participatorylearningandaction - Publications Library

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participatorylearningandaction

Change at hand: Web 2.0 for development

Web 2.0Development

Community

Collaboration participatorysocial change

knowledge

networksWeb2forDev

Content

ICT4DEVPublishing

blogging

Bandwidthinnovation

communicationtechnology

blogosphere

RSS mobile

mash-up

tagging

Remotewiki

file sharingsocial bookmarking

activism

civil society

Connectivity

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Participatory Learning and Action,(formerly PLA Notes and RRA Notes), ispublished twice a year. Established in 1987,it enables practitioners of participatorymethodologies from around the world toshare their field experiences, conceptualreflections, and methodologicalinnovations. The series is informal andseeks to publish frank accounts, addressissues of practical and immediate value,encourage innovation, and act as a ‘voicefrom the field’.

We are grateful to the SwedishInternational Development CooperationAgency (Sida) and the UK Department forInternational Development (DfID) for theircontinued financial support of ParticipatoryLearning and Action. This special issue hasbeen co-produced with the ACP-EUTechnical Centre for Agricultural and RuralCooperation (CTA). The views expressed inthis publication do not necessarily reflectthe views of the funding organisations orthe employers of the authors.

© IIED and CTA, June 2009Cover illustration:Regina Faul-Doyle andAndy Smith Design and layout: Smith+BellPrinted by: Russell Press, Nottingham, UK

Guest editors: Holly Ashley, Jon Corbett, Ben Garside and Giacomo Rambaldi.Editors: Holly Ashley, Nicole Kenton andAngela Milligan.Strategic Editorial Board: Ivan Bond, NazneenKanji, Cath Long, Jethro Pettit, MichelPimbert, David Satterthwaite and SonjaVermeulen.

International Editorial Advisory Board: Oga Steve Abah, Jo Abbot, Jordi SurkinBeneria, L. David Brown, Andy Catley,Robert Chambers, Louise Chawla, AndreaCornwall, Bhola Dahal, Qasim Deiri, JohnDevavaram, Charlotte Flower, FORCE Nepal,Ian Goldman, Bara Guèye, Irene Guijt,Marcia Hills, Enamul Huda, Vicky Johnson,Caren Levy, Sarah Levy, Zhang Linyang, PJLolichen, Ilya M. Moeliono, Humera Malik,Marjorie Jane Mbilinyi, Ali Mokhtar, SeyedBabak Moosavi, Neela Mukherjee, TrilokNeupane, Esse Nilsson, Zakariya Odeh, PeterPark, Bardolf Paul, Bimal Kumar Phnuyal,Giacomo Rambaldi, Peter Reason, JoelRocamora, Jayatissa Samaranayake, MadhuSarin, Daniel Selener, Anil C Shah, MeeraKaul Shah, Jasber Singh, Marja Liisa Swantz,Cecilia Tacoli, Peter Taylor, Tom Wakeford,Eliud Wakwabubi and Alice Welbourn.

The International Institute forEnvironment andDevelopment (IIED) iscommitted to promotingsocial justice and the empowerment of thepoor and marginalised. It also supportsdemocracy and full participation in decision-making and governance. We strive to reflectthese values in Participatory Learning andAction. For further information contact IIED, 3 Endsleigh Street, London WC1H 0DD, UK.Website: www.iied.org

The Technical Centre forAgricultural and RuralCooperation (CTA) wasestablished in 1983 underthe Lomé Convention between the ACP(African, Caribbean and Pacific) Group ofStates and the European Union MemberStates. Since 2000, it has operated within theframework of the ACP-EU CotonouAgreement. CTA’s tasks are to develop andprovide products and services that improveaccess to information for agricultural andrural development, and to strengthen thecapacity of ACP countries to acquire, process,produce and disseminate information in thisarea. CTA is financed by the European Union.For more information contact CTA, Postbus380, 6700 AJ Wageningen, The Netherlands.Website: www.cta.int

This work is licensed underthe Creative Commons

Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike3.0 Unported License. Recipients areencouraged to use it freely for not-for-profit purposes only. Please credit theauthors and the Participatory Learningand Action series. To view a copy of thislicense, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0 or send a letter toCreative Commons, 171 Second Street,Suite 300, San Francisco, California 94105,USA.

We welcome contributions to ParticipatoryLearning and Action. For information andguidelines, please see the inside back cover. Subscribe to PLA and read the latest issuesfree online: www.ingentaconnect.com/content/iiedpla/pla Read PLA 53-57 and 59 free online:www.ingentaconnect.comRead PLA 1-52 free online:www.planotes.org/backissues.htmlTo subscribe, please complete thesubscriptions form at the back of this issueor contact: Research Information Ltd. (RIL),

Grenville Court, Britwell Road, Burnham,Buckinghamshire SL1 8DF, UK. Email: [email protected]: www.researchinformation.co.uk

To purchase back issues of ParticipatoryLearning and Action in hard copy pleasesee the green order form at the end ofthis issue. All IIED publications, includingParticipatory Learning and Action backissues, are available through: EarthprintLimited, Orders Department, PO Box 119,Stevenage, Hertfordshire SG1 4TP, UK.Email: [email protected]: www.earthprint.com

We regret that we are unable tosupply, or respond to requests for, freehard copies of back issues.

