the management of the supply and demand statistics. This would ideally be the manifestations of the change in the utilization methodologies and techniques of the products and solutions of the digital technologies. The concerns of the approach taken for the adoption of the digital technologies is the mandates of requiring awareness generation in institutions, which would be aiming to deliver on these products and also building knowledge in the consumers thinking capabilities. This would be due to the fact that digital technologies would lead to revolutionary breakthroughs in innovative ideologies and conceptual frameworks!

The major ideas which could be covered in the revolution of digital technologies would be titled as Financial Inclusion, Fintech and Blockchain technologies, Accessibility and Inclusive Development technologies for the healthcare subject areas, Artificial Intelligence for the Space Science and Space Technologies research areas and so on and so forth. These research areas would primarily be designed and built on the frontiers of the digital technologies. Thus creating new markets and leading to enhanced and increased innovations. This would feature in as an increased stimulus to the domain of "Research and Innovation"!

 

Martin Cadena
Martin Cadena Moderator

Thank you Ashwini Sathnur for your inputs and the material shared. Do you have any example of a solution for the challenges that imply the management of the supply and demand statistics? 

Ashwini Sathnur
Ashwini Sathnur

 

Thank you very much for approving the inputs and material on the Accessibility conceptual ideology!

Basically, for a positive management of the supply and demand statistics, awareness generation is the key aspect. Creation of knowledge - building books and educational materials is necessary.

As an example of the creation of a book on the conceptual ideologies of Accessibility and Inclusive Development, I have disseminated beneficial information about these frameworks contained in the book, in a content description website. I have mentioned the link/ url to this website here below:-

 

https://spacesciencemathematicsandlifesciences.webnode.com/

 

Ismat Jahan
Ismat Jahan

I think one of the biggest challenges is access or reach of the technology to the poor and needy.  In the developing countries the reach of smart phones is still very low.  Also, familiarity or capacity to utilize fully the technology is also an issue due to level of education.  However, these issues could be solved to some extent through community engagement and sharing.

Beniam Gebrezghi
Beniam Gebrezghi Moderator

Thank you Ismat for sharing your concern. It is embedded in the SDGs to focus on the most vulnerable and marginalised populations, so thank you for reminding this principle. Do you have any examples of solutions around community engagement and sharing, to reach the poorest?

I also invite you to read the comment of Maria Hanania above, who also expressed the need for digital technologies to reach the poorest.

Megan Sutton Mercado
Megan Sutton Mercado

I recently facilitated a workshop about using digital technologies to increase adult literacy in sub-Saharan Africa, and based on the research I did ahead of the workshop, I completely agree that access is low. It's just not the case that everyone has a phone, even a simple one. Providing devices is not the answer – One Laptop per Child is a well-known example of why giving people hardware isn't helpful. (Note that I'm not saying Ismat is suggesting that we should give people devices).

I agree that community engagement can be very helpful. Providing tablets to libraries has increased the reading material they have available, and librarians can teach people how to use them. The community shares technology, which extends the benefits of the program.

I tend to advocate for more targeted use of technology, like developing monitoring and education systems for schools. It means countries don't have to give every student or teacher a device, and instead of trying to improve learning for individual children, it attempts to improve the whole system. 

sapnajarial
sapnajarial

Greetings !

I would like to address question 2, mobile apps can be used to collect data involving citizens in hydrological sciences, especially in those countries where data is scarce for ground truthing and modelling.

Example- www.marvi.org.in.

Thank you.

Beniam Gebrezghi
Beniam Gebrezghi Moderator

Hello Sapnararial, thank you for sharing this solution, to involve more the citizens in data collection. Could you elaborate a bit more on this (what are the benefits, the risks, is it a common practice or is it mostly niche?)

Byron Mukushwa
Byron Mukushwa

Hello Friends 

By addressing the first question let me list some of the challenges out of my findings. 

1.Employee Pushback

2.Lack of Expertise to Lead Digitization Initiatives

3.Organizational Structure

4.Lack of Overall Digitization Strategy

5.Limited Budget

So to conclude, the challenges were very seldom about the availability of technology.

Beniam Gebrezghi
Beniam Gebrezghi Moderator

Hello Byron, thank you for sharing the challenges that came out of your research. Could you elaborate more on each challenge?

Byron Mukushwa
Byron Mukushwa

Beniam Gebrezghi So here is my full explanation towards all challenges I listed above to start with:

1.Employee Push back

So my findings clearly  shows that , humans like routines make us feel comfortable hence comfort zone,but things can start to seem grim when those routines are changed. Experiencing digital transformation is the epitome of discomfort, so it may make employees feel threatened.And also the struggle is real in trying to erase doubt and uncertainty from employee's minds.

2.Lack of Expertise to Lead Digitization Initiatives

On this one let me say , it takes talent and technology to go through digital transformation because the digital transformation will bring its own myriad of technical challenges. So there is need of the right people on the board.

3.Organizational Structure

The digital transformation may require changes in more than our daily routines. So organisational structure should be fluid.

4. Lack of Overall Digitization Strategy

Everyone needs a strategy as you would with any part of your business you need to clarify a vision, set goals to reach it and give your whole team a purpose. Without strategy you may have been able to keep your head above water but don't count on it much longer.

5.Limited Budget

Digital transformation may require new, and sometimes substantial, investments in your company,people and customers. So when you build your strategy you must use your budget as a reality check to see how much your company can handle.

 

To sum up let me say with a mindset of continuous improvement and innovation, all the benefits of a digital transformation are within reach. Just make sure to tackle they come.

 

Saripalli Suryanarayana
Saripalli Suryanarayana

Dear Friends

I am in FAO sponsered GACSA,and UNESCO sponsered GAPMIL,i was on UNDP,discussions,I participated since web-2.0 discussions of,Kpublic,in 2008.I am also on HABITAT-3,and also on RBEC Knowledge Innovation,of Istanbul,and Bangakok.My page is here.I am Engineer,Designer,and constructor of Concrete,water,Steel,structures for many manufacturing industries.With 40 years back ground ,some books and novels,written and writing.

There are certain fields,some times wrongly represented,by usage of technology.Like if the ice falls,it falls only after certain latitude,and many a times altitude does not matter.Similarly,water finds to flow,andkeeping it stored is a task,in hilly ranges.That is why we depend on ground water.

We do discuss the WHO standards for drinking water,including that of ground water,and we also discuss various pumps including solar powered pump sets use.We hear about water  treatment methods in our every monday discussions of RWNW.

We are heading fast.The resilence of Indian geography has proved this year,when the rains were in westren Ghats[near Arabian sea],the water in rivers reaching bay of bengal in east side swelled.[There were no or very less rains on the east side].All the storage reserviours were full.Similar is the case with the Gujarat,Rajastan,and Delhi[where very little rain-and yet yamuna is in flooding,all rerviours are full].So let us also analyse

How god[nature] has existed,why the living is cheap,why technology is in the hands of such saints lives,who need no money to develop new ways for living  based on necessity.That impulse is the basis for cost effective simpe living,and so the bulge of population in these areas.

I wish to share  my thoungts  on how better we "may reach' the underprevilaged.While discussing ground realities.

Moyosore Ale
Moyosore Ale

Hello, My name is Ale Moyosore and I'm a UX Researcher, so I believe in always taking a Human-Centered approach to problem-solving.

I'd like to answer the first question; "What are your biggest challenges and concerns when adopting digital technologies to address current development issues?".

Inclusive technology would have to be my biggest concerns and not just mine but that of the larger society. We could mention issues like power and poverty levels but those can’t really be changed on a bigger scale.

More so, we don’t change people to fit technology rather technology should adapt to people, then it can influence their lifestyles and patterns progressively. So in as much as there are a ton of technologies that are scalable and helpful, how many are actually inclusive to the general masses?

Whether this is in terms of usability, price, language barriers, general literacy, cultural context, etc. the focus should be on creating inclusive tech because the most affected nations today are those that fall behind in terms of technological advancements.

And while there are other things to consider such as AI risks and privacy etc., those are really results of a larger problem than the problem itself. Once building inclusive technology becomes the focus, we can begin to adjust technology to the context and needs of users, from building tech communities for those who are not digitally literate to developing apps that monitor CO2 levels to data privacy and security, etc.

 

GBADI
GBADI

Bonjour, en Côte d'Ivoire, le ministère en charge du genre à des centres de formation (IFEF) où les femmes sont formées en collaboration avec la Fondation Orange à l'utilisation du numérique. Actuellement, 5 centres sont fonctionnels et 100 femmes sont formées chaque année par centre.

A côté de ces centres, il y a la Direction de l'alphabétisation et de l'éducation Non Formelle qui a développé une application Ambc. 

Michael Graaf
Michael Graaf

Writing as an active volunteer in community telecoms & community broadcasting:

1. What are your biggest challenges and concerns when adopting digital technologies to address current development issues?

Inaccessibility of much digital technology due to cost of devices, cost of use (connectivity) and lack of digital literacy.

2. What are the breakthrough digital ideas you think could exponentially advance sustainable development? 

With the advent of digital broadcasting, stations which previously only sent audiovisual content can now send data (e.g. web content, e-books) to their audiences at no cost to the user, as long as they have a suitable receiver device. This could be a "smart" TV, or an old TV with a smart Set-Top Box, or even a smartphone with the right dongle. This meets unconnected people where they are, and gives them an on-ramp to digitalia.

Beniam Gebrezghi
Beniam Gebrezghi Moderator

Thank you everyone for your valuable comments. I’d like to share some key points I noticed people were commonly concerned with today.

First, I’m glad to see the diversity of people in this global consultation: we have teachers, entrepreneurs, UN colleagues, civil servants, researchers, business owners, creatives, economists, scientists, and so forth. In a nutshell, people from all walks of life. This is key in gathering insights from different point of views and it fosters great peer-to-peer sharing and learning. 

 

We all agree on the power of digital technologies to address positively the SDGs, especially when “More people now have mobile phones than have toilets” - said David Stodolsky. An easy example raised by some of you is that digital technologies are a catalyst to 1) raise awareness about social/environmental issues (e.g. Amazon forest fire) and 2) access quality content (e.g. TEDx, Khan Academy)

 

However, many of you were concerned about the unequal reach of these technologies: how to reach the poorest, how to reach the most vulnerable and marginalised groups? As Charlotte Scott said: “The realities for many are not the digital technologies as such, but rather exclusion and inequalities when it comes to whether they can use them”. The challenge is big: how to fill the gap and not increase it as the technologies are more and more complex?

 

This goes hand-in-hand with the challenge of digital education, digital literacy: how to ensure people know how to use these technologies? Digital technologies are not a magical recipe: it is just a tool and we must teach people how to use it to their benefit. One key principle of the SDGs is to leave no one behind, which means that stakeholders have the duty to focus on the most vulnerable groups. 

 

Many of you raised the need for more open data and open softwares, to accelerate the implementation of positive digital technologies. Simon Gilmore highlighted this case: “A lack of compatibility, vendor lock-in, proprietary software and standards. We have seen many examples of well-meaning projects finishing and the country/government or organisation not being able to maintain the systems they were given through development funding. The next funder comes along and has to start from scratch as they don't want to pay for someone else's licences or their software/hardware is not compatible with existing systems”. Existing solutions exist already, which encourage the use of common standards, such as MOSIPStartup CommonsOpenID ConnectPrinciples for Digital Development and FOSS. This way, projects can be followed up and improved down the road.

 

The last point is about the negative externalities of digital technologies, which have to be kept in mind and addressed. Indeed, more complex technologies sometimes also mean higher carbon footprint, in terms of energy consumption, electronic waste generated, etc. It can also violate people’s privacy. 

Jean Marie BORA
Jean Marie BORA

I wish one day we will lead and develop a debate on the negative externalities of digital technologies on the digital economy, why? See that currently digital is the fourth industrial revolution in the world we must plan in the future on their governance finally measuring all the factors that will influence the digital war in the future because the signs before colors are there, or even on the digital economy developing countries and developing countries that are an attractive digital market. anyway it will call on developing countries to renew their strength in the governance of digital technology.

Roslan Bakri bin Zakaria
Roslan Bakri bin Zakaria

Hi everyone,

It is indeed inspiring to see so many very passionate people in one place! The area of discussion is indeed a very important topic. While there has been a lot of many epic movements around the world, we, as the citizens of the world, has not been able to solve the problems we are facing. We have tried the structured approach (and we should still continue doing so) and we already have activist, movements, social entrepreneurs (especially amongst the youths). For latter essentially contributing a more bottoms-up approach to many or all of the developmental issues the world is facing. And as we move into the 4th industrial revolution and the digital economy, we still faced with the daunting tasks of solving these global issues. 

Have we stopped to consider the obvious? i.e:

(i) is tech and issues? I do not think tech is not the issue (heck, I have never thought that tech is, has or will even be an issue). Accessing tech may be an issue. But that is a cost (and to some profitability) issue in setting up the infrastructure and allowing last mile devices to reach its intended users.

(ii) adoption of tech / digital? There have been cases, such as the Hole in the Wall experiment that clearly showed that leaving tech in the hands of the young has lead to them obtaining knowledge beyond expectation.

(iii) strategies? Design thinking experts / enthusiasts have shown that inclusivity in designing and coming up with solutions from within has shown success.

(iv) Is it the lack of funds? Funds is always an issue. Able economies and companies are doing their part but even then, studies have shown that their efforts are more about making them more money.

The list may go on and on. Stating the obvious may not seem to be helpful. But what it does is that it should allow us to reflect and se the big picture. It should allow us to see how affecting or injecting change in one element or aspect or area will definitely effect, affect, impact change in the other.

A case in point. A few years back we embarked on an experiment. It started out as a means to prove that how social development through social entrepreneurs and how social enterprises are "funded" are just downright annoying. It was also an experiment that we want to show that what we were saying regarding social development, social entrepreneurship and impact investment are just done wrong and a better way can be done. We call the project Yours Truly Kedah (https://www.facebook.com/ytkedah/?ref=br_rs). On the surface, it was a project with a simple objective of empowering youths to solve social problems collectively and collaboratively. The process was simple.

Step 1: use Instagram to identify issues [education, environment, economy (poverty) and social (health, sports, social events)]

Step 2: Describe the issue identified. Describe ideas on how youths can solve the issues identified. 

Step 3: upload the Instagram picture with a hashtag and a geo-location

The results of the activity ran brought us a large number of uploads with descriptions and ideas.

Step 4: The youths then collectively identified the first issue they collectively felt required to be addressed

Step 5: Facilitated brainstorm to solve the problem.

Step 6: We shared and imparted new knowledge and skills to the youths

Step 7: Execution of solution / ideas

(I am more than willing to share more about this specific example in another space as it would just take too much space and time here :) ... If You have a London office, I would be more than happy to meet someone to share the full experience. Honestly ... I am not doing this justice here)

Result:

- Suffice to say that the issues that was identified had 10 other related issues. 

- We all have had to think on our feet as approaches and strategies were as volatile as the problem itself.

- We have to adapt and adopt and improvise as we went along

- We managed to somewhat resolve 2 out of the 11 issues, i.e. environmental and education. Which lead to self confidence, skills and revenue generation for the community. 

- From the activities, we obtained some media spot that brought in the local Government (that was not much help) and additional funding (which brought some other issues with it)

Lessons learn (more pertaining to the question at hand):

- adoption of tech or digital tech is not an issues. People will adapt and adopt when they are given the opportunity to. Bringing them the tech is the issue.

- breakthrough digital ideas should not be the focus. It is the other way around. I hate to give this example but ... GOOGLE won't be around if the 2 guys did not think and believe that there should be a better way to search.

- in one way or another, cool ideas come out from solving a problem, solving a need. Not the way round. Sometimes, existing digital tech is already good enough to be used. 

- large companies wanting to fund only want their products and logo upfront and center. Efforts to solve problems should not succumb to their wants and needs. 

- governments only want to bring politics into the array. This does not help anyone at all. We need to show that it can be done from the ground up so that we can dictate the funding offers. 

- education / skills development does not need to be in a classroom setting. 

- giving hope is a "skill" not addressed at all. Without hope, we have nothing. 

Lets maybe start with this and lets see how and what questions arises from the above sharing. 

But before I end for now, look at how ENACTUS and or AIESEC is engaging the global youths (especially ENACTUS) in addressing to solve social problems around the world. But like any competition, there is no follow through, leaving the community alone after the competition is completed. But it does give ideas on how to reach and address developmental problems identified by UNDP. 

Martin Cadena
Martin Cadena Moderator

Dear Roslan Zakaria, thank you for the insightful comment and for sharing your case study. In summary, you started on a call for bottom-up approaches when it comes to development issues and posted some basic questions to start with, on the relationship between digital technologies and development in order to understand the current situation and how the different elements are connected. 

On the second part of your comment, you share a case study with youth people, using a platform (Instagram) to collect information on different problems an ideas of solution. From that, you were able to work on two solutions of the identified problems, and got additional support. The approach here is based on problem-solving instead of breakthrough ideas, which is the one you recommend.

 

Frederic Claus
Frederic Claus

Hi everyone!

Digital technologies represent an immense opportunity to reach out more people and provide more personal services in the areas of education, health, social services, as well as platforms for dialogue and action in the areas of governance, environment and entrepreneurship.

In the area of health and at a time when resources are sometime limited for scaling up, digital technologies allow for a more patient-centered approach, for remote diagnosis, for health service providers to network and adjust treatment and regimen to specific needs. With IA, we are already seen the first steps in the area of IA diagnostics. Digital technologies should allow us to do more, so as to steadily ensure universal coverage and bring the most advanced techniques to the largest audience.

As we expand, these technologies become more affordable. We need to ensure the compatibility of standards while data privacy/protection remains critical.

We need to leverage in our organisations these technologies, test them and provide frameworks for their use. They have the same potential than printing used to have when Gutenberg's press was invented and books became more easily available!

Frederic

 

Martin Cadena
Martin Cadena Moderator

Dear Frederic, thank you for the inputs. Do you have any specific examples of solutions which have succesfully improved a patient-centered approach for health issues?

Peng Ang Goh
Peng Ang Goh

Martin Cadena 

Just to elaborate more on the importance of having a supportive social network as mentioned on my post is to enable users to find like minded people who enjoy similar activities.  Stress-related diseases has one of the highest mortality rates in the world and with the rise of mentally-related diseases, encouraging users to have less of a sedentary lifestyle certainly helps as well.  Thank you.

Best regards,

Darryl Goh

Chieshe Tyohemba
Chieshe Tyohemba

Director of Operation at initiative for the Support and Pomotion of Human Shelter from Nigeria. My experienced with the use of digital technology for community work prove very effective and less time, for example community profiling and mapping. It reduces substantially the amount of paper work and maintain accuracy. 

The major challenge has to do with location, in developing countries the level of connective is low and as a result it increases work hours. Many communities in developing countries are not connected and my fear is that bridging the gaps digital technology will create and the consequences for the central principles of Agenda 2030 of leaving no one behinds if there no measures to empower the vulnerable.

ray harris
ray harris

Ray Harris - education specialist, EQUIP- Tanzania.

They may just be simple mobile phones, but their use can be powerful, in rural and isolated communities.

1000 community school readiness facilitators used them to guarantee safety for themselves and their young charges, while running village early childhood education centres. Monitoring costs can be considerable if District officers were to come out and collect attendance data, data on children with disabilities etc So a mobile phone can be a very cost effective monitoring tool.

Add to this, the phone can be used for receiving stories to listen to, to check pronunciation before reading to children, when Kiswahili is not your mother tongue.

We may be thinking about the range of more sophisticated technology, but lets also make good use of what we can afford.

Martin Cadena
Martin Cadena Moderator

Thank you @Chieshe and ray harris for sharing. Various of the participants highlight the importance of connectivity and their concern that if we are not capable to connect all, this could increase gaps and inequalities. Related to the inclusiveness principle is the thinking of which affordable technologies we can already use today to reach everyone, as Ray exemplified in the post.

Peng Ang Goh
Peng Ang Goh

Martin Cadena 

With respect to having more inclusive technology, it is my opinion to have the market take care of itself by driving down competitive pricing for devices but the real problem is to bridge the inequality between the top 1% wealth which is more than the 90% of the rest in the United States alone.  With deep analytics and power over the people to influence, instead of only selling online commerce alone, it can be used to buy into, especially those with overwhelming amount of resources, to contribute as much as they can to the global causes.  

Best regards,

Darryl Goh

Abdoulazizi
Abdoulazizi

1. Quels sont vos plus grands défis et préoccupations lors de l'adoption des technologies numériques pour résoudre les problèmes de développement actuels?

 Bonjour je m'appelle Abdoulazizi Expert en Energie renouvelable et Changement Climatique .

Je pense les grands défis que les technologies numériques peuvent résoudre, plus particulièrement en Afrique sont la numérisation des naissances pour permettre à chaque enfant qui va naitre d’avoir une pièce d’état civil et le suivi scolaire des jeunes files.

2. Quelles sont les idées numériques révolutionnaires que vous pensez pourrait faire progresser le développement durable de façon exponentielle? 

Il s'agit de créer une application installé sur les smartphones des enseignants dans les villages qui permettrons d'envoyer avec exactitude les informations sur les naissances dans chaque village à la collectivité chargée d'établir les pièces d'état civil. Ainsi chaque enfant n'aura plus de problème pour pouvoir s'inscrire dans un établissement scolaire. Donc le droit à l'éducation pour tous va devenir une réalité et qui dit  éducation dit  développement durable.

cette application permettra aussi de déterminer avec exactitude que dans tel village il devrait avoir tel nombre de fille qui doit s'inscrire à l'école en tel année. Ce qui permettra de bien maitriser et suivre l'éducation des jeunes filles.

Chieshe Tyohemba
Chieshe Tyohemba

Digital technology can provide solutions to different situation in developed countries because of the build infrastructures and power, but in developing countries there will be challenges of infrastructure and power. If this fundamental issues are not handle with seriousness, it Will be difficult to see the light at the end of the tunnel,

GBADI
GBADI

Pour terminer, Mme Nina Grinman, l'application Ambc est destinée aux personnes analphabètes de tout genre. 

Nous voulons cibler les femmes et les filles dans le programme Ambc et les maisons digitales pour permettre d'alphabétiser plus de femmes et de filles.

Par ailleurs, nous espérons bénéficier d'un autre programme pour la formation des femmes au marché virtuel. 

C'est l'ensemble de ces appuis, que nous espérons,  permettront de mutualiser l'accompagnement des femmes dans le milieu des chaines de valeurs agricoles.

Merci 

Martin Cadena
Martin Cadena Moderator

Dear @Gbadi, thanks for sharing. Is this a web application that you could probably share with the audience? Or perhaps you can elaborate on how it works.

Jacques
Jacques

Hi everyone, I'm Jacques Muzinga from DR Congo. I am an Epidemiologist and independent researcher anxious to see a great change in the current state of affairs especially as regards the vital conditions of communities in my country, as everywhere else.

I wanted to bring my voice to the idea of ​​using digital technology to achieve the SDGs in these terms:

1. As challenges and concerns when adopting digital technologies to solve current development problems are:
- The appropriation of the SDGs by the youth of my country DR Congo in particular.
- The easy access of young people to digital technology and the capitalization of this technology as an opportunity to achieve sustainable development goals.

 
2. As revolutionary digital ideas to advance exponentially in sustainable development are:

- The awareness of youth on the appropriation of entrepreneurship because many young people hope to be employed to survive.
- Raising awareness among young people about the opportunities presented by digital technology to revolutionize things and develop the community.
- Make accessible the infrastructures of digital technology and above all provide internet connection to the young at an affordable cost.

Beniam Gebrezghi
Beniam Gebrezghi Moderator

Hello Jacques, thank you for your inputs. Do you have any examples of youth in your country addressing the SDGs? What are the main levers and obstacles in youth entrepreneurship in DR Congo?

Sean Crudden
Sean Crudden

Well I hate to introduce a sour note.  As secretary of IMPERO I have been using social media for over a decade to call for reform in the area of mental health.  Nearly two decades ago I graduated from writing to newspapers like The Dundalk Democrat and The Irish Times.  The message is simple.  Emancipation of mental patients from the era of the pharmacological straight-jacket.  Nowadays because many others have joined the debate I watch Facebook groups, Critical Voices Network Ireland and Mental Health Discussions Edinburgh.  I write seldom now myself beyond "liking" what others write.  In the early days of this decade I used to write every week on indymedia.ie treating the subject from every angle.  However there is a clear problem.  There is no engagement with the people who have the power to make changes i.e. the medical and political establishment.  It looks to me now like I have been blowing hot air for decades to no effect.  The fact that more people are doing the same thing now only exacerbates the problem.  Boredom, inattention, disregard; have served to diffuse and obscure the message.  The messengers themselves are somehow seen as nonentities that no-one has any regard for.  The problem itself, though no less real, has lost its acuity and urgency.  Writers may feel good that they are getting things off their chest.  But in the aggregate their work may be having a negative effect?

Martin Cadena
Martin Cadena Moderator

Dear Sean thank you for the inputs. You have raised a crucial point related to the use of digital technologies to catalyze action. How to get the attention of decision-makers? What I have seen is that they look at movements in social media which have gotten lots of attention. Let me invite you and other participants to share their case studies (sollutions) on how to engage decision-makers using digital technologies.

Peter Burgess
Peter Burgess

Sean ... I relate to the issue you describe ... not the mental health as much as the problem of communication in the modern day. It is very easy to write and send, but how much of this is actually read and understood, let alone used in a construction manner. When computers were first used, in the 1960s I was a young accountant and in charge of an IBM computer that had been installed to do a lot of accounting work including inventory control. Simply put it did not work very well and all the experts wanted to use it to speed up the data ... not matter how inaccurate the data was. I went in the other direction and slowed it down so that much less data was produced, but it was good enough to use ... and when I used it to help make the factory run more effectively I became something of a hero (This case was actually used at the Harvard Business School back in the day!), Fast forward, I think we might be able to make some really important progress is we can focus on critical facts (data) that is important about an issue in a place and at a time ... and then be looking for activities and impacts that change the facts about the same issue in the same place but at a later time. To my mind this is the essence of management and the essence of progress ... moving the needle in the right direction. Best regards PeterB

Peng Ang Goh
Peng Ang Goh

Martin Cadena 

We have several decision makers in today's context but the crucial decision makers of a country today are in the government who are supposedly task with the happiness and lives of the citizens.  With a social application (please see my comments on the 20/09/2019) that has the objective of providing greater satisfaction and safety to the netizens, will only work in tandem with an effective government of the day to provide greater prosperity and progress for all.  It is also imperative that such apps work within the confines of the law to ensure that it can continue it's operations according to the various local jurisdictions and amend it constant so as to stay relevant to any changes in legislation.  

Best,

Darryl Goh

Jhonny Marquez
Jhonny Marquez

Hola, mi nombre es Jhonny y estoy dedicado al periodismo relacionado a la cultura y turismo. Valoro las oportunidades de participación para el establecimiento de criterios que mejoren o logren superar los problemas contemporáneos.

1. ¿Cuáles son sus mayores retos y preocupaciones en la adopción de las tecnologías digitales para hacer frente a los problemas actuales de desarrollo?
Mis mayores retos para la adopción de las tecnologías digitales se relacionan con las brechas para su uso integral en la inserción de la sociedad de conocimiento. Como herramientas para la inserción en actividades que impulsen el desarrollo a través del estudio y el trabajo, las condiciones para su disponibilidad es un elemento que se da por sentado pero aún persisten tales limitaciones.

 
2. ¿Cuáles son las ideas innovadoras digitales usted que podría avanzar de manera exponencial el desarrollo sostenible? 
Alentar programas locales que propogan proyectos de inserción a las tecnologías digitales para la progresiva optimización de sus actividades (educación, periodismo, industrias, servicios, etc.) ancladas en el desarrollo sostenible. No sólo en la instalación de equipos sino en la introducción y preparación para el uso creativo y propositivo de las mismas.
Registro de proyectos que incidan en la formación para el uso de herramientas digitales afines a la promoción de los objetivos del desarrollo sostenible para que se cuenten sus fortalezas y debilidades en conjunto para fortalcer sus propias redes además de aspirar a financiamiento o aportes varios.

Por la cantidad de comentarios si redundo espero lo tomen como una confirmación de los enfoques independiente del contexto de cada quien. Gracias por la invitación.

ENTSEYA
ENTSEYA

Bonjour,

  1. Quels sont vos plus grands défis et préoccupations lors de l'adoption des technologies numériques pour résoudre les problèmes de développement actuels? Les plus grands défis et préoccupations lors de l’adoption des technologies numériques pour résoudre les problèmes de développement actuels sont :
  • L’électrification (l’énergie) des pays en développement puis l’accès à la technologie par le biais de l’éducation (formation)

 

  • 2. Quelles sont les idées numériques révolutionnaires que vous pensez pourrait faire progresser le développement durable de façon exponentielle? 
  • La révolution du numérique peut être faite par l’éducation. En effet, il faudrait cibler puis challenger les jeunes ou du moins des personnes passionnées par les TIC afin d’améliorer leurs connaissances dans ce domaines puis les amener dans cette optique à trouver les solutions aux différents défis que connait leur sociétés puis le reste du monde.
chris williams
chris williams

My non-profit consultancy group specializes in working with all organizations on lowering the cost of remittances - and also continues its work, started 20 years ago on reducing tax fraud, in particular by offering a real time VAT structure to eliminate carousel fraud. 

There is a new digital technology which can make an incredible breakthrough on remittance costs (and on delivery of international monetary aid), namely Libra. This blockchain solution has been built by Facebook, which is where the problem occurs for many regulators and individuals; there is an inherent distrust of that company's management of data which has some governments, including USA, looking to ban its operation.      

I hope we can help show two things to win over the sceptics; firstly, if applied with sensible controls, the rewards for those governments who decide to permit limited usage are significant. Limiting the holding of Libra to either small amounts, or to none at all, is a good way to start; the important function is in enabling the remittance to go through in Libra, so the considerable number of countries who may have citizens sending funds, in any one day, can get the best rate in delivering to the 100 plus countries receiving such funds. (I won't belabor the point here, but anyone who wants to get the detail of how this can be done, please contact me offline).

The main aspect of this is in the enormous added income which can be generated for those who are often the poorest. Despite years of heroic effort, by the UN, World Bank and others, the average cost of remittances is still way above the 3% target, at 7% (while those with no bank accounts, for instance, are often paying close to double that amount). To put this in perspective, the US government's total international aid is $50 billion (last recorded in 2017), whereas cutting costs to 1% on the $1 trillion remittance market would increase the value by $60 billion on its own.

Let me move to the second aspect worth considering; the Facebook list of 2.4 billion users would be enabled to receive remittances, and aid, whether they have a bank account or not. The statistics produced by Facebook state that over one billion of their users are unbanked, meaning they are probably having to use the informal (frequently illegal) alternative services to get their money. 

There are lots of added benefits in correcting this issue, not least for the governments, as they are not seeing the informal transfers in their GDP; bringing in those amounts will help raise the credit rating of the country debt, thus lowering the cost of financing.  

But the other aspect which is of greater interest to the participants of this group would be the facility to enable the remittance recipients to be involved in other digital services. The more they can see facilities for getting insurance, mortgages, micro-loans etc. the better they are able to develop their lifestyles.

My final point is for those who remain still unhappy about being involved with Facebook; there are 27 other Libra association members, including three non-profit organizations, who have access to the same blockchain technology - and could offer a similar service. It could also be possible for other non-profit groups to set up similar facilities as Libra association members and link these with their local support structures directly.

What I hope everyone will agree is that this is too dramatic a benefit for so many people who rely on family remittances, so that they get virtually all of the funds that were sent; not pay large fees away to banks and transfer companies.   

     

Martin Cadena
Martin Cadena Moderator

Dear Chris, thanks for sharing and exemplifying how technology can support lowering the cost of remittances. It would be great if you could summarize your post for the audience and share and if you could add information about the main barriers in the adoption of blockchain technology.

 

Adeyemi Egbeleke
Adeyemi Egbeleke

I am Yemi  the  Founding  Partner  of  ESG  monitor  and   ESG  monitor  vision  is  to provide a  global  business technology system  for monitoring and management  of    ESG/corporate  responsibilities   or  Conduct  with  objective  of making  business value chain  contribute  to achievement  of world  sustainable development  through  delivery of SDG’s.  Also, I  am  an Author  of  journal  articles and  book   on   strategy  and corporate  sustainability  with  recent  book title  “. Egbeleke, Adeyemi (2018) From CSR to the Ladders of Corporate Responsibilities and Sustainability (CRS) Taxonomy “  And  I will be  excited  to share   a little  information  about  the  software  and app  solution  we  are  currently working on at  ESG monitor,  Thank you.

