Technology Salon

As COVID-19 spreads across the globe, we are faced with travel bans, project funding restrictions, and the increasing need to operate remotely. A multi-faceted COVID-19 Digital Response, including behaviour change communication on personal and respiratory hygiene, proper handwashing, social distancing, and so on remains a critical need. Trying to get these vital messages out to…

Demand for digital-skills based volunteering has surged as skilled workers search for ways to contribute to the response efforts to COVID-19. As a result, nonprofits are faced with an unprecedented opportunity to bring volunteers into their work and use new talent to advance their missions. However, many nonprofits don’t have a standing volunteer program. And…

Data is top of mind during the COVID-19 response. Quality data can help to direct the response and to make decisions, but it’s not the silver bullet that everyone is hoping for. We need to remain aware of the power dynamics represented in how data is collected, treated, protected and interpreted. There needs to be…

To date, over 3 million people globally have coronavirus and the world is bracing for it to overwhelm low income countries. As the death toll rises, and health systems in developed countries struggle, health responders and activists around the world are racing to understand how best to prepare and protect refugee settlements. Where water, a…

    Since its emergence in late 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic has reached almost every corner of the globe. By April 20, 2020, the number of recorded cases worldwide had reached 2.4 million with over 161,000 resulting deaths. As the virus spreads, so do the technological responses. Never before has a global crisis been so digital….

This is shaping up to be a pivotal year in US politics. We are all experts in behavior change, change management, governance, accountability, civil society, and a host of other skills and activities that can strengthen democratic processes and bring change here at home. In our recent Technology Salon on How to Use Your International…

Every day we hear of new advances in technology solutions that hold promise to mitigate humanitarian crisis and improve lives in developing countries. The opportunities for change span the gamut of challenges that people face around the world, including: Climate change adaptation education delivered via mobile phones Informal settlement fire early warning via Internet of…

As the United States withdraws from the Paris Climate Agreement, we are inundated daily with news of how the climate crisis is escalating. It can be argued that climate change cuts across multiple sectors in the ICT4D community. Our work in areas such as health, agriculture, and emergency response, may mitigate the impacts of climate…

We all talk about encouraging entrepreneurship in developing countries. Yet how many of us have launched our own business, or spun off an initiative from our employer into its own organization? The startup life is hard, despite all the hype about venture capital funding and million-dollar exits. In the USA, only 50% of startups survive…

At the recent Technology Salon London, we debated How to Safeguard Our Constituents in Digital Development? with discussants (under the Chatham House rule) from a wide range of development organizations including DFID, DAI, Accenture Development Partnerships, Save the Children, Plan International, Chemonics, Comic Relief, World Wide Web Foundation, Cherie Blair Foundation, Child Hope UK, Christian…

Recently, we gathered at the OSF offices for the Technology Salon on “Automated Decision Making in Aid: What could possibly go wrong?” with lead discussants: Jon Truong, and Elyse Voegeli, two of the creators of Automating NYC; Genevieve Fried and Varoon Mathur, Fellows at the AI Now Institute at NYU. To start off, we asked participants whether they were optimistic…

TechSoup recently hosted a Technology Salon asking What is the True Potential of Global Impact Investing? with 30 social impact leaders from diverse backgrounds in the corporate, philanthropic, and nonprofit sectors. We discussed what impact investing means for nonprofits, philanthropists, and investors and for our ability to make change together. It was a unique chance…

Recently, the Digital Impact Alliance, DAI and Accenture Development Partnerships hosted a London Technology Salon on the question of: “Is Positive Collaboration Possible Between Aid and Mobile Sectors?” Subscribe today to get invited to future Technology Salons in London Eminent thought leaders Diana Sang (Digital Impact Alliance) and Oliver Rowntree (GSMA) shared their varied experiences…

Governments are scrambling to catch the culprits behind the cyber attacks that are disrupting operations at large organizations across the globe. Cyber security experts say the spread of the worm dubbed WannaCry locked up more than 200,000 computers in more than 150 countries. Ghana lost a total of $50 million dollars to cyber-attack in 2016….

Currently, over two billion people worldwide live in fragile, violent and conflict-affected (FCV) environments. Furthermore, according to the World Bank, the share of the extreme poor living in conflict-affected situations is expected to rise above 50% by 2030. FCV environments dramatically impact development outcomes as conflicts drive 80% of all humanitarian needs – yet it…

The New York City Technology Salon on “Will Digital Identities Support or Control Us” featured lead discussants Savita Bailur and Emrys Schoemaker from Caribou Digital and Aiden Slavin from ID2020. In general, Salon Participants noted the potential positives of digital ID, such as improved access to services, better service delivery, accountability, and better tracking of beneficiaries….

At the SF Bay Area Technology Salon on “What Can We Do About Press Crackdowns and Online Censorship?” two questions were at the center of the discussion: Who care about press freedom? What are tactics and strategies that inspire more people to take action to defend free speech, information access, and truth online? The carefully…