Participatory Learning and Action (PLA) isan umbrella term for a wide range ofapproaches and methodologies, includingParticipatory Rural Appraisal (PRA), RapidRural Appraisal (RRA), ParticipatoryLearning Methods (PALM), ParticipatoryAction Research (PAR), Farming SystemsResearch (FSR), and Méthode Active deRecherche et de Planification Participative(MARP). The common theme is the fullparticipation of people in the processes oflearning about their needs andopportunities, and in the action requiredto address them.

The methods used range fromvisualisation, to interviewing and groupwork for the promotion of interactivelearning, shared knowledge, and flexible,yet structured analysis.

In recent years, there has been anumber of shifts in the scope and focus ofparticipation:• emphasis on sub-national, national and

international decision-making, not justlocal decision-making;

• move from projects to policy processesand institutionalisation;

• greater recognition of issues ofdifference and power; and,

• emphasis on assessing the quality andunderstanding the impact ofparticipation, rather than simplypromoting participation.Recent issues of Participatory Learning

and Action have reflected, and willcontinue to reflect, these developmentsand shifts. We particularly recognise theimportance of analysing and overcomingpower differentials which work toexclude the already poor andmarginalised.


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THEME SECTION

PART I: OVERVIEW ........................................................................................................71. Change at hand: Web 2.0 for development

Holly Ashley, Jon Corbett, Ben Garside, Dave Jones and Giacomo Rambaldi..........82. The two hands of Web2forDev: a conference summary

Chris Addison ......................................................................................................21

PART II: STUDIES OF WEB 2.0 TOOLS ..........................................................................273. Exploring the potentials of blogging for development

Christian Kreutz....................................................................................................284. Web 2.0 tools to promote social networking for the Forest Connect alliance

Duncan Macqueen ..............................................................................................345. Promoting information-sharing in Ghana using video blogging

Prince Deh............................................................................................................406. Mobile phones: the silver bullet to bridge the digital divide?

Roxanna Samii......................................................................................................44

PART III: ISSUE-BASED STUDIES ..................................................................................517. Anti social-computing: indigenous language, digital video and intellectual property

Jon Corbett and Tim Kulchyski ............................................................................528. Tools for enhancing knowledge-sharing in agriculture: improving rural livelihoods in

Uganda Ednah Akiiki Karamagi and Mary Nakirya............................................................59

9. Ushahidi or ‘testimony’: Web 2.0 tools for crowdsourcing crisis informationOry Okolloh..........................................................................................................65

10. Web 2.0 for Aboriginal cultural survival: a new Australian outback movementJon Corbett, Guy Singleton and Kado Muir ........................................................71

PART IV: THEORY AND REFLECTION ON PRACTICE ......................................................7911. Circling the point: from ICT4D to Web 2.0 and back again

Anriette Esterhuysen ............................................................................................8012. Web 2.0 tools for development: simple tools for smart people

Ethan Zuckerman ................................................................................................8713. The Web2forDev story: towards a community of practice

Anja Barth and Giacomo Rambaldi......................................................................95

PART V: TIPS FOR TRAINERSWeb 2.0 tools: a series of short introductionsHolly Ashley, Dave Jones and Luigi Assom with Jon Corbett, Ben Garside, Christian Kreutz, Kevin Painting, Duncan Macqueen and Giacomo Rambaldi ........105• Blogging ............................................................................................................106• Micro-blogging and Twitter................................................................................108• Wikis ..................................................................................................................110

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• Online social networking ..................................................................................112• RSS feeds ..........................................................................................................115• Tagging ..............................................................................................................117• Social bookmarking ..........................................................................................119• Glossary of Web 2.0 terms ................................................................................121

REGULARSEditorial........................................................................................................................3In Touch ....................................................................................................................125RCPLA Network ........................................................................................................134

PLA 59 author RoxannaSamii has also publishedher article on mobilephones on her personalblog. Source: www.rsamii.blogspot.com

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Welcome to issue 59 of ParticipatoryLearning and Action.

We would first of all like to thankour readers for their patience. PLA 59is the December 2008 issue althoughit was actually published in June2009. We hope that you find it wasworth the wait!

This year promises to see someexciting developments for the PLAseries. We are planning a majorprogramme of monitoring andevaluation activities as well as areview of the format of the series,including our website. The aim is toensure that PLA is a leading resourcefor participatory practitioners in style,format and content. We will updateour readers about forthcomingactivities in the next issue.