 

 

 

chris williams
chris williams

Hi Martin,

I am happy to comment on the particular application of a blockchain involved in the Libra solution, which has some similarity with planned digital currencies from central banks, as brought up by Mark Carney at Friday's conference. 

The format of Libra is as a stablecoin - that is one that is tied to 'real' value, rather than being an investment coin, such as bitcoin which has great volatility. Libra is set on the weighted average of six major currencies, such as US dollars, euros, yen etc. and is fully backed up by deposits in those currencies. 

Another point is how Libra will be regulated; the main factors are seeing that KYC (know your customer) rules are applied along with AML (anti-money laundering) regulations. There is a company we know who have a program to help all governments set their own terms, but I am sure there are several others as well.

The biggest danger for Libra, as I mentioned in my main submission, is whether regulators stop its operation; there is, or has been, a delegation going to Geneva from USA in that regard. This is why I hope that all organizations who aim to assist those in greatest need will look to help persuade the regulators, to look at the good that can be done, as the main issue. 

If anyone wants the long-winded version, we can either develop that on this forum, if appropriate, or more likely they can contact me with questions on [email protected] - and we will be pleased to help as much as we can.   

 

Saripalli Suryanarayana
Saripalli Suryanarayana

Bitcoin,had its backing.Libra is backed by Master card and FaceBook,etc.But the necessity of one more nonficticious coin,how will the world digest.

The midlle class has started earning much[spending much][During last100 years ]after the introduction of monotery systems,with out backing of gold.

Still the gold is  climbing.We shall get more dimonds from Amazon forest or from Antarctica,any time in next 20 years.

Then we will have another currency.

Involvemnet of nations,and methodology to work out and even out for common people,with small knowledge and no time is the way a currency has to work.

If it is another share option-it reamins so.

chris williams
chris williams

Saripalli Suryanarayana 

You are right that more investment products, such as gold and diamonds, are becoming somewhat more affordable to everyone, which will potentially rival bitcoin etc. - if they are able to be sold in low enough denominations. How that is done, as a function of the digital economy, will be interesting to see. 

However, the critical factor is being able to buy and sell such investments without being ripped off with excessive fees, as well con artists taking advantage of the poor.

That is where, firstly, Aadhaar appears to be of major assistance in India, with its low fees and large number of clients - or, at least, that is what it seems from the outside. Do you agree on that?

It is, secondly, where the added necessity is to have the international currency conversion (so people can buy and sell at the best price) is equally important. Unfortunately there are many examples of where high costs are hidden in the exchange rate - hopefully Libra (and digital currencies issue by central banks) will eradicate this problem.

Think of Libra as a way to make payments for financial products - and hard goods - with the lowest fees, rather than as an investment itself. 

 

  

Saripalli Suryanarayana
Saripalli Suryanarayana

chris williams ,Thank you.It was nice of you,and i am satisfied with the reply.The reply itself indicates the broader aceeptabulity,as well the loss in transfer of monies,or remittences abroad,which carries high cost and unknown channels and middlemen.This IMF and world bank were discussing at lenth,and in some of our UNDP posts from Istambul,the ,RBEC,Milica Begovic has discussed at lenth on Block chain technology.My friend Jan Goossenaerts,@collaberative wiki,and Tagcoding has done lots of work on creating Tags,which help in block chain.

But apart from DATA,seggregation,and finding,the risk of people in Communable and non communable disease.We are having new worry of maleria,and so the new worm from Africa-Ebola.

Huge advantages in use of these are more important.Why India was forced to go for Demonitisation can be of any body guess.As much having property in other's name and use for business is also worriesome.

World ,yes as agreed has to come to find a way for increased currency circulations;[Say $ can not have a note more than 100-that makes more printing necessary,with unavoidable costs].Finally a way like Indian Demonitisation is in need.

Thank you ,once again.

Georgina Guillen-Hanson
Georgina Guillen-Hanson

Hi everybody. Thank you all for the fascinating comments, and also thanks to the moderators for keeping the conversation flowing.

My name is Ginnie Guillen-Hanson, and during the last 20 years, I've been working on different aspects of sustainable development and when it comes to digital technologies the one thing that I always wonder is why nobody seems to talk about the problem related to waste that technology, particularly the devices needed both for personal and industrial use, convey.  This is a very awkward conversation for the industry, yes, some are supposedly recovering material and adopting more circular approaches to the disposal of waste, however, there is still room for more transparency and better processes that lead to the generation of zero e-waste. Is there actually a company with such goal in mind?

Fairpohne is an example that has been around for over 6 years now, what other examples out there are worth sharing? Aren't there any other proven solutions to the challenge of e-waste?

There was some mention to planned obsolescence, perhaps the biggest insult to consumers and one of the most anti-sustainable business practices of our times, how might we (design thinking challenge here) fulfill SDG 12 when the very means to access the benefits of technology are so irresponsible themselves?

OK, these were the two biggest challenges and concerns I find for the adoption of technologies - of course, there are many more like e-literacy, the digital divide, and other aspects, and it is necessary to have a systemic approach to address these challenges in a consistent and impactful manner.

Someone mentioned above that we need to keep the local context in mind, I agree - I am always surprised to see how in Europe the whole "sharing economy", repairability, refurbishing... were seen as innovative approaches, when in other parts of the world, the very notion of shared ownership is the usual way of living; in  the flea markets of many countries, you find spare parts and people with skills to do repairs. The difference is that the "innovativeness" lies on the use of technologies that facilitated access to these services. So, instead of going to the flea market to find a part for your broken mixer, you have an app. There are apps for pretty much everything! My concerns on this regard are more related to the ownership of the data, about all these profiling and analytics that create a map of your person so algorithms can push and push and push products for you to buy. The opportunity consists of how to ignore these pushes, in learning to distinguish worth and value, and, of course, finding ways to keep our personal data protected.

Breakthrough digital ideas: open innovation as access to knowledge and frugal innovation to bridge the access gap.

Digitalization and health, governance and the application of virtual and augmented realities are some of the main topics with great potential to contribute to the fulfillment of the SDGs and beyond. The question is how to make sure that everyone benefits from these technologies, leaving nobody behind. Frugal innovation is a concept that I often find missing in many digitalization topics, why? it is something that many companies had developed to gain more consumers in the poorest areas of the world, and it is one of these simple solutions that require just some ingenuity to make it work, like the m-Pesa system in Kenya or the solar electricity system in India.

These are some of the first ideas that come to my mind when reading the questions, I'll be more than happy to see how this consultation evolves.

 

Martin Cadena
Martin Cadena Moderator

Dear Georgina, thanks for your inputs. The negative impacts of digital technologies are of concern of various participants in this consultation. Dinh-Long has also raised the point of the increase in carbon footprint and waste products as we progress in technology. Fairphone has been a recurrent example of the solution for reducing cellphones negative impacts. Do you know about other similar approaches for other in-demanded tech devices?

Georgina Guillen-Hanson
Georgina Guillen-Hanson

Martin Cadena 

Dear Martin, thanks for your comment. Before I posted my note, I saw the exampleof Fairphone and what was already discussed on the topic, that's why I added my question of what other examples are out there. Identifying these examples are a great opportunity for follow up, don't you think?

Also, the post does not elaborate much on e-waste management systems nor mentions anything on frugal innovation, which was the answer to the second question and something that perhaps may be worth noting as an existing solution that can be adapted and scaled.

Beniam Gebrezghi
Beniam Gebrezghi Moderator

Georgina Guillen-Hanson Thank you for your thoughts and sharing your concerns around e-waste, privacy issues and the need for more open and frugal innovation. 

E-waste is definitely a big challenge: FairPhone has been a recurring example in the phone industry. I know in France that the organisation Halte à l'Obsolescence Programmée is a strong player against planned obsolescence and has been talking with the French government for some time now. Repair Cafés also start to pop around in France. 

When it comes to open innovation frugal innovation, do you have other examples in mind that would be interesting to look into?

Santiago Roberto Bertoglia
Santiago Roberto Bertoglia

Hola queridos amigos y colegas:

                                                    La entrega en persona a persona y en la mano de la https://undocs.org/es/A/RES/70/1 es muy valiosa para todas las familias del mundo. También las comunicaciones para Salvar Vidas y Salvar el Planeta, entendiendo que los esfuerzos deben realizarse por no quedar tiempo. Recordando que en el año 2016 se realizó la Cumbre Humanitaria Mundial para que todos nosotros encontremos perfil humanitario y adoptar la nueva forma de trabajar. Todos nosotros debemos impedir el sufrimiento actual y futuro de las Mujeres,Niñas, Niños y Hombres. Los invito a ver los adjuntos y hagan sus esfuerzos.

Saludo cordial

Peter Burgess
Peter Burgess

Dear Colleagues ...

I don't know about you, but while I find this conversation interesting, I don't find it that useful, and certainly not efficient.

I think it reflects a serious problem with the modern world and the management of communications. With modern technology it is really easy to write something and send it ... but much less easy to get people to pay attention to the message and act on it. It is more likely for people to talk past each other than to talk with each other. 

I argue that we need to figure out how technology can be used to 'move the needle' in all the different ways that will help to make the world a better place. Technology 'per se' rarely does this, but the data flowing on top of technology can help enormously.  

During several decades of analysis work as an independent consultant for the World Bank and the UN I reported back over and over again that the project had done everything called for in the project documents, but had failed. The reason was simple, the  project team did not seem to understand that the goal was to improve the state of the people / community / place. The activities got done, but good impact did not happen. Conventional monitoring and evaluation delivered a passing grade. My approach which was about improvement in 'state' was not positive!

Once in a while I came across a project where the project team understood that success was making the project help the people of the community in a meaningful way ... and when they used the project resources in the best possible way, the results were many multiples better than anticipated by the project document. Sadly, these projects are few and far between, and they are difficult to sustain because of the 'rules' both at government level and the UN/World Bank level!

My experience with development when contrasted with my corporate experience was not particularly good. In the corporate world I expected to move the needle in a substantial way in days or weeks or months. Some years ago, I was appalled when the World Bank proudly announced that the world's GDP had improve by in excess of 2%. My position was if development was working, then the improvement in poor countries should be 20% or more, not 2%, From my perspective 2% was total failure ... it meant that essentially nothing had been accomplished. I argued that the goal for poor countries should be to improve economic performance by 50% per annum for several years ... something that was entirely possible if real practical constraints were addressed on the ground and not merely being the subject of academic study!

I like to think that we could use technology so that the issues of every community on the planet are better understood. And then we could deploy all the resources needed to negative issues are resolved in the best possible way and in the least possible time. My experience suggests that many big issues can be resolved at quite modest cost when critical constraints are removed.

I would also argue that it success is well documented, there are the financial resources that could be mobilized to do most everything that is needed. 

I should add that this is not a popular idea at the top of the pyramid ... because a huge amount of the world's wealth had drifted up ... and this would stop if people at the bottom of the pyramid got a decent share of the economic pie! 

I really do hope that we can use technology to change the way in which the global socio-enviro-economic system is managed. It is the reason why I am working to develop TrueValueMetrics.org as a data framework for its management. I don't have a perfected system yet ... but we are making progress. 

Respectfully ... Peter Burgess

 

 

Beniam Gebrezghi
Beniam Gebrezghi Moderator

Hello Peter, thank you for the feedback on the platform. We are gathering all the feedbacks about it so we can further improve it. What would be your recommendations to make this platform more efficient and useful?

You have an interesting insight about the "why"; why we do things, why do we implement programmes and I think, indeed, that's it is pivotal to have everyone aligned. 

Peng Ang Goh
Peng Ang Goh

Beniam Gebrezghi 

If I can elaborate further on the algorithm (kindly refer to my post on 20/09/2019) that we use for our matching system, it is based on values, interest and activities and the choice for the user to select an activity will be without such data such as race, language, sex, sexual orientation, nationality, disabilities and religion, unless it is a religious interest group, and will only be revealed after they are acquainted.  This is similar to any robust HR system that prevents discriminatory practices and helps to improve organisational diversity.

Best regards,

Darryl Goh  

Martin Cadena
Martin Cadena Moderator

Dear Colleagues,

It is so exciting to see this amount and diversity of participations. Today we had around 16 new comments from consultants, researchers, managers of funds, UN volunteers, gender experts, etc. Some of the main points were:

- A call for bottom-up approaches when it comes to development issues and posted some basic questions to start with, on the relationship between digital technologies and development in order to understand the current situation and how the different elements are connected.

- The potential use in areas such as education, health, social services, as well as platforms for dialogue and action in the areas of governance, environment, and entrepreneurship. In health, digital technologies allow for a more patient-centered approach, for remote diagnosis.

- The issue of how the lack of access to technology could increase inequality, was also recurrent today. We have to guarantee that digital technologies are develop under the principle of “Leaving no one behind” as Chieshe Tyohemba mentions. Making technologies available could have “the same potential than printing used to have when Gutenberg's press was invented, and books became more easily available!” said Frederic Claus. A blockchain solution (Libra) was mentioned by Chris Williams for reducing this gap

- Another recurrent issue is that we have to consider the negative impacts of developing more and improved technologies, such as e-waste. Georgina Guillen-Hanson -and previously Dinh-Long- mentioned Fairphone as one of the solutions for this issue: https://www.fairphone.com/en

Andrei Fucec
Andrei Fucec

Hi dear Beniam,

Thank you for your answer, it seems it only partially covered the subjects mentioned in my post. For example, out of the 7 (I think) consultants listed, not a single one bothered (...is this the right word?) to answer the problem about VKontakte or Weibo Login. How about giving it a try? Or maybe one of your superiors would be happy to?

Regarding the smartphones and that Dutch company, I hope you are aware that is just another commercial product, with a tricky name, to induce the idea of fairness into the consumers' minds. It still has that spying mic and the same low-lasting battery.

Since your answer completely avoided the issues raised in my posting, it's seems to be of a manipulative nature. Why, is there a problem, a hidden agenda? As a short reminder, the subject was about the lack of education regarding the mobile phones/smartphones, and not about the origin of the materials used for building one, which is a completely different topic. But I'm sure you understood this perfectly, yet you politely divert the answer to another similar subject. Would this be called a diversion? :)

Regards

Beniam Gebrezghi
Beniam Gebrezghi Moderator

Hello Andrei,

Indeed, sorry to have missed out on this specific point. It would be great to integrate the VKontakte or Weibo and make it easier for more people (specifically in Russia and China) to join the consultation. We are gathering all the feedback about the platform; yours, and also the ones of Bob Stuart about the legibility of the platform and of Peter Burgess about how to make this platform more relevant to highlight key insights. 

Concerning your thoughts about the lack of education regarding mobile phones/smartphones, this is indeed a key topic that has been discussed more broadly by many people in this conversation: the challenge to educate not only about devices but about tech in general, so it can benefit the most people. Going back to your point about the SAR Factor, do you have any example of organisations or policies that could illustrate your thoughts?

About the FairPhone, it was to add on this point: "Regarding a big challenge, it's worth considering a simple question: why is there no single company manufacturing a smartphone with a battery lasting 2 weeks? Not to mention 1 month? For there is (I hope everyone knows) definitely, the tech to do that. Except someone only misses the will to do it. So this is a real challenge.", which I assimilated to the issue of planned obsolescence. Sorry if I misunderstood. As you look unconvinced about the FairPhone, I would love to know more your thoughts on this. Is it mostly about the "spying mic" and "low-lasting battery"?

rajesh k verma
rajesh k verma

1. What are your biggest challenges and concerns when adopting digital technologies to address current development issues?

In India we have an issue on the migrant labourers.

These are the marginalised farmers who go outside of their native places in search of livelihood, sometimes alone or at times along with their entire families who work side by side in farmlands of prosperous farmers or as labourers in petty industries on daily wages.

The whole scenario produces a host of problems.

One, the destination city or township gets crowded eroding on their supply limits, creation of slums and malnutrition, epidemics etc.

The offspring moving along with their parents looses the chance to get educated or to take part in the govt programmes of mid day meals or Anganbaris.

Most of the time the migrant labourers who used to be a petty farmer is unskilled in the urban scenario and has to dwell in underpaid conditions.

To check this issue we have been working on the idea of land banks.

Usually in our country we have huge tracts of uncultivated or fallow lands either govt. owned or by rich landlords who themselves have migrated to the cities.

The idea is to distribute those pieces of land with all the amenities of irrigation, seeds and marketing to these agriculturists according to their capacities on loan for a certain period at a minimum rate of interest.

Subsequently the loanee may own the property if he has earned enough to purchase it, subject to other conditions and consent of the lender.

These labourer community is a result of population explosion which forced division of available land in the family and gradually they receded from being a farmer to a marginal farmer to an agricultural labourer.

So, if they get their land back and have the cultivation opportunities, their self pride shall return and with due diligence they may be able to stand back on their feet and lead a sustainable life instead of being a migrant and vagabond.

To achieve this objective a data operating and storage system is needed, to facilitate the creation of lendable land pools and the methodology of tracking the progress and tentative return of the capital invested through the banking system.

 

 

 

2. What are the breakthrough digital ideas you think could exponentially advance sustainable development? 

Since most of the land records today in our country stand digitised, we need an application that may track and pool the available fallow/uncultivated/barren land state wise/block wise/village wise and relocated them to the needy/willing farmers to be.

In addition we shall need a banking database along with the variables of productivity along the areas of cultivation to adjudge best cultivation techniques, applicable period  of lending and the rate of interest.

 

Saripalli Suryanarayana
Saripalli Suryanarayana

There is one programme developed and used extensively by GOI,and so GOVT.Of A.P.,State and other state governments in India.You can visit their websites,using google search

RONALD KASULE
RONALD KASULE

Dear Moderators, thank you for this opportunity to reflect on how the power of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) could be exploited to 'leave no one behind'.

My name is Ronald Kasule, I work with a Disabled Person's Organisation in Uganda. As a person with disabilities (PWDs), I have a special interest in exploiting the potential of ICTs to facilitate the inclusion of PWDs in the main stream of Community life.

1. What are your biggest challenges and concerns when adopting digital technologies to address current development issues?

While the Global Development Agenda target 9.c commits to increase accesst ICTs and the UN Convention ob the Rights of PWDs (Articles: 4 (g), 9, 21, 26) consider Digital technology as an enabling factor, it has not been adequately exploited to enhance the inclusion of PWDs in the mainstream of Community life.

2. What are the digital breakthrough ideas you think could exponentially advance sustainable development

We are looking for partners to facilitate the proof of concept regarding the Digitalized Personal Assistance Service System (DPASS)

The Digitalized Personal Assistance Service System (DPASS – pronounced as ‘Pass’) is a proposed technology platform that will operate as a smartphone app to connect Personal Assistant Support providers with their clients (who may be PWDs, employers, health workers, schools, among others). We take advantage of the increase in the use of information communication technologies and mobile phones to organize the Personal Assistance Support System so that it could be accessible and used by PWDs to enhance their active participation in the mainstream of community life. According to the National Information Technology Authority Uganda (NITA-U)’s survey report 2017/2018, almost 71 percent of Ugandans owned a mobile phone.

 

DPASS is expected to facilitate the social inclusion and effective participation of PWDs by making support services available on demand to enable individuals to learn, work, travel, socialize, shop, and interact with the community without being subject to physical barriers. The platform will therefore provide an opportunity for PWDs to decide how to live, work, and take part in their communities, particularly in reference to services that affect their day-to-day lives and access to independence.

 

Let me know what you think.

Nina Grinman
Nina Grinman Moderator

Hi RONALD KASULE ,In addition to the Global Development Agenda target 9.c, the UN Security Council in its landmark resolution 2475 (from June 2019) "

  • encourages Member States to ensure that persons with disabilities enjoy equal access to basic services, including education, health care, transportation and information and communications technology (ICT) and systems;
  • urges States to enable the meaningful participation and representation of persons with disabilities, including their representative organizations, in humanitarian action and in conflict prevention, resolution, reconciliation, reconstruction and peace-building.

Could you please tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got involved in the DPASS initiative?

Cavin Mugarura
Cavin Mugarura

Hi Ronald, its impossible or rather not practical to have a system for what you describe, a better approach is to break down the system into manageable units. For example Health, Education, Agriculture etc. On the education side we developed an e learning platform to help kids improve their learning outcomes in English, Math and Science at primary level. The platform is called SkoolDesk and its accusing to users with visual and hearing impairments. Accessibility is at the centre of all our projects as we believe no child should be left behind. Our pilot is targeting the education curriculum starting with Uganda. 

In most African countries reading proficiency is 10% at grade level. In Uganda less than 10% of the students who take the final exam pass in division 1. 

If you look at the figures, you will notice enrollment rates are high at Primary 1 and they start dropping by Primary 7, to less than 50%. The top contributing factor is low grades which makes the kids lose interests. Our system has been developed to be engaged and fun, we have games which introduces a gamified learning approach. Analytics help parents and teachers track and monitor performance at subject and topic level. Practice tests give automatic feedback with correct and wrong answers. Interactive learning objects such as audio, video, puzzles make for a rich learning experience. Feel free to contact me if you want a demo of our platform. 

RONALD KASULE
RONALD KASULE

Nina GrinmanNina Grinman thank you for your further inquiry into DPASS. First, I want to restate that I work with Disabled Persons Organisation (DPOs) in Uganda. I am a person with disabilities myself but developed much concern at the rate of marginalisation facing persons with disabilities in education, employment, etc. I was recently in the US for an Inclusive Disability Employment and my experience sparked my action into DPASS. Currently, the situation analysis is below:

Despite the joint efforts from stakeholders to address the inclusion needs of persons with disabilities (PWDs), the situation has not changed much. PWDs still face great challenges in accessing support services that they need to live independent lives.

Government of Uganda is committed to implement the UNCRPD by protecting, promoting, and fulfilling the rights of PWDs. Reasonable adjustments have been made in many public and private places of work, education, health, and in other important areas, to promote the independence and inclusion of persons with disabilities. However, this has not had much impact particularly for PWDs with higher support requirements including those with hearing impairment, deaf-blind, blind, persons with severe physical disabilities, among others.

As a result, many PWDs who need Personal Support Services have often been recruited in employment or admitted in education but failed to perform to their expectation in the absence of support services as required. In hospitals just as in any other social settings persons with hearing impairments or deaf-blindness may not get the services because of the communication breakdown. Some PWDs have considered moving along with their Personal Assistants (mostly friends and family members) but this arrangement is sometimes too costly in terms of transport and other facilitation requirements. Besides, friends and family members may not be readily available to provide Personal Assistance support given other personal commitments, which may leave the PWD in question, stranded and unable to deliver to the expectation of the community.

On many occasions, where service providers and development partners may need to employ Personal Assistance Support for reasonable accommodation requests, they may fail on account of unavailability of the service personnel. However, it interesting to note that DPOs particularly NUDIPU, UNAD, UNAB, and others have been delivering specialized trainings to equip a carder of professionals with skills, ethical behaviors and expertise to serve persons with disabilities. This means there is still a challenge involving how to organize the trained professionals in such a way that could facilitate linkage so that they would be accessed to provide services to PWDs in the country and beyond.

RONALD KASULE
RONALD KASULE

Cavin Mugarura why would you think it is impossible or not practical. The proliferation of ICT has provided us with the opportunity to creatively innovate and identify solutions to challenges facing our society. It always looks impossible until it is done.

Cavin Mugarura
Cavin Mugarura

RONALD KASULE - When you are building a project, it's important to keep it small, if you want to minimize the risks of failure. I have not said it will fail,am just saying the chances of failure increase when you make a project too big, too complex or ambiguous. Maybe you have not explained it in enough detail. 

GBADI
GBADI

L'application Ambc  a été élaborée par la Direction de l'Alphabétisation et de l'Education Non Formelle du Ministère de l'Education Nationale.

L’approche via le mobile répond à des attentes de développement : i) Utilisation du mobile est universelle ; ii) Accès à d’autres services notamment les services financiers ; iii) Plusieurs initiatives des sociétés de téléphonie mobile, essayent d’adapter leurs services aux besoins des clients analphabètes pour motiver la gestion financière via mobile ; iv) Politique de développement de services nationaux basée sur les TIC  (Inscriptions des élèves en ligne, Prise de Rendez-vous avec des services de santé, en ligne e-agriculture…)  et iv) Développement de plateforme numérique d’achat et vente.

Cette approche permet également : i) l’indépendance de l’apprenant qui peut apprendre à tout moment et en tout lieu ; ii) motive l’apprenant à donner plus de temps d’apprentissage sans le mobiliser sur un site  ; iii) approche expérimentée par divers acteurs ; iv) en plus du volet alphabétisation, elle permet à l’apprenant de se familiariser à l’utilisation des outils informatiques et téléphoniques pour divers services basés sur les TIC, notamment le mobile monney  (épargne, transfert, retrait, achat…) v) le délai d’alphabétisation est court (un an alors que la formation classique se fait sur un an et demi et vi) a un système performant de suivi du programme à distance par l’équipe projet.

Un encadreur alphabétiseur principal est formé pour encadrer 30 apprenantes. Il est secondé par u  suppléant afin d'éviter une rupture dans le suivi. Chaque alphabétiseur a à sa charge 5 apprenantes à qui il accorde 30 mn par jour. L'apprentissage se fait avec un kit composé d'un  smartphone, un cahier avec marker délebile et un livret d'apprentissage.

La durée de la formation est de 10 mois dont 4 pour le niveau 1, 4 pour le niveau 2 et 2 pour le post alpha.

évaluation des acquis (taux de progression, taux de réussite des exercices...) est faite auprès de chaque groupe cible.

Le module sont adaptables aux métiers des groupes cibles.

La DAENF vient de signer un accord avec la Fondation Didier Drogba pour 100.000 bénéficiaires.

Merci

 

 

Nina Grinman
Nina Grinman Moderator

Thank you GBADI  for sharing the initiative you are working on in relation to digital literacy using smartphones. It is important to not only focus on the digital aspect but also the human curation which is sometimes forgotten. Could you tell us a little bit of how many people have gone through this initiative and what has been the impact of having a senior literacy coach dedicated to train learners? 

Sydney Neeley
Sydney Neeley

2. What are the breakthrough digital ideas you think could exponentially advance sustainable development? 

Hello everyone, I’m Sydney Neeley, a GIS and Satellite Imagery Analyst at UNDP OIMT. I advocate for the use of remote sensing data (i.e. satellite images, drone images, LiDAR data, etc.) in all sustainable development practices. The integration of remote sensing data and geospatial analysis have many benefits including:

  • Assess changes in infrastructure, population, urbanization, environmental conditions overtime using historical and near-real time imagery
  • Improve workload efficiency through the ability to acquire information over large geographic areas in a shorter amount of time
  • Acquire unbiased information by analyzing images that depict what is actually happening on the ground
  • Reduce personnel safety concerns by using images to survey damage, recovery efforts, etc. in high-risk areas
  • Integrate project data with open-source scientific data available from NASA, ESA, universities, etc. to be able to forecast conditions that will impact development processes
  • Apply statistical methods and geospatial analysis for smarter decision-making
  • Communicate information more effectively through maps and statistical charts/graphs

GIS and remote sensing are valuable assets to a number of SDG related project efforts including poverty reduction, climate change adaption, disaster recovery and preparedness, etc. The greatest challenge is to convince UNDP to integrate geospatial technologies at the onset of a project so that they can be utilized to their full potential.

Nina Grinman
Nina Grinman Moderator

Thank you Sydney Neeley for joining the consultation. Could you please share one of those projects with the community members? And maybe tell us in summary how remote sensing data helped in that specific project?

Sydney Neeley
Sydney Neeley

Sure, Nina Grinman thanks for asking! The following link will take you to a story map that was a product created by our team showing the results of an urban analysis in Cairo: https://arcg.is/1ffK8n

Here, we used freely available satellite imagery to identify slums and classify urban growth from 2000-2018. We also included metrics on the distance to hospitals and schools from these slums using GIS analysis. This kind of information helped our partners to prioritize resources and planning to specific areas of the city in most need. It also helped identify areas of the city undergoing the most development and to start to paint the picture of what kind of change was happening on the ground. 

Peter Burgess
Peter Burgess

Sydney Neeley ... in the 1960s computers were slowly being installed to help run companies. They caused bankruptcies as frequently as they caused performance improvement. Back then, I had the task of making one of these computers work and do something useful for the company. Most of the experts wanted the data to be more detailed and move faster. I wanted the data to be more useful ... slower but better ... so that we could make good decisions and improve the performance of the company. Fortunately I won, and we helped improve the company performance and I learned the value of data in making management effective. 

Fast forward about 50 years and I believe we have a similar situation today albeit with vastly more powerful technology. Getting huge amounts of great data does not move the needle unless the data is going to be used by people who have either interest or capacity to get something done. We need to understand how 'management' works so that everyone involved engage in all the decisions, big and small, needed to move the needle. 

Very few people understand this fundamental of management. There are enough key people at the top of big for profit corporations to force management to work ... and in general it does. Government, International Organizations, NGOs and Academia don't have any of these people (or if they exist they stay very well hidden) and there is a chronic disconnect between the compilation of data together with sophisticated analysis and the people and beneficiaries that should be using the data to get important improvements implemented. For me ... management is about 'moving the needle' and I don't see much evidence of the needle getting moved very fast nor very much.

Maybe I am wrong ... but what movement has their been in the several hundred SDG indicators in the last couple of years? I wish I knew!

PeterB

 

Beniam Gebrezghi
Beniam Gebrezghi Moderator

Sydney Neeley Hello Sydney, thank you for sharing your thoughts! Building on that, I just wanted to share with you one startup UNDP in supporting in Nepal: AirLift. They create digital 3D models of cultural heritage monuments and archaeological sites by using drones to accelerate the reconstruction of Nepal's cultural heritage. The Airlift technology is also used for post-disaster search-and-rescue operations, to map out the damages and support decision-makers. They started right after the 2015 earthquakes, after realising the lack of documentation of heritage monuments and ancient cities.

Jean Marie BORA
Jean Marie BORA

Dear Sydney Neeley ,Thank you very much for mentioning the greatest importance that geospatial technologies have in this discussion. Currently innovation in geospatial technologies is a catalyst for achieving sustainable development goals in Africa in sustainable agriculture and food security. I would like to share with you in a few words the research study I did in Burundi on the importance of the Geospatial Support System for food security, as part of the implementation of GIS in the analysis risk and vulnerability related to food insecurity in Burundi at  Ruyigi Province.
Burundi, one of the poorest countries in the world, is regularly confronted with natural disasters. Economic performance continues to deteriorate. The appearance of extreme poverty in most households is a convincing and tangible sign of this deterioration. In fact, poverty is linked to insufficient income to meet basic needs on a daily basis. In 2005, 75% of the Burundian population lived mainly from agriculture, 77% of rural households lived below the poverty line (<$ 1 per day), 48% of Burundian children suffered from chronic malnutrition and 64% from food insecure population. . In a study conducted by USAID, "Burundi was ranked as the second most vulnerable country to food insecurity". As a first step, we analyzed hazards and risks to identify flood-prone geographic areas and risk elements. The use of geographic data (optical and radar satellite imagery, vector data) can provide additional information on risk areas and likely levels of damage. Second, this study highlights the vulnerabilities of various factors causing food insecurity and its effects. There is evidence that traditional techniques are still in place in the municipality of Ruyigi and that the management structures are inadequate. These factors lead to a deterioration in production, poor access to food and, as a result, limited food consumption. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the survival strategies adopted by the households visited as well as the existence of the disaster prevention and preparedness plan. We note that the survival strategy index is very high among households with low food consumption, both in quality and quantity. This study clarified the need to use GIS and its components for the analysis of relative risk and vulnerability to food insecurity with good preliminary results. This was applied in the case of Ruyigi province.

Sydney Neeley
Sydney Neeley

Jean Marie BORA That sounds like a great example of the important use of geospatial technologies. Just curious if you have the results of your study publicly available? I'd be interested to take a look!

GBADI
GBADI

Merci Sydney de votre analyse. Je pense que les pays africains particulièrement doivent apprendre à intégrer les données SIG et la télédétection dans les programmes agricoles. Cela permettra une plus meilleure planification dans la lutte contre l'insécurité alimentaire.

Merci

Beniam Gebrezghi
Beniam Gebrezghi Moderator

Hello Gbadi, thank you for adding on Sydney's comment. Do you know any organisations that integrate GIS and remote sensing in agricultural programmes, in Africa?

Saripalli Suryanarayana
Saripalli Suryanarayana

With the launch of spacex communication satellite Amos-17 into orbit from Cape Canaveral Air ForceStation on Tuesday night, promising increased internet connectivity for sub-Saharan Africa once operational.Manufactured by Boeing Satellite Systems International.“Amos-17 places us directly into the exciting growth of Africa’s Sub-Saharan vibrant markets,” said Spacecom CEO and president David Pollack following the launch.

