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May 7th 2012 FAIR introduction 1 of 21 Introduction to FAIR and our projects By Nis & Benjamin
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May 7th 2012 FAIR introduction 1 of 21
Introduction to FAIR and our projects
By Nis & Benjamin
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Who are we?
● FAIR Allocation of Infotech Resources
● Started in 2008
● Small NGO based in Copenhagen● Workshop + Office + Warehouse
● Our goal is to combine a humanitarian goal of reducing the digital divide with a environmental goal of reusing ICT
● A pilot project in Malawi running for ~1 year
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Who we work with
● Company partners and private memberships● Danish government
● Danida & Projektrådgivningen
● NGOs and schools● NICE from Malawi (National Initiative for Civic
Education)● Secondary Schools in Malawi● REACT, Copenhagen / Sierra Leone
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Humanitarian goal: The digital divide
● Unequal access to ICT: information & communication, knowledge production & sharing, organizational efficiency & economy
● ICT in Malawi (2008)
● 12% has a mobile phone, 0.2 % has a computer, 2.1 % has access to internet
● ICT4D: Information and communication technologies for development
● Education, health, democracy, enterprise
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Internet users Malawi Vs The World
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Environmental goal: Reuse ICT
● Tons of wasted equipment (DK: 400.000+ computers)● Consumerism, company strategies and policies● 60% of EU E-waste is processed in EU – the rest??
● Average use: 3 years● In developing world: Up to 10 years● Ratio between production and consumption phase:
~80% of emissions come from production!
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Malawi
● Population: 15+ mio. (123 pr km2)● GDP per capita: $322 => top 5 least developed
country● Challenges
● Economic crisis, AIDS, Malaria, hunger, political instability, corruption, gender inequality
● Peaceful, free press, free primary and secondary school, good universities, never had war
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Computer Centers in Malawi
● 4 secondary schools + 1 district council● Each center has 30-50 computers
● Used by host school and remote schools● Reaches out to ~4000 students, ~200 teachers and
community● Computer & Democracy clubs and IT-courses
for local community● Sustainability and learning environment
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Technology in the centers
● Server + LAN + Printer + Projector● Edubuntu (Linux) + 30000 programs and
packages● Full offline Wikipedia● Khan Academy● Digital Library + Video library
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Why do Master with FAIR?
● Interested in technologies and development● Not the usual master thesis partner● A relevant and ongoing case from a grass-root
perspective● Your ideas, not pre-determined categories,
titles and subjects● Access to a network of partners in Denmark
and Malawi
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What could a Master with FAIR be?● How can IT induce development?
● Reduce poverty, increase democracy, secure human rights?
● Technology transfers across multiple boundaries● Geographical, cultural, environmental, political etc.
● Corporate Social Responsibility strategies
● Transferring innovation processes
● Open source software in development?● IT and learning environments
●
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An example: a Master with FAIR
● Information studies: a sociology of technologies
● Technologies in development● From modernization to partnerships
● An ethnography from the perspective of FAIR
● The computer as a socio-technical object● Studying the configurations in practice● In Denmark and Malawi
● Change context, change technologies
● Change technologies, change context
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The end
www.fairdanmark.dk
[email protected]@fairdanmark.dk
Thank you for listening!