In addition, in November 2008 wehad a successful launch of issue 57Immersions: learning about povertyface-to-face, which was held at theUK Department for InternationalDevelopment (DfID) in London. Thelaunch included a short ActionAidfilm, ‘Immersions in action, Uganda –personal and host family experiences,’introduced by Kate Carroll (ActionAid),as well as presentations and a paneldiscussion. We are grateful to JoshLevene of Praxis-UK for helping toorganise the event, Mark Robinson ofDfID for chairing the discussions andto panel members Robert Chambers(IDS), Dee Jupp (independent socialdevelopment consultant), SonjaRuparel (ActionAid) and Katy Oswald(IDS). For those of you with onlineaccess, this issue is now available todownload free of charge online.1

Since 2007, recent issues of PLAhave also been published online withIngentaConnect. Since then,downloads of free material has been

steadily increasing. All our subscribershave free access to new and recentissues of PLA online, as soon as theyare published. Why not visit theIngentaConnect website and activateyour online subscription?2

We have also been working hardon the next issue. PLA 60 will be aspecial edition on community-basedadaptation to climate change and willbe published in time for the nextUnited Nations Climate ChangeConference Copenhagen (COP15) inDecember 2009.

While all of the articles included inthis edition are themed, PLA 61 willbe a collection of articles of generalinterest. Please continue to send usyour contributions! Guidelines forauthors can be found on the insideback cover of each issue.

Themed section

Change at hand: Web 2.0 for developmentThis special issue has been co-published by the InternationalInstitute for Environment andDevelopment (IIED) and the TechnicalCentre for Agricultural and RuralCooperation EU-ACP (CTA).

There are dozens of emerginginteractive web services andapplications, sometimes referred to asthe ‘participatory’, ‘social’ or ‘read-write’ web, but more commonlyknown as Web 2.0. Together, they areradically changing the ways wecreate, share, collaborate and publishdigital information through theInternet. These new technicalopportunities bring challenges as wellas opportunities that we need tounderstand and grasp.

Most of the themed articles are

based on presentations made atthe the international Web2forDevconference, 25th–27th September2007 at the Food and AgricultureOrganisation (FAO) headquarters inRome, Italy.3 4

The conference was the firstinternational event focusingspecifically on how Web 2.0 toolscould be used to the advantage ofSouthern development actors,operating in the sectors ofagriculture, rural development andnatural resource management.

The articles in this special issuehave been peer-reviewed bymembers of the ParticipatoryLearning and Action seriesInternational Editorial AdvisoryBoard. We are also very grateful tomembers of the Web2forDevConference Steering Committeefor their comments and reviews.

The cover image for this issuedepicts two hands supporting a‘tag cloud’ – a collection ofkeywords or terms generated byInternet users to describe onlinecontent.5 The tags represent bothWeb 2.0 tools for developmentand some of the most popularkeywords or tags that are used todescribe them. The handsrepresent the potential benefitsthat come from the participation of

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1 See: http://tinyurl.com/pla57 2 See: http://tinyurl.com/plaonline

3 The organisations involved were: Technical Centrefor Agricultural and Rural Cooperation EU-ACP(CTA), International Institute for Communicationand Development (IICD), Food and AgricultureOrganisation of the United Nations (FAO), GermanAgency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ), theSecretariat of the African, Caribbean and PacificGroup of States (ACP Secretariat), Association forProgressive Communications (APC), University ofBritish Columbia Okanagan, International Fund forAgricultural Development (IFAD), ConsultativeGroup on International Agricultural Research(CGIAR), Université Cheikh Anta Diop, Euforic andWageningen University and Research Centre (WUR).4 The term ‘Web2forDev’ is short for participatoryWeb 2.0 tools for development.5 For a definition of ‘tags’ and ‘tag clouds’ see theglossary on p.123.

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people brought together using thesetools. For the guest editors, thisspecial issue was an opportunity tohelp ‘demystify’ Web 2.0 andWeb2forDev and share learning andreflections. We hope that it will helpto bring Web2forDev to a wideraudience of developmentpractitioners and academics: inspiringyou to give Web 2.0 tools a go andshare your successes and challenges.

Introducing the guest editorsThe guest editors for this special issueare Jon Corbett, Ben Garside,Giacomo Rambaldi and Holly Ashley.

Jon Corbett is an assistantprofessor at the Centre for Social,Spatial and Economic Justice at theUniversity of British ColumbiaOkanagan, Canada, and also amember of the Web2forDev SteeringCommittee. Jon Corbett is also anassistant professor in the Community,Culture and Global Studies Unit atUBC Okanagan. Jon’s community-based research investigatesparticipatory mapping processes and

tools that are used by communities tohelp express their relationship to, andknowledge of, their territories andresources. Specifically, Jon's researchinterests explore how digitalmultimedia technologies can beeffectively combined with maps to beused by remote and marginalcommunities to document, store,manage and communicate theirculture, language, history andtraditional ecological knowledge(TEK). Jon’s research also examineshow using these technologies canstrengthen communities through therevitalisation of culture and traditionalenvironmental managementpractices, as well as externallythrough increasing their influenceover regional decision-makingprocesses.