In another 3-6 months time communications in Africa shall be cheap,including DATA.Airtel claims to have 100 million customers in Africa.

Interrior areas of other smaller countries are being covered with setallites.

Cavin Mugarura
Cavin Mugarura

My name is Cavin Mugarura, I am the founder of a software development shop (Blue Node Media Systems) that has successfully piloted block chain technologies in developing countries in the areas of Agriculture, Health and Education, this is an area that interests me mainly due to the potential benefits that rural farmers can accrue as a result of applying innovative technologies.

We have piloted 3 proof of concepts projects in Agriculture. One key problem area for farmers is fake inputs, and our results show this can be address using blockchain technology. Another project we developed involved an online market place for farmers  where buyers and sellers of agricultural produce can connect.  Our final project involved a peer to peer lending platform with crowdfunding functionalities. These pilots helped us obtain feedback and understand how we can refine and scale the technology.

Blockchain technology is one of the premier technologies coming out of this past decade, however most people don’t understand it, due to its complexity.  To understand blockchain one needs to think of it like google documents. Every collaborator has access to the same document, and once all parties have come to an understanding, the final document is accepted.Changes can also be tracked by all parties. 

It’s also like a card game. In a group of 5 people playing cards, they all know the rules, there’s consensus, not different from playing scrabble, someone is not going to coin a new word and its accepted. This is the principle behind smart contracts that power blockchain applications.

It has also greatly benefited from the hype, thanks to bitcoin and other factors. While working at the World Bank, we took a keen interest in understanding how mobile money could transform the lives of millions of people in Africa and other developing countries.

Many agencies that claim to use Block chain, don’t even understand it, more like BINO (Blockchain in Name only)

Right off the bat it has three main disadvantages.

1. It’s slow. How slow is it, you might ask? Well if you ask me I would say slower than cream rising on butter milk. This is mainly due to the design (the consensus approach).

2. It doesn’t fit most projects up to 90%. Unlike what some people, not every project needs to use blockchain.

3. Blockchain is hungry, it can eat your children and their pets. You need a lot of server resources, what some  project implementations  end up doing is to pick and choose what to store on the chain.

However there’s good news

  1. As with mobile money, Block chain is able to reduce transaction costs by eliminating intermediaries. This implies farmers are able to receive a higher price for their produce.
  2. Block chain projects are effective in building trust. For example, Fake inputs and drugs for livestock can be a thing of the past, if the validation is performed on the block chain.
  3. Traceability. When an outbreak of a food-borne disease happens, it can take weeks, to find its source. Better traceability could help save lives by allowing companies to act faster and protect the livelihoods of farmers by only discarding produce from the affected farms. Retail Giant, Walmart was able to test this technology with Mangoes, but has now expanded the project to cover 25 products. More details can be found here

 

 

 

Beniam Gebrezghi
Beniam Gebrezghi Moderator

Hello Cavin, thank you so much for your insights on the blockchain technology, especially since you provided a good overview with the pros and cons, and real-life applications, beyond cryptocurrencies.

Regarding the disadvantages, are the blockchain experts working on this? Dinh-Long Pham mentioned earlier the proof-of-stake mechanism that could help address your 3rd point. What do you think about it? Also, if you know more examples/case studies such as the Walmart one, please do share with us.

Finally, many people raised a concern about the need for technology education, especially when it comes to complex technologies such as blockchain. Did you face any challenges when piloting your projects in rural areas?

 

Cavin Mugarura
Cavin Mugarura

Hello Beniam, thank you for your reply. Here are my responses inline.

"Regarding the disadvantages, are the blockchain experts working on this? " I think I already covered this. The blockchain has internal weaknesses, which is also a strength, it's all about how you look at it, and the application. A bike is a very good mode of transport, but you will not use it to travel thousands of miles.

For example in 2016, bitcoin could only process about seven transactions per second, at a transaction cost of $0.20 and storing only 80 bytes of data. 

What this means is that not every application is suitable for this technology. It's a trade off, not every application requires speed. If an employer wants to verify academic certificates of an applicant, delays of a few seconds or minutes is not a big deal, compared to travelling physically to the academic institution. 

"Finally, many people raised a concern about the need for technology education, especially when it comes to complex technologies such as blockchain. Did you face any challenges when piloting your projects in rural areas? " 

This is a big problem, especially for poorly designed projects. New tools and strategies are available such as human centered design, agile and lean methodologies - although these tools provide strategies, they are not an end in themselves. If the technology solution provides value, the users will adopt it. Even mobile money had and has a learning curve, people are using it and adopting it because it provides value. They are however some people who have refused to learn and use it, you can't change that. The more important question, is there value? The failure rate for ICT projects is very high, around 80%, in the space for ICT for development this figure hover at 95% am sure you are aware of this. The problem with most projects, is they are poorly designed, provide little value and the implementation is horrid to put it lightly. 

Examples of blockchain apart from Walmart.

The examples are many. Investors face challenges when registering a business. This is an area the blockchain technology could be applied to reduce the wait period from months to hours.

However, what am most worried about is the entrance of snake oil salesmen.

They are many projects which claim to use blockchain, but they don't. I have seen examples of blockchain coffee, but its pure talk with little or no substance. The hype around blockchain, has propelled the technology to top of the hungry 24/7 news machine, however this is beginning to fizzle out like a hangover in the morning. 

Land titles and registry systems is one area the blockchain can be applied. In the proof of concepts we did, for fake inputs, we have also done a pilot for Education Institutions, to verify certificates on the blockchain, this is the same technology and it can be used in other areas. 

We don't want another Theranos scandal where the company claimed they could do several tests using a small sample of blood, which was a blatant lie. This is likely to happen in the blockchain world. Actually it's already happening. 

Blockchain is in its infancy, as more players come into the space, it will improve - this is a natural process, what is important is not throw out the baby with its bath water. The fraudsters will be there just like taxes, it's our collective responsibility to expose the dirt by modern day snake oil traders.

While blockchain is garnering interest in the news, the needle is not moving among the student communities in Universities, this is where the momentum needs to be. 

Google has a cool project, the summer of code, where students intern and improve open source projects. Similar projects need to be funded and supported to make significant impact. 

 

Durlave Roy
Durlave Roy

Education makes a greater difference between man and man. The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.: ‘A great majority of the so-called educated people do not think logically and scientifically’. The Internet of Things refers to the ever growing network of physical objects that feature an IP address for internet connectivity  and the communication that occurs between these objects and other Internet enabled devices and systems. IoT Based Expert System- Agriculture expert, Industry Expert, Service Expert  concerns when adopting digital technologies to address current development issues  not  IT expert alone.

5G is the foundation for realizing the full potential of IoT. While 5G is set for commercial availability sometime around 2020, the industry is already working to develop new global standards and pre 5G products to benefit industries everywhere.

Ati
Ati

Hey everyone,

I am the cofounder of Workinlot.com, an open innovation digital accelerator, with almost none physical component.

We have been in trying to convince UNDP innovation hub to utilize open innovation digital platforms like us, to source solutions for all SDGs. So far, all our efforts have been rejected.

Still we are hosting SDG related campaigns in Turkey, sourcing solutions without physical boundaries and raising awareness. I suggest all open innovation digital platforms should be empowered to host SDG related open innovation campaigns and source all projects to your Global hub.

I strongly believe, it will be entrepreneurs doing the hefty chunk of work in SDGs, so why just go local and micro solutions. Why not digital ? Well thats my two cents.

Nina Grinman
Nina Grinman Moderator

Hi Ati, could you give the community a short summary as to what workinlot is and what digital solutions it tries to address specifically in terms of sustainable development?

Ati
Ati

Hi Nina Grinman ,

 

Workinlot is an open innovation startup accelerator, unlike physical accelerator models the service is completely digital to identify, accelerate and position the startup solutions with the right entity seeking a solution. 

Gülay Karaoğlu
Gülay Karaoğlu

Introduce my self;

I am a Strategy Planner and worked a lot of development project in Turkey. Iretired from Prime Minister but working on a consultant in Europe and Develepment Projects. One of them The Soscial Risk Mitigation Project of the World Bank. I worked there as a Co Finance Specialist and planner. Later ı was the coordinator of three big research the Institution of the General directorate of child protection. (1. Evaluation of elderly services./ 2. Evaluation of Youth services. / 3. Evaluation of disability services researches.)

Also I worked in coordination of establishing technological infrastructure, purchasing and using computers. in Social Solidarity Foundations and the ınstitution of the General directorate of child protection.

When applying digital technologies, it is necessary to pay attention to the following points.

a. Capacity building of Personnel.

b. Capacity building of Units. ( as a team )

c. Trainings of the model usings which we used to.

d. to put the useful database bank for sustainable development

e. to decide how we will use social media. this is also team workings.

i. to inform about our workings.

ii. to learn the public ideas about the sustainable development

iii. to reach the right team work on digital platform.

f. Public Research and needs analysis must be done.

g. For sustainable development we need real data collection from the area of the target region.

My concerns also;

a. When working with an unqualified and inadequate team in the use of digital technology in sustainable development, the desired goal will not be achieved.

b. If the numerical database to be applied is not analyzed according to the needs of the region, all studies will be out of target. This will incur an additional cost.

c. The personnel who will complete the workingks must also be sustainable and also work with sustainable personnel.

d. Implementing, reporting, mapping and backuping is very important when adopting digital technologies to address current development issues. Lack of one of them than the big challanges happens.

Gülay Karaoğlu
Gülay Karaoğlu

2.What are the breakthrough digital ideas you think could exponentially advance sustainable development?

 

 

In This Chapter we must export our working system Geography Information Systems. and mapping.

a. The address could be used to reach disability person. Like Clever Clocks. One of them my lecturer produced in Mugla Sıtkı Kocman University. moment and moment we can fallow a person who has disability. or some other person.

b. to remote measurement of water pollution using digital system. Also done by the same university lecturer.

Nina Grinman
Nina Grinman Moderator

Hi Gülay Karaoğlu, could you give us an example for each of the two initiatives you mention? Clever clocks and water pollution using digital system. What technology was used, how was it tested and what were the results?

Gülay Karaoğlu
Gülay Karaoğlu

Nina Grinman 

Dear Grinman

1.a very simple technique was used. The experiments turned out to be positive. The location of the disabled individual can be determined from the watch on his arm.

2. water pollution, the university students write a new program and used drones machine is very small and also simple technique they used to and measurement done in AKYAKA / MUĞLA / TÜRKİYE, The results are very succesfull.

 

Gülay Karaoğlu
Gülay Karaoğlu

Nina Grinman 

now I talked my student in Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University. Last year they discovered a good rocket and become first in Turkey in the area of rockets. 

They now also in trial stage.

1. water monitor is succesful, but sensors are a little expensive. that is why now meuser pool parameters and record on a database. the measurement done by directly from pool, 

2. They didnt submit this invention any institution, because nobody supports them. 

Database recorded with an entegre system. Now they have another new equipment, water monitor and pool water fallower are very important equipments they need support. the results are succesfull to.

Martin Cadena
Martin Cadena Moderator

Dear @Sanghoon Moon, thank you for your comment. In order to facilitate communication among ourselves, an automatic translator is part of this platform. In this case, I see the translation of your message in English, but it is not clear to me what you intended on it. Would you mind to rephrase it, so we can all learn from your comment and interact with you? Also, we appreciate if you could introduce yourself and share why you are interested in this discussion.

Best

Martin 

Dinesh
Dinesh

I am part of a Digital Farming Initiative in India, called mKRISHI®.  (m=mobile, KRISHI=Agriculture in Hindi langauge). This started in 2006 with an idea that can the Information Technology, which powers all the industrial businesses, help improve the 20th century agriculture practices.  This led to an intensive collaborative research over last 13 years of more than 300 persons from 50 organizations.  We conducted 50 Digital Agriculture pilots to understand the real challenges of the farming, what is already being done, and what is not working and how technology can play a role in making it more efficient and long lasting.  Few of the learning are as below

1. This is a vast sector and "copy and paste" approach of one industry to this sector or one sub-sector to another sub-sector or one geography to another, won't work.

2. Every intervention has to be specific to an "objective" (or problem) of a given region, social, cultural, economic and literacy level of the farmer/farming community.

3. You need team i.e. ecosystem (players) to solve any problem. Local government, local businesses, and local non-governmental social development agencies, play a crucial role.

4. Every solution has to be personalized. Generic approach won't work.

So, if all above are not considered, any amount of digital technology won't work.  All above parameters tend to form the basic building blocks.  Digital helps in "bridging them together" and "improving efficiency in these interactions". and "scale it up".  Sustainability will come from the above factors, scalability and efficiency will come from Digital Technologies.

This answers question 1 that is What are your biggest challenges and concerns when adopting digital technologies to address current development issues?

 

Q2. What are the breakthrough digital ideas you think could exponentially advance sustainable development? 

This again, has to be linked to a specific problem. See below examples:

Mobility - It is a good technique to establish "last mile connect".  But in the absence of a "Design Thinking" and "Human Computer Interaction (HCI)" enabled design, even the millions of apps will be of no use.  So, personalization is key. 

Cloud Technology -- will give the scale up, easy to deploy the services, time to deploy is reduced. But data management, privacy, is key.

Internet of Things -- This can change the complete play.  Just imagine, if every farm gets a "Sensor Box" of basic, affordable sensor and can give indicator of it's condition as  good or bad or need help, don't you think "farm will get a voice".  This is where the power of IoT will come.  We may not need to send "all the data to server".  All compute and knowledge dissemination can happen offline, on ground.

Satellite and Remote Sensing -- This can give a scale, while IoT is still evolving.  We need to use these very intelligently.

So, there are many technologies which can be used.  But these are like arsenal or weapons which needs to be packaged together, in a cost effective manner and as per the need in each region.

Personalize as per People, Scenario and local Ecosystem maturity.

Refer below for various reading

 

https://scholar.google.co.in/citations?user=bhSXOcsAAAAJ&hl=en

https://incois.gov.in/documents/mKRISHIBlue_Ocean_Innovation_Story.pdf

https://books.google.co.in/books?id=4fyGDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA399&lpg=PA399&dq=mKRISHI+Dinesh+Kumar+singh&source=bl&ots=R35VyKH-nw&sig=ACfU3U0myAJbSrFy74oA0HYV1DyUEhOPdg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjowf-6hKrkAhXq4HMBHURHBx84ChDoATAAegQICBAB#v=onepage&q=mKRISHI%20Dinesh%20Kumar%20singh&f=false

https://books.google.co.in/books?id=nN44DwAAQBAJ&pg=PR22&lpg=PR22&dq=mK…

http://www.joaat.com/index.php?m=content&c=index&a=show&catid=45&id=169

 

 

 

 

Martin Cadena
Martin Cadena Moderator

Dear Dinesh thank you for your insightful comment and for raising the need for creating customized solutions. Could you elaborate a little on how the initiative and the technology included has contributed with solutions to the farms/farmers on these 50 pilots?

Joel ZONGO
Joel ZONGO

Hello everyone
I welcome the initiative and I will speak for the first question.
My concern is the development of mobile financial services in rural areas to accelerate financial inclusion in developing countries. In recent years, many digital solutions have been developed to include in the financial system people who were formerly excluded, poorly served or still encounter difficulties.
However, we note that these solutions are much more adapted to the standard of living of the well-off or middle classes, who are therefore educated and connected. In rural areas, digital solutions are not accessible to all, are not always useful and may not achieve their purpose. Indeed, there is no or little electricity in these areas, which makes it difficult to use mobile phones permanently. Also, the phone signal is not always available to use most services that require 3G or more to work properly. In addition, the low level of education of rural populations does not allow them to always understand and practice the solutions offered to them. Moreover, these solutions are designed and thought by urban people who are not necessarily in contact with the realities of rural areas. As a result, they tend to create solutions that do not match the standard of living in rural areas.
In my opinion, to face the challenge of financial inclusion using digital solutions two situations are possible:
- Or start by improving the living conditions of these populations by offering them electricity, a good signal and good internet coverage. Secondly, they need to be educated by instilling in them digital culture so that they do not have difficulty using mobile financial services.
- Either try to understand the needs, aspirations, perceptions and behaviors of populations with low standard of living (in rural areas) in order to offer them better adapted digital solutions.

Thank you.

Joël ZONGO

chris williams
chris williams

Dear Joel,

You raise two excellent points, regarding education as to digital services, and also about the availability of consistent electric connectivity. 

While on-line education is improving greatly, is it sufficiently developed in the local languages to help? Regarding what services might be offered, I can see the danger of offering costly loans as being the most dangerous; how to protect the citizens from accepting such services should be a priority of the central and local governments. To that end, a limit of how high the interest could be legally charged - and an availability of legal advice (at no charge) to borrowers who get caught - would seem to be one way of countering such abuse.

Similarly, the offering of crop insurance could be misused if it becomes the area of attack by con men. Should the governments be the provider of such insurance, or limiting the provision to large international insurance groups (for profit or non-profit) that can be capable of paying out even if one country is particularly  impacted by a major storm? Do you see the role of government as being the protection of citizens who are new to the dangers of digital mis-selling, while wanting to help them enjoy the benefits? 

Regarding the supply of electricity, it is fundamental to the provision of a payments structure, where merchants can accept digital settlements from customers; if it is not fully enabled, it is better not to start. If people have to carry cash, in case the card- or phone-based systems are not working, it seems to create scams; I recall a story of how bus conductors in Kenya would say their card readers were not working, so everyone had to carry cash - which, of course, the conductors were able to take instead (without a receipt) so some would disappear. 

I see there have been other ideas here to deal with the power problems; so I guess the overall question is how much responsibility should be taken by the government to answer these matters, whether at national or local levels?  And how much responsibility should digital suppliers of services be required to accept before getting a license to operate in an area? And, does that risk stopping small local services from  setting up?

I hope this forum can help answer these issues ... 

Regards,

Chris          

rajesh k verma
rajesh k verma

I truly endorse the suggestions and observations of Mr.Joel Zongo.

But, both of the solutions are hard to be achieved because both of them relate to the infra structural support, and the same couldnot be achieved overnight.

In my opinion the outsourcing through centres working in remote areas could be used, which shall have both the specialized workers and devices available,for example the post offices.

GBADI
GBADI

Je suis d'accord avec M. Zongo sur le fait que la prise en compte de question de l'électricité et et de la formation est indispensable dans la mise en oeuvre du processus  d'inclusion financière.. Mais il faut noter que les inégalités géographiques dans la mise à disposition des services de base montrent que certaines zones rurales sont  plus disposées à accueillir les projets numériques que d'autres. 

En  effet, en Côte d'Ivoire particulièrement, certaines zones rurales ont les capacités d'utiliser le numérique sans problème tandis que d'autres n'ont la connexion que sur des collines ou de façon périodique.

Merci

Martin Cadena
Martin Cadena Moderator

Dear Joel, Rajesh, and Gbadi,

Thank you for your continued participation in this Global Discussion and highlighting the need for building solutions in a bottom-up approach. Could any of you have some examples of mobile financial solutions which have been built following that approach?

 

Joel ZONGO
Joel ZONGO

Martin Cadena, I would like to share with you this article that presents a proposal for mobile financial services solutions adapted to the needs of users.

https://fr.microsave.net/blog/2019/03/08/blog-ces-solutions-simples-qui…

I think it is possible to find even more solutions tailored to the needs of low-income, low-income and low-educated populations. Such a good doctor needs to diagnose the patient to prescribe the right medication. To help people in rural areas, we must take steps to understand them.

Thank you.

Joël ZONGO

Martin Cadena
Martin Cadena Moderator

Dear Joel ZONGO thanks for sharing the article. In summary, this case study is about offering simple and tailored solutions for digital financial inclusion in a community which is largely illiterate and comes from a culture dominated by orality. By understanding the oral culture and the way people in the community do financial transactions and count their money, Microsave was capable of mimic the system, prototyping a digitized version of traditional counting. 

Joel ZONGO
Joel ZONGO

As for the issue of electricity, it can be regulated with the use of solar energy. The sun burns in Africa but it is important to notice that it is the continent least served in electricity. The people in rural areas understand this; they try as far as possible to obtain solar panels. As for access to the Internet connection to run some services offered by fintechs, I think that solutions can be developed for rural populations who do not have smartphones and / or do not have access to the internet. I am talking about mobile financial services offered on SMS (Short Message Service) or USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data) platforms.

Thank you.

Joël ZONGO

Gülay Karaoğlu
Gülay Karaoğlu

 

2. Integrated systems data base and  tracking systems from the distance 50-75 km. trials continue. Also Pool water parameter measurement trials continue . Only using digital database the problems could be easily solve.  In here the important thing that these clever boys must be supported. The inventions of them are very important for the development of environment, fallowing people and entegr.e data base for collecting data

 

Martin Cadena
Martin Cadena Moderator

Dear Gülay Karaoğlu thank you for your continued participation in this Global Discussion, and for highlighting the importance of supporting youth to scale up and maintain their innovations in digital technologies. I will take this opportunity to invite all participants to contribute with stories and options about how to support youth to build and implement digital technologies solutions for sustainable development.

Best,

Martin

Peng Ang Goh
Peng Ang Goh

Martin Cadena 

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/02/06/health/sardinia-centenarian-village-tiana/index.html

Here is an article on not only how the elderly can benefit from inter-generational integration but the youth as well.  Apart from improving overall well-being and mental state, there is greater harmony within the community.  In these times of greater polarisation and divisiveness, and further escalation of dwindling resources, possibly even due to climate-change, these must be further looked into.

Best regards,

Darryl Goh

rajesh k verma
rajesh k verma

Dear Sir, 

In India we have been utilising the Postal deptt centres which extend far and wide and  cover nearly every nook and corner of our vast land mass. 

Again utilisation of the Self Help Group Members is also in practice. 

Both of them utilise mobile telephony to conduct their businesses and enhance financial literacy. 

Martin Cadena
Martin Cadena Moderator

Dear @rajesh k verma, thank you for your continued participation in this Global Discussion and for highlighting the use of Postal centers. Could you elaborate a bit on how you are combining this Centers with digital technologies to solve development problems?

Thanks

Martin

Stephen Young
Stephen Young

Hi everyone,

 

It’s great to be part of this discussion. I’m a member of an open source community called The Commons Stack that is trying to scale the commons and re-prioritize people and the planet.

 

Q1:

A fundamental issue that continues to plague the nonprofit sector is a lack of sustainable and continuous funding. Currently, nonprofits are largely funded by individual and institutional donors as well as public and private grants. Nonprofits experience a large opportunity cost when they have to spend a considerable amount of time and energy seeking funding, increasing their administrative costs instead of spending more time on supporting beneficiaries. More often than not, donors tend to be from outside the community being served by the nonprofit, hence the incentives for financial participation are, inherently, not totally aligned with the needs of said community. When you add in the cost of R&D and development of software solutions the problem is just exacerbated.

 

Q2

With the advent of Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLT)  also known as cryptocurrencies or Blockchains we now have a set of tools that allows us to create circular, regenerative economies that align incentives of a group of people towards common goals. The distributed, open and permissionless nature of these technologies grants maximum transparency to all community expenditures on administration and production.

 

While the potential for these technologies is great they are brand new and inherently complex with many feedback loops between technological systems and the people they serve. As such, there is a huge amount of R&D required to get the technology to a point where it can be broadly applicable for mass market adoption.  What is needed is open source software components that enable purpose-driven communities to raise and allocate capital towards community goals, with co-ownership and co-governance over pooled funds. By leveraging DLT work done within these communities is rewarded with additional stake in the community currency, which operates as an independent economy running on its native token. The introduction of a cryptographic token brings a capitalist funding model to commons projects. This allows the commons to scale and create abundance in the same way that the stock markets enabled corporations to scale. Without the ability to incentivising governance and participation, the Commons are in peril of being abused aka the tragedy of the commons.

 

It is with this goal in mind that the Commons Stack project was conceived. It is our goal to create the conditions and tools to allow motivated  citizens to take part in the governance and betterment of their communities. To fund, govern, curate and develop that which is closest to them, without relying on external donors and influences. The Commons Stack aims to build the underlying crypto economic infrastructure and tools needed to scale the commons using DLT technology. This will allow community projects and open source commons projects to build on top of theoretically sound, scientifically validated open source components without having to do the significant research and development required to produce a well functioning cryptoeconomic ecosystem.


The Commons Stack is an open source project, consisting of a set of open source components and cutting edge simulation tools, aimed at building community-driven economies and resource management through sustainable, continuous funding, dynamic decision making and robust decentralised governance. It is a growing library of open source component blueprints for governance, funding, and other critical infrastructure to enable communities to act as platform cooperatives, co-owning and co-managing shared funds as a commons. The Commons Stack infrastructure would facilitate commons initiatives to act more like startups, by incentivising participation through membership investment, and in return offering common ownership and shared decision making in the use of those funds for effective realisation of community goals.

Cavin Mugarura
Cavin Mugarura

That is an interesting project, although it's not very clear, can you share real life examples of what type of work the commons stack does. 

Stephen Young
Stephen Young

Cavin Mugarura The Commons Stack is busy building the research tools including computer aided design tools that will allow us to model these new economic systems. We are also producing a set of smart contracts and distributed apps that once complete can be used by any community cooperative to raise funding, make decisions and pay contributors for their work.

Currently Nonprofits are outgunned when it comes to competing with corporations in the unbalanced economic models we have today. The Commons Stack however, can be used to give communities access to community capital, similar to how large companies can leverage investor capital to grow.

We are still in the building phase but once complete all the tools we build will be open source and free to use by any community projects. 

Martin Cadena
Martin Cadena Moderator

Dear Stephen Young thank you for this insightful comment and for sharing this innovative idea. Thank you also Cavin Mugarura for your questions. Following your last question, I would like to invite Stephen to post about some of the projects they are developing and to share any lesson learned generated so far.

 

Best

Martin

GBADI
GBADI

Merci à Martin Cadena et Joel Zongo, pour continuer nos échanges, je voudrais noter que l'une des téléphonie mobile essaie d'adapter ses produits aux besoins des populations analphabètes. C'est ainsi que 3 ou 4 langues locales sont intégrées surtout pour le mobile money. Cette adaptation nécessite toujours l'alphabétisation car si le chiffre est mentionné dans la langue locale, il faudrait pouvoir allier le discourt oral au visuel afin de permettre à la personne d'appuyer sur la bonne touche et faire les bonnes opérations. Une formation en langue locale sur le clavier pourrait être un bon début pour la personne qui traite avec  la messagerie vocale dans sa langue.

Merci pour ce débat très enrichissant.

Martin Cadena
Martin Cadena Moderator

Dear GBADI thank you for highlighting the importance of local-language training in these initiatives to increase the possibilities of success when implementing digital solutions for development.

rajesh k verma
rajesh k verma

Dear sir, 

The three fundamental requirements you will agree in inclusion of the communities residing in remote areas are

medical advice,

agricultural adcice

monetary transactions

the postal sub centres are prolific,having presence in nearly every nook and corner of our rural space,the post man caries a mobile device with transaction facilities and is useful for the illeterate /semi literates bank a/c holders. 

for timely medical or marketing advice of the rural product, villages are equipped with Pragya kendra or e choupals

besides the cluster of farmers active as JLG or SHG can leverage their expertise and financial health in accelerating the financial and social inclusion by selective  utilizaction of the technological products.

the infrastructural gap is there but it is being minimised through group sharing. 

 

Beniam Gebrezghi
Beniam Gebrezghi Moderator

Thank you Rajesh for your insights.

Some follow-up questions:

Do the postal sub centres have a national presence in India?

Can you explain more the Pragya kendra and e choupals concepts?

 

Cavin Mugarura
Cavin Mugarura

Beniam Gebrezghi - I researched e agriculture initiatives while working with the International Food Policy Research Institute in 2009, e - choupal  is one of the most successful ICT initiatives. They are not using rocket science, they are use everyday tools, to tackle the issue of little education among rural farmers they have what I will term as a senior farmer but in this project known as a Sanchalak. In Brazil, Embrapa has many good initiatives. The key is to use human centered approaches not dream up some fancy initiative which will fail before grant money dries up. All these are local solutions implemented by local players not someone holed up in Washington DC air conditioned office.

Dr. Audrey POMIER FLOBINUS
Dr. Audrey POMIER FLOBINUS

1. What are your biggest challenges and concerns when adopting digital technologies to address current development issues?

In an interconnected global context, on the road to globalization, the question of digitization or digitization of the world no longer arises because it is now one of the greatest challenges this century will face.
Indeed, in a world that is digitizing faster than it becomes literate, how to reconcile national, international, global digitization, by guaranteeing for each individual, each country:
- Freedom, security
- Data integrity
- Data security
If no solution is proposed, we will go beyond recurring digital wars. The countries of Europe protect themselves by establishing rules (RGPD) and the Americans are working on the subject to propose a response.
The challenge is to harmonize internationally around standards, rules guaranteeing the integrity of international human rights.

In the underdeveloped countries where literacy rates are high, many people paradoxically evolve in a preconceived digital world, thus regulating billing routines, various and varied costs; the challenge is to educate the population on the issues of:
- Respect for the freedom of others
- The property of the data
- data security
- the preservation and integrity of their data

The major challenge of these countries is multiple when we know the costs generated by digitization, digitization, data security. Indeed, if these countries are not at the financial rendezvous, and aware of this wave of global digitization we can expect the development of digital traffic, aimed at developing popular mass manipulation in order to increase the influence of autocratic political, economic, and social systems. These countries could thus fall prey to profit-making international lobbies.

While resources are struggling to feed the population, the challenge for these countries is to mobilize the financial resources and skills needed to ensure the security, sovereignty of their country and the data of their citizens.

 

2. What are the breakthrough digital ideas you think could exponentially advance sustainable development? 

Digitization of the world can contribute to the acceleration of global sustainable development, for example in agriculture, where the mechanization of actions can lead to the improvement of living conditions at work (SDG8), to development and to increased production of agrarian resources, which could lead to the reduction of hunger (SDG2) and the improvement of the economic system by the sustainable development of the export with a relevant return on the economy of the country.

Digitization of the world can also contribute to the harmonization of practices in all areas at a global level (SDGs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17), which could help humanity in its quest for the preservation of the climate and the environment (SDG14, SDG15) through the sharing, pooling of knowledge acquired by each country (SDG17) .

The parallel development of social networks could be fertile ground for the development of positive international influence networks aimed at democratizing good practices in relation to a significant acceleration of the implementation of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

 

Dr.h.c Audrey POMIER FLOBINUS

Chairwoman & CEO

Humanity For The World (HFTW)

www.humanityfortheworld.org

Martin Cadena
Martin Cadena Moderator

Dear Dr. Audrey thank you for your comment. Is there any example of a solution you may want to share in the key areas you mentioned: freedom, data integrity, data security, and data property?

Dr. Audrey POMIER FLOBINUS
Dr. Audrey POMIER FLOBINUS

Dear Martin Cadena,

The solution is based on high-level training for reference personnel in charge of security, computer intelligence, the legal watch on the freedom of computer data, the security of personal data, for all sensitive areas, including personal medical, public health, political, social-economic data, etc., which represent considerable international issues.
This staff will have to respond to a high-level training that they should receive from world economic powers already running into this digital information management system such as the European Union and the US or Russian IT management systems.
Thus they will be able to acquire bases of defenses and especially of international standards as regards good practices of digital data management.
Then we need to inform vulnerable populations who are unaware of the digital challenges of their rights and duties in terms of digital data. We must democratize, popularize information so that it also learns best practices, and is aware of the benefits and dangers of digitalization.

 Saúl Morales
Saúl Morales

1. What are the biggest problems and concerns in adopting digital technologies to address current development problems?

In relation to this question, I can say this: in Mexico can be surrounded by millions of people, but at the same time can not communicate with any of these people. This problem is based on the serious problem of racism and discrimination in the country. , Ideological, economic, social, cultural, etc. Wall creates an unfortunate human communication in Mexico and this is worrying.

You must understand that people were not made in series as technological machines to have the same information in mind. We are different but with the same fundamental human rights. Every human being has the right to obtain the same information as everyone, to meet their own human needs, food, health, education, economics, etc.

I think the biggest challenge of digital technologies is not addressing development issues in the world today. It is to prevent and eliminate obstacles to humans obtain the information necessary to develop their lives properly and appropriately. Solve the problems of racism and discrimination that affect human communication, causing poverty, ignorance, insecurity and other serious problems.

