I went to a great meeting hosted by NetHope and Plan International in Cairo, Egypt during the last week of February. The idea was to get several of the NetHope partners together — both IT companies and INGOs — to discuss ways of working together in the area of ICTs and Education.
I took advantage of the meeting to make some more “Reality Videos”, similar to the mHealth Reality Videos that James Bon Tempo and I did during the mHealth Summit.
1) My Finnish colleague Mika Valitalo asks ‘Really, what’s all the fuss? We just got some equipment and dropped it off in the community and it all worked fine….’
2) Nzila shares what was learned at the workshop and focuses on Grapho Game, a tool to improve literacy in local language.
3) Marcha Neeling says throwing devices at people will not solve any development issues.
4) Mohamed Hussein talks about how ICT4D needs to be led by programs and supported by ICT staff, not the other way around.
5) Maria Berenguer notes that teachers need computer training first if they are to use computers with their students.
6) Chris Bane reminds us that we don’t always need super sophisticated tools. Sometimes very simple ICTs can make all the difference.
7) Edison Nsubega explains that it’s important to base your selection of ICT tools and platforms on the local context and situation that you are trying to resolve.
I spent the past few days at the mHealth Summit where James BonTempo and I (supported by Plan International USA and MCHIP via USAID) co-hosted the “mHealth Reality Booth,” which we hoped would bring some mHealth practitioner reality to the Summit and offer an opportunity to capture some learning from folks working on the ground and implementing mHealth programs in some of the less cushy environments.
As people came by the booth, we asked them if they’d be willing to do a short video that completed the idea:
“We thought that…. but in reality….” or “Most people think…. but in reality….”
We ended up with some great advice on mHealth design and implementation. Watch below or on YouTube! If you have an mHealth Reality you want to add in the comments or as a ‘video response’ please do!
Here’s our talk-show host intro (why does self-filming always make me look so weird?) and our list of mHealth Realities underneath. Enjoy!
1) Phones do get stolen, so you should involve health workers in determining what the consequences are when it happens.
2) When hospitals are gutted, cell towers are gone and there’s no electricity, for example during the Great Floods in Pakistan, you have to go back to the basics.
3) The technology should be the last thing to think about in the design process. You need to know the what first, and then think about the how.
4) Mobile operators are very interested in exclusivity. This is a challenge if you want your project to reach the entire population.
5) Even if your macro level research tells you that 80% of households have mobile phone access, it doesn’t mean that 80% of women have mobile phone access.
6) There’s literacy, and then there’s ‘mobile phone literacy’. Both are important.
7) If your paper form is crap, your mobile data collection form will also be crap.
8 ) You need policies on lost, damaged, stolen phones, and emergency mobile phone resuscitation training.
9) You will be beholden to traditional funding cycles regardless of how innovative you are, or how sustainable your own business plan is.
10) NGOs just want to come in and do one year pilots, pack up and leave, and come back to do another one year pilot. This is not sustainable. Governments need to be involved. (in French translation pending…)
11) You really need someone who’s available locally to provide technology support and someone who’s good at helping others use and be comfortable with tech.
12) Power is always a consideration. Having it figured out in one place doesn’t mean you have it solved for another place.
13) Things take a really long time. Much longer than you initially think.
14) You might love designing for iPhones and Androids, but if your users don’t have iPhones and Androids, well, that’s not very useful, is it?
15) There are very talented software development firms in places outside of the US and Europe.
16) Every assumption you have about an area or a population is probably wrong.
17) Every country has a different set of mHealth issues and there’s no way of anticipating until you have hands on the ground there.
18) User testing will help you understand what users really want. And NGOs need to ask themselves the hard question: why do we really want to use new technologies?
19) People in low resource settings and with no previous experience really can learn to use smart phones and like it.
This is a guest post by Bertil van Vugt, who works as the content director at Africa Interactive. Bertil and I met for the first time about a year ago at a tweet up in Amsterdam, though I had known about Africa Interactive’s fantastic work with African media professionals for much longer. I was thrilled to hear from Bertil last week that they’ve been working with Plan in West Africa, and have made 4 videos about the Girls Making Media project that I had written about earlier this month.
Girls Making Media in Ghana
Men dominate the African media sector. Looking at our own database of over 2000 media-professionals in 50 African countries we see predominantly males. Fortunately we are also working with many talented women throughout the continent. When we were asked to produce videos and case studies about Plan’s Girls Making Media Project we got really exited about the initiative that is preparing young girls for a career in the media sector.
I work for Africa Interactive, a social venture delivering media and communication services with offices in Amsterdam, Nairobi and Accra. As I mentioned earlier we are working with local reporters, camera-crews and photographers throughout Africa to document activities of NGOs, multinationals and governments. While these organizations previously worked with Western crews who travelled to Africa, we work with African media-professionals and guarantee the quality of the productions.
Local film-crews
There are many advantages of working with local crews. They know their way around; they speak the languages and understand the culture since it is theirs. These people can be fixer, translator and journalist at the same time. And not unimportant: the costs are lower compared to flying people in. For this Plan assignment we worked with experienced crews (male AND female) in Lomé (Togo), Bomi (Liberia), Makeni (Sierra Leone) and Sogakope (Ghana). Our, by the way female, employees in Accra and Nairobi did the video editing and we finalized the videos in our Amsterdam office.
GMM
The Girls Making Media project’s goal is to contribute to the elimination of gender discrimination and benefits at least 140 adolescent girls and 30 adult journalists in the most marginalized areas in each country. With this project, girls and adult journalists are trained on various topics aiming at increasing their capacity to produce quality information concerning girls’ rights. It is also empowering girls to advocate on issues concerning their well-being.
In the four videos we focus on the three-year program (which started one year ago) and show the development, achievements and challenges so far. We hear about the effect the project has on the girls and their communities. Also, the girls explain how they see themselves after learning media skills and talking about gender related issues on the radio and TV.
Liberia
Ghana
Sierra Leone
Togo
Girls interact with journalists
Together with the Plan West Africa office in Ouagadougou we developed the idea that the video-shoot should also be an opportunity for the girls to interact with our crews and learn from them. During the filming days there was room for questions and sharing of experiences. We received positive feedback from the crews and the Plan offices about the cooperation with the girls. I would like to use this space to thank the camera-crews who did a great job to create the videos: Comfort + Yudawhere (Liberia), Wotay + Idriss (Sierra Leone), Paul + Gary (Ghana) and Rodrique + Anselme (Togo).
Let me conclude by saying that I hope to welcome the girls to our network after they have finalized the GMM project!
If you are looking for any content on your activities in Africa, just contact me via e-mail: bertil [at] africanews.com or Twitter: @brutuz.
Linda Raftree, LLC: I work as an independent consultant on digital development research, strategy and evaluation with an emphasis on responsible data use, inclusion, gender, and children and young people. I support organizations to develop, implement, and engage staff and partners in responsible data policy and practice. I enjoy facilitating and moderating convenings, workshops and learning-focused events.
MERL Tech: conference, blog, and discussion forum that facilitate discussion and learning about the role of digital data and new technology in monitoring, evaluation, research and learning (co-founder and lead organizer)
Technology Salon: convening and facilitating discussion on the role of ICTs in international development. (co-founder and NYC convener)
White Save Me: the app that helps white men deliver privilege with a simple tap of the finger. (co-creator)
This is a personal blog that does not represent official views of my current, past or future employers, affiliates or other organizations with whom I engage. Any opinions expressed herein are my own, and I take responsibility for them.
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