Ben Garside is a researcher with astrong background in information andcommunication technology, includingparticipatory web development. Benworks with the Sustainable MarketsGroup at the International Institutefor Environment and Development

(IIED), where he has been working onglobal food and agricultural researchand policy projects. Ben is currentlyworking on a pilot project to explorethe use of Web 2.0 tools to facilitatedevolved collaborative working indevelopment. He is also leading anew IIED project on how to bettermeasure the impacts of ICTs and theirimpact on livelihoods for the poorest,including combining new andtraditional communicationstechniques to reach non-literatemarginalised groups.

Giacomo Rambaldi is seniorprogramme coordinator at theTechnical Centre for Agricultural andRural Cooperation EU-ACP (CTA)based in Wageningen, theNetherlands. CTA operates in 78 ACPCountries. Giacomo has 27 years ofprofessional experience in Africa, LatinAmerica, Asia, the Pacific and theCaribbean where he worked for anumber of international organisationsincluding the Food and AgriculturalOrganisation of the United Nations(FAO), Italian Aid to Development, theASEAN Regional Center forBiodiversity Conservation and theAsian Development Bank. Giacomohas been active on the Internet since1999 when he launched his firstwebsite.6 He coordinated theorganisation of the Web2forDev 2007international conference and has sincebeen involved in exploring andpromoting innovation in the domainof online collaboration and publishing.

Unusually for a special issue ofPLA, series co-editor Holly Ashley isalso one of the guest editors. Hollypreviously worked closely with Jonand Giacomo on PLA 54 and wasinvited to attend the Web2forDevconference as part of the conference

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Participants andpanellists at aplenary session atthe Web2forDevconference.

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media team, interviewing participantsand writing reports for the conferenceblog. Prior to the conference, Hollyhad limited experience in using Web2.0 tools for development. Theconference provided an excitingopportunity to learn more about andexperience first-hand many of thenumerous Web 2.0 tools and theirpotential application in development,as well as learning more about theemerging Web2forDev community ofpractice.

Tips for trainers

Web 2.0 tools: a series of shortintroductionsIn this issue, we present a series ofshort introductions to a selection ofWeb 2.0 tools and concepts. Drawingon lessons learnt from articles in thespecial issue and other resources,these introductions give a briefdescription of each tool and how theycan be used for developmentpurposes, along with links to whereapplications can be downloaded

online and further information. Aglossary describing Web 2.0 tools andconcepts is also included on page 123.

REGULAR FEATURES

In touchMuch of our In Touch section isdevoted to online resources related toWeb 2.0 tools for development –including information about the newWeb2forDev Development Gateway.This is a new initiative which aims toact as a starting point for Web 2.0learning and sharing experience in thecontext of development work.

RCPLA pagesFind out the latest news from partnersand colleagues from the ResourceCentres for Participatory Learning andAction Network.

Strategic Editorial Advisory BoardnewsWe are pleased to welcome two newmembers to the PLA strategic editorialboard.

David Satterthwaite works in thefield of poverty reduction andenvironmental problems in urbanareas. He is a senior fellow at IIED andalso on the teaching staff of theDevelopment Planning Unit(University College London) andHonorary Professor, University of Hull.He is also the Editor of Environmentand Urbanization, a leadinginternational journal on urbandevelopment issues. His current workis on the potential role of urban poorfederations to address their needs anddevelop partnerships withgovernment agencies – and on whythe scale and depth of urban povertyis under-estimated by mostgovernments and internationalagencies. He contributed to the Thirdand Fourth Assessments of theIntergovernmental Panel on ClimateChange and received the VolvoEnvironment Prize in 2004.

Cath Long started with IIED inApril this year. Before this, Cathworked with forest communities andpeople using forests in Africa, LatinAmerica and the UK for over 15years. Cath has lived and worked inUganda, South Africa and SierraLeone and for the past seven yearshas worked closely with partners inthe Congo Basin region and in theAndean Amazon (principally in Peru).Her work has always been focused onsupporting forest people to securetheir rights to control and use forestresources and protect their forests.Cath has a PhD in forest ecology anda long history of working withcommunity-led groups on practicalforest management projects as well ascampaigning and advocacy on forestrights.

We also say farewell – but notgoodbye – to Peter Taylor from theParticipation, Power and Social

Members of the Web2forDevconference media team meet. From left to right: Liliane Kambirigi,Pierre Antonios, Hilde Eugelink,Noel Kokou Tadégnon, GnonaAfangbedji and Brenda Zulu.

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Change (PPSC) team at IDS. Peter isjoining IDRC in Ottawa, Canada.Peter has been an active member ofour strategic editorial board for thelast year. However, Peter will remainon our international advisory board sowe look forward to working with himagain in the near future.