 
2. What are the innovative digital ideas that you think could exponentially boost sustainable development? 

There are many ideas about digital technologies that can help promote sustainable development. But this question, specify two ideas: DOUBLE SYSTEM EDUCATION SYSTEM AND JOB INTERVIEW WITH INCLUSION.

a) Joy educativo.- System In Mexico, the lack of space in schools cause serious conflicts and a preparatory and college level. But digital technologies support the resolution of this problem, with studies at school and at home. In other words, the double education means studying at school and at home during the school term, in person and online. Duplicate education places in schools.

For example, if there are only 10 places in a school and have a group of 10 students registered to take these places, with a weekly study of five days, from Monday to Friday. Applying the double education system, get these 10 students at school for 3 days and study at home online 2 days. For school register another group of 10 students. Assuming that the school believes in two groups, Group A and Group B. Group A will be at school on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Study online on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Group B will be at school on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Online studies on Wednesdays and Fridays. Duplicate school places.

b) Job interviews with inclusión.- In Mexico, the problem of discrimination affecting labor activity of citizens. The profile of the worker is related by their physical characteristics and not their academic knowledge or work experience. With the labor system includes interviews, public institutions work or employment have to integrate an online interview system on their digital platforms. For companies to conduct online interviews with people interested in the vacancy. Avoid discrimination issues and save time in companies and job seekers.

Martin Cadena
Martin Cadena Moderator

Dear Saúl Morales thanks for your participation in this Global Discussion. Indeed solving the problems you mentioned (i.e., poverty, discrimination) are at the core of the sustainable development agenda:

SDG1: No poverty

SDG 10: Reduced inequalities

Regarding the ideas you mentioned, do you have some examples where these solutions have been implemented: Schools which have doubled their capacities and institutions which have implemented online interviews to guarantee impartiality? We also have to consider how to work on digital literacy and accessibility to contribute to an integral solution

 Saúl Morales
Saúl Morales

Martin Cadena 

Good day. Thank you for your observation for my comments. I inform you that unfortunately I don't know real examples that serve as the basis for my proposals. Because if these measures are implemented before, it would be necessary to modify the education system or labor laws in Mexico, with legislative reforms. But in any case, I mention to you that in Mexico there is private universities, which perform a modality of face-to-face and online study, during the same school period. And also the university publishes UNAM, with its SUAyED educational model, which in its open mode since its inception, combines the presence and distance teaching practices. Where the educational space for interaction and communication relies fundamentally on technological means, which allows the teaching and learning process to develop more flexibly, in different times and places.

https://web.cuaed.unam.mx/proyectos-educativos-para-entidades-universit…

In relation to the job interviews, the public institution of Secretaria del Trabajo y prevision social, has a work program for young people, called "Jovenes construyendo el futuro". Where young people have to put their profile on the Digital Platform of the program, which is the electronic medium, that has all the information for that automatically making the links to associate the profiles of young people, according to their interests with available spaces in work centers. In this program there isn't dynamic of online job interviews, but the linkage objective is similary.

https://jovenesconstruyendoelfuturo.stps.gob.mx/

The Secretaría del Trabajo y Previsión Social also collaborated with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in the “I am the future of work” campaign, through the "Jovenes construyendo el futuro" program. where the objective is make a change towards the new world of work, defined by digitalization, globalization and demographic changes. Because the benefits aren't shared for everyone. Many people are experiencing the negative effects of increasing inequality in salaries and work risks. Being worrying trends for the future if they aren't resolved.

https://www.gob.mx/stps/articulos/i-am-the-future-of-work?idiom=es
 

Moon Sanghoon
Moon Sanghoon

1. 가장 큰 도전과 우려 디지털 기술의 현대개발 문제를 해결하기 위한 채택은 무엇 입니까?

 

1) 기후변화 지구환경복원 ( 목표 : 1950년대 환경 되돌리기 )

a) OECD194회원국 지방정부 (각 시장,도지사.군수. 구청장 : 의탁 ) 책임성 자치단체장

으로 거듭 태어나. 부정부패 요인을 제거후 건강한 사회로 나가야 한다,

가) 용역,의탁 (건축설계, 위탁금융: 변호사) 조직적 부정부패 행위가 환경제앙을 일으킨 요인이며. 이 자리를 비로서 세상에 알리기 위함에 참여한 동기다,

 

b) 태평양에서 OECD194개국을 바라보면. 모두가 일반건축물이며 폐기물 배출의 근원지.

태평양 +4“c상승 요인이며 ( 화장실 수세식변기 : 소중한 생명수로 약 300L /1일 사용 ).

전 세계 75억명이 약 60%의 물을 줄인다면 태평양 수온은 낮아지며. 1950년대 환경으로

되돌아갈 수 있는 희망이 생기며 종합엔지니어링 지식서비스사에서는 선도한다,

 

즉, 용도별 건축물에서 시시각각 버려지는 생활하수를 이용하여 분뇨이송용수를 사용한다.

* 폐기물 발생 억제장치/원천봉쇄 : ( 환경주택건축물 : 치수기술) .

시시각각 버려지는 생활하수는 무동력 공정기술로 분뇨를 이송하는 방안이다, (도면 참조)

 

세계 각국에는 무자격 건축사들이 관피아 행위로 환경재앙을 일으킨 근본적 원인이며.

또한 의탁자금을 지원하는 (갑질: 국제은행, IDB.ADB.GCF,세계은행,유럽연합, UN.)

상식이 전무한. 행정기관의 횡포는 세계경제마저 불확실성으로 빠뜨리며, 양극화세상은

물론, 부동산버불, 디풀레이션 세계경제로 빠뜨린 동기며.

이 사실을 세계 방방 곳곳에 널리 알리기 위함과 혁신을 진행하고져 참여 하였다,

 

● 도면 참조 ( 기존 건축물 ): 건축설계가 만들어낸 환경제앙,

 

c) 지방자치단체 개요.

통치자를 서로 견제하며 국가발전을 꾀하며. 지도자를 양성과 발굴하며. 시장경제를 활성화하려는 UN.OECD 의도는 세계 각국의 통치자들의 권력 남용되어 시장경제가 죽어가는 불행

은 불확실성 세계경제의 원인. 지방자치단체(자유민주주의 :평화) 기능을 잃으며.

사회주의체계로 만들어 내는 참사를 빚고 말았다,,

UN의 부정부패와 직무유기. ( 감시,감독 부재 )

1. OECD회원국 추경예산을 관행적인 남용을 막아야 한다,

통치자들의 고유권한은 정책발굴으 뒷전이고 예산을 앞세워 줄 세우기에 이용하며.

세계 각국은 패권주의 행태로 나뉘어진 동기며, ( 세계 3차 대전의 불씨다/정쟁 )

 

즉시 막아 낸후. 정책경쟁으로 혁신하여 시장경제를 살릴 때. 양극화 세상에서 빠져나와

세계 강대국의 패권 다툼은 사라질 것이다,

 

결론 )

OECD194개국 ( 환경주택건축물 : B2b환경무역, 그린에너지, IT ) 블루경제 / 녹색성장

을 선도하는 종합엔지니어링 지식서비스 (글로벌 다국적기 :권리 )

가) OECD194국 ( 지속가능한 R&d연구개발) : 과학기술제공 지식서비스,

< 언론사들의 지식.상식부족으로 세상에 알릴수가 없어. 직접 세상에 알리기 위함>

 

* 지구환경복원 7차 15년 수립계획. ( 미래100년 후세대를 위한 환경복원 : oecd 194개국)

가정에서 세계로 프로젝트 진행함을 알리기 위하여 참여 하게된 동기임,

 

2. 당신이 가화급수적으로 지속가능한 개발을 진행할수있다고 생각하는 흭기적인 디지털

아이디어는 무엇 입니까?

 

A. 지속가능한 발전 ( 블루경제는 녹색성장 : 환경주택건축물 )

시시각각 버려지는 자원을 폐기물발생억제장치를 통하여 즉시 재생자원으로 사용할 때.

 

지구환경보존 및 생태환경보호( 석유: 지하광물) 보존하며. 후세대에 영원히 물려 주는 길이 우리 모두가 할 일이며. 가정에서 세계로 지구환경복원은 ( 자원개발 : 재생기술 )

인간이 자연 생태계를 보호하는 의무이다,

세계 각국은 기술경쟁을 통하여 국가경쟁력 향상으로 지속가능한 발전을 통하여 자립생존

할수 있도록 거듭 다시 태어날 때 많은 일자리가 생겨날 것이다,

 

1. 환경주택건축물 제조업( 엔지니어링 창작설계 : 공정혁신 ) 시시각각 버려지는 각종 폐자원을 재생 가공하여 각 시,도 지방자치단체의 조례법에 준하는 기준에 맞도록 기술력으로 향상 시키며 재생도시로 거듭 태어나는 유비커터스 스마트 도시환경복원 ( 일반건축물을 환경주택건축물로 복원 ) 시키며, 우리 후세대는 기술만 가지고 스스로 살아갈 수 있는 환경으로.

자연환경보호, 생태계 보존에 다 함께 노력 하여야 한다,

 

B. 각 시,도 지방정부 : 블루경제 활성화는 녹생성장을 완성한다,

1, 환경주택건축물 / 제조업.

1) 상,하수도 ... 치수기술,

2) 분뇨, .. 에너지 . 퇴비공급, ,, 치수기술,

3) 음식물 ... 사료.비료,퇴비,가스공급, 치수기술,

4) 부동산정책 .... 차별화정책은 부동산투기꾼을 막아내며 부동산버불과 디풀레이션경제에서

빠져나오며 지방자치단체장의 능력은 지도자로서 부각된다,

5) 생활쓰레기 (재생자원 )은 기술력을 향상 시키며 .. 후진국도 선진국으로 도약할 수 있는

기회를 갖는다,

C) 상,하수처리장 ( 실용적 고도처리기술 ) : 태평양을 보호. 관리하며 최종 방류구를 서비스를 하는 글로벌 다국적기업,종합엔지니어링 지식서비스사,

 

종합엔지니어링 지식서비스사의 경고 )

지금 75억명은 위험한 상황에 빠져 있으나,

누구를 위하여 토론하며, 기술을 빼앗고 유출시키는 행위로 혼란에 빠뜨리는 행위는 자제 되어야 하며,

운영자는 즉시 라이센스건을 확보한후 목적을 가지고 기술을 보호하고 재발굴 되어야 한다,

연락처를 알려 주시면 감사 하겠습니다,,,

 

원천기술 미국 ( 권리자 : 문 상훈 ) : 영업건 매매도 가능.

프로젝트 메니저( 대한민국 : PM ) CEO.CTO : 기술사업화 발주처,

조언 )

글로벌 HUB ( IT : 디지털 ) 라이센스건을 확보후 네트워크 교육에 임하시기를 부탁 합니다.

 

( 원천기술방해로 기술사업화는 물론 많은 사람들에게 혼란을 초래하고 있어 정중히 부탁

합니다 : 문 상훈 대표이사,)

 

   

1. 가장 큰 도전과 우려 디지털 기술의 현대개발 문제를 해결하기 위한 채택은 무엇 입니까?

 

1) 기후변화 지구환경복원 ( 목표 : 1950년대 환경 되돌리기 )

a) OECD194회원국 지방정부 (각 시장,도지사.군수. 구청장 : 의탁 ) 책임성 자치단체장

으로 거듭 태어나. 부정부패 요인을 제거후 건강한 사회로 나가야 한다,

가) 용역,의탁 (건축설계, 위탁금융: 변호사) 조직적 부정부패 행위가 환경제앙을 일으킨 요인이며. 이 자리를 비로서 세상에 알리기 위함에 참여한 동기다,

 

b) 태평양에서 OECD194개국을 바라보면. 모두가 일반건축물이며 폐기물 배출의 근원지.

태평양 +4“c상승 요인이며 ( 화장실 수세식변기 : 소중한 생명수로 약 300L /1일 사용 ).

전 세계 75억명이 약 60%의 물을 줄인다면 태평양 수온은 낮아지며. 1950년대 환경으로

되돌아갈 수 있는 희망이 생기며 종합엔지니어링 지식서비스사에서는 선도한다,

 

즉, 용도별 건축물에서 시시각각 버려지는 생활하수를 이용하여 분뇨이송용수를 사용한다.

* 폐기물 발생 억제장치/원천봉쇄 : ( 환경주택건축물 : 치수기술) .

시시각각 버려지는 생활하수는 무동력 공정기술로 분뇨를 이송하는 방안이다, (도면 참조)

 

세계 각국에는 무자격 건축사들이 관피아 행위로 환경재앙을 일으킨 근본적 원인이며.

또한 의탁자금을 지원하는 (갑질: 국제은행, IDB.ADB.GCF,세계은행,유럽연합, UN.)

상식이 전무한. 행정기관의 횡포는 세계경제마저 불확실성으로 빠뜨리며, 양극화세상은

물론, 부동산버불, 디풀레이션 세계경제로 빠뜨린 동기며.

이 사실을 세계 방방 곳곳에 널리 알리기 위함과 혁신을 진행하고져 참여 하였다,

 

● 도면 참조 ( 기존 건축물 ): 건축설계가 만들어낸 환경제앙,

 

c) 지방자치단체 개요.

통치자를 서로 견제하며 국가발전을 꾀하며. 지도자를 양성과 발굴하며. 시장경제를 활성화하려는 UN.OECD 의도는 세계 각국의 통치자들의 권력 남용되어 시장경제가 죽어가는 불행

은 불확실성 세계경제의 원인. 지방자치단체(자유민주주의 :평화) 기능을 잃으며.

사회주의체계로 만들어 내는 참사를 빚고 말았다,,

UN의 부정부패와 직무유기. ( 감시,감독 부재 )

1. OECD회원국 추경예산을 관행적인 남용을 막아야 한다,

통치자들의 고유권한은 정책발굴으 뒷전이고 예산을 앞세워 줄 세우기에 이용하며.

세계 각국은 패권주의 행태로 나뉘어진 동기며, ( 세계 3차 대전의 불씨다/정쟁 )

 

즉시 막아 낸후. 정책경쟁으로 혁신하여 시장경제를 살릴 때. 양극화 세상에서 빠져나와

세계 강대국의 패권 다툼은 사라질 것이다,

 

결론 )

OECD194개국 ( 환경주택건축물 : B2b환경무역, 그린에너지, IT ) 블루경제 / 녹색성장

을 선도하는 종합엔지니어링 지식서비스 (글로벌 다국적기 :권리 )

가) OECD194국 ( 지속가능한 R&d연구개발) : 과학기술제공 지식서비스,

< 언론사들의 지식.상식부족으로 세상에 알릴수가 없어. 직접 세상에 알리기 위함>

 

* 지구환경복원 7차 15년 수립계획. ( 미래100년 후세대를 위한 환경복원 : oecd 194개국)

가정에서 세계로 프로젝트 진행함을 알리기 위하여 참여 하게된 동기임,

 

2. 당신이 가화급수적으로 지속가능한 개발을 진행할수있다고 생각하는 흭기적인 디지털

아이디어는 무엇 입니까?

 

A. 지속가능한 발전 ( 블루경제는 녹색성장 : 환경주택건축물 )

시시각각 버려지는 자원을 폐기물발생억제장치를 통하여 즉시 재생자원으로 사용할 때.

 

지구환경보존 및 생태환경보호( 석유: 지하광물) 보존하며. 후세대에 영원히 물려 주는 길이 우리 모두가 할 일이며. 가정에서 세계로 지구환경복원은 ( 자원개발 : 재생기술 )

인간이 자연 생태계를 보호하는 의무이다,

세계 각국은 기술경쟁을 통하여 국가경쟁력 향상으로 지속가능한 발전을 통하여 자립생존

할수 있도록 거듭 다시 태어날 때 많은 일자리가 생겨날 것이다,

 

1. 환경주택건축물 제조업( 엔지니어링 창작설계 : 공정혁신 ) 시시각각 버려지는 각종 폐자원을 재생 가공하여 각 시,도 지방자치단체의 조례법에 준하는 기준에 맞도록 기술력으로 향상 시키며 재생도시로 거듭 태어나는 유비커터스 스마트 도시환경복원 ( 일반건축물을 환경주택건축물로 복원 ) 시키며, 우리 후세대는 기술만 가지고 스스로 살아갈 수 있는 환경으로.

자연환경보호, 생태계 보존에 다 함께 노력 하여야 한다,

 

B. 각 시,도 지방정부 : 블루경제 활성화는 녹생성장을 완성한다,

1, 환경주택건축물 / 제조업.

1) 상,하수도 ... 치수기술,

2) 분뇨, .. 에너지 . 퇴비공급, ,, 치수기술,

3) 음식물 ... 사료.비료,퇴비,가스공급, 치수기술,

4) 부동산정책 .... 차별화정책은 부동산투기꾼을 막아내며 부동산버불과 디풀레이션경제에서

빠져나오며 지방자치단체장의 능력은 지도자로서 부각된다,

5) 생활쓰레기 (재생자원 )은 기술력을 향상 시키며 .. 후진국도 선진국으로 도약할 수 있는

기회를 갖는다,

C) 상,하수처리장 ( 실용적 고도처리기술 ) : 태평양을 보호. 관리하며 최종 방류구를 서비스를 하는 글로벌 다국적기업,종합엔지니어링 지식서비스사,

 

종합엔지니어링 지식서비스사의 경고 )

지금 75억명은 위험한 상황에 빠져 있으나,

누구를 위하여 토론하며, 기술을 빼앗고 유출시키는 행위로 혼란에 빠뜨리는 행위는 자제 되어야 하며,

운영자는 즉시 라이센스건을 확보한후 목적을 가지고 기술을 보호하고 재발굴 되어야 한다,

연락처를 알려 주시면 감사 하겠습니다,,,

 

원천기술 미국 ( 권리자 : 문 상훈 ) : 영업건 매매도 가능.

프로젝트 메니저( 대한민국 : PM ) CEO.CTO : 기술사업화 발주처,

조언 )

글로벌 HUB ( IT : 디지털 ) 라이센스건을 확보후 네트워크 교육에 임하시기를 부탁 합니다.

 

( 원천기술방해로 기술사업화는 물론 많은 사람들에게 혼란을 초래하고 있어 정중히 부탁

합니다 : 문 상훈 대표이사,)

 

 

 

Mamane Sani
Mamane Sani
  1. Quels sont vos plus grands défis et préoccupations lors de l'adoption des technologies numériques pour résoudre les problèmes de développement actuels?

Notre principale défit consiste à jouir de l’utilisation des technologies numériques (ordinateur, tablette, téléphone, internet) en tant que catalyseur du développement durable.

Nous voulons faire de cette nouvelle technologie un outil de développement durable. Notre proposition d’activité sera focalisée sur quatre secteurs fondamentaux dont l’agriculture, l’éducation, la santé et l’insertion socio-économique.

Aujourd’hui, la numérisation désigne les transformations qui s’annoncent avec le développement des technologies reposant sur l’exploitation d’une masse considérable, et sans cesse croissante, de données informatisées.

Ces technologies ont déjà des effets perceptibles dans nos vies, via les logiciels et autres applications que nous utilisons quotidiennement sur nos ordinateurs ou nos téléphones pour nous aider dans de nombreuses tâches, voire pour les faire à notre place.

Dans une société de chômage de masse structurel, de difficultés croissantes d’insertion des jeunes sur le marché du travail constitue une crispation alors que des opportunités de technologie innovatrice s’offre en nous.

2. Quelles sont les idées numériques révolutionnaires que vous pensez pourrait faire  progresser le développement durable de façon exponentielle?

Les idées révolutionnaire se repose sur trois angles essentiels tel que :

  • L’admiration pour le multimédia
  • L’importance mondiale et de nouveau comportement
  • La mobilité

Les idées de projet en technologie numérique ne peuvent être mise en œuvre que dans les zones disposant d’une électrification rurale et d’un réseau internet fiable.

Quelque proposition d’idées numériques révolutionnaires pour un développement durable selon les secteurs:

Agriculture : Les agriculteurs peuvent recevoir des conseils commerciaux ou techniques personnalisés sur leur Smartphone en selon leurs filières.

Santé : Création d’une application d’alerte lié à la santé disponible sur Playstore pour facilité les évacuations sanitaire au centre de santé intégré le plus proche, alerté les naissances.

Education :

  • Promouvoir l’éducation sans limite d’âge
  • Initier des cours d’alphabétisation pour les adultes (alpha fonctionnel) : afin de savoir lire et écrire et compter.
  • Création d’un module de formation conforme au numérique
  • Valoriser les boutiques communautaires de transfert monétaire ; les enseignants et les bénéficiaires seront payé via cash transfert. Les paiements numériques peuvent être plus rapides, plus efficaces et moins coûteux.

L’objectif de cette approche est d’aider la population à se familiariser à la modernisation et de contribuer à faire une commande rapide et fiable.

Insertion socio-économique :

  • Création d’opportunité pour la jeunesse
  • Création d’emploi : points de vente privée de M-Koudi, Orange Money ou FLOOZ (Niger)
  • Création et ou renforcement de capacité d’un cyber café au sein des communes
  • Promouvoir des boutiques modernes pour les achats électroniques
  • Formation et outillages des bénéficiaires (acquisition des téléphones et tablettes)
  • Renforcement de capacité des petites entreprises TIC/ Disponibilité d’infrastructure TIC
Martin Cadena
Martin Cadena Moderator

Dear @Mamane Sani, thank you for your comment and participation in this Global Discussion. Is there any case study on digital solutions you may want to share in the specific areas you mentioned: agriculture, education, health, and socioeconomic integration?

Mamane Sani
Mamane Sani

Martin Cadena

Je ne dispose pas d’une étude spécifique à mon niveau mais plutôt des idées de projet que j’ai initié bien avant votre publication de consultation en ligne. Je me suis focalisé sur des expériences du terrain en milieu rural et tiré profit des leçons apprises entre se qui a marché et ce qui n’a pas marché afin de proposer des idées innovatrices solides.

Je vous propose d’initier une phase pilote de projet afin de voir le degré d’implication de la communauté soucieuse d’un avenir meilleur.

Mamane Sani
Mamane Sani

Bonjour Beniam Gebrezghi!

Pour mes projets j'en dispose aussi d'un projet qui à pour objectif général de contribuer à éradiquer toute forme de mendicité au Niger.

L’objectif spécifique est fondé sur trois points essentiels à savoir:

  • La transformation des écoles coranique en cantine scolaire moderne ;
  • de donner une chance et un espoir aux enfants abandonnés et orphelins pour une assurance éducative ;
  • l'insertion des handicapés physique et mental au sein des centres de formation d’insertion professionnelle

Le domaine d’intervention est le secteur éducatif et la technologie numérique.

rajesh k verma
rajesh k verma

Dear Mr. Benjamin, 

As a follow up to my submissions and the subsequent enquiry,  I shall like to mention that 

A) India as a country enjoys the largest postal network in the world with 154965 post offices as on 31.03.2017 of which 139067 are in the rural areas. On an average a PO serves an area of 21.56 sq km and a population of 7753.

B) e-chaupal is an initiative of ITC Ltd. a conglomerate in India to link directly with rural farmers via the Internet for procurement of agricultural and aquaculture products. The chaupal is a computer hub at the village centre with Internet access to offer farmers up-to-date marketing and agricultural informations. 

For perusal and ready reference. 

Your's sincerely,

 Rajesh k Verma 

Beniam Gebrezghi
Beniam Gebrezghi Moderator

Thank you for your clarifications! In your opinions, what could other related projects / organisations learn from e-chaupal?

Martin Cadena
Martin Cadena Moderator

Dear Colleagues,

After one week of running the Global Discussion, we thank you all for your more than 150 insightful contributions. Participants from different places, such as Pakistan, Germany and Philippines, and different roles as teachers, activists, entrepreneurs, UN colleagues, civil servants, researchers, business owners, creatives, economists, scientists have brought several concerns, challenges, solutions, and breakthrough digital ideas to advance in sustainable development.

I would like to highlight a non-exhaustive list of key points from the discussion this week:

Challenges and Concerns

  1. The need to provide electricity (affordable and from renewable sources) to all citizens, in order to move into the second need of achieving universal connectivity and equal access to technologies. We have to guarantee that digital technologies are developed under the principle of “Leaving no one behind”. Making technologies available could have “the same potential than printing used to have when Gutenberg's press was invented, and books became more easily available!” said Frederic Claus.
  2. Digital education, digital literacy and the need to build customized solutions: how to ensure people know how to use these technologies? How to ensure digital technologies solutions are adequate for the contexts they are used in? Digital technologies are not the solution per se. For example, Sangeet refers to some apps built by organizations which cannot be installed in basic phones because files are very large. Joel Zongo mentioned that digital financial solutions are sometimes adapted to sites with different conditions to the ones that will be implemented (i.e., cities vs rural zones).
  3. Capacity building. How digital technologies can support us to overcome barriers for capacity building? Having access to high-quality and up to date content, in the appropriate format and language no matter the location we are.
  4. Carbon footprint, and e-waste.  If we are working towards development, we must consider these impacts when designing and implementing digital solutions. As Dinh-Long mentions, in the coming years more devices, data centers, and complex technologies will be created. How to avoid an increase in carbon footprint and e-waste?
  5. Data privacy/security. As we advance in digitizing personal and other sensitive information, how to guarantee the correct use and access of data? Dr. Rantastia raised three related concerns: identity theft; other forms of third-party data use, and loss of personal data.

Some suggestions about the use of this platform for global consultations were also raised, such as (1) the inclusion of more options to join the global discussion -beyond Facebook, Google, Linkedin or Twitter- to allow participation where these applications are not popular nor available; (2) how to make this platform more relevant to highlight key insights? We are gathering all the feedback about the platform to constantly improve the process.

 

Solutions and Ideas

 

  1. For accessibility. The creation of tech-enabled community centers where communities can have access to financial services, renewable power, access to computers and internet, mobile phone signal, livelihoods and education programmes (i.e., https://www.zayohub.com/); platforms which include all the instructions to build low-tech solutions with available and low-cost material for  different economic and environmental problems (https://lowtechlab.org/wiki); ideas on how to transfer devices no longer in use in some sites to another where can make the difference in accessing some digital technologies. A bottom-up approach is recommended when creating digital solutions to make sure these will be useful for the target audience.
  2. A different set of ideas for accessibility is the use of free license software and compatibility. Existing solutions exist already, which encourage the use of common standards, such as MOSIPStartup CommonsOpenID ConnectPrinciples for Digital Development and FOSS.
  3. For building capacity. Massive Open Online Courses, Digital Campus (i.e., African Leadership University) to allow access to high-quality and updated content to students; platforms accessible to users with visual and hearing impairments (i.e., https://myskooldesk.com). For decision-makers, monitoring, remote sensors, and Geographic Information Systems are solutions to allow informed decisions.
  4. For decrease footprint. Some examples, as the Fairphone was mentioned in terms of decreasing the footprint in building mobile phones (https://www.fairphone.com/en). A controversy on how good some of these solutions are, was also pointed (i.e., the fairphone does not include long-lasting batteries). Ideas such as relocating data centers to homes and use the heat that generates to warm the house during winters were also posted.
Jean Marie BORA
Jean Marie BORA

Dear moderators, thank you for this opportunity to reflect on how the power of information communication technologies (ICTs) could be exploited to "leave no one behind".

My name is Jean Marie BORA, I am researcher and consultant on consumption and sustainable production and currently I work on research projects on the integration of digital technology solutions in the agricultural sector, in partnership with Africa initiatives in the sector ICT for agriculture. As a person in the sector, I have a particular interest in harnessing the potential of digital and providing an alternative solution to the digital transformation of agriculture in Africa for sustainable development.

The food and agriculture sector faces many challenges. The world's population is expected to increase from $ 7.6 billion in 2018 to more than $ 9.6 billion in 2050; food demand is therefore expected to increase significantly (UN DESA [Department of Economic and Social Affairs], 2017). At the same time, natural resources, including freshwater and arable land, are under increasing stress.

Production is not the only problem: agricultural production is now enough to feed the planet, but 821 million people still suffer from hunger (FAO, 2018). Phenomena such as rapidly increasing rates of urbanization also have important implications for the structure of food production and consumption.

The agri-food sector remains a vital sector for livelihoods and employment. Worldwide, there are more than 570 million smallholder farms (Lowder et al., 2016), and agricultural and food production accounts for a total of 28 percent of the global labor force (ILOSTAT, 2019).

If a "world without hunger" is to be achieved by 2030, in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, more productive, efficient, sustainable, inclusive, transparent and sustainable food systems will be needed. resilient (FAO, 2017b p.140). To achieve this goal, there is an urgent need to transform the current agri-food system.

The solution probably lies partly in innovations and digital technologies. In what is known as the "fourth industrial revolution" (Industry 4.01), there is a rapid transformation of several sectors, as a result of digital innovations that introduce "disruptions" such as block chains, the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence or immersive reality. In the food and agriculture sector, the diffusion of mobile technologies, remote sensing services and distributed computing is already making it easier for smallholders to access information, inputs, markets, financing and training. Digital technologies offer new opportunities to integrate smallholder farmers into a digital-based agri-food system (USAID, 2018)

It is especially in rural areas that mobile connections should experience their next growth spurt. Already in developing countries, among the poorest 20 percent, 70 percent have access to mobile phones (World Bank, 2016). In addition, more than 40 percent of the world's population has internet access, and important initiatives have been taken to connect rural dwellers in developing countries (World Bank, 2016).

The digitization of agriculture and the food value chain will not be easy. Care must be taken not to further widen the digital divide between economies and between sectors, and between those who do not have the same capacity to adapt to new technologies (OECD, nd). Emerging economies and rural areas may miss the mark of digitization, due to the lack of technological infrastructure and digital skills, the high cost of technology, and limited access to services.

 

However, developing economies could be a giant leap as they have not benefited from old models and old agri-food technologies and would directly benefit from the digital agriculture revolution. For things to evolve in this direction, policymakers, international organizations, business leaders and individuals will have to radically change the way they think: the status quo will come to nothing.

What are the conditions of the digital transformation?

1. The basic conditions are the minimum conditions to ensure the use of technologies, namely: availability, connectivity, low cost, digital literacy and education, in schools, and programs and policies for digital strategies (e-government);

2. Favorable conditions ("enabling elements") are the factors that facilitate the adoption of technologies: the use of the internet, cell phones and social networks, computer skills and a culture of agricultural entrepreneurship and innovation (talent development, flash programs and hackathons, incubators, and accelerator programs)

THE BASIC CONDITIONS FOR DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

1. Infrastructures and computer networks in rural areas:

In the age of digitalization, information and communication technologies (ICTs), such as mobile phones and computers, have revolutionized the way people access knowledge and information, trade and use the services. However, there are significant digital divides within and between countries. In recent years, the number of people who own a smartphone and use a mobile broadband has grown faster in developing countries than in developed countries, but, out of 100 people, there are still twice as many subscriptions mobile broadband in developed countries than in developing countries. In LDCs, the main obstacle to acquiring a smartphone remains the cost, as the price of a basic broadband package still represents on average 60 per cent of gross national income per capita (ITU, 2017).

2. Level of education, digital literacy and employment in rural areas:

To use digital technologies, one needs to know how to read, write and count and have a minimum of technical skills. People who do not have these skills may be marginalized in societies where digital is increasingly important.

3. Policies and programs for digital agriculture:

In many countries, state policies and institutional frameworks are among the driving forces that promote digitization. They create an environment conducive to the development of digital markets and competitive online services. It is also common for states themselves to set up online services (eGovernment), particularly in the areas of health, education, environment and employment.

EXAMPLES OF THE USE OF DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES IN AGRI-FOOD SYSTEMS AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS

The digital transformation can be very beneficial from an economic, social and environmental point of view. The following examples show how digital technologies can be applied to improve the functioning and efficiency of agrifood systems:

1. The use of mobile apps that give farmers price information can reduce market distortions and help farmers plan their production processes. As an example, the M-Farm app has prompted Kenyan farmers to change the distribution of their crops, and some of them have indicated that they have been able to sell their products at higher prices (Baumüller, 2015 );

2. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is very important in agriculture because it streamlines every process, from purchasing to distribution to production. On a farm (or a business in this field), they can provide an in-house response to environmental challenges, adjust systems accordingly, and transform operations into a more efficient and successful business. profitable.

3. Technologies can also help farmers anticipate pest attacks, crop failures and climate change through a service that provides timely weather-based agricultural advice.

In recent years, advances in artificial intelligence have improved the functioning of agricultural enterprises. Companies specializing in artificial intelligence help farmers scan their fields and follow every step of the production cycle. Artificial intelligence technology is transforming the agriculture sector, as farmers can now rely on satellite data or images provided by drones to assess the situation of their exploitation, without having to walk all their way. exploitation. Artificial intelligence can improve the use of resources, facilitate advance decision-making through forecasting models, and enable ongoing monitoring.

