M4ID » development

Social Good Summit in NY

m4id — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 07:50:04 +0000

M4ID will also be attending the Social Good Summit held in New York 19-22 September, looking forward to seeing many of our partners and colleagues there.

Near Field Communications

m4id — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 08:31:44 +0000

We are currently really interested in the variety of mobile use options presented by near filed communication (NFC), which allows devices to seamlessly and intuitively communicate with one another, enabling an easy, convenient user experience.

NFC is basically a set of short-range wireless technologies, typically requiring a distance of 10 cm or less, the technology always involves an initiator and a target and can take very simple form factors such as tags, stickers, key fobs, or cards that do not require batteries. NFC peer-to-peer communication is also possible, where both devices are powered. NFC tags currently contain anything from simple data to elaborate instructions that enable them to unlock doors, pay for goods, launch phone calls or exchange data between users. The below (4 year old) video from MIT gives a good idea of some of the possible uses.

NFC is already available on a number of phones and will be on all mobiles within a few years (kinda like the ‘new GPS’). The technology opens up amazing new possibilities for health and development programmes/approaches, both from a professional and individual user perspective. We want to map to these out and help the development/health community be at the forefront of this technology, as it rolls out!

Web4Dev 2010: Webtools for Development

m4id — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 13:32:58 +0000

Web for Development – a community devoted to applying Internet related technologies towards the achievement of the UN’s Development Goals – will be organizing its sixth annual conference in Brazil 25-26 February. The conference focuses on developing governance and management of web strategies, as well as facilitates innovative dialogue around the issue.

The specific objectives of the UNESCO- hosted Web4Dev conference are:

Fostering an intergovernmental dialogue, exploring existing similarities between UN and national governments with relevant background on Internet use as development tool, as well as potential complementarities and joint actions
Exploring learning opportunities, knowledge sharing, and best practices exchange between UN and national government participants on designing and implementing integrated web policies, regulatory frameworks, engagement strategies and on-line expressions
Improving coordination and synergies within the UN Web System, aiming at a more efficient “Delivering as One” online

The event presents a range of keynote speakers from UN agencies and web 2.0 professionals from companies and non-profits, who share the passion for leveraging web tools for development. Related workshops and brainstorming sessions will also take place including events like Wiki-camp, focusing on challenges and opportunities of future online collaboration. The event will take a broad focus, themes ranging from professional knowledge exchange and application of tools in the developing country context to engaging global audiences in development work.

Can't Wait to try Augmented Reality

m4id — Thu, 07 May 2009 11:41:10 +0000

We’re really excited about the possibilities of augmented reality (AR) in engaging audiences in development and health themes.. we’re currently developing a few ideas for one of our campaigns that is entering it’s ‘phase 2′ (more on this later). Wikipedia explains AR as the combination of real-world and computer-generated data (virtual reality), where computer graphics objects are blended into real footage in real time. The below GE clip gives an idea:

New mobile health care initiative launched

m4id — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 09:25:33 +0000

The UN, Vodafone, and the Rockefeller Foundation have formed a new “mobile health” alliance, with the aim of using mobile technology to provide better healthcare worldwide. The three made their announcement at the GSM World Mobile Conference in February 2009, stating they will facilitate global innovation, unite existing projects to improve healthcare using mobile technology and guide governments, NGOs, and mobile firms on how they can save lives in the developing world.

The recently published ”mHealth for Development” study produced by the UN/Vodafone Foundation Partnership provides more than 50 examples of mHealth programmes from around the world, showing the benefits that mobile technology can bring to healthcare provision.

The partnership is now calling for more members to help in mHealth initiatives.