New International Advisory BoardmemberWe are pleased to welcome JasberSingh to our international advisoryboard. Jasber recently co-guestedited PLA 58: Towards empoweredparticipation: stories and reflections.Jasber is a visiting research fellow forthe International Institute forEnvironment and Development andNewcastle University. Jasber learntthe nuances of participation withBritish youth minorities in the Northof England. Here he used techniquessuch as participatory video, sport andmusic with young minorities toanalyse and change their lives and toeffectively deal with racism. He wasalso Deputy Director of CooperativeInquiry for Newcastle Universitydeveloping a range of participatoryprojects on science andenvironmental issues. Recently heworked with an NGO to developenvironmental justice programmeswith marginalised British youth ininner-city London. Currently he isbased in India with two NGOs usinga participatory action researchapproach to investigate the interplaybetween food sovereignty andenergy productions (agro-fuels) withmarginalised communities.

Forthcoming: PLA 59 English andFrench multimedia CD-ROM In addition to this special issue, we willbe producing a multimedia CD-ROM.It will contain PDF versions of articlesfrom this special issue in English andFrench as well as other key multimediaresources, including video and audioclips. Selected articles will also beavailable in Spanish. Copies will be freeto subscribers of PLA. This issue willalso be available via the CTA onlinecatalogue.7 Subscribers to the CTAPublications Distribution Service canorder both the printed and CD-ROMversions with their credit points.

About CTAThe Technical Centre for Agriculturaland Rural Cooperation EU-ACP (CTA)was established in 1983 under theLomé Convention between the ACP(African, Caribbean and Pacific) Groupof States and the European UnionMember States. Since 2000, it hasoperated within the framework of theACP-EU Cotonou Agreement. CTA’stasks are to develop and provideservices that improve access toinformation for agricultural and ruraldevelopment, and to strengthen thecapacity of ACP countries to produce,acquire, exchange and utiliseinformation in this area. CTA is fundedby the European Commission.CTA, Postbus 380, 6700 AJWageningen, The NetherlandsWebsite: www.cta.int

Next issuePLA 60 will be a special issue oncommunity-based adaptation to

climate change, and is guest edited byRachel Berger of Practical Action atthe Schumacher Centre forTechnology and Development, TerryCannon and Hannah Reid of IIED’sClimate Change Group, withMozaharul Alam.

Final thoughtsWe would like to thank both theauthors and guest editors who havecontributed so much to this specialissue. Producing this special issue hasnot been without its challenges.Several of the case studies featuredhere recount what are relatively newexperiences of working with Web 2.0tools – within a relatively newcommunity of practice. As such,several authors found it a challenge toprovide in-depth analysis and criticalreflections of their experiences. To anextent, the authors here are pioneers,exploring the field while many of usmay remain hesitant to embark on ourown Web2forDev journey. As AnjaBarth and Giacomo Rambaldi note intheir article about the conference,

The greatest challenge that mostpractitioners identified wasencouraging organisations to adoptWeb 2.0 applications and implementa ‘Web2forDev’ culture across thedevelopment arena – and moreimportantly, in the South.

We hope that this special issueprovides a useful reference andlearning tool for those of you whowish to learn more aboutWeb2forDev.

7 See: http://catalogue-en.cta.int

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Theme section

Part I: OverviewThe two articles in Part I of this special issue provide an introduction toWeb 2.0 and the concept of Web2forDev and share learning andreflections on practice.

In the first article, HOLLY ASHLEY, JON CORBETT, DAVID JONES, BEN GARSIDEand GIACOMO RAMBALDI explore the use of Web 2.0 tools for development– and introduce readers to the concept of Web2forDev. Web 2.0 tools areradically changing the ways we create, share, collaborate and publishdigital information through the Internet. Participatory Web 2.0 fordevelopment – or Web2forDev for short – is a way of employing webservices to intentionally improve information-sharing and onlinecollaboration for development. Web 2.0 presents us with newopportunities for change – as well as challenges – that we need to betterunderstand and grasp. The authors share learning and reflections frompractice and consider the ways forward for using Web 2.0 fordevelopment.

In the second article, CHRIS ADDISON describes how the concept ofWeb2forDev can be visualised as an image of two hands. The left handrepresents the main Web 2.0 tools. The right hand represents the issueswe need to address when using them, considering people, access,participation, content, and impact. Based on the reflections of theWeb2forDev conference participants, Chris discusses issues such as accessand connectivity, the ‘scale of change’ as new tools are developed – andhow approaches to using Web 2.0 need to be interdisciplinary.

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IntroductionThere are dozens of emerging interactive web services andapplications, sometimes referred to as the ‘participatory’,‘social’ or ‘read-write’ web, but more commonly known asWeb 2.0. Together, they are radically changing the ways wecreate, share, collaborate on and publish digital informationthrough the Internet.

The first generation of websites represented a mostly hier-archical approach to disseminating information. Mostwebsites were static, with users unable to interact online witheither the content or its producers. Interactivity resided mainlyon email discussion lists and web-based message forums. Incontrast, Web 2.0 tools herald a new, more informalapproach to information-sharing, shifting from a top-downto a more participatory approach to online communication– using tools that are typically free or low-cost to use (see Box1).1 For Web 2.0 advocates, these applications are also moretransparent and accountable, because users themselvesparticipate in ‘weaving a web of knowledge, information andperspectives’ (Christian Kreutz, this issue).