 

Agricultural transformation is a priority on the political agenda of African governments to address the challenges of food and nutrition insecurity, climate change, youth unemployment and economic growth. With well-chosen policies, innovations and investments, African agriculture could not only feed a growing population, but also provide decent work for millions of young people.

Technology is crucial for initiating change and promoting development. It brings countries together, removes trade barriers, and offers young computer-savvy entrepreneurs the opportunity to pave the way for innovation in various economic sectors. In agriculture, digitization could change the game by boosting productivity, profitability and resilience to climate change.

Inclusive and digital agricultural transformation could significantly improve the livelihoods of small farmers and pastoralists in Africa. It could encourage women and youth to enter agriculture and create jobs in the value chain. The digitization of agriculture (D4Ag) has flourished over the last ten years. In 2019, the report of the Task Force for Rural Africa of the European Union and the African Union and the communiqué of the World Forum for Food and Agriculture highlighted the power of digitization in the transformation of agriculture.

 

In the coming years, the digitization of agriculture will radically transform agricultural and food production. This transformation will be very beneficial from an environmental, economic and social point of view, but it will also present many challenges. Disparities in access to digital technologies and services may create a digital divide. Farmers, especially small farms, run the risk of falling behind, not only in digital literacy and access to digital resources, but also in productivity and social and economic integration.

 

 

Beniam Gebrezghi
Beniam Gebrezghi Moderator
Hello Jean Marie, thank you so much for your well-documented insights and for your interesting examples. It provides an overview of the potential impact of digital technologies in the agricultural sector. It also goes along what others have been saying regarding the traceability of crops, forecasting weather changes or crop anomalies, and helping farmers on their processes.
GBADI
GBADI

Bonjour et merci M. BORA,

Je vois que des initiatives sur les différents aspects que vous avez présentez sont prises dans mon pays mais elles sont limitées le plus souvent sur les parcelles de quelques producteurs.

La grande partie des producteurs et notamment les femmes ne peuvent prétendre à une telle innovation car elles ne sont pas souvent propriétaires terriens, n'ont pas accès au crédit et à certains facteurs de production comme l'information, les intrants de qualité et autres.

Nous avons dans le cadre de notre projet annoncé une initiative  sur le BuyFromWomen comme développé au Rwanda. Mais un grand retard dans la signature du contrat entre  notre partenaire  une agence Onusienne et le Bailleurs de fonds a handicapé le projet et nous n'avons pas une bonne lisibilité sur la suite. Je suis dans la zone centre de la Côte d'Ivoire, où les femmes ont produit en grande quantité du manioc et n'ont pas de marché adéquat. 

Lorsqu'elles se rendent à Abidjan dans la capitale où nous avons de grandes transformatrices du manioc en attiéké (semoule) pour le marché international, souvent nos femmes sont confrontées à la qualité de manioc requis. L'absence d'informations continues, d'échanges sur un marché virtuel et de bordereaux de commandes avant  la mise en place des parcelles, conduit les femmes à produire les variétés disponibles dans leur environnement immédiat.

L'initiative agriculture sous contrat n'est pas encore vulgarisée au niveau de toutes les spéculations dans notre pays ainsi que le e-agriculture .

La question de l'éducation et de l'utilisation du numérique devient une condition sine qua none pour le leadership et le positionnement des femmes africaines dans la production agricole.

Merci encore de continuer la réflexion pour des idées  et solutions assez claires à soumettre aux décideurs de nos pays africains.

Bien à vous!

Brigith Gbadi

Beniam Gebrezghi
Beniam Gebrezghi Moderator

Thank you everyone for your intense participation in this second week! I would like to highlight some key points from the conversation: 

Environmental externalities: digital technologies generate a lot of waste, both for personal and industrial use. FairPhone seems to be the only answer to this matter so far, but a bigger response is needed so there are is transparency on how materials are sourced and how e-waste is treated. Another environmental negative externality of digital technologies is the huge amount of energy needed for these systems to function. Not many insights have been raised about this issue this week.

 

The increasing amount of data generated and collected raises concerns about security, freedom, privacy and integrity. The RGPD is one answer from Europe, but there is a need for international standards to clarify the mentioned challenges. Again, many people expressed the need for more open data and open innovation, so more people can be involved in the processes and benefit from digital technologies.

 

Digital technologies have and will have a big impact on agriculture. It can guide farmers on price information so they can better plan their production and increase their income. In Kenya, M-Farm helps farmers know the real-time price of their crops and supports them to plan ahead, as well as finding buyers. It can also help farmers anticipate weather changes, crop anomalies and monitor their crops at each step of the food production. Geographic information systems also allow farmers to improve their productivity by acquiring information over large geographic areas in a shorter amount of time. In India, the e-Choupal system - “the world’s largest rural digital infrastructure” - currently empowers 4 million farmers. e-Choupal allows anyone to link directly with rural farmers via the Internet for procurement of agricultural and aquaculture products. The programme installs computers with Internet access in rural areas of India to offer farmers up-to-date marketing and agricultural information.

 

Leaving no one behind: how to effectively reach remote areas and bridge the digital divide? It has been the hot topic of last week and it still this week’s hot topic. It’s about having the proper infrastructure, educating the communities and advocating new policies. Let me quote Jean-Marie BORA, who greatly detailed his thoughts on this matter: 

“THE BASIC CONDITIONS FOR DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

1. Infrastructures and computer networks in rural areas:

In the age of digitalization, information and communication technologies (ICTs), such as mobile phones and computers, have revolutionized the way people access knowledge and information, trade and use the services. However, there are significant digital divides within and between countries. In recent years, the number of people who own a smartphone and use a mobile broadband has grown faster in developing countries than in developed countries, but, out of 100 people, there are still twice as many subscriptions mobile broadband in developed countries than in developing countries. In LDCs, the main obstacle to acquiring a smartphone remains the cost, as the price of a basic broadband package still represents on average 60 per cent of gross national income per capita (ITU, 2017).

2. Level of education, digital literacy and employment in rural areas:

To use digital technologies, one needs to know how to read, write and count and have a minimum of technical skills. People who do not have these skills may be marginalized in societies where digital is increasingly important.

3. Policies and programs for digital agriculture:

In many countries, state policies and institutional frameworks are among the driving forces that promote digitization. They create an environment conducive to the development of digital markets and competitive online services. It is also common for states themselves to set up online services (eGovernment), particularly in the areas of health, education, environment and employment.“

 

After a lot of insights on artificial intelligence, blockchain, and other complex technologies, the debate on more frugal innovations, to reach remote communities, was raised. M-Pesa is a successful example: it enables customers safely and securely to send, receive and store money via a basic mobile phone. To date, they have served 29.5 million active customers.

 

On an end note, many people raised the need to involve the beneficiaries (rural and urban people alike) in the design process of new solutions, in order to really understand their needs, aspirations and reality. 

 

Looking forward to moderating further conversations,

Beniam

William Tarpai
William Tarpai

Great comments - related to leaving no one behind, I listened to a webinar by Arizona State University which I wanted to encourage those in areas with electrical power to tune into

Mini-GRIDS for electricity in areas where there is no power -100 Million people in Africa.  Lab guided by 3 principles in 4 countries (Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania and Zambia) with 18 developers https://vimeo.com/359388441   This is a 90+ minute webinar focused on what our universities are capable of doing related to innovations and bringing to market ideas to achieve successful SDG outcomes during Agenda 2030.   NOT much innovation on financing thus far.  Highlighting how important it is to bring new Investment directly in the assets as infrastructure assets.   Can investors receive a good return on iinvestment (ROI), and still do social good.    We need to write them to ask about ROI…

 

Suhardina Dwi Putrisari
Suhardina Dwi Putrisari

Dear Mr. Beniam,

I'm Suhardina from Indonesia. Thank you for brief information and how to address the first question about the obstacle and concerns for adapting digital technologies. I couldn't agree more about how agriculture and technologies will become the most important thing to be pursue of decreasing development issues. Actually, farmers needs this kind of program, know about the exact price in real time and connect with buyers in exact season when they need to sell their crops. But this digital program should be assisted with Institute or University, i think this kind of connection between government, institute, university is needed. Institute and University will become learning center.  Their role will be teaching all farmers how to adapt technology, they also could increase digital literacy mostly at rural areas. Not only as learning center but also becoming supervisor about the price and agriculture stock. As a result, the research of supervising could will be very adaptive, informative, and also could be agriculture policy that make government a lot easier to solve problems. 

Helena Puig Larrauri
Helena Puig Larrauri

Hi all - my name is Helena and I'm the director of Build Up, a non-profit that transforms conflict in the digital age. Our approach combines peacebuilding, participation and technology to identify and address emergent challenges to peace.

Joining this conversation a bit late, but I didn't see (or missed!) much discussion of how digital technologies can contribute to SDG 16. I think it's important to understand that digital technologies offer opportunities to increase the impact of peace work, but can also create specific challenges in conflict contexts.

- Digital technologies are being harnessed to build peace across many contexts, even in places that may seem unexpected. For example, we've been working in Syria for the past few years, and have found a rich and growing ecosystem of peacebuilders using technology. Here is a report we wrote about Syria.

- At the same time, conflicts are increasingly happening in and / or being amplified by digital spaces. For example, we conducted research (for UNDP!) to understand how social media is shaping narratives about refugee host relationships, see here

In my view, most successful initiatives that use digital technology for peace and / or address challenges in digital spaces are locally designed and implemented. This speaks against global hackathons or global solutions challenges and to the need to invest in local capacity building in digital skills for peacebuilders.

Anne Lochoff
Anne Lochoff Moderator

Hello Helena Puig Larrauri, thank you for sharing considerations for how digital solutions can offer opportunities to increase the impact of peace work (SDG16). While observing the locally designed successful initiatives that use digital technology for peace, would you be able to share the challenges or concerns that had to be addressed?

Helena Puig Larrauri
Helena Puig Larrauri

Hi Anne Lochoff -- it's hard to answer that question in summary. When we work with peacebuilders in the field to introduce a digital technology, we suggest they think about the key challenges to peacebuilding work and then try to see what changes for each of these challenges when a digital technology is introduced. Over the years, we've found that (although there are important contextual differences) most challenges come down to these six:

  • Building relationships of trust that enable peace processes.

  • Ensuring broad participation and ownership of peace processes.

  • Ensuring the safety and security of participants in a peace process.

  • Managing the political space, especially the fragmentation of conflict parties, stakeholders and negotiation venues.

  • Respecting the privacy of participants and gaining informed consent.

  • Managing the expectations that arise from the peace process.

The matching digital tech challenges are:

  • Building trust in technologies, preventing data manipulation and abuse.
  • Ensuring connectivity, literacy and access don’t limit participation.
  • Ensuring digital safety and security, including protecting against surveillance.
  • Managing the challenge to existing power hierarchies and new digital cleavages.

  • Creating awareness about the limits to online anonymity, the risks of unexpected visibility.

  • Managing the expectations of online activities while aiming for offline impact.

With these challenges in mind, we've come up with six best practices that help to manage them... but that's a bit too much information for this consultation space! Hopefully this is useful to the discussion.

Régia Estevam Alves
Régia Estevam Alves

Olá, a todos!

Atualmente, temos grandes demandas em todas as áreas da sociedade que precisam de uma revolução tecnológica e acesso justo pelas populações menos favorecidas para um desenvolvimento sustentável que garanta o avanço social e econômico sem esgotar os recursos naturais. Entretanto, o desenvolvimento sustentável só é possível se estiver ligado diretamente à educação. Neste sentido penso nas seguintes questões:

1 – Penso que os maiores desafios e preocupações referentes à adoção de tecnologias digitais, na atualidade, é garantir o acesso de toda a população mundial a essas tecnologias. Não faz sentido que as tecnologias digitais sejam utilizadas apenas por um pequeno grupo de pessoas mais privilegiadas financeiramente, enquanto temos problemas graves relacionados à qualidade de educação, fome devido a inúmeros fatores,  falta de água portável, degradação do solo, aquecimento global, entre outros. Obviamente, a realidade de um país desenvolvido é muito diferente de um país em desenvolvimento e quando se diz respeito aos recursos naturais podemos verificar essa diferença de forma intensa. A falta de acesso à educação de qualidade pode gerar graves consequências numa sociedade. Vivemos numa época em que é urgentemente necessário garantir acesso à educação de qualidade de forma que conscientize a sociedade sobre a importância da preservação dos recursos naturais. Parece óbvio, mas ainda existem populações que não alcançaram o nível de consciência sobre a importância de se preservar os recursos naturais para garantir o futuro de gerações futuras. Populações mais remotas ainda não tem acesso à educação de qualidade, muito menos acesso às tecnologias digitais. Por exemplo, as populações das zonas rurais, tanto crianças como adultos. As crianças das zonas rurais nem sempre tem uma educação compatível com a educação oferecida nas cidades. Os trabalhadores rurais nem sempre tem acesso aos cursos que poderão ajudar na conscientização da importância do desenvolvimento sustentável. São comuns problemas de desertificação estar relacionados com  a pobreza. Ou seja, numa região em que o pequeno produtor não tem acesso à educação, como cursos e orientações de como encontrar soluções para as questões da desertificação, certamente ele irá explorar todos os recursos naturais próximos para a sua sobrevivência e depois abandonar a terra. Penso que a educação ajuda resolver muitos problemas. Mas como fazer a educação de qualidade, com tecnologias digitais, chegar  até as populações mais remotas? Talvez esse seja o maior desafio, pois não envolve apenas uma questão de logística mais também questões de custo financeiro. Existem escolas onde falta quase tudo, imagina tecnologias digitais. Seria importante, investir pesado na educação de crianças, jovens e adultos. Uma criança que cresce consciente da importância da preservação dos recursos naturais será um adulto responsável com o ambiente. Obviamente, para garantir uma educação de qualidade em áreas mais remotas será preciso investir em distribuição de energia, internet, acesso aos meios de informações, computadores e outras tecnologias para além de capacitação de pessoas de forma multiplicadoras  na comunidade.

2 – Referente às ideias digitais inovadoras, para além de algo que pudesse garantir uma educação mais consciente ao uso dos recursos naturais, penso que quando se refere ao desenvolvimento sustentável em áreas mais remotas, muitas vezes, falta apoio aos pequenos produtores rurais. Principalmente em áreas afetadas pela degradação da terra e desertificação. Uma ideia seria a seguinte:

O desenvolvimento de um aparelho que possa fazer leituras (análises automáticas) de vários aspectos do solo em regiões com degradação do solo, onde pequenos produtores não tem acesso aos serviços de laboratórios e nem orientações sobre manejo do solo. O aparelho seria um pequeno robô conectado aos satélites, que pudesse rastrear os solos, fazer imagens e análises simples de fertilidade do solo degradado. Os resultados poderiam ser compartilhados por satélite com um laboratório central em outra região, cujos técnicos do laboratório poderiam responder com orientações ao pequeno produtor. Penso que seria uma maneira de garantir que pequenos produtores consigam produzir alimentos em áreas com problemas de degradação do solo sem esgotar os recursos naturais e nem abandonar a terra por falta de recursos. Para além de garantir acesso a informações e orientações com baixo ou sem nenhum custo.

Anne Lochoff
Anne Lochoff Moderator

Hello Royal Estevam Alves , thank you for raising the challenge and your concerns about education. Geospatial data and analysis being used to inform farmers is a great suggestion for breakthrough digital ideas that could exponentially advance Sustainable Development. Would you be able to share any challenges you would foresee with sharing data and the deployment of small robotic units or sensors to remote locations?

James Wagala
James Wagala

I am James Wagala, an M&E Specialist with UNDP in Kenya. Technology and digital platforms are useful tools for rapidly sharing information between teams working in different halves of our world. The main challenge is that digital platforms,especially social media have been used to replace human-to-human interactions, which are important for real peer to peer learning and experience sharing in the implementation of SDGs. I am of the opinion that digital platforms should facilitate development interaction and not replace the human touch. Technology can also be effectively deployed to accelerate delivery and fasten the pace of SDG implementation.

Anne Lochoff
Anne Lochoff Moderator

Hello James Wagala, thank you for the great insights. Ensuring that we start with a deep understanding of human behaviour is key to designing the technology of the future. Could you share more examples of how you have seen Technology effectively deployed to accelerate delivery and accelerate the pace of SDG implementation?

Régia Estevam Alves
Régia Estevam Alves

Olá, James Wagala! Obrigado por seu comentário. Quando se trata de uso de tecnologias, concordo com o senhor, de que temos que ter o cuidado para não substituirmos seres humanos por robôs. Entretanto, penso que existem muitas maneiras de como evitarmos a substituição da iteração humana pela tecnologia. Por exemplo, o telefone que no início era inacessível por muitas pessoas, mas que hoje é comum praticamente em todas as partes do mundo. É algo que veio para ajudar a solucionar problemas na vida das pessoas. O telefone poderia ser um exemplo de ferramenta utilizada para compartilhamento de dados, o acesso e entrega rápida de informações e avançarmos no desenvolvimento sustentável. É claro que ainda existem lugares remotos em que o telefone não funciona e neste caso poderíamos substituir ou adaptar por outra ferramenta.

Régia Estevam Alves
Régia Estevam Alves

Obrigada, pelo seu comentário, Anne Lochoff!  

Esta ideia eu tive durante um curso que fiz durante o meu doutorado. Entretanto, não tive apoio para avançar. Na época, minha orientadora de tese de doutorado me disse que é um tipo de tecnologia que custaria muito dinheiro para o desenvolvimento e que apenas pessoas ou empresas com muito dinheiro teria acesso. Não acho justo que apenas pessoas com muito dinheiro tenham acesso se o objetivo é promover um desenvolvimento sustentável. Continuo a acreditar nessa ideia e penso que seria possível fazer adaptações para torná-la de baixo custo e possibilitar o acesso desse tipo de tecnologia aos pequenos produtores de comunidades remotas.

Neste sentido os desafios seriam os seguintes:

- Adaptar essa tecnologia para um baixo custo que garanta acesso à todos sem deixar ninguém para trás. Seria preciso simplificar essa tecnologia de maneira a torná-la acessível à todos.

- Solucionar a questão de logística, acesso e distribuição de informações devido à falta de conectividade de internet.  Neste ponto, li o comentário de Ayad Babaa sobre o uso de SMS, chamadas de telefone e chatbot que poderiam ser uma solução.

- Garantir o uso desse tipo de tecnologia somente a nível nacional, respeitando as leis e a cultura local uma vez que envolve o uso de informações geoespaciais.

- Outro desafio seria como treinar pessoas para realizar trabalhos de orientar os pequenos agricultores rurais. Neste sentido, penso que uma solução seria investir em educação direcionada ao objetivo do uso da tecnologia para o desenvolvimento sustentável. Poderia ser desde cursos ou treinamentos aos pequenos agricultores em áreas remotas até a reformulação do currículo escolar abrangendo crianças, jovens e adultos, incluindo as meninas e mulheres que muitas vezes também trabalham na produção de alimentos na zona rural como comentou Edwardina Aloo.

Ayad Babaa
Ayad Babaa

Dear all,

I just wanted to share a website I often use to get ideas and identify digital tools for international development: https://ict4dguide.org/

As for my opinion, one of promising digital solution I believe will be handy in many contexts is the automatic conversational messaging tools also known as chatbots. As we all know, smartphones phones and internet penetration across the developing countries are increasing substantially, but I think there is a gap in communication and information sharing between the beneficiaries and development practitioners. With AI and automation, I believe, this will narrow these gaps and help the acceleration of development.  

Ayad Babaa
Ayad Babaa

Beniam Gebrezghi... Yes, I once created a pilot chatbot (based on the results of my Master's thesis in ICT4D) to facilitate transnational diaspora entrepreneurship because I realized most of the issues are related to miscommunication and misinformation between stakeholders (NGOs, diasporas, government, private companies, etc.). Also, most of the people are more familiar with messaging platforms such as Whatsapp and Facebook Messenger, so it was common sense to create an application that works within these platforms than make a standalone app. Unfortunately, I left this project to pursue a career. 

Anne Lochoff
Anne Lochoff Moderator

Hello Ayad Babaa, thank you for suggesting AI and automation solutions to communications between beneficiaries and development practitioners. Would also like you to take a look at the challenge that Etab Al Taki shared earlier today (see below). Would you have further suggestions to Etab Al Taki's challenge?

Etab Al Taki • Programme Specialist- SDGs- Advocacy and Knowledge Management at UNDP Syria from Syria • 2 days ago

In my reply to the two key questions posted on this consultation forum, I think the key challenge is related to lack or poor communication at all levels including finding new ways for active coordination and collaboration between development actors and stakeholders. and the key solution could be on focusing on Youth, Women, Art for Development and Digital Learning Platforms

William Tarpai
William Tarpai

Anne Lochoff   CHATBOT are really technology number 1 that I believe needs to be explained and utilized to bring new players to the table during Agenda 2030.  It is a project I would volunteer to pilot test, especially if it brought together the United Nations and the World Bank Group with grassroots students and young professionals yearning to get involved.....

Ayad Babaa
Ayad Babaa

Hi William Tarpai ... It is interesting that you mentioned the World Bank in this. I'm sure that as a tool, chatbots are extremely useful in transferring money as well. Already it is been used in some countries and it will be interesting to see how it will work in the international development context.

Marc Liberati
Marc Liberati

We the UN InnovolUNteers of the United Nations determined:

Blockchain use case for re-imagining a future OnlineVolunteering.org (OV) platform that is currently administered by United Nations Volunteers:

  • SDG Technovalues (SDG blockchain utility tokens) – allocation of  SDG Technovalues allocated to platform users based on volunteer hours completed in furtherance of SDGs. Eligibility initially limited to UN Volunteers though scaled to include Online Volunteers, and through decentralized due diligence partnership agreements with other SDG accredited volunteer involving organizations (i.e. Red Cross / Red Crescent), creating a digital encrypted ledger of volunteer hours that could be embedded with electoral rights within a blockchain / augmented intelligence driven Digital Volunteering ecosystem
  • SDG Accredited Decentralized Autonomous Resilient Community Organizations  (SDG DARCOs) – SDGs accredited volunteer decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) facilitated on OV platform that allow for volunteers to make proposals for crowdfunding (crypto and fiat), volunteers propose SDG problems to be crowdsolved through hackathon open competition, and decisions made through decentralized community consensus (i.e. the UN InnovolUNteers) which is driven through smart volunteer empowerment contracts (see below)
  • Smart volunteer empowerment contracts - immutable, decentralized and deterministic SDG policy instruments enshrining best practice volunteer-involving NGO and CSO bylaws, UN values, and duty of care standards, mainstreaming and accelerating SDG policy into Volunteer-Involving DAOs (VIDAOs) conferring legal status and duty of care protections of peer-to-peer VIDAO interactions in fostering greater voluntary actions globally through SDG accredited DAOs administered on a future UNV Digital UN InnovolUNnteering platform.
Beniam Gebrezghi
Beniam Gebrezghi Moderator

Thank you Marc for sharing these exciting updates. What is the timeline for this future platform to be operational? It provides another good use case of blockchain for good!

Marc Liberati
Marc Liberati

Beniam Gebrezghi the UN InnovolUNteers is currently an ideation within Policy Pillar for possible use cases of blockchain for social good in the context of the mandate of UNV. If this idea would gain greater traction with decision-makers it could move further along into the proof of concept stage.

Anne Lochoff
Anne Lochoff Moderator

Hi Marc Liberati, thank you for the timeline. Perhaps we could get others in the group to share how other sectors are using distributed ledger technology to recognise volunteer contributions? This would help to garner further interest and discussion around Blockchain Technology.

Marc Liberati
Marc Liberati

Dear Anne Lochoff, in China the largest volunteer platform called "Zhiyuan Hui"has more than 71 million registered users, and more than 430,000 non-profit organizations. According to publicly available sources they have partnered with EveriToken, as part of a "time-banking" model that allows volunteers to accumulate "Yi Coin" based on number of hours volunteers. Yi Coin can then be converted into goods or other rewards at participating locations.   

The Zhiiyuan Hui model is based on the Edgar Cahn concept of time-banking, whereas the UN InnovolUNteers idea takes a more SDG focused approach that leverages best practice of volunteer involving NGOs & CSOs, with inspiration from volunteer-led SDG accredited initiatives within the UN. Furthermore, UN InnovolUNteer incentive structure is not reliant on compensation as a means of recognizing SDG contribution that the time-banking model fosters, which risks acting contrary to the spirit of volunteerism. 

Placing SDG accredited voluntary hours on blockchain has the added benefit of improved verification, SDG reporting, and transparency, but there are incredible additional opportunities at the confluences of volunteering, blockchain, decentralized autonomous communities, smart-contracts and mainstreaming and accelerating the SDGs that presents an opportunity for the UN to boldly pioneer a global digital platform of volunteer inspiration in action. Would gladly welcome others to join in this blockchain for social good based discussion. 

Marc Liberati
Marc Liberati

Dear Anne Lochoff, Further to this discussion is the application blockchain empowered volunteerism within the context of the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (“Cooperation Framework”), which stated in the Internal Guidance document (https://undg.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/UN-Cooperation-Framework-Internal-Guidance-25_June-2019.pdf) that it is a commitment to a broad range of stakeholders, including volunteer groups (footnote 5),  in order to identify development solutions through inclusive dialogue (page 8).

A digital platform that captures voluntary actions in furtherance of the SDGs with blockchain powered technovalues embedded with the ability to exercise a vote on development solutions throughout the Cooperation Framework cycle, and across all processes and programmes, would be a leap towards ensuring people’s meaningful participation in development, particularly those left behind for whom volunteering is a viable means of contributing to the 2030 Agenda.

Rita Luthra
Rita Luthra

WHEC Global Health Line to advance e-Health and e-Governments platforms to attain United Nations’ Agenda

 

Established in 2001, The Women’s Health and Education Center (WHEC) undertakes the projects and programs with the UN and the World Health Organization (WHO), to achieve the hopes and dreams of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). WHEC had launched an e-Health platform on 24 October 2002 in collaboration with UN Department of Public Information (DPI) and WHO. In 2008, WHEC was granted, NGO in Special Consultative Status with ECOSOC of UN, to advance its partnership and collaboration.

 

http://www.WomensHealthSection.com is designed as a resource for healthcare providers and the general public to offer a better understanding of reproductive health and cultural understanding. The articles are designed for all members of the interdisciplinary team: physicians, physician-assistants, nurse practitioners, midwives, nurses, social workers, therapists and other members seeking to enhance their knowledge of women's health and appropriate care and management.

 

In 2006, Women's Health and Education Center (WHEC) began developing scientifically based practice guidelines / Practice Bulletins. The guidelines are derived from the best available evidence of clinical efficacy and consideration of costs, with recommendations explicitly linked to the evidence. These evidence-based practice guidelines are intended to be a means of improving the quality of healthcare, decreasing its cost, and diminishing professional liability. They are proscriptive in nature and, therefore, directive in approach. Our physician's board identifies, evaluate, and synthesize evidence from the medical literature to produce practice guidelines. It is provided to serve as a readily available introduction to and overview of the topic.

 

In 2013, WHEC Global Healthline (WGHL) and its LINK (Learning Innovation Network for Knowledge) Access Project, to provide access to reproductive health research worldwide, was launched in association with Reproductive Health Research (RHR) of the WHO. Its popularity is growing fast with the US Education and other countries’ educational system. Currently WGHL and its media channels are serving in 227 countries and territories, about 14 million subscribers every year. It is available in six official languages of the UN. The most insightful and thought-provoking articles are now available in a single portal. As the practice of medicine evolves, so too do WHEC Practice Bulletins.

 

We have had data collection and analysis systems implemented right from the start of this initiative in 2002, which has supported the planning and evolution of this e-Health Platform. With stronger collaboration with the Reproductive Health Research (RHR) Division of World Health Organization – we will continue to plan and develop better implementing assessments and develop better understanding of their impact. We send an Annual Project Report to all our partners and post it online too. Every 4 years, this Report is submitted to ECOSOC. 

 

WHEC’s strategy on e-Health focuses on strengthening health systems in countries; fostering public-private partnerships in information and communication technologies (ICT) research and development for health and education. We support capacity building for e-Health applications and e-Governments applications worldwide. And also, the development and the use of norms and standards.

 

As Governments transition towards e-Government and e-Health throughout the world, there is growing acknowledgment of the role that e-Government and e-Health could play to harness ICTs for women’s empowerment and gender equality. However, much of e-Government and e-Health policy implementation, still do not have account the differentiated access to, and impact of, technology for men and women. Recognizing this critical gap, WHEC as a part of gender equality initiatives aims to enhance knowledge awareness of good practices of gender-responsive policies, programs and strategies in e-Government and e-Health, in order to help build the capacity of Governments to harness this tool towards women’s empowerment.

 

Success of our initiatives are predicted on investigating, documenting, analyzing the impact of e-Health data; and promoting better understanding by disseminating information. Our Global Network is available in 6 official languages of the United Nations. It is also posted in Projects on the World Map. Please visit CSO Net, under Best Practices ID # 364, and UN Document E/CN.9/2019/NGO/3 http://www.womenshealthsection.com/content/documents/N1901016.pdf

 

We believe, our initiatives are placing public health on the agenda and it is catalyzing collaborative networks – cutting across disciplines, sectors and borders. WGHL provides free access and educational programs to Least Developed Countries (LDCs), identified by United Nations Development Program (UNDP).  This helps WHEC to address inequalities in health and education and encourage sustainable development. Our initiatives with Commission for Social Development can be accessed @ https://undocs.org/E/CN.5/2019/NGO/1

 

All over the world people have one common wish and desire – that their children are educated by finest teachers and universities to achieve a prosperous future. This is a timeless and ageless wish and desire. We all are linked with this common goal and pursuit.

 

WHEC’s nine action areas that form global strategy operational framework and guidance on what could be done at national and sub-national levels are:

 

  1. Country leadership: country leadership;
  2. Financing for health: aligning and mobilizing financing;
  3. Health system resilience: strengthening health systems;
  4. Individual potential: establishing priorities for realizing individual potential;
  5. Community engagement: supporting community engagement, participation and advocacy;
  6. Multi-sectoral action: enhancing mechanisms for multi-sectoral action;
  7. Humanitarian and fragile settings: strengthening capacity for action in humanitarian and fragile settings;
  8. Research and innovation: fostering research and innovation;
  9. Accountability: reinforcing global and national accountability mechanisms.

Dr. Rita Luthra

President, Women's Health and Education Center (WEHC)

NGO in Special Consultative Status with ECOSOC of the United Nations

Anne Lochoff
Anne Lochoff Moderator

Hello Dr Rita Luthra, thank you so much for sharing all the great work WEHC is doing. It is fantastic to see that WEHC had data collection and analysis systems implemented right from the start of this initiative in 2002. What were some of the challenges and concerns you faced in setting up the data collection and analysis protocols?

Etab Al Taki
Etab Al Taki

The Agenda 2030 and the SDGs with focus on localization of the SDGs present a timely opportunity for re-positioning development approach in a crisis context. In this context, the SDGs and Agenda 2030 is a tool and a platform for development actors to work with the Government and related stakeholders at national and sub-national levels, to reach all areas, reaching the most vulnerable, and leave no one behind.  Therefore, we need to go beyond its traditional role to bridge the gaps between humanitarian, development, stabilization and peace frameworks, using SDGs as an agreed-upon framework. 

The SDGs offer an opportunity for UNDP to effectively work on resilience, peacebuilding and socio-economic development at a local and grassroots level to effectively apply the area-based comprehensive approach from SDGs and national priorities perspectives, including the active engagement of local partners, private sector and civil society entities in implementing Agenda 2030. 

By working as catalyst on the implementation of the SDGs, we could also effectively engage with all related partners including UN agencies, public and private sectors, the civil society and Syrians outside the country, to implement joint programmes and assessments, systematic capacity building, and seek innovative partnership to conduct advocacy initiatives and finding new ways for SDGs financing.

This approach requires a new way of thinking to create a new theory of change that focuses on added value, and area-based comparative advantages including socio-economic and environmentally sound solutions, engaging local communities in natural resources management and peacebuilding processes. Also, being proactive to attract new donors and establish non-traditional partnerships based on the most relevant SDGs to our work, success stories, best practices, and well-documented and new-communicated innovative business models. 

From my view, we need to focus on SDGs' Youth-led Initiatives and creating physical and digital SDGs Platforms with a focus on youth and education. 