Web 2.0 is a form of information communication tech-nology (ICT) that was created for – and thrives on – the

participation of people and empowerment of users. This isnot to say that Web 2.0 tools are somehow better or moreappropriate than more traditional ICTs or any other form ofcommunication. Yet as the title for this special issue suggests,Web 2.0 tools and approaches present us with new oppor-tunities for change – as well as challenges – that we need tobetter understand and grasp in order to make consideredand informed choices:• the underlying processes involved in implementing and

using Web 2.0 applications, giving consideration to issuesof power in the process and the impact of participation;

• the quality of the methods and processes of participationused;

• how these are integrated with Web 2.0 applications;• the practical outcomes of such approaches; and• critical analysis of the lessons learnt, the challenges, and

ways forward.As development practitioners have began to recognise

the huge potential of Web 2.0 tools for promoting partici-patory development and to experiment with them in theirwork, a body of learning and experience has started to accu-mulate. In September 2007, the international conference onParticipatory Web 2.0 for Development, or ‘Web2forDev’was held at the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)

by HOLLY ASHLEY, JON CORBETT,DAVE JONES, BEN GARSIDE and GIACOMO RAMBALDI

Change at hand: Web 2.0 for development

1 Throughout this special issue, we make reference to Web 2.0 ‘tools’, whichincludes applications, platforms and services.

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headquarters in Rome, Italy.2 The Web2forDev conferencesought to bring practitioners together to further explore howwe can exploit this potential. Most of the articles here arewritten by conference participants. All were developed espe-cially for Participatory Learning and Action.

Structure of the special issueThis special issue is divided into five parts. Although the arti-cles include some technical information about the Web 2.0tools used, we have deliberately chosen to focus on howthey have been integrated with development approaches.In Part I, we introduce both Web 2.0 tools and the conceptof Web2forDev. In Part II, the articles examine some of theuses of specific Web 2.0 tools for development purposes. In

Part III, the articles focus on the integration of multiple Web2.0 tools to address specific issues. The articles in Part IVdiscuss theory and reflections on practice, including lessonslearnt from experience, challenges identified, and waysforward. In Part V Tips for trainers, we provide a collectionof short introductions to Web 2.0 tools, which give more in-depth descriptions of how some of the most commonly-used tools work, including tips on getting started and linksto further information. Also included here is a glossary ofWeb 2.0 terms.

For the guest editors, this special issue was an opportu-nity to help ‘demystify’ Web 2.0 and Web2forDev and sharelearning and reflections. We hope that it will help to bringWeb2forDev to a wider audience of development practition-ers and academics: inspiring you to give Web 2.0 tools a goand share your successes and challenges.

Guest editor andconference organiserGiacomo Rambaldi at theWeb2forDev Share Fairparticipants’ space.

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“The distinction between Web 2.0 toolsand Web2forDev is that Web2forDev isabout the active use of these tools indevelopment.”

What is Web2forDev?Participatory Web 2.0 for development – or Web2forDev forshort – is a way of employing web services to intentionallyimprove information-sharing and collaborative production ofcontent for development.4

The distinction between Web 2.0 tools and Web2forDevis that Web2forDev is about the active use of these tools indevelopment. It is about how development actors can relateand connect to other stakeholders, produce and publish theirown material, decide on levels of access to information andredistribute pieces of content released by others.Web2forDev is about integrating, combining, aggregating,generating, moderating and mediating development infor-mation, ideas and perspectives – and there are multipleexamples of how this can be done. For more information onhow these tools work and where to get started, see the glos-sary and Tips for trainers, this issue.• Interconnected networks of bloggers who share common

interests can improve the spread of ideas and discourse onparticular development topics or themes.

• Online social networks help connect communities of prac-tice, especially those that are dispersed, in order to share

relevant information and resources related to developmentin one place.

• Web 2.0 tools allow users to attribute their own tags orkeywords to online content – and collectively create asystem of bottom-up, collaborative social classification (alsoknown as folksonomies). There are many collections ofpopular development tags used by others.

• Social bookmarking websites such as Delicious.com enablepeople to ‘bookmark’ web pages which they find interest-ing or of relevance in order to share with others. Increas-ingly development content is being bookmarked bypractitioners.

• RSS feeds allow content to be automatically distributedbetween websites, platforms and devices such as mobilephones. RSS feeds allow users to easily keep track of newsand new content from multiple websites because updatesare delivered directly to them without the need to visit eachof the websites in turn. Content can be aggregated intoone place, or manipulated either using filters – to increaserelevance – or through mash-ups – to combine sources ofinformation, thereby adding value to the original content.Many development websites are utilising this powerful toolto improve their own websites, as well as share their workwith others.

• There are tools which allow you to filter and manipulatecontent from RSS feeds, using keywords or search terms tofind relevant information. Some development websitessuch as Global Voices use people – as well as software – tofilter new online content as well as translating and addingcontext.

• The increasing use of RSS feeds and widgets is allowingusers to create their own ‘mash-ups’ of online data frommultiple sources. A mash-up is a web page or applicationthat combines data from two or more external onlinesources.