In this context, I would like to hare some of our ongoing SDGs Youth-Led Initiatives 2019 in Syria: 
•    SDGs Hub for Youth in Sweda City: Phase 1: ‘SDGs weekends’ - Phase 2: SDGs Knowledge and skills platform- ‘Share Academy’. https://www.facebook.com/ShareDGs/
•    SDGs Platform for Youth at University in Lattakia establish physical and digital platform at the university to link university students to academic experts and act on SDGs in their communities.
•    Digital Education Gate- ‘SEAK to Learn’: Skills- Education- Advocacy- Knowledge Management, with a Private Sector Entity – GWA- Educational gate platform will be used to create online learning videos for students where concepts are applied clearly and interactively, allowing them to watch videos explaining their Main lessons, teaching them core skills, and ensuring their understanding by providing questions to measure and evaluate their understanding.
https://www.facebook.com/educationalgate/
•    Youth Camp and ToT for youth on SDGs, targeting active youth leaders, followed by SDGs Local Initiatives in selected Governorates,
•    SDGs ToT for UNDP Youth Leadership Programme -YLP, and 2030 Pioneers Initiative
•    The 1st Syrian Youth SDGs Advocates Platform in Syria on Social Media was established with UNDP support on 21st June. The Syrian Youth SDGs Platform on Facebook has great reaction and engagement from Syrian Youth around the world, as it reached more than 28.7k and 2.8k followers in less than one month. The platform aims to build a community of UN SDGs Syrian Young Leaders and Advocates powered by UNDP. It is an open space for knowledge sharing, capacity building, and advocacy for SDGs localisation and UNDP work. The updates on this initiative will be shared with other UN Agencies during the next UN SDGs Task Force Meeting.
https://www.facebook.com/SyrianYSA/
•    ToT for all SDGs Initiatives Leaders- ToT workshop was conducted for 30 team leaders working on SDGs Initiatives in different geographic locations in Syria. The ToT covers SDGs content and tools, Design Thinking, Management by Examples, SDGs Advocacy and Integration, Building Business Models Canvas, Start-Up Secrets. The same training will be conducted late July for 20 members from previous and current UNDP-YLP in Syria. The ToT was conducted using links and real business cases, and useful learning sessions from UNDP, and Harvard Innovation Lab.
•    Content Development using Animation, Comics, Story Board, and Motion Graphic for SDGs in Syria and comms materials is ongoing. 
•    Testing SDGs awareness-raising and SDGs advocacy activities for children at schools targeting early age under 5 to 18 years old students will be addressed by the end of 2019. 

Beniam Gebrezghi
Beniam Gebrezghi Moderator

Thank you so much Etab for sharing the amazing work you do in Syria. As a follow-up question, could you share with us the biggest challenge you face when implementing/disseminating these online platforms? Do you also manage to reach the most remote areas?

Etab Al Taki
Etab Al Taki

Beniam Gebrezghi. Thank you for your interest and question. All the SDGs digital platforms that we are working on in Syria are still in the testing phase and we are documenting them using business model canvas to draw some lessons learned. We are using social media (Facebook is number one social media channel in Syria) as a framework as it is easy to access in all areas, easy to monitor and requires less formal approvals. We are still learning on how to build active advocacy and communication channels but at the same time we see great potential in issues related to youth engagement, using technology and innovative to find solution to expand Youth access to knowledge, learning and financial resources. 

Etab Al Taki
Etab Al Taki

In my reply to the two key questions posted on this consultation forum, I think the key challenge is related to lack or poor communication at all levels including finding new ways for active coordination and collaboration between development actors and stakeholders. and the key solution could be on focusing on Youth, Women, Art for Development and Digital Learning Platforms

Anne Lochoff
Anne Lochoff Moderator

Hi Etab Al Taki, thank you for raising this very relevant challenge. Does anybody in the group have solutions for improving communications, coordination and collaboration between development actors and stakeholders. Are there technology platforms that have worked to solve this challenge especially for Youth and Women?

Ayad Babaa
Ayad Babaa

Hi... I once researched and came up with a suggestion which was related to miscommunication and misinformation between development practitioners and stakeholders using tech. My findings were to use mobile phones and messaging applications because these are the most popular and available to most people and create an app that is embedded in those platforms. These type of applications are called chatbots. If you are interested in my findings and in chatbots I will be happy to share.

Anne Lochoff
Anne Lochoff Moderator

Ayad Babaa , thank you for responding to the post about communication challenges, please do share the challenges and concerns faced with using chatbots as a solution?

Ayad Babaa
Ayad Babaa

The most obvious challenge is the lack of internet connectivity. Some countries/communities have frequent internet interruptions or lack of internet all together which make it difficult to deploy chatbot solutions. However, chatbots are not entirely dependent on messaging apps. They can also work with SMS and phone calls (2G mobile phone connectivity). I personally never tried chatbots through SMS/phone calls but I know some tools like TWILIO https://www.twilio.com/ facilitate that.

Etab Al Taki
Etab Al Taki

Anne Lochoff & Ayad Babaa

Thank you very much for your comments. From my experience if active communication and coordination are to be addressed as key challenges, the solution needs to be  national, comprehensive at different levels with all relevant stakeholders at the same time. It should be a prerequisite for national approach to implement the SDGs using well- designed systematic M&E System for SDGs tracking and reporting. Youth and Technology and PS involvements including academic community and community-based digital platforms at different levels are keys to success.

rajesh k verma
rajesh k verma

Dear sir,

The other model on the identical guidelines is the pragya Kendra's.operated on contract basis and affiliated to various banking units. they provide the complete retail banking services as far as the money transfer,payments and deposits are concerened..

In addition they alternate as the information provider to the farming community working as the internet hub.

These centres are accessible to far of habitations and nearly cover the entire rural population of the country.

Yours truly

Rajesh k verma

 

Anne Lochoff
Anne Lochoff Moderator

Hi rajesh k verma, thank you for sharing the example of the common service centres run by Digital India. Would you be able to share more insights on how the centres help farmers? Do they supply advice on agritech solutions? What kind of information do they share and how does a farmer receive the information?

gmoke
gmoke

1.  Solar or hand cranked lights and chargers are now mass market commodity products for $10 to $15 a piece.  Add a bicycle charger and you have enough power for a computer or a TV and other appliances.  These products are available around the world now.  All we have to do is recognize it.

2.  As the above indicates, it is less about new technology and more about the imagination to use it.  I believe you can show people how to use a wide variety of simple solar techniques in about a half hour.  I've produced a series of short videos that does that the best of my meager abilities.  I may be a terrible videographer and presenter but I believe the information is good.  All of my videos are available at https://www.youtube.com/user/gmoke/videos and all are in the public domain so, if you see something useful, feel free to take it.

the war that matters is the war against the imagination
all other wars are subsumed in it.   Diane Di Prima

Quite clearly, our task is predominantly metaphysical, for it is how to get all of humanity to educate itself swiftly enough to generate spontaneous behaviors that will avoid extinction.  R. Buckminster Fuller

 

 

 

Anne Lochoff
Anne Lochoff Moderator

Hello gmoke, reading your post the concept of "Combinatorial Innovation" comes to mind. The concept of Combinatorial Innovation has emerged to describe combining existing innovations/technologies together in new ways versus innovating a single technology from scratch. Do you think combining existing technology in new ways is a possible approach to the challenges we face in the development sector?

gmoke
gmoke

"Do you think combining existing technology in new ways is a possible approach to the challenges we face in the development sector?"

Not just new ways but old ways as well.  For instance, nearly 40 years ago I was part of a group that did energy shows around New England in the USA in an old delivery van.  We installed a second battery for auxiliary power that was charged by the motor after the dedicated motor battery was charged.  How many people around the world in areas with energy poverty do this?  Kits are available and Youtube has instruction videos for the process but I doubt many people use it.

In solar history, there is a remarkable solar HVAC system designed by Edward Sylvester Morse in the 1880s which not only provided solar heat when needed but also provided increased ventilation and fresh air when that was needed.  It was a four season system which, I believe, has not been replicated since and could be much more effective with modern materials.

Again, imagination is the bottleneck.  We have to look at the resources we have and use them as imaginatively as possible, researching ALL the ways in which they can be useful.

Tchegoun Adebo Koba
Tchegoun Adebo Koba

Save the children will host a Youth Innovation Labs for East Africa in Nairobi next month October 2019 to explore how to get vulnerable young people engage in youth led innovation process to address SDGs 4; 5; 8; and 16 . We will be following UNLEASH innovation led methodology.

 

 

Anne Lochoff
Anne Lochoff Moderator

Tchegoun Adebo Koba, thank you so much for sharing the details of the Youth Innovation Labs. Will you be considering a technology (digital) solution in thinking about how to get vulnerable young people to engage in youth led innovation? 

Tchegoun Adebo Koba
Tchegoun Adebo Koba

Dear @Anne Lochoff  thank you for your comment. YES we are planning for this but we are still welcoming Expert on Digital technology solutions. Thank you!

Anne Lochoff
Anne Lochoff Moderator

Hello, I am Anne, a Senior Advisor at the UNDP Global Centre for Technology, Innovation and Sustainable Development out of Singapore. I will be moderating this week, there are so many great discussions being shared here do encourage more people to share their insights.

 

Edwardina Aloo
Edwardina Aloo

Hi, am Edwardina working at the National Commission for Science, Technology and Innovation (NACOSTI) Kenya advising on frameworks to govern the entire bioscience sub-sector including biosecurity, biomedical, bioeconomy, biodiversity informatics, bioinformatics and other related life sciences. It is now well established technology progress and innovation are the long term drivers of socioeconomic growth and it is important that to lay strong foundation for building capacity to create and effectively exploit knowledge.

What are the biggest challenges and concerns when adopting digital technologies to address current development issues?

Under the Kenya Vision 2030, the government 5 years Big Four Agenda 2022 focus on healthcare for all, enhanced food and nutritional security, affordable housing and, manufacturing which impact directly on vulnerable marginalized populations especially women and youth in rural areas and urban settlements. Of equal great concern is fast population growth rate of 2.8 annually; rapid migration of productive age to urban settlement which apparent lack necessary infrastructure for water, land, building materials, food, pollution control measures and waste management; gender imbalances facing vulnerable marginalized groups to enable them to contribute to the economy and live productive lives; weak alignment of skills with national priority areas. Great efforts are required to ensure accessibility, equitable and relevant training to supply adequate scientific and technological skills broadening opportunities and support for students especially girls with low transition to pursue STEM courses and rural women headed households.

What are the breakthrough digital ideas you think could exponentially advance sustainable development?

(a). It is necessary that competence based curriculum (CBC) currently on public dialogue focus on quality of learning to respond to changing skill demands (b). 100 percent transition to secondary school will lay a solid foundation for the country's overall education and training to ensure that all children access education including children from pastoral communities even as their families migrate and other vulnerable groups (c). identified alongside establishing centres of excellence for advanced training of personnel a number of key strategies will strengthening technical capacities, interdisciplinary knowledge and entrepreneurial skills (d). increased funding for basic and applied research, improved infrastructure and equipment geared towards strengthening multisectoral partnerships, collaboration in research, development and innovation and, strong intellectual property regimes.  

By providing enabling environment for production of ideas and innovations, as well as dissemination and, information access to make informed decisions by different actors, ICT can help to overcome crucial problems in rural urban development, strengthen transparency, accountability and participation of key actors, and, create space for constructive dialogue, reduce duplication of efforts and pool resources to support priority action areas of high impact. 

 

Anne Lochoff
Anne Lochoff Moderator

Hello Edwardina Aloo, thank you so much for sharing such comprehensive answers to our questions, much appreciated. Would like to open up your suggestion to the group for answers on ways to help ensure accessibility, equitable and relevant training to supply adequate scientific and technological skills broadening opportunities and support for students especially girls with low transition to pursue STEM courses and rural women headed households. You have raised a key challenge that I think this forum can tackle.

Edwardina Aloo
Edwardina Aloo

Dear Anne Lochoff,

Thank you for positive response, it is important that ICT contribute to the increasing of share of capital income in developing countries like ours but the gains will have to redistributed to benefit and not exacerbate income inequalities worsening financial hardship of venerable marginalized populations especially female headed rural households living under absolute poverty earning less than 1 dollar a day. Female headed households is estimated at 36 percent and 28 percent in the rural and urban slums, respectively, who left behind cannot reap the benefits of existing technologies. Frequently, confined to underpaid and/or unpaid activities, within non-farm sectors producing primarily for export such as textile and apparels, electronics and foods processing industry, women tend because of their weakened position to be few and/or replaced by males as profits expand.  Often segregated in informal arrangements that underpay, unpaid and/or provide low benefits, engaged in activities not defined as “economically active employment”, unskilled and limited access to modern education and health systems, women are less able to perform than men.

Due to the widening technology gap to address challenges of the future, it is important to create interconnected institutional arrangement with strong private sector influence to support policy measures and strategies focused on using the growing pool of knowledge-based networks to ensure that frontier technologies including ICT deliver to sustainable development and leave no one behind. 

Helena Paul
Helena Paul

1. What are your biggest challenges and concerns when adopting digital technologies to address current development issues?

My major concern relates to the proposal from the World Economic Forum (WEF) to digitise all of biodiversity. The Convention on Biological Diversity has three pillars: the conservation of biological diversity; the sustainable use of its components; and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from genetic resources.

However, many powerful interests are saying that Digital Sequence Information (DSI) is NOT the same as genetic material and therefore the second and third pillars do not apply to DSI.  This would also apply of course to agricultural biodiversity. The work and wisdom of indigenous and local communities underlies so much of what we take for granted in connection with the sources of our food. Maize is just one very good example of how this work has improved the quality of maize over centuries, using highly sophisticated methods of experimentation, exchange, preparation and handing on the knowledge down the generations.

I am also very concerned about the wider issues connected with digital technologies. There is  a big push for something called precision agriculture, which in the minds of the agriculture corporations means continuing with the same model of industrial agriculture but using computer technology, big data, blockchain, robots, drones etc to make it more ‘efficient’. This means for example that they hope to waste less fertiliser by directing it precisely at the plant, not just scattering it wholesale. Precision agriculture depends on connectivity and will use a lot of energy, which is basic to the application of big data. It is notable that Vodafone was requesting its customers to demand 5G technology in Australia for agriculture. 5G is quite different from previous generation mobile networks and poses risks, for example to cell signalling, that have not been fully examined.  It also requires the use of an enormous amount of energy to circulate the data, quite apart from the costs involved in setting it up.

So much depends on WHO CONTROLS that data. In general we can be confident that the companies creating these technologies will control both the technology and the results of using it, ie the data derived from it. We have already seen how, eg: Monsanto had for years (forcibly) harvested data from US farmers about climate, soils etc. Control of this on a large scale in the form of big data is very powerful for such companies.

 

Big Data

·       Huge sets of data that can be analysed to show patterns, trends, user behaviour and links … and identify possibilities for profitable interventions…

·       Eg: Monsanto acquired climate corporation in 2013 – data analytics – all farmers have to report and the big data is then amassed into hugely useful information about weather, crops planted, soils, yields etc etc, held by the company and mined using algorithms. 

  • Digital information on eg: crops planted, inputs, yields, weather reports, soils etc across wide geographical areas
  • Also from satellites and any other data source – access to such information adds to the power of the corporations holding it

 

Blockchain is another important area:

·       Invented to protect cryptocurrency deals

•       It is "an open, distributed ledger that can record transactions between two parties efficiently and in a verifiable and permanent way"

•       Encrypted digital records that keep track of eg: accounts, contracts via computers and the internet so that parties can be sure they have been complied with

•       No third party, eg a lawyer or a bank is required to verify

•       Can be public but also ‘permissioned’ ie accessible only to a few

•       Needs ‘miners’ or computer experts to secure the network and process transactions

•       Meant to help vertical supply chain transparency and avoid food fraud – but it could simply facilitate current industrial ag by solving some of its problems… eg: long supply chains, no link between producer and eater

•       Already being tested by corporations to move goods around the planet more cheaply...

•       It uses massive amounts of energy, could displace many jobs,

•       There is no governance to date

 

Some people are now proposing that perhaps civil society, or small farmers could use it, rather than large corporations. We can only wait and see how this works out. But in the meantime blockchain is already being used to move agricultural commodities around the world to ensure ‘just-in-time’ deliveries. If small farmers are to use digital technologies in their own interests rather than being controlled as outgrowers by corporations, they will need a lot of trustworthy specialist help.

Meanwhile the energy use of all these technologies is very high and we have not found a way to address this yet. I would guess that renewable energy can never yield as much as fossil because of the way that fossil energy has been heated and compressed in the earth over aeons.

 

2. What are the breakthrough digital ideas you think could exponentially advance sustainable development? 

Collectively we have to take control of digital technologies, otherwise they will control us, as is already happening. At this point I am extremely sceptical about the idea of using them, eg in agroecology, or for example, for people to set up their own blockchains to exploit what they may see as useful, even democratic aspects within it. There are very powerful interests doing the same and they have the capacity to invest enormous amounts of money to develop their ideas. They are currently in control of their use, frankly. Along with some governments. Furthermore these digital technologies involve very high levels of energy use and I believe that renewables can never match the density of fossil fuels.

 

I therefore think we must beware of thinking that digital can advance sustainable development. As the IPCC has said: ‘1.5°C pathways that include low energy demand (e.g., see P1 in Figure SPM.3a and SPM.3b), low material consumption, and low GHG-intensive food consumption have the most pronounced synergies and the lowest number of trade-offs with respect to sustainable development and the SDGs (high confidence).’

IPCC 1.5ºC report: summary for policymakers, D4.2. https://report.ipcc.ch/sr15/pdf/sr15_spm_final.pdf

Martin Cadena
Martin Cadena Moderator

Thank you for the inputs and for your interest in this Global Discussion @Helena Paul. Do you have some good practices or solutions you may want to share about the main concerns you mentioned (i.e., big data, blockchain, energy efficiency by the use of new technologies)?

 

Edo Stork
Edo Stork

Hi everybody, 

My name is Edo Stork and I am Deputy Resident Representative in Peru awaiting for my next assignment soon as Resident Representive. Before being DRR/RR I was very much involved with UNDP's practice for ICT for Development and contributed quite a lot to the practice before UNDP stopped it in 2004 aprox. I am happy it is back again as the use of new technologies in development cannot be ignored and can help a lot with innovation. 

Here briefly some of my thoughts:

- Reading the exchange it is strange to see that quite a few topics like technology and agriculture, education, entrepreneurial development still are present just like in the early 2000's. One of the most basic challenges remain to increase the access to quality education focussing on ALL areas of the countries. If not, there is not enough mass to push through. 

- Technologies normally are not the main ingredient of interventions for development. They are generally a means to an end and therefore it is important to frame clearly what is the development challenge and what element has technology made easier. In these discussions (understandably we can get too caught in only the technical element). 

- Actually I also feel that this format does not seem adequate enough to get all opinions in and digestable. Now that we are moving forward with big data, language comprehension, can't we think of a better way to collect proven real best practices rather than just everybody reading loss pieces of text. Who has been able to advance on this? This would be a powerful way of moving ahead and building on digital available knowledge. 

- Finally and concretely, I would also, based on experiences in Peru, look for two challenges in which technologies can have a bigger impact: transparency and anti corruption efforts relating to bribery between the public and private sector accompanied by high quality national laws, policies and secondly ways in which to analyze (through big data and experimentation) on how to increase the formal private sector in the country. On the last topic I don't think anybody has the magic solution and therefore some experimentation, maybe with agile methodologies will inspire. I would be very interested in further views and opinions. 

Kind regards,

Edo

Beniam Gebrezghi
Beniam Gebrezghi Moderator

Thank you Edo for your valuable feedback and also for your comment on the platform - well noted! It is important for us to hear this in order to improve the platform. 

Blockchain has been highlighted many times as a means to improve transparency for all kinds of transactions - traceability of food products, diamonds, etc. Would love to see existing applications to fight corruption.

Ada Berenice Rodríguez
Ada Berenice Rodríguez

Hola, buenos días, me da mucho gusto ser parte de las personas comentaristas de este forum, me llamo Ada Berenice Rodríguez Hernández, de nacionalidad salvadoreña y hace unos meses atrás  recibí y acepté la invitación de PNUD para formar parte de dichos encuentros informativos y de investigación social.

Como parte de mi interés quiero compartir con ustedes lo que considero que puede ser útil para el tema en desarrollo:

Pensar en Desafío0s digitales en pleno siglo xxi, es un tema que abarca mucho y quise ser un poco sintética. Puesto que , según lo que analisé, uno de los desafíos que se presentan con mayor recurrencia es el costo de la inversión en útilidades, mobiliario, infraestructuras, entre otros recursos, que quierase o no siempre se van a tener en cuenta al momento de realizar los diversos planes de acción enfocados en avances de este tipo para ponerlos en marcha dentro de cualquier ámbito sea  en sistemas o simplificado, con el único fin de afectar en bien a sectores como: agricultura, ganadería, industria, comercio, oficina, turismo, etc. Planes que deberán mostrarse envolviendo un montón de elementos a los que debemos ampliat, por lo tanto el uso de plataformas virtuales, diseños gráficos, imágenes en 3D y 4D  generan hasta cierto modo una preocupación de qué o sobre qué voy a presentar, ¿Cuánto me va a costrar esa inversión? y ¿qué voy a ganar con ello?

El impulso de un Desarrollo Sostenible, con el uso e implementación de las diferentes técnicas digitales, actualmente se piensa que no puede existir algo con qué innovar pero si vemos a los países con avances y desarrollos en tecnologías como Japón y  otros de Äsia y Europa, veremos que el evolucionar de esta reacción tecnológica no pierden sus avances por el contrario van todavía a más creando nuevos elementos de incrementación útil y los podemos ver en el uso de la  internet, telefonía, comunicación, los artículos de hogar, sistemas de educación, vial y de seguridad, etc. Entonces, caigo en la idea que en realidad la aplicación digital debería dar el paso para la implementación T, es decir, los programas de calidad virtual, la virtualización de toda la esfera que tiene que ver con lo tecnológico, chips,  softwares, y demás.

bueno esta es mi aportación, muchas gracias, feliz semana.

 

 

Anne Lochoff
Anne Lochoff Moderator

Hello Ada Berenice Rodriguez, thank you so much for your thoughts, much appreciated. I think you are raising a similar thought to @gsmoke , would be great to raise a similar question with you."Do you think combining existing technology in new ways is a possible approach to the challenges we face in the development sector, thus potentially avoiding "the cost of the initial investment for innovating from scratch"?"

William Allen
William Allen

Good comments on the blockchain! Thanks! Why not also bots! Or Robotic Process Automation (RPA), to automate manual processes so that our smart and time-challenged UN people can focus on programme delivery, consultation and coordination?

We at the United Nations International Computing Centre are working with many Clients including UNDP on innovative solutions to pressing problems around the UN Reform (doing 'more with less') and the SDGs.

We have three new partnerships with RPA vendors and a digital shared services hub in the works for process automation projects with bots.... https://www.unicc.org/in-focus/2019/06/26/icc-business-roundtable-on-robotic-process-automation-business-with-clients-in-new-york/.

Thanks for the interesting approaches shared here - hope we can help you make SMART (social-mobile-analytic-real-time transformation) choices to accelerate the agenda!

Anne Lochoff
Anne Lochoff Moderator

Hello William Allen, thank you for your great question would like to link you to a conversation with Ayad Babaa on chatbots for development. Would be great to hear more about the challenges you may have faced in producing innovative solutions to pressing problems?

Edwardina Aloo
Edwardina Aloo

Dear Anne Lochoff, thank you for positive response, it is important that ICT contribute to the increasing of share of capital income in developing countries like ours but the gains will have to redistributed to benefit and not exacerbate income inequalities worsening financial hardship of venerable marginalized populations especially female headed rural households living under absolute poverty earning less than 1 dollar a day. Female headed households estimated at 36 percent and 28 percent in the rural and urban slums, respectively, left behind cannot reap the benefits of existing technologies. Frequently, women are confined to particular sectors, whereas, within non-farm sectors producing primarily for export such as textile and apparels, electronics and foods processing industry, women tend because of their weakened position to be replaced by males as profits expand.  Often segregated in informal arrangements that underpay, unpaid and/or provide fewer benefits, unskilled and engaged in activities not defined as “economically active employment”, lack of access to modern education and health systems women are less able to perform than men.

Given the widening technology gap it is important to create interconnected institutional arrangement with strong private sector influence to support policy measures and strategies focused on using the growing pool of knowledge-based networks to ensure that frontier technologies including ICT deliver to sustainable development and leave no one behind. As a means of improving standards of living and increasing the voice of households, women have to clearly be an important part of human capital accumulation, basic infrastructure development and international cooperation to deliver sustainable development and leave no one behind.

Enrique Morales
Enrique Morales

1. ¿Cuáles son sus mayores retos y preocupaciones en la adopción de las tecnologías digitales para hacer frente a los problemas actuales de desarrollo?

Hemos visto en muchos países que unas tecnologías se van adoptando y otras van caducando.  Ejemplos como el CD/DVD/Blu-Ray, CableTV, algunos incluirían radios AM/FM, e incluso hasta la línea terrestre en nuestras casas que se alabaron a finales de los 1800.

 

Si la adopción es que las personas tengan al menos un dispositivo (IoT, smartphone, etc.) digital para conectarse al Internet, a una velocidad decente y precio asequible, esto sería un gran paso.  Pero la realidad es otra.  Países tienen restricciones notorias en la adquisición de equipos, o en la velocidad del Internet, o limitaciones/censuras, etc.  Si bien podríamos pensar que los ciudadanos en estos países podrían de alguna forma ver su “normalidad” adoptando las tecnologías digitales (TD) con estas trabas, no estarían al nivel de otras naciones a cuyos IDHs deben tender.  Sin embargo, podemos ver que en estos Estados se adoptan estas tecnologías digitales si son destinadas al agro, la industria, la navegación, etc.

 

Existen países que tienen trabas más básicas para adoptar las TD, como tener energía eléctrica al menos por 12 horas al día. Con este cambio climático y sus efectos, esto va a tender a empeorar y los habitantes en estos países van a estar en desventaja con los de otros países que cada día dependen más de las TD en su vida cotidiana, incluyendo la forma de hacer negocios.  De no tener una política de Estado como lo han adoptado muchos países, destinando recursos cada año del presupuesto nacional, las TD seguirían ingresando a estos países como lo han estado haciendo, no sacando el potencial máximo que deberían.

2. ¿Cuáles son las ideas innovadoras digitales usted que podría avanzar de manera exponencial el desarrollo sostenible? 

 

Aquellas que potencializan la capacidad del individuo, mediante el ejercicio de sus atribuciones democráticas y participativas en la sociedad donde vive.  No es solamente automatizar los procesos burocráticos del Estado, sino buscar aquellas que garanticen los derechos humanos mediante procesos seguros y no violables.  Por otro lado, aquellas que permitan bajar costos a las transacciones cotidianas de las personas.  Vemos ejemplos en compañías como AirBNB, Uber y aquellas que emergerán para utilizar blockchains.  Al bajar el costo de las transacciones cotidianas, poder ejercer mis derechos humanos, mi calidad de vida aumentará.

Anne Lochoff
Anne Lochoff Moderator

Hello Enrique Morales ,thank you for raising the the importance of digital solutions that enhance the capacity of the individual, through the exercise of their democratic and participatory powers in the society where they live. Do you perhaps have more examples where the concept of collective intelligence is applied to development solutions? Maybe the group could also help?

 

Enrique Morales
Enrique Morales

Anne Lochoff Pues me atrevería a comentarle sobre el derecho a la diversión o entretenimiento.  Vemos que el talento ya puede ser mostrado a todo el mundo, y no es algo de unos pocos, como era antes. Yo puedo crear mi propio canal de YouTube o cuentas en las redes sociales donde puedo ofrecer mi arte, o puedo ser promotor o ser de ayuda a otros.  Puedo incluso ganar dinero sin intermediarios, mejorar mi calidad de vida y tener recursos para emprender e innovar en otras áreas de interés.

 

ENTSEYA
ENTSEYA

Bonjour tout le monde,

La lecture de vos commentaires ont enrichi mes recherches et je suis bien ravie de vous lire. En résumé la technologie certes améliore les conditions de vie de chacun et change notre monde. Cependant, pour les pays en développement, dans mes recherches en particulier sur: l'efficience des dépenses publiques en éducation et en santé: Cas Sénégal et sur l'implication du secteur privé dans la corruption en Afrique les analyses ont montré qu'une bonne allocation des ressources du secteur social conduit à l'efficience du secteur ce qui est une évidence d'une part et d'autre part les variables justice et droit; l'investissement du capital humain, ... sont des facteurs clés pouvant amener les Nations en développement vers leur apogée économique de manière durable (tout en tenant compte des Objectifs de Développement Durable). Mais l'une des entraves vers cette apogée est: la Corruption. Ce facteur, est un réel frein des économies en développement vue la recherche des ressources et de financement dans l'investissement de leurs différents projets pour l'atteinte des ODD.

Aujourd'hui certes avec la technologie, on note quelques changement dans les économies en développement mais ces progrès sont encore bien loin vue les challenges que connaissent ces Etats pour l'atteinte des Objectifs de Développement Durable (ODD)  

Martin Cadena
Martin Cadena Moderator

Dear @ENTSEYA, thank you for your comment. Perhaps you could share a  more about your research and how it is linked to Digital Technologies.

Do you may have some examples or "solutions" on the use of Digital Technologies to decrease or erradicate or corruption?

 

Jean Marie BORA
Jean Marie BORA

Dear @Martin Cadena , here is one example where digital technology plays a big role in the fight against corruption  : Phones against Corruption was launched in July 2014 and implemented by UNDP and the Department of Finance of Papua New Guinea. The main objective of the pilot initiative was to develop and put in place a tool enabling citizens to report on cases of corruption by sending SMS messages to the Department of Finance’s Internal Audit and Compliance Division, which analyses the information for further investigation. It is a free, user-friendly reporting tool which does not require Internet access or a specific application, and does not report sender’s information. To send an SMS, the sender simply states the ‘where’, ‘when’ and ‘what’ of the corruption case being reported.

In its early stages, the Phones Against Corruption system is being used by officials from the Department of Finance, with other government departments coming online later in the year. It will then be rolled out for use by the general public.

Since the launch of the initiative, a total of 13,229 text messages have been sent, including 948 alleged instances of corruption. Analysis of the data shows that around five per cent of these cases represent serious allegations and are valid for investigation.

According to the outcomes of the user experience research carried out with the support of the Government of Australia, more than two thirds of the respondents find the system quick (63%) and easy to use (68%), while 90 per cent are willing to use the system again. Seventy-six per cent are confident that the Government will take action where corruption is alleged. However, to sustain the initiative, further promotion among the staff of the Department of Finance and other line ministries, especially at the district level, is required. Additional resources will be needed for the Internal Audit and Compliance Division to investigate the reported cases.

In 2014, the initiative focused on raising general public awareness and building the SMS system. In 2015 it will focus on addressing the findings of the user experience research through expanding the initiative to other government departments. Close monitoring and communication of development results is considered as a key to achieving results.

ENTSEYA
ENTSEYA

Merci bien de votre remarque à cet effet, je ne peux concrètement vous donner Une solution  parce que c'est un travail sur lequel je travail encore. Néanmoins, un facteur important tel que: la Liberté de l'informations (c'est à dire la publication des données dans tous les secteurs des pays en développement) par le biais de la technologie est un atout qui permettra aux gouvernés d'être mieux informés puis être à mesure de prendre de meilleures décisions dans le présent puis dans le futur. Pour cela il faudrait prendre exemple de la Finlande qui fût cité en 2017 comme l'un des pays les plus heureux du monde, en introduisant une Loi sur la Liberté de l'Information en 1951. 

On peut aussi tenir compte de la réponse apportée ci-dessus par Mr @Jean Marie BORA 

Martin Cadena
Martin Cadena Moderator

Dear Jean Marie BORA thank you for the reply and for bringing this successful case. It is great to see that an evaluation has been conducted to show the value of the initiative. 

I have two quick follow up questions:

1. Do you know if the initiative os still being implemented in Papua New Guinea?

2. Do you know if it was scaled up to other countries?

Also appreciate if you could share a website or a document to learn more about this solution

Thank you 

Martin

Jean Marie BORA
Jean Marie BORA

Martin Cadena PHONES AGAINST CORRUPTION initiative is still in progress because it is a project of the Ministry of Finance with other Partners. Regarding whether the initiative has been extended to other countries, no but other countries have other projects that do not look like this but are aligned in anti-corruption initiatives using ICT. (Example with Tanzania East African country.) I work a lot on the issue of corruption because, I am activist in Fight against corruption under the Program of sustainable development to the horizon 2030.

 

Anti-Corruption Mediated Agency: Music and Media against Corruption in Tanzania

The painted sign on the tour bus carries a bold message: Chanjo ya Rushwa, Uvivu na Ubinafsi (vaccination against corruption, laziness and selfishness), along with the name of the band Vitali Maembe & The Spirits. I notice that when traffic police read the sign, they simply urge the bus to pass on, not bothering with the usual “checkup.” It takes five hours to reach our destination, Kilwa Kivinje in Lindi region in southeast Tanzania. We are weary from the journey, hours on unpaved roads in poor condition, running parallel to a new road under construction, which as usual is taking longer than planned to be completed. Our first stop is the ward office, where Vitali Maembe shows a copy of his permit from the National Arts Council, while explaining the purpose of the planned performance. Although the permit is nationwide, he needs to secure local permits in every town and village of the tour. To our relief, the local authorities in Kilwa are cooperative and welcome the campaign, issuing the permit without delay. The tour bus is parked right outside the office, in a large open public space. It is a scenic location, a coastline with fishing boats anchored near the shore and historical buildings in what used to be an important trade port on the Swahili coast in precolonial times

The band members offload the music equipment from the bus and position it on a small concrete platform. Although exposed to the hot tropical sun, the platform will bring the performers closer to the audience, thus they prefer to use this makeshift space rather than the existing stage with a roof a few meters away. Instruments and sound equipment are carefully placed on and around the platform. The heavy generator is carried to a nearby patch of dry grass, to reduce the noise. Although the equipment is heavy, the stage is constructed within less than an hour, following a well-established routine that has been perfected during the past months of the tour. The musicians proceed with an elaborate sound check, which attracts curious onlookers. As the band gets ready, more and more people appear, patiently waiting in the shade of trees or leaning against walls. Towards late afternoon, Vitali Maembe jumps on the stage and the band begins to play music. Maembe introduces the group to the audience, along with the message they wish to deliver: vaccination against corruption. It is 30 January, 2012 and the Chanjo campaign has reached yet another district in Tanzania to give ordinary citizens an opportunity to speak up against corruption. The tour is mediated by microphones, organized with mobile phones, and documented with digital video cameras.

This chapter explores the use of music and digital media in the Chanjo campaign against corruption in Tanzania, focusing on mediations of agency. Building on Latour (2005), I use the concept “mediated agency” to refer to a process in which different cultural forms (mediators) bring about social transformation (agency). In so doing I recognize the “agency of art,” especially its embeddedness in networks of social relations and its “practical mediatory role” in processes of social change (Gell 1998). Similarly, I appreciate media and other mediators in the broader sense of “social mediation,” with an emphasis on social interaction and exchange (Boyer, 2012). Thus, while understanding agency in the sense of transformative action or practice, I build on anthropological theories of mediation, focusing on social processes of intervention and interaction that include but go beyond different forms of media. In this chapter, I will argue that the Chanjo campaign creates a platform that mediates the agency of participants, empowering them to speak up against corruption. The music itself is of course an important form of mediation, but so is the method of delivery, not least the interaction with the audience, as well as the mobility of the campaign. These layers of mediation intersect in different ways, which enforces the process of social and cultural transformation. Through digital mediations and remediations (Bolter and Grusin, 1999), especially through social and mobile media, the campaign expands in time and space, thus extending agency beyond the tour itself.

 

Edwardina Aloo
Edwardina Aloo

Hi, Edwardina Aloo Ndhine, policy analyst from the National, Commission fro Science, Technology and Innovation (NACOSTI), Kenya. Thank you for this platform to share, learn and exchange views on digital challenges to sustainable development especially disadvantaged populations.

Health Burdens  associated with technical challenges and typically weak institutional linkages

  1. What are your biggest challenges and concerns when adopting digital technologies to address current development issues?

On average, children in developing countries lost 8 times more health life years than their counterparts in developed countries from environmentally related diseases. Although the statistics remain alarming, they do not capture the long-term effects of exposure until later in life hence information on adverse effects caused by exposure leading to loss of productivity resulting to environmentally induced lack of earning household poverty remain undocumented. Often children (especially girls) from urban settlements miss school to look after younger siblings who fall sick from unsafe food, polluted water, industrial emissions or from respiratory disease caused by burning solid fuels in poorly ventilated houses.

 Unavailability of e-health services, poor functionality and high cost of services

  1. Achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC) for all and establishing robust Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) systems are two urgent priorities and requires strong supportive Health Information Systems (HIS) which to date have been elusive to develop. A strong health information system is fundamental to realize the UHC agenda of providing data on entire populations, their morbidity and mortality, and monitoring of their costs of care. The second challenge concerns the strengthening of Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) systems which represent the best source of continuous data on births and deaths.
  2. Since UHC under the “the Big Four Agenda” is a new concept in Kenya, many County Governments are engaged in trying out pilots to develop scalable innovative models for delivery of devolved health services and, also provide support to HIS. In addition to technological challenges, they seem to be struggling with use of tablet gadget, internet constrains and electricity failure contribute to not entering patients’ details and many unrecorded cases. Significant workload increased on data related activities result in lesser time spent on providing healthcare, inconsistency to drugs prescribed on slips and poor patients follow ups. Without these comprehensive data, there is no reliable way of knowing whether interventions are working or whether development aid is producing the desired health outcomes.
  3. A common characteristic of complex HISs arise with the existence of a multiplicity of systems which are fragmented, both technically and institutionally. These fragmented information systems each have their own deeply embedded historical legacies which make them difficult and perceived risky in responding to the novel requirements. Institutional practices are deeply embedded and hard to change in terms of ownership. But, integration of fragmented health related Health Information Systems (HISs) can inform strategies to deal with challenges of poor and inadequate infrastructure; insufficient and unevenly distributed resources; and, lack of competent capacity.

2. What are the breakthrough digital ideas you think could exponentially advance sustainable development? 

Building robust CRVS HIS requires multi-sectorial coordination mechanism across established organizations and agencies– including relevant government ministries, departments and agencies (departments of health, civil registration, statistical offices), academic organization; not-for-profit and civil society organizations; industry associations and pharmaceutical companies including policy makers from devolved County Governments. Building these linkages is as much a technical challenge as it is institutional.

 

Martin Cadena
Martin Cadena Moderator

Dear @Edwardina Aloo, thank you for the insightful comment. Do you perhaps have a case study to share on Civil Registration and Vital Statistics? or about information sharing among multi-sectorial entities?

 

 

Ayad Babaa
Ayad Babaa

Hi all... I might be wrong, but one of the challenges I frequently notice is that there is a huge gap in mentality and work approach between people who are working in the tech industry and people who are in the international development. The tech-savvies usually think that technology can solely solve all world problems and they go with top-down approaches without knowing the root challenges in development, while the international development people have little knowledge of new technologies and cannot design a digital solution for development. There are just a handful of people who can combine the two sectors and can come up with real digital solutions. I personally think that there is little investment to these people/approach in the development sector because the decision-makers think that there is no need. What do you think? 

Anne Lochoff
Anne Lochoff Moderator

Hello Ayad Babaa, HBR shared the concept of becoming a "tri-sector athlete", to identify learning or working across different sectors as a skill that would be sort after in the future for the opportunities it would offer. Thank you for sharing the opportunity for the technology sector and development sector to work together for individuals to gain experience in both sectors. 

Azreena Azizan
Azreena Azizan

In Malaysia, we are facing the same issue and challenges too. I personally think that the understanding of technologies is not restricted to "developmental" but also learning and iteration from "application" knowledge in the industries. 

Edo Stork
Edo Stork

Dear Anne and Ayed,

please find attached a methodology that I used some time ago in the Pacific. The attached is a document that was also published at the time in the Electronic Journal for Information Systems in Developing Countries. Even though this was done in 2003 I still feel it can provide value. What we did here is frame first the development problem we wanted to address through the development of problem and solution trees, then categorize and then finally try to understand in root problems what role ICTs can have in contributing to a solution. This report is for the Solomon Islands but we have also applied this methodology in other countries like Papua New Guinea. In the workshop we would bring together a mix of tech people and non-tech people and the workshop really gave ample opportunity for both profiles to come together and find solutions. 

Technologies have now changed but looking at this interchange I still feel this methodology remains relevant as the basic issues (unfortunately) remain in many countries. In the case of Solomon Islands you can see that the basic issues were affordable access to ICTs and equipment for the poor, and the need for more networking and awareness just like you highlighted in your message. In the report for the Solomon Islands you can see more details of needed initiatives in each of these areas. Once these issues would be taken forward then next steps could be made on improving education and training in ICTs to make more practical use of them and then finally appropriate policies could be developed. 

The implicit point of this methodology is also that -interpreting this report- for the Solomon Islands at the time working on a national ICT policy without taking into account more practical issues and moving forward on access, equipment and networking an ICT not much progress can be made...

 

Since 2003 when this methodology was developed and applied I have also found through complex systems theory that the methodology should actually incorporate cycles and not just be in the form of a tree but still the report at the time was very useful to discuss the development issues not only from a technical ICT point of view. 

I hope this is useful.

 

Kind regards,

Edo Stork

UNDP Peru

Lena Michelsen
Lena Michelsen

I see 3 major concerns when adopting digital technologies in development context:

1. equal access: It will be a huge challenge to overcome the digital, gender and rural divide especially in the global South. However, this is urgently needed in order to fight social injustice and respect basic human rights.

2. data sovereignty / corporate power: the introduction of digital technologies goes together with a strong concentration process among tech companies as well as - for example - agricultural companies like Bayer (the Bayer-Monsanto merger was strongly driven by the perspective of becoming the leader in digital agriculture). Corporate power on the one hand leads to reduced diversity / choice but on the other hand also enables data misuse.

3. planetary boundaries: so far it is absolutely unclear how the ecological footprint of a wider adoption of digital technologies worldwide will be. We can only guess the rising energy consumption of ICT and technologies like blockchain. We need a profound technology assessment that states clearly how digitalization has to be designed within the SDG framework and the Paris Agreement.

Please read our study "Blocking the chain: industrial food chain concentration, Big Data platforms and food sovereignty solutions" for further info/opinion on these issues: https://webshop.inkota.de/node/1553

 

Edo Stork
Edo Stork

Fully in agreement with points 1 and 2. I would also add re point 2 that in many developing countries more can be done to stimulate more start ups (non tech and tech start ups) to make sure that markets grow and larger players and national companies are forced to keep up and compete. On point 3 I would advocate for more agile methodologies: I don't think that a profound technology assessment would bring us forward. This will take too long and be too general: rather solutions (with the help of technology  but not technology alone) should be quick, concrete, agile, context specific. In our times of fast paced change I feel this would be the way to go...

Martin Cadena
Martin Cadena Moderator

Dear Edo Stork and to @Lena Michelsen thank you for sharing your ideas and complementary material. Is there any recommendation you want to highlight when applying the methodology into different contexts?

For Lena, thanks for sharing the article. Would you mind to summarize the main lessons learned for the audience?

 

Edo Stork
Edo Stork

thanks Martin. Some thoughts re the methodology:

1. Always try to start off with a clear development problem to which ICTs could provide assistance. The more specific the better. Make sure all stakeholders agree this is a key issue. The solutions will be non technological and technological if ICTs can make a difference. Clear connections to the SDG's will emerge.

2. In the consultation and looking for solutions have the right mix of tech savvy people and non technical people. Make sure that the non technical people remain on board and clear when the discussion gets more ICT technical. Make sure to have an adequate gender balance and make a clear effort to hear ideas from the different genders. For different contexts getting the ideas and views from the local people is absolutely crucial as they know the situation best. 

3. Try to find quick wins. Agile methodologies can help to quickly get to some initial results to inspire. 

4. Make sure to do a serious cost benefit analysis and during and after implementation keep meticulously monitoring your costs vs the cost benefit analysis and learn lessons.  

Regards,

Edo

Azreena Azizan
Azreena Azizan

Hi everyone, I am very happy to read all the comments and discussion. 

1) Introduce yourself briefly and share with us why you are interested in this discussion.

My name is AZREENA and I am with non-profit organization named CREST (Collaborative Research in Engineering, Science and Technology) from Malaysia. I am personally keen to be involve in the discussion because, I have started digital adoption campaign in Malaysia called #TechTarik, because digital adoption in Malaysia is still low for a 32mil population country. 

2) Mention the question(s) you are answering. 

Despite many initiatives have been done however one thing that I personally believe is (my country in particular) did not able to look ensure the citizen comprehend the WHY they need to adopt technologies. This is because, digital campaign and advocation is being done in English language at nationwide level and not able to penetrate in industry application. 

Here are my list of concerns for us to ponder: 

- An agritech conference is being held in central region (Kuala Lumpur), surrounded by expensive hotels where farmers and state-level officers are not able to access to. Central Region has not much agriculture activities unlike North and Southern region. 

- Speaker invitations speaks in English WITHOUT any translation devices to help policy makers to comprehend the content. 

- Our English proficiency dropped. Link here https://www.nst.com.my/education/2018/10/426949/malaysia-drops-9-spots-…;

- All official letters by government in Malaysia is in Bahasa Malaysia. Some unnecessary term such as "Big Data" "Open Data" have been translated to "Data Raya" "Data Terbuka" and this has been a struggle to many. 

- We at the non-profit organization speaks in local dialect to all municipal councils to gauge their interests in moving forward to create adoption programs for technologies. This also includes discussions, engagements with the regulatory at state level and national level about new emerging technologies and data policies. 

There are many other findings and scenarios where digital technologies are unable to be understand and comprehend by local here and close observation finding are on language barriers. We wish to look into German, Japan and even China ground activation on this and UNDP to help advocate our country and policy makers accordingly. We have not met any community who doesn't want technologies, they just don't understand it. We met many local who hold the posts in "technology and innovation" department who can not differentiate digitalization and digitization.

Indonesia starting to make a good move on this. Nodeflux- a startup who is advocating AI in Indonesian language has been attracting untap interest from suburb cities and start to be inquisitive about Artificial Intelligence. 

3) Our organization belief that language is the barrier and hope for global to create awareness for the corporate giants to have translation and tailor-made communication kit for their initiatives. Change management is key here. No technologies or digital platform able to change arrogance and denial of officers who were supposed to share the reality of ASEAN nation. 

Perhaps more research on change management focus on community enablers that have been doing things differently able to surface the little efforts that is currently being done to bridge this digital divide. 

Martin Cadena
Martin Cadena Moderator

Thank you Azreena Azizan for your participation and insightful comments. Perhaps the audience can share some solutions to the problems you are mentioning on how to overcome the language barrier. Comments from @Joel Zongo might be of your interest, as he highlights the need to build customized tools according to the local context, avoiding the temptation of implementing "one size fits all" solutions.

Kefalotse
Kefalotse

Hi, My name is Kefalotse Motlhoki.

 

This may be a late response, but thought I'd input my thoughts.

1. What are your biggest challenges and concerns when adopting digital technologies to address current development issues?
There is a risk of disrupting the soundness of the current state of affairs which officials shy away from to maintain stability.
2. What are the breakthrough digital ideas you think could exponentially advance sustainable development? 
I am currently working a project  which will change the manner in which taxes are calculated. The project will also have a strong positive effect on the unemployment rate.
 

Martin Cadena
Martin Cadena Moderator

Dear Kefalotse, thank you for your ideas. You are not late at all!

Would you mind to elaborate a little on the two responses? Perhaps highlighting some specific potential risks to stability that you see as main concerns, and also summarizing the main findings -including lessons learned- from the taxes project you are working on.

Thank you

Martin

Kefalotse
Kefalotse

Thanks, Martin.


So, Highlighting on some specific potential risks to stability:


It is no secret that as a people we are happy to continue what we know of and have trusted to serve us, so as it applies to the corporate space; the 80/20 rule helps in determining the voted and applied methodologies. 


A more relative example, we take a glance at the response people have on the establishment of the digital currency introduced by Mark Zuckerberg (Libra) here is a recent article;

 https://www.theverge.com/2019/6/26/18716326/facebook-libra-cryptocurren…


We see just how skeptical the response is based on safety, privacy, and the purpose of the plan. 
The emerging tax system has all the potential to disrupt and shake the current trusted system which works very well for the 80 out of the 20 which may be a minority in decision making but carries the most weight by a larger number of population.
 

In summarizing the main findings and lessons learned:

The system will afford participating citizens a fair opportunity to meet their tax obligations and expectations through voluntary commitment to serve and contribute to the holistic goal of the SDG.


The project is in its hypothesis phase and in-depth research conducted on the best execution strategy, taking into consideration the vulnerability of the current financial and social status in our country and continent on a larger scale.
 

Thanking you for your time in reading.

Urszula Marchlewicz
Urszula Marchlewicz

Good morning/afternoon/evening,

I am Urszula Marchlewicz, representing my Marchlewicz Marketing Management Agency of Poland.

I would like to refer to Question 2. What are the breakthrough digital ideas you think could exponentially advance sustainable development?, with proposing holistic solution.

I think that digital technologies are technical means supporting and facilitating sustainable development as they should be built by applying them to its reliable logical holistic framework.

I built such ideal general framework/template/model of sustainable development by reflecting way and imperatives of existence of humans as renewable through-life system developing within and with use of stable Earth environment system (as part of Universe), as occurring through repeatable closed block chained measurable grid like information/knowledge referred and driven procedure of realizing set of existential needs at imperatives realized by attributed executive institutional regional system at regional, national and global coordination, with development by precising of information/knowledge within it. The model precises, unifies territorially and makes measurable managed actual corporate and national accounts&GDP&budget method (CNAM) used by all countries, with attributing to it SDGs of the 2030 Agenda, so allows realizing sustainable development by countries at global coordination with use of combined existing managing instruments. Applying unified digital technologies to it would advance exponentially effective realizing sustainable development and enable it through time with inspiring cascades of applications due to its logic and precise identification and setting up all development components within the closed grid. I would like to forward the model to disposal of the United Nations and through it to all countries, as sustainable development requires global coordination.

I enclose leaflet with the model and below describe it in more details and how digital technologies could support realizing sustainable development by it.

The model expresses human existence as realizing by equal parallel individuals expressed as through-life system with use of their knowledge and co-related work and components of Earth environment expressed as its system - throughout X-Y through-life executive knowledge&work&age referred and leveled institutional system consisting of set of parallel vertical interlinked horizontally subsystems composed of : youth/gaining of newer systematic knowledge; adults: manufacturing/use of actual systematic knowledge&own non-systematic one-teaching/forwarding of newer systematic knowledge to youth-research/forwarding newer systematic knowledge to teaching&generating newest one with precising non-systematic one; elders/summarizing all knowledge – defined ideally targeted policies i) equal set of existential needs/goods&services at ii) most effective use of environment at keeping its equilibrium, iii) securing inclusion of all into institutions, iv) inter-territorial equalizing&structuring of institutions, responding to SDGs10&1-9, SDGs11-15, SDG16, SDG17, realized by dedicated subsystems, at management of particular executive institutions in levels and regional&national&global coordination of the system, done with actual knowledge in annual periods, with followed checking and continuing improvement/development (of whole system) with use of more precise newer systematic knowledge generated within it in last period, at respecting for each national system actual general CNAM rule - delivery of goods by private sector and services and coordination by public sector at financial interdependency of public sector on private one so overall annual financial balance.  It is done repeatable, by identification of actual level of realizing the needs at conditions and actual availability of humans and environment, by actual institutional system, and planning and realizing improvement of level of needs at conditions and structure&functioning of the system, for managed regions at inter-territorial national and global coordination, so by countries at global coordination by the UN.

The model explains and allows also to solve by the 2030 Agenda all actual challenges occurring at sustainable development as human rights, equality, migration, urban planning, climate change, peace, nuclear weapons as arising from non-keeping of imperatives of humans existence&development, with reversing occurred negative effects.

The model has assumed two complementary functions i) delivery of holistic information on development to secure its understanding by all enabling aware and correct involvement and realizing at ii) guiding as X-Y Excel-like institutional template co-related with similar individuals and environment templates, its realizing by all individuals, and executive and managing/coordinating institutions, by countries and their equalizing&optimizing global coordination, including communication. Both functions could be supported and facilitated by digital technologies as explained generally but not exhaustively below for A) countries with their regions, if necessary supported by global coordination at national and regional levels, and for B) global coordination

A) For countries with their regions, if necessary supported by global coordination at national and regional levels, especially in equalizing&structuring function playing also information role

i)        Information, by three flows: general information by national authorities and public media; regional nationally coordinated education introduced in regular teaching; regional nationally coordinated advocacy to manufactures by equalizing&structuring executive institutions – by support dissemination of the model/framework with explanations by Internet 

ii) Realizing sustainable development – by support and facilitation realizing by applying digital technologies to the X-Y Excel-like framework/model/template cco-related with similar individuals and environment templates, as serving for realizing sustainable development by the procedure and system annually through time, especially in two core activities

a) realizing set of equal economic&social needs at three conditions by particular private and public manufacturers by regions at coordination by regional authorities, by kinds of needs and conditions – at territorial identification, planning, realizing, followed identification, then improvement, (with regard financial investments), requiring huge amount of data, their collecting, setting up, logical analysis, transfer, processing, calculations, optimizing, documenting including accounting, with storing. Done with aligning research and teaching, and education of youth and elders knowledge   

b) coordination of the whole national institutional system composed of regional systems within national grid, with regard individuals and environment grids, by national authorities, at  

- setting up and optimizing of regional activities with inter-territorial equalizing of fulfilling of set of needs for all required due to different territorial allocation of individuals and environment components with planning and support relevant horizontal shifts.

- financial balancing of public and private activities by setting proportions of taxes from private sector to secure relevant money for realizing particular and all public functions so teaching, research, education, pensions, social needs, inter-regional infrastructures,  delivered by it including overall coordination, at shaping relevant revenues of individuals regarding their knowledge&work contributions defined by the model or required for securing needs of all through life, with attributing relevant money to regional public executive institutions and authorities.

B) For global coordination – if necessary support for national and regional realizing, support of setting up of national activities and their optimizing and equalizing with planning and support inter-national shifts, and realizing management of territories/environment not covered by countries, and at establishing and keeping global unified norms and standards especially measures of values of components of development so knowledge, work, environment constituents, its results, with attributing money. 

     I would like to add that the model I built 2016 and expressed fully 2018 could be used as it is already now for organizing institutional functioning because it is easily understandable and its core version of 2004 expressing X–Y core institutional system referred to individuals and territory with attributed universal as the EU strategy, policies and equalizing&structuring programs I built with regard findings of Maslov, Kotler, Kline&Rosenberg, Authors of CNAM, was verified scientifically, appreciated by Professor Rosenberg, E&Y, US stock exchange, and accepted by EU&PL Authorities for realizing EU regional development pilot by combined EU Programs projects including also EU promotion and regional teaching with pilot on support of EU employability of graduates I led through regional University of Koszalin (2000-10), but its fully precise operational use would require precising verification especially of environment&climate equilibrium and precising related operational details by urban&energy experts, also clearing gender question by relevant experts including the Pope as the model refers to man and woman as able to secure required humans existence through time.

Since 2008 I promoted to the UN shaping Post-2015 Agenda with use of  core model. Since 2017 I promote intensively usefulness and use of the full model, with declaring its forwarding with highlighting requirement of precising verification and trying to do it, to the UN for implementing sustainable development by the 2030 Agenda  with regard its different aspects as peace, climate change, financing, youth, education – at different applications and active personal or E-contributions as to 2017-18 HLPFs side events  of Global Partnership for Effective Development Co-operation, E-Discussion on 2018 HLPF ECOSOC Theme, 2019 ECOSOC Partnership Forum, also for solving within the Agenda issues considered by the  UN separately as migration/Global Compact for Migration, urban planning/World Urban Forum9, peace&human rights/Nelson Mandela Peace Summit, elimination of nuclear weapons/HLM to Commemorate&Promote the Intl’ Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, gender equality also co-linked with peace&security/Beijing+25/E-Consultation for 2019 Tunis Forum, humanitarian affairs/Warsaw Humanitarian Expo, with if possible informing and disseminating dedicated leaflets with the model.     

I promote use of the model and would like to forward it to the UN because realizing sustainable development according to the model will be reliable and effective only if agreed, used and observed in the same time by all countries at global coordination because but not only of indivisibility of environment and its resources common for all and required control and measuring of progress of development. Recommending the model to the UN would allow that.  

Using of the model by countries in which UNDP works, also by other groups or individual countries, would be possible at knowing availability and possibility of use of the model by all UN countries and under overarching umbrella of the UN.

I remain to a disposal.

Kind regards

Urszula Marchlewicz

Marchlewicz Marketing Management Agency, Poland

Romolo Tassone
Romolo Tassone Moderator

Hello everyone, 

We have one more day of this consultation (closes 11:59 PM, Friday, September 20, GMT-12). If you have any final thoughts, or reactions to the previous comments, please post them soon.

Many thanks to all those who have commented so far!

Anne Lochoff
Anne Lochoff Moderator

What a great week, filled with inspiring conversations! Thank you everyone for your contributions. Tried to create a quick summary of all the topics covered, only a few more days left to add to these thoughts.

Skills required to create digital breakthroughs:

The need to become a "tri-sector athlete", to identify learning or working across different sectors as a skill that would be sort after in the future for the opportunities it would offer.

Multisector partnerships and collaboration as a key mechanism for digital transformation. “Multi-sectorial coordination mechanism across established organizations and agencies”.)

Ensuring that we start with a deep understanding of human behaviour as a key to designing the technology of the future.

Digital creating a platform for Collective Intelligence:

The importance of digital solutions that enhance the capacity of the individual, through the ability to exercise their democratic and participatory powers in the society where they live.

Digital offering a solution to efficiency or doing more with less:

“Robotic Process Automation (RPA), to automate manual processes so that our smart and time-challenged people can focus on programme delivery, consultation and coordination?”

Re-defining digital innovation: (innovating from scratch versus combinatorial innovation)

Thinking about combining existing technology in new ways as a possible approach to the challenges we face in the development sector, thus potentially avoiding "the cost of the initial investment for innovating from scratch.

Women in Tech: (inclusion for women and youth)

Creating support for students especially girls with low transition to pursue STEM courses and rural women headed households.

ICT as a key coordination tool:

“Looking for effective digital solutions for improving communications, coordination and collaboration between development actors and stakeholders.”

The power of data:

“Success of our initiatives are predicted on investigating, documenting, analyzing the impact of e-Health data; and promoting better understanding by disseminating information.”

Blockchain:

The application of Blockchain empowered volunteerism within the context of the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework.

chris williams
chris williams

I would like to reiterate my thoughts on the importance for so many in lowering the cost of remittances, something that many of us have worked on for fifteen years or more, but have only moved the average rate down from 10% to 7% in that time. 

The blockchain proposal of the Libra Association, a non-profit Swiss-based group, can lower the cost to well below the 3% SDG target, probably getting below 1%, meaning an additional $60 billion pa as a potential extra income for the many who rely of family funds coming home. 

The great many ideas expressed here are exciting and invigorating for all of us, and thanks to the organizers for putting this altogether. But many require large funding and structural organization for many years; let us hope the money-raising facility of the Libra blockchain can help build many solutions from the bottom up.    

  

Martin Cadena
Martin Cadena Moderator

Thank you @chris Williams and Norman for emphasizing the potential role of blockchain technology can have on development.

Norman, would you mind to drop some bullets on the main points of the MOBI Dollars initiative for the audience?   

Thank you

Martin

rajesh k verma
rajesh k verma

Dear Sir, 

On the sidelines of this most invigorrative and informative discussion let me add a few tidbits that this expanding technology  grip has created for our kids. 

Last year as the figure goes there has been around 75000 suicides by the depressed school children in India alone. 

That calculates to about nearly nine deaths per hour. Whereas the technology has been meant to ease our lives, on the reverse it's obsessive use in the form of hand held devices have led our nextgen into mental paralysis 

Away as they have gone from the field games, those which could have activated their motor nerve exercises and the mental wellbeing  

Thanks, 

Rajesh k Verma 

Anonymous

Connect Governments with talent of millions of online volunteers

Latest Secretary General message on International Volunteer Day informs about approximately 1 Billion volunteers who dedicate their time, skills and passion to make the world a better place. With advancement of remote collaboration technologies, contributing online has become a great opportunity for those who cannot afford relocating physically (for many different reasons, but also due to disability reasons). Use of UNV Online Volunteering platform https://www.onlinevolunteering.org by Governments is free of charge. UNDP, may want to offer this free of charge service to host Governments on behalf of UNV. UNV is currently modernizing its Online Volunteering platform to plug-in features such as candidate longlisting by AI. Below are examples of types of tasks assigned to online volunteers:

 

  • Writing and editing
  • Research
  • Teaching and training
  • Translation
  • Project development and management
  • Art and design
  • Outreach and advocacy
  • Technology development
  • Community organizing

 

Online Volunteering platform has large number of registered volunteers with 60% of them being from the global south.

 

Martin Cadena
Martin Cadena Moderator

Dear avetisavagyan thank you for your comment, highlighting how digital technologies can help with volunteering. Would you mind to summarize some of the best practices we have to consider when working with online volunteering?

Thank you

Martin

Sylvia Briggs
Sylvia Briggs

I am Sylvia Briggs, CEO of Women Educators Association of Nigeria (WEAN); an organisation with UN ECOSOC Special Consultative Status.

My interest lies in the information I would gather/share and my knowledge that can be emboldened in this process, around building digital competences to close the emerging digital technological divide, particularly gender inequality across board.

Q1

One of the biggest challenges of adopting digital technologies to address current development issues in Nigeria in particular, and Africa generally, is the digital skill gap.

The weak and outdated curriculum does not prepare young people for emerging global opportunities in the digital era and integration into the digital economy is critical to human development, as well as sustainable development.

In addition, young African women are doubly disadvantaged as a result of the heightened digital gender gap in the continent. Africa is the only continent whose digital gender gap has widened since 2013. According to a report titled Women and the Web released by Intel Corporation: “on average across the developing world, nearly 25 percent fewer women than men have access to the Internet, and the gender gap soars to nearly 45 percent in regions like sub-Saharan Africa.” These African women who are side-lined in the technology ecosystem, have historically been vastly underrepresented in the Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) job families and as a result, may not be able to take advantage of the increased demand for workers with skills in frontier technology, thus emboldening the digital divide which persists in women’s access to ICTs and other emerging digital technology. Barriers contributing to widening this digital gender gap and subsequently the adoption of digital technologies include: high cost of internet connectivity, threats to internet access and use, low digital literacy, lack of relevant content, etc.

If unaddressed, the digital skill gap has the potential of perpetuating existing inequalities between hyper and under digitalized countries and can ultimately influence the ability of the latter to achieve the Global Agenda.

Q2

The participation of youths and women in the technology ecosystem is crucial for inclusive and sustainable development. Thus, it is necessary to address the skill gap and bridge the digital gender divide by providing accessible and gender-focused education within the African continent to enable these young people, especially women, develop critical digital literacy skills and proficiency.

The future is data-driven and thus it is pertinent to train young people, especially women, in demand ICT driven curriculum. Open and online learning platforms, such as Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), with relevant content should be exploited by governments, institutions and organisations to promote wider access to education in technology. For example, in 2019, the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) in collaboration with UNESCO conducted a six week Massive Open Learning Course to equip participants and learners with appropriate knowledge on Media and Information Literacy (MIL).

Being cognizant of the high cost of internet connectivity in Africa, in order to bridge the gender digital divide, there is a need for gender-focused Innovation Hubs that provide free internet access, in-house computers, as well as digital space for low-income female learners to access digital skill courses and MOOCs and also participate in Hackathons to solve social problems using technology.

I4policy is an existing pan-African movement of innovation hubs and community catalysts that support governments in improving innovation. Although there is a plethora of Innovation Hubs within the African continent however, there is a need for gender-focused innovation hubs aimed at bridging the digital gender divide and integrating more women into the digital economy for inclusive and sustainable development.

Martin Cadena
Martin Cadena Moderator

Thank you for your inputs @Sylvia Briggs. As a follow-up, I want to encourage participants to share some solutions to addressing the digital gender gap.

 

Peng Ang Goh
Peng Ang Goh

Hi. I am Darryl Goh, entrepreneur and founder of a tech startup.  I have been working on this social networking business for the past five years as I feel that there are still many needs and wants of the online consumer that has yet to be fulfilled.

1. What are your biggest challenges and concerns when adopting digital technologies to address current development issues?

One of the biggest challenge is the network effect where internet users are dominated by the few internet giants, who not only have a monopoly over the users, but the users themselves are occupied with commitments such as work, family, friends or investments that may not allow them the time to support or be involved in other communities.  Apart from the few ultra-unicorns, who have ability to reach a global audience to influence the greater good, they are essentially for-profit businesses and understandably responsible for their own dominance and performance in the stock markets.  