• Mobile phones continue to develop as devices to receiveand send information – both in terms of what the phonesthemselves can do, and new support structures and proj-ects being built around them. More applications are beingdeveloped to support their use, increase their potential andintegrate them with Web 2.0 platforms and services.

3 See glossary p.121.4 The Web2forDev Development Gateway is a new initiative which aims tobecome the hub for Web 2.0 learning and sharing experience in the context ofdevelopment work. See: www.web2fordev.net

Although the term ‘Web 2.0’ suggests a new version of the WorldWide Web, it does not refer to an update to any technicalspecifications, but to changes in the ways software developers andend-users utilise the Web. Web 2.0 refers to web development anddesign that facilitates interactivity, communication, information-sharing, cooperation and collaboration on the World Wide Web. Itincludes web-based communities, hosted services, applications andplatforms that support them, for example, social networkingwebsites, video- and photo-sharing websites, social bookmarkingwebsites, RSS, wikis, blogs and some VoIP services (Voice overInternet Protocols).3

According to Kabissa, successful Web 2.0 websites appear toshare several key elements: • They have a clear purpose and real utility;• They create a community around that purpose;• They are free to use or very affordable (usually tiered pricing with

free lowest tier of service); • They are easy and fun to join and use;• They connect to or build on other Web 2.0 sites;• They allow anonymous (or pseudonymous) use; • Contributors own and control their content and identity.

Adapted from sources: Wikipedia and Kabissa Wiki

Box 1: What is Web 2.0?

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The Web2forDev conference Web2forDev was the first international event of its kind andbrought together more than 300 people from over 40 coun-tries in Africa, Europe and Latin America.5 The conferencefocused specifically on how Web 2.0 tools could be used tothe advantage of Southern development actors, operating inthe sectors of agriculture, rural development and naturalresource management. The conference aimed to addressissues such as: • How can Web 2.0 applications be integrated with devel-

opment approaches?• How can they facilitate and contribute to people’s partici-

pation and decision-making?• What are the challenges and barriers to people’s participa-

tion?• How do we address factors such as access, equity, control,

and oversight?• Can Web 2.0 applications challenge fundamental social

inequalities?Prior to the event, the organisers adopted a host of Web

2.0 and other ICT tools to create online collaborative spaces.The organisers were able to jointly elaborate the structureand programme for the conference using tools such as wikis,VoIP applications such as Skype and online discussion groups(Anja Barth and Giacomo Rambaldi, this issue).

The conference itself was unlike any event held at FAObefore. It had a vibrant and informal atmosphere. Thecombined use of plenary discussions, small group sessions

and presentations allowed participants to share information,experiences and ideas. The day before the conference began,a ‘taster day’ allowed many participants to learn about andexperiment with some Web 2.0 tools, such as wikis, mobilephones and a host of other applications. There were alsobusy participants’ spaces including a Share Fair. A democracywall enabled participants to share their reflections with oneanother.6 These spaces were often occupied by a group ofjournalists and other bloggers – writing reports, interviewingother participants and sharing what they learnt almost imme-diately via the Web2forDev blog.7

There was a tangible sense of excitement about thepotential for what people can do with these applications.Web 2.0 tools are more than just ways of communicating.They are highly social tools. They help foster new networksand build communities of practice. They can improve howwe organise, structure and share information with oneanother. Above all, Web 2.0 is not just about laptops andbroadband. A striking element of the conference was therepeated emphasis on the power of mobile phones. Mobiletelephony is a global communications revolution that is bring-ing more and more inclusion to people from all over theworld in ways previously unforeseen.

As Chris Addison (this issue) describes, the concept ofWeb2forDev can be visualised as an image of two hands.8

The left hand represents key Web 2.0 tools. The right handrepresents the issues we need to address when using them,considering people, access, participation, content, andimpact. Chris provides useful insights based on the partici-pants’ own reflections, including issues such as access and

5 Participants included ICT specialists, information and communication experts,researchers, trainers, application and system providers, software developers, policymakers, enablers and others working in the agricultural, rural development andnatural resource management sectors.

6 A democracy wall is a structured open space where people can post their ideasand opinions in a free, focused and concise manner. Participants write theirobservations on large sheets of paper. It generates a written, shared pool ofreflections which can be used for further participatory analysis and provides on-the-spot feedback during an event, helping to rapidly adjust facilitation to emergingrealities and changing circumstances. See PLA 58 ‘Democracy walls’ Tips for Trainers(Rambaldi, 2008). Read free online: http://tinyurl.com/c8gkn37 See: http://blog.web2fordev.net8 Chris’s article summarises the final plenary session at the Web2forDev conference,which was based on comments and reflections made by the participants.

Journalists Brenda Zulu,Ramata Soré, GnonaAfangbedji and Noel KokouTadégnon blogging during theWeb2forDev conference.

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“There was a tangible sense ofexcitement about the potential for whatpeople can do with these applications.Web 2.0 tools are more than just waysof communicating. They are highly socialtools.”