2. What are the breakthrough digital ideas you think could exponentially advance sustainable development? 

A universal online identification system can be developed, that not only caters to a specific segment of i.e. dating or home rentals but a wider audience that is of a global scale.  The breakthrough is when we provide this universal user id for the purpose of individual wants such as desired events, parties, meetings, dates and according to individual needs such as community support and inclusive well being.  The validity and credibility of such a system will be formulated based on constant peer-to-peer data collection that prioritizes an optimum user experience and security of the user within a safe environment, not just for the basic human rights of the user but would eventually lead up to the Sustainable Development Goals.  

In summary, with the decline of the existing IT products that is unable to satisfy all the needs and wants of every community, a global pool of users from all over the world has the scale to achieve the following:

1. To support ethically sourced suppliers and environmentally friendly producers.

2. To socially engineer solutions for issues such as inequality, diversity and low income.  

Thank you for your time and I look forward to any feedback, comments or replies that you have.  If you prefer to contact me by email, you can reach me at [email protected].  

Best regards,

Darryl Goh

benjamin robinson
benjamin robinson

Hi, my name is Ben Robinson and i am a policy coordinator with Emerging Ag Inc. on behalf of whom I would like to share the below information:

What are your biggest challenges and concerns when adopting digital technologies to address current development issues?

Around the world, the agriculture sector is currently undergoing significant shifts. Global food production systems must be transformed if we are to meet our commitments to reducing hunger and poverty, improving public health, and halting biodiversity losses. Consumers are demanding changes in the food system related to labelling, traceability, and environmental sustainability. Digital agriculture solutions can help address many of these demands and challenges. In spite of this, rapid advances in this field also raise a number of questions and challenges that will need to be addressed. The most pressing of these include:

Intellectual property rights, data usage and privacy policies. Many current digital agriculture solutions generate an enormous amount of data. Legal concerns around this data remain murky in many jurisdictions. It is often unclear to what extent farmers, processors, analytics platforms, local governments, digital service providers and other actors in the digital agriculture production chain have the right to collect, store, share, or sell the data it produces. Nor is it obvious in many cases what legal protections or recourse they might have should those rights be contravened.

Public perceptions. The implications of technological innovations with highly transformative and disruptive potential can often run the risk of being overstated, misunderstood, or misrepresented by key stakeholders, including the general public. Concerted and effective engagement and communication efforts are needed to ensure that all stakeholders are equipped with the necessary information to make informed decisions with regards to the appropriateness of digital agricultural solutions, whether in the realms of public policy, commercial production, or personal consumption.

Lack of participation and coordination of key actors in policy forums and public discussions. Digital agriculture and its proponents remain under-represented in many crucial policy forums and public discussions. The digital agriculture sector will need to be much more collaborative in its outreach and advocacy efforts, if it is to fulfil its potential for reducing hunger while helping to preserve the planet. 

 

What are the breakthrough digital ideas you think could exponentially advance sustainable development?

Examples of the some of the innovations which could have the biggest developmental impact include:

 Precision agriculture approaches, in which cutting-edge methods of data aggregation, analysis, and machine learning are applied to farming practices to more accurately assess and manage environmental conditions, input usage, and farmer interventions. Satellite guidance of automated farm machinery can reduce redundant movements and save fuel. Accurate field mapping and surveying can ensure that seeds are ideally spaced and watered, while pesticides and fertilizers are applied when and where they are most needed.

Integrated data platforms which provide a single interface through which producers can combine the above-mentioned field management techniques with weather forecasting, satellite imagery, and financial and market information, to most effectively address the myriad variables which affect their livelihoods.

Advances in robotic farm machinery which provide new ways for these analyses to be operationalized. Current research into automated workflows, advanced image processing, and new mobility and grip designs have made it possible for machines to take on ever more of the painstaking and often back-breaking labor required for a successful crop. Specialized and self-directed machines are being developed for a wide range of applications, including precision pest control, soil analysis, plant-trimming, and the harvesting of soft fruits and vegetables.

Automated mixing systems for plant protection products which can help make farmers lives physically safer and easier. These systems mix the correct volumes of plant protection product and water, thereby obviating the need for farm workers to agitate tanks and mix and measure their content themselves. This prevents operators from having to handle the plant protection products directly, thereby minimizing their exposure to potentially harmful chemicals.

Martin Cadena
Martin Cadena Moderator

Dear benjamin robinson thank you for participating and for the detailed information on some digital agriculture solutions. Perhaps you and the other the colleagues/experts who are participating could mention some solutions for the concerns you highlighted: (1)Intellectual property rights, (2) data usage, (3) privacy policies, (4) public perceptions. 

Saripalli Suryanarayana
Saripalli Suryanarayana

I was attending to my assignment in GAPMIL (media information and Literacy) of UNESCO, election system as an member of the committee. Hence my last minute attendance. 

1.Globally ,we are seeing "Climate changes are addressed as"Climate emergency " by our young future generations. We can't ignore. The rains are continuous as is increasing heat in last (by gone) July. The changes in life patterns needed are energy use,resources. (A).Changes can't be sudden and so can't be without cost and time. (B) jobs,monies of nations and societies have to undergo huge changes. (C)community and nations in some cases may loose.

2.Transport,and Habitat systems needed changes. (1)Living near sea shores and in big cities contribute to the disasters (water/rain/drinking/waste water treatment).The nature playing its role in the shape of the tides etc.

3.Reaching all to give  fast information and make them Literate is urgency in disasters. Hence faster media, approved ways, reachable content using culture and heritage are more important in the social context. 

We look forward to enabling the  4G,and unbiased media and using transforming culture to reach the young and old alike. 

 

Katherine Firmeza
Katherine Firmeza

Kudos for a lively discussion and sharing of experiences on how digital technology can usher in game changing innovations to achieve SDG targets.  My interests include making developing planning and programming more results oriented.  In 2009, I was involved in the MDG Achievement Fund Joint Programme 1656: Strengthening the Philippines Institutional Capacity to Adapt in Climate Change.  In 2018, we concluded Phase 1 of Resilience Capacity Building for Cities and Municipalities to Reduce Disaster Risk from Climate Change and Natural Hazards (Project ReBUILD).

 

Perhaps the lessons we learned resonate with the thoughts of Edwardina, Kefalotse, Peter, Simon, Syney, Joel and many more on big data, better analytics, better data management, good diagnosis to make better prescription, need for location-specific information, use of GIS etc.  While reading the discussion, there seems to be promising technologies on the pipeline. The reminder that digital technology is a means to an end allows us to put things into perspective.  

 

A sound plan relies on the assessment of the situation.  To realize SDG targets, location-specific data is needed. While there is a dedicated SDG for climate action, risks from climate change is crosscutting and may affect performance of the rest of the SDGs. Conducting climate risk assessment would require a number of data consisting of exposure data (social, economic, environmental); climate projections to be considered in hazard models; hazard assessment for flood, storm surge, rain induced landslide, sea level rise with subsidence, severe wind among others. Data needed can come in varied format such as spreadsheet and maps. These may be sourced out from different disciplines/institutions that may use different digital technologies.

 

In relation to question #1, digital technology is supposed to increase productivity.  With so many development activities implemented, a number of digital databases containing location-specific information are available somehow somewhere. However, oftentimes they cannot be retrieved easily (effort is not sustained after a project or data is fragmented). Or if they can be retrieved, digitized format cannot interact (maps in pdf or jpeg format) with other digitized dataset. For Project ReBUILD, we had to reconstruct basic planning data sets.  We had to coach our local government partners in digitizing exposure maps needed for hazard assessment. Local empowerment was crucial for our exit strategy and sustainability plan.

 

Apart from the the number of data required from multiple sources, we learned that low interoperability of the IT infrastructure for the development sector acts as a barrier to the conduct of climate vulnerability and disaster risk assessment.  While open data and open access are gaining traction, increasing number of e-databases does not necessarily result in addressing the issue on lack of useful and meaningful data for planning at the local level. An interoperable platform is needed to enable exchange and use of e-information among multiple sources without so much effort from the user. An interoperable platform could facilitate big data analytics.

In relation to question number #2, part of the exit strategy and sustainability plan of Project ReBUILD was to develop a geospatial analytics platform (GAP). The tool was designed to address challenges faced by the local government not only on the issue of fragmented data but also to assist in doing real time analytics.  The data generated goes into the system and can be updated any time. These consist of basic planning data that are updated every plan period. The GAP is user-friendly and the real time analytics function greatly reduces the technical competency requirement to produce high quality climate vulnerability and disaster risk assessment. It can also process different scenarios and provide technical findings down to the village level, both in narrative and map form.  Five pilot sites were assisted to assess consequences of flood, rain-induced landslide, storm surge and sea level rise with subsidence at different return period using the different climate scenarios.  The outputs serve as input to their local land use plan, development plans, climate change action plan, disaster risk reduction and management plan among others.

The process is replicable and adheres to country system (Supplemental Guideline on Mainstreaming Climate Change and Disaster Risk in the Comprehensive Land Use Plan issued by the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board).  The GAP is scalable and the analytics could enable broader hazard assessment from the village-municipal/city-province-region. A number of local government expressed interest in subscribing to this that it is now being discussed at the national level. The challenge is to get the various institutions to share access to data they produce in a format that is acceptable.

For the upcoming 74thGeneral Assembly, it is suggested that a policy to improve interoperability of digital solutions be explored.  This will allow digital technology to play a game changing role in making assessment (diagnosis) easier and speedier to allow development workers to spend more time and effort in implementing solutions on the ground.

I've learned a lot from this, thank you and Kudos to all.

Attaching an Executive Brief of Project ReBUILD and a slide show 

Martin Cadena
Martin Cadena Moderator

Dear @Katherine Firmeza thank you for your insightful comments, for the complementary material, and for the feedback about this consultation. I know various initiatives about participatory mapping, which consider as a final result a physical 3D map of their landscape. Digitizing these maps, and building this capacity in the community, could take such initiatives to the next level for planning.

Anne Lochoff
Anne Lochoff Moderator

Hello Katherine Firmeza , thank you so much for sharing the challenges and the benefits of effectively managing Geospatial Data. Improving  the interoperability of digital solutions is key to the success of making accurate assessment (diagnosis) easier. Encouraging everyone to take a look at GAP and feedback.

Katherine Firmeza
Katherine Firmeza

Always welcome Martin Cadena and Anne Lochoff.  Over the years we all have generated a lot of data more efficiently with the help of digital technology.  Today  geospatial analytics platforms allow various data collectors to combine and turn data into more meaningful/insightful information for better decision-making.  We are hoping that insights on  possible location-specific consequences from climate risks for each SDG target would be able to help us design better anticipatory and adaptation measures.      

E. Akoto
E. Akoto

Bonjour,

Adam Rogers a mentionné plus haut le potentiel des médias sociaux à contribuer à la concrétisation des ODD et j'abonde dans son sens. Si je prends le cas de l'Afrique de l'ouest, l'information se diffuse, culture oblige, de bouche à oreille. Aujourd'hui avec la pénétration croissante de l'internet mobile sur le continent (https://wearesocial.com/global-digital-report-2019), les médias sociaux sont devenus le "téléphone arabe" (passez-moi l'expression qui fait partie de la langue française) local. En dépit de la chèreté des données mobiles, les jeunes africains de 18 à 35 ans préfèrent s'informer sur les réseaux sociaux et se divertir grâce à ses outils, avec tout ce que ça comporte comme dérives comme la propagations de rumeurs, de fausses nouvelles ou de vidéos obscènes ou de violations de droits de l'homme dans les zones de conflits armés. Toutefois, si un effort concerté était fait par les organisations internationales de développement, les géants des médias sociaux et de la téléphonie mobile (ODD17), pour que ces outils soient utilisés pour faire connaître et promouvoir gratuitement l'accès à des ressources éducatives libres de qualité, non seulement on arriverait à encourager un usage plus sain et bénéfique des médiaux sociaux, mais on parviendrait à valider certains indicateurs des ODD 4 et 8. 

 

1. Quels sont vos plus grands défis et préoccupations lors de l'adoption des technologies numériques pour résoudre les problèmes de développement actuels?

 Mon plus grand défi est de convaincre les gens en Occident que l'Afrique qu'il voit à la télévision est différente de la réalité. Nombre de gens ont du mal à croire que les jeunes africains passent autant de temps sur internet parce qu'on se dit: pas d'électricité, pas d'installations, pauvreté, téléphones chers, etc. Pourtant, dans les faits, les marchés africains étant inondés de téléphones intelligents asiatiques à bon marché et qui viennent avec des applications préinstallées, les jeunes africains ont bel et bien accès à internet grâce à la technologie mobile. Des initiatives comme Freebasics de Facebook permettent aux gens d'avoir accès aux réseaux sociaux. Par ailleurs, quand il s'agit de l'Afrique et de l'éducation, les gens pensent toujours et pratiquement uniquement à l'éducation des enfants, notamment des fillettes. Certes, c'est toujours un problème préoccupant mais l'Afrique subsaharienne est un patient atteint de plusieurs blessures traumatiques. Tout le monde ne peut pas rester là à se concentrer pendant des décennies sur les mêmes problèmes. C'est bien beau de s'assurer que tout le monde sache lire, puisse terminer le secondaire et voire entamer et achever des études universitaires. Mais une fois qu'on arrive au bout du parcours avec son diplôme, qu'est-ce qu'on fait parce qu'il n'y a pas d'emplois, ou que l'on ne sait même pas rédiger un CV ou tout simplement qu'on a reçu une éducation tertiaire de qualité moindre? Pourquoi est-ce que la problèmatique de l'éducation telle qu'elle a été appréhendée jusque là par les ONG et les bailleurs de fonds ne semble pas intégrer le fait qu'elle doive déboucher sur une employabilité potentielle? Il me semble que les jeunes de 18 à 35 ans soient souvent les laissés pour compte des programmes de développement international.
 

En ce qui concerne mon initiative, le défi que j'ai en tant qu'organisme de petite taille à but essentiellement non lucratif, est la visibilité sur les médias sociaux. Le fait que Facebook ait changé son algorithme de publicité et que désormais il faille payer beaucoup plus que par le passé pour atteindre sa cible, est vraiment frustrant surtout quand on se rappelle le discours de Zuckerberg en 2015 pendant l'AGNU.

 

2. Quelles sont les idées numériques révolutionnaires que vous pensez pourrait faire progresser le développement durable de façon exponentielle? 
 

Les ODD qui me tiennent à coeur sont la mise en oeuvre des ODD 4, 8, 16, en Afrique subsaharienne pour les jeunes de 18 à 35 ans, et bien entendu l'ODD 17 car e pense que le développement durable implique TOUT le monde, pas seulement les acteurs publics.
 

Je n'ai pas d'idées "révolutionnaires" mais je suggère un usage à bon escient de ce qui existe déjà.

- L'initiative Freebasics de Facebook pourrait être étendue pour donner un accès gratuit à des sites d'organisations comme Khan Academy, à des plateformes gratuites d'éducation, etc. Je ne crois pas que mon idée soit incongrue, elle s'aligne exactement dans la lignée des propos de Mark Zuckerberg de 2015 aux Nations Unies. Étant donné qu'il possède les 3 réseaux sociaux les plus utilisés en Afrique, une implication de Facebook via l'ODD 17 dans la mise en oeuvre d'autres ODD n'est pas farfelue.

- Je pense que les développeurs d'applications mobiles pourraient en concevoir certaines qui améliorent l'employabilité des jeunes (vidéos sur comment répondre à des questions d'entrevues, comment s'habiller, etc).

- Il y a un grand besoin d'outils d'éducation civique et démocratique. On ne peut pas parler de développement DURABLE sans stabilité politique et civile et le lien entre paix, justice et développment a déjà été démontré. Les technologies numériques peuvent être utilisées pour pallier le manque d'éducation dans le domaine.

L'avantage de la technologie numérique est qu'elle peut permettre de créer des sociétés d'autodidacte à moindre coût et de manière ludique. Dans les régions du monde qui restent victimes du sous-développement, il ne suffit pas de mettre l'individu au coeur du développement en le ciblant par des actions mais il faut le rendre acteur de son propre développement. 
Le système des Nations Unies mais aussi d'autres organisations internationales comme la BM, la BAD, l'UA, l'UE ont tous ces excellents programmes ou projets dont les objectifs se recoupent. Mais les principaux concernés ne sont pas au courant ou n'en ressentent pas les effets car il y a une distance.Or la magie de la technologie numérique et des réseaux sociaux est de réduire cette distance et donner un aspect concret aux choses... pourvu qu'on fasse l'effort de vouloir s'en servir pour changer des vies.

https://www.pourinfosvp.com/a-propos-de-nous

Dr. Danika Tynes
Dr. Danika Tynes

What are your biggest challenges and concerns when adopting digital technologies to address current development issues?

Greetings. Thank you to UNDP for facilitating this discourse. As a practitioner and researcher in international development, this discussion is important as the digital age has been hugely impactful to traditional delivery methods (i.e., information exchange and services) and continues to grow in influence. 

In addition to many of the comments shared, among the biggest challenges when adopting technologies to address development issues are:

  1. Influences on absorption rates of disruptive innovations
  2. All technology is not necessary technology

Influences on absorption rates of disruptive innovations

An instrumental barrier to adoption of digital technology is whether or not people want or need the change.  The diffusion of innovation theory (Rogers, 1962) and the time to adoption is influenced by various socio-cultural factors such as: relative advantage, whether the innovation is perceived as better than the idea it supersedes; compatibility, or whether a new technology can be readily absorbed into the intended context; complexity, or whether a technology is too difficult to readily implement and make part of the existing infrastructure; observability, or whether the technology has demonstrated is benefits over a period of time, and; trialability, or whether the technology has been piloted or tested before attempt to fully implement.  These documented influences can actually impact the pace to change.  The term “disruptive innovation” is gaining more repetition in the industry, pointing to the relative advantage of diffusion of innovation theory.  With disruptive innovation, there is observed resistance to new technologies coming to market despite the potentially lower cost, simpler design, or increased user-friendliness.  Amidst this resistance to change despite the relative advantage, any trialability or observability of product benefits can shift the willingness to adopt a new technology.   

Development and moreover, sustainable development, necessarily insinuates a shift, and any shifts at the macro-level means that macro-adoption must occur and, in order to achieve this, institutions also must shift.  For example, in the US, Telehealth (an adjunct healthcare delivery method leveraging technology) saw rapid increase in use once the Federal government and the individual States supported reimbursement of telehealth visits at the same rate of in-person visits, effectively supporting policy that presenting yourself physically to a healthcare professional is no different than presenting yourself virtually.  Institutions and infrastructure must also be considered with development initiatives that leverage digital technology. 

While this conversation is about technology, what we often forget is that technology is meeting a need, and in sustainable development, scarce resources need to be applied where they can meet the most need.  While it sounds like a deviation, I assert, from having implemented dozens of IT systems, many of which were ‘disruptive,’ that a key consideration of resistance to change can be addressed from an interdisciplinary lens.  What I have observed to be most influential in the success of programs have been two things: 1) People and 2) Processes.  From the ‘people’ perspective, challenges occur for digital transformations when people are hesitant to support the new changes.  There is vast literature in organizational change management that can help alleviate this.  From a ‘process’ perspective, individuals today are overstimulated by change and guiding the support of the adoption of technologies is made easier through robust communications and training on what is different between the old way and the new way, and what processes can help sustain the change. 

All technology is not necessary technology

In areas like Malawi where the ICT (information communication technology) Index is lower, implementing new technology that relies on high bandwidth, for example, can be prohibitive.  In areas where child mortality may be higher due to cost or access to healthcare, deploying an expensive electronic health records system may not be the most impactful solution to meet the need, even though it has proven an effective solution for other conditions.  Einterz (2001) appropriately observes that “The development of costly high-technology solutions should not be an excuse to avoid the simple rolling up of sleeves and the dogged determination that are needed above all.” Einterz’s commentary is valid and is exactly why it is important that the underlying assumptions of the application of new digital solutions should be explored. Why would expense be incurred for technology when basic human needs are not met? 

What I have observed in both practice and in literature review, is that technological innovation has become so flurried and rapid, that individuals (i.e., adopters of technology) are becoming suspicious of the ‘next new thing,’ which can create powerful resistance to technology.  This is an enormous challenge because consensus on adoption can break down easily if a resistant coalition forms, despite the relative advantages of a new technology.  Staying with the same reference, telehealth, has demonstrated it faces massive adoption barriers despite its well-documented benefits and impact on health outcomes.  What has occurred, in short, is that many attempted telehealth programs have failed increasing suspicion as to its value.  The technology itself is not to blame, but indeed the planning for its application that has failed.  If there is only enough money for a pilot of telehealth and the pilot is only 3 months long, for example, there is no money to support the organizational and institutional shift to adoption and there is not enough time to measure impact that would increase perceived relative advantage against the landscape of other pressing development agendas.

A major drawback for adoption is lack of training and skill for new technologies to be absorbed. There are many new, very promising technologies that can support development, such as APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) that can ease the ability to communicate across systems and provide greater flexibility in delivering services.  However, this requires professionals who understand APIs, IT infrastructure, and how they relate to meeting population needs. To benefit from the APIs, it requires need to be announced, bought into, and reinforced institutionally.  Making data available via API can support faster and easier data migration and improved data quality review and cleanup. Any goals of accessing data to bolster decision-making and guide targeted intervention(s), will likewise require professional, trained individuals to get the most out of the data.  In these examples, it is easy to see that implementing a new technology without the proper skill sets in place may contradict the need for the technology to begin with.

Summary

            This question asked about challenges in digital technology adoption in development.  Across relevant literature, and also as observed in practice, two key barriers have been reviewed: a) influences on rate of adoption of new technology and,  b) ensuring that technology is applied where its benefits stand a chance of being realized given a system’s ability to absorb a new technology successfully.  In sum, all new technology projects, especially development projects, should:

  1. Gain institutional buy-in with long-term solutions for funding and reinforcement of the new technology
  2. Over-train end-users both before and after the new technology is adopted
  3. Professional development should be a cornerstone of all change, to help elevate the professional workforce to understand how to use and administer new technology, as well as fit into a larger strategy
  4. Be good stewards of technology and don’t just ‘throw it against the wall’ to see if the new fancy widget can solve chronic development issues

 

Einterz, E. “Commentary: Telemedicine in Africa: Potential, Problems, Priorities.” Canadian Medical Association Journal, 165,6 (2001).

Rogers, E.M. Diffusion of Innovations (1st ed; 3rd ed; 5th ed).  New York: Free Press (1962; 1983; 2003).

Martin Cadena
Martin Cadena Moderator

@Dr. Danika Tynes thank you for this insightful comment and for diving deep into the barriers for digital technology adoption in the area of development. I would like to ask a couple of follow-up questions:

1. Would you mind to illustrate with one solution/case the use of APIs for development?

2. If the paper and the book you mentioned at the end of your comment are available online, could please share the link?

Thank you

Martin

Romolo Tassone
Romolo Tassone Moderator

Hello all

We have good news; Achim Steiner, the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), will present this online global consultation during The Digital Future of Development high-level event at the UN General Assembly. The high-level event will be on Wednesday, 25 September, and it will be live-streamed (link to follow soon).

The people attending the high-level event will be encouraged to join the consultation, so we have extended the end date to Wednesday, 2nd of October, to allow for their contributions.

If you have any further responses to the consultation questions or previous comments, please do add them before this date.

Thank you again for your contributions so far!


Regards
Romolo Tassone

Charlotte Scott
Charlotte Scott

Hello again. I've been reading through the wonderful contributions; so much to think about! 

One comment a few days ago touched on gender issues, which I think are very important. There are all the gender issues we know that affect decision making, access to resources (that may be required to acquire devices etc), education opportunities, personal empowerment and confidence issues, opportunity to participate in informal learning opportunities - and so on! These issues are well known, but somehow may get swept aside in the excitement. 

We recently made Minecraft Education available in our rural ZayoHubs for secondary aged youth (www.zayohub.com), and right away we could see that we will have to strongly enforce a one-for-one policy to insist on access for girls. If the boys can't persuade the girls to come, they won't be playing either!

The issue goes deeper than that, of course. It's not just about whether a girl can get her hands on the technology; it's also about whether the technology meets her needs, or whether purposes that more generally meet the needs of boys and men tend to predominate. 

We know that the 'digital divide' is a big issue in the impact of technology in the west. Older people, rural people with no signal, people without access to devices are increasingly excluded. They pay more for things, and they struggle to access important information. Even registering to vote can be hard. This sort of lens is relevant as we look at gender exclusion, and other forms of exclusion too, with regards to technology in development. These are structural issues, not just the inevitable trajectory of change and innovation. 

So - practical suggestions...

  • Proactively consider incorporating technology into programmes that will be accessed by women
  • Ensure technology is incorporated into early school programmes - don't leave it until later years, when gender gaps are much higher
  • Ensure content relates to women - use female voices, for example
  • Insist that programmes reach enough women - don't get so carried away with the funky tech that you sidestep that issue!
  • and many more...  

 

Martin Cadena
Martin Cadena Moderator

Dear Colleagues,

I want to thank you all for your continuous participation in this Global Discussion. After four weeks, we have received more than 300 insightful inputs. As on the previous summary, I would like to highlight a non-exhaustive list of key points from the discussion of this fourth week:

Challenges and Concerns

  1. A reiterated concern is how digital technologies can support us to close inequalities gaps. For example, Edwardina Aloo, highlighted the challenge on guaranteeing equitable opportunities for girls to get adequate basic scientific and technological skills, and increase their registration in STEM careers.
  2. Challenges such as the increase of transparency and corruption eradication are constantly mentioned as key concerns that digital technologies can contribute to address. Helena Paul mentioned a specific area on the need to increase transparency in the supply chains to avoid fraud. Entseya highlighted corruption as the major obstacle for developing economies to achieve the SDGs
  3. There is a recognition that Climate change can be a barrier to achieve universal access to electricity/connectivity. On the other side, as Katherine Firmeza mentioned, digital technologies can contribute to get more site-specific data, analyze it and project climate change impacts on a local level.
  4. Ayad Babba has identified a huge gap between technology experts and development practitioners. The disconnection is a barrier to develop tailored digital solutions to development problems. 
  5. Data sovereignty. This is part of the concerns on data property and privacy. How to define data sovereignty in a world that has big players which has access to a massive amount of information obtained directly from the field at many locations/countries?
  6. Effects of digital technologies on the planetary boundaries. Apart of the e-waste concerns commented in previous summaries, there is a concern on how technology will affect the planetary boundaries (i.e., biodiversity loss, freshwater use, phosphorus cycle)
  7. Low interoperability between different platforms. Reach the interoperability is essential to enable exchange and use of e-information among multiple sources and to facilitate big data analytics.

Solutions and Ideas

  1. In terms of access equity, solutions such as Facebook freebasics (https://www.facebook.com/freebasicsInternet/) was mentioned. This is a partnership that plans to bring affordable access to selected Internet services to less developed countries by increasing efficiency and facilitating the development of new business models around the provision of Internet access. However, this has been criticized for violating the net neutrality.
  2. The use of Blockchain technologies was highlighted again as a tool that can facilitate transactions, increase transparency and combat corruption. A specific example is the MOBI dollar initiative (www.gbfc.center). MobiDollar’s goal is to become the world’s common digital currency without drastic price fluctuations as if the dollar has successfully become the common world currency. MobiDollar’s price and value are determined, based on ‘Earth Productivity Equivalence’ standard.
  3. Jean Marie Bora mentioned “Phones against corruption” as another solution for this concern. The project objective was to develop and put in place a tool enabling citizens to report on cases of corruption by sending SMS messages to the corresponding entities, which analyses the information for further investigation. Results were positive and the initiative is still in progress
  4. Some examples were mentioned for creating better-tailored solutions: Methodologies as “Object Oriented Project Planning”- EdoStork attached the methodology to his comment-, and the Project ReBUILD which supported the reconstruction of basic planning data sets at a local level and built capacity – details on the project are attached in the comment provided by Katherine Firmeza-.
  5. Robotic Process Automation (RPA), was presented as an example of how digital technologies could support to automate manual processes so that experts can focus on more substantive issues for development.
  6. Precision or Digital agriculture. This includes the use of different technologies to make agriculture much more efficient. The problem is this depends on connectivity and uses a great amount of energy

Considerations

Combining existing technologies in new ways as a possibility to address some of the challenges we face in the development sector, potentially avoiding the cost of the initial investment for innovating from scratch.

Zafar Gondal
Zafar Gondal

Hello colleagues,

The digital technologies are inevitable, must and could be friend of people, planet and collaboration. However, I have following fears and concerns if adequate policies, and decisions are not taken at global and national level. These are:

-It may widen poverty gaps within countries and in countries if benefits are not shared inclusively, if masses are not educated in new technologies. Digital technologies may be declared global commons for benefit of all. 

-It may widen injustice, inequalities, widen gender gaps etc.

- There is need to have robust regulatory framework, ethical values attached to use of digital technologies particularly AI. AI for human benefits, preserve our ethical values, our next generation.

-Digital technologies help create innovative justice products, it must help meet needs of all people. New technologies may be used to develop new products t meet needs of people.

-technologies must be used to change the system, to enable the system to accept the product level innovations and align institutions accordingly.

-Technologies need to help change the system, help change mindset, need to be introduced in justice system, court automation, case management, governance system, election system, law making and parliamentary system. 

Regards,

T B Dinesh
T B Dinesh

________

Challenge

---------

Spaces for creative engagement through voice expressions, material exploration and local indigenous archives facilitating inclusion of the low-literate, the aged and the women whereby the distance created between the texually prolific Internet users and the low literate rural contexts are reduced. 

-------

Solution?

-------

  • mesh networks with hotspots for community interactions. Provisioning of audio recording/playback, archiving and a portal that helps discover feeds and services using phones or embedded devices,

 

  • Storytelling software support and renarration of stories to visual and contextual needs based on content annotation tools to help bring together voices from people of all ages in the community.

________

Baili E
Baili E

1. What are your biggest challenges and concerns when adopting digital technologies to address current development issues?

A huge challenge is the accessibility, reliability, and data/speed limitations of Internet in northern Canada compared to the south. There are also many challenges around making technology accessible and inclusive to all people regardless of income, disability, and other human rights factors. 

2. What are the breakthrough digital ideas you think could exponentially advance sustainable development? 

Talk to Spot is an AI bot that people can use to preserve evidence and take a statement 24/7. https://talktospot.com/  Anyone can use it, and it provides a time stamped PDF report. Our organisation has partnered with them to launch first use of the bot for the general public. You can find out more on yukonhumanrights.ca. 

There is also this relatively inexpensive accessibility toolbar that people can add to make their websites more inclusive. https://hikeorders.com/accessibility/home/

 

GoldWorme
GoldWorme

What are the breakthrough digital ideas you think could exponentially advance sustainable development? 

Sustainability is a digital board game to meet SDG Target 12.8. Promote Universal Understanding of Sustainable Lifestyles. "Monopoly meets the Global Goals". 

How to Play: Select one of four different playing levels of lifestyle difficulty. 

  • EASY: Life on $200 a Day
  • MEDIUM: Life on $200 a Week
  • HARD: Life on $200 a Month 
  • Difficult: Life on $2 a Day

Players roll a digital dice to determine what is the next SDG choice on the board they have an opportunity to achieve. The prices of food, water, housing, energy, transportation, etc. vary based on lifestyle difficulty. Player collects a Universal Basic Income for every complete board rotation. 

Either cooperatively with online community or AI computer, the player that achieves all 17 Global Goals wins. 

The AI computer, Susan, can suggest what decision you should make as it continues to learn from our SDG priorities and preferences. As Susan gets smarter, the AI strategies can be made available open source to meet: 

  • SDG 17.17 "availability of reliable data to enhance capacity building support
  • SDG 1.1 By 2030, eradicate extreme poverty for all people everywhere, currently measured as people living on less than $1.25 a day.

Advertising will be based on the four tiers of lifestyle difficulty. Each time a player collects $$$, they view an 20-30 second advertisement. 

Premium advertising can be made available to "sustainable businesses" that want to showcase their ad when a player lands on a specific SDGs.   

Like the Samsung Global Goals app, the more ads that a player views, funds are credited to their user account to donate to a specific goals.  

There can be Partnership for the Goals mode to achieve select SDGs such as 

  • starting a food cooperative
  • developing a clinic/healthcare system 
  • building schools for universal quality education 
  • create a clean energy community 
  • inter-generational employment 
  • reduce food waste and waste generation
  • marine pollution cleanup 

Sustainability is currently only in concept stage of development, and welcome partnerships to have a proof of concept available for exhibition at the next Global Festival of Action for Sustainable Development in May 2020. 

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