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connectivity, the ‘scale of change’ as tools develop – and howapproaches to using Web 2.0 need to be interdisciplinary.

Web 2.0 tools are like any other set of tools – and theirselection and use should be based on considerations ofpower in the process.

A key aim of the Web2forDev conference was to fostera new ‘more committed, interlinked and dedicated commu-nity of practice’ (Barth and Rambaldi, this issue). Two confer-ence surveys, immediately after and one year after the event,have helped to assess what impact the conference has hadon changing the ways of working of participants and helpingto form and maintain a new Web2forDev community ofpractice.9 As one respondent wrote,

Attending the conference gave me the confidence andevidence to back up the recommendations I put forward[to my organisation] in investigating these new tools.

Beyond the digital divide: towards good practice In many parts of the world, access to the technologies andthe Internet is still very limited. As the articles in this collec-tion demonstrate, despite the potential of Web2forDev,

fundamental issues remain. Access, connectivity, people’scapacity to use the tools, the appropriateness of content fordifferent audiences (both language and style) and creatingtargeted services are challenges we must collectively seek toaddress.10 Even with the use of e.g. audio and video blogs,without the literacy skills to access that information online inthe first place, you are still excluded (see e.g. Deh, this issue).Other, more accessible forms of communications may bemore appropriate – from email discussion lists to regular, face-to-face meetings. Zuckerman emphasises the use of ‘simpletools for smart people’ – selecting the most appropriate Web2.0 tools for development purposes.

During the production of this special issue, one of the PLAEditorial Board members commented on the repeated refer-ences to ‘people’ and ‘anyone’ being able to participate inusing Web 2.0 technologies. One could argue that becausemuch information online is dominated by developed coun-tries, Web 2.0 tools are increasing exclusion of Southernactors because of the digital divide. There is a sense thatbeing able to participate in using Web 2.0 tools implies a levelof privilege that many are denied. So we need to understandissues of usage and benefits: who is using ICTs/Web 2.0 tools,what are they using them for, and how is that improving theirlives? As Ethan Zuckerman (this issue) points out, ‘lots of theworld is still suffering from basic infrastructure problems thatmake it very difficult to participate in many of the high band-width activities that we are talking about.’ Prince Deh (thisissue) also describes some of these inherent challenges inusing Web 2.0 tools in countries such as Ghana, where Inter-net access is still mostly limited to urban areas.

In addition, the sheer volume of online content can leaveusers feeling overwhelmed. What is important? Whose voicesdo I want to hear? How can I find those voices? For userswhere access and connectivity is both limited and costly, thisis a particularly important issue.

In fact, Web 2.0 tools can help to reduce the amount oftime people need to be online – and improve access to infor-mation – offering us an ‘opportunity for better use of limitedconnectivity’ (Esterhuysen, this issue). This is happening inseveral key ways. Filtering online content for relevance,meaning and context is becoming increasingly important –and the emergence of trusted, expert online editors andaggregators will help users to manage the huge proliferationof content available online (Zuckerman, this issue). In the

The cover image of this specialissue represents the two hands ofWeb2forDev and some of the morewidely-used keywords or ‘tags’associated with it. The analogy, ifyou will, is that the power to usethese tools appropriately forchange is at hand.

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9 Read the one-year post conference survey results online: http://tinyurl.com/656qyn

10 Targeted services are bundles of tools that are put together differentlyaccording to a ‘needs assessment’ with user groups. The needs assessment wouldideally be done in a participatory way to give the user communities input into andownership of the design process.

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same way, the use of social bookmarking websites is helpingto create valuable repositories of information, where peoplebookmarking development content is helping to signpostrelevant information for easier access and retrieval. RSS feedsallow users to more easily keep track of news and newcontent from multiple websites – and information is also nolonger confined to its original source. These tools have helpedto increase the spread of information and ideas – as well asshifting the balance of power between producers andconsumers of information.

The mobile phone revolutionThe rising popularity of mobile telephony is another growtharea that is helping to bridge the digital divide. In developingcountries, people are making innovative uses of mobilephones, enabling them to simultaneously bypass ‘the land-line, the laptop and the need to connect to the Internet’(Roxanna Samii, this issue). Across the world, the mobilephone is becoming a more accessible, affordable andconvenient means of communication than the Internet andcomputers. Expanding areas of service provision in telecom-munications infrastructure is helping to reduce costs andimprove access to both mobile phone services and the Inter-net (see also Jon Corbett, Guy Singleton and Kado Muir, thisissue). Particularly in Africa, as the cost of services and hand-sets continues to reduce, mobile phones are increasinglybecoming the preferred tool for accessing and sharing infor-mation.11 As the impacts of this new ‘revolution’ are startingto be assessed, Samii argues that mobile phones have thepotential to become the first universally accessible informa-tion communication technology.

One example is the way in which integrated online plat-forms can blend the use of the Internet and mobile phonesto send and receive information (see Ory Okolloh, this issue).The rising popularity of the mobile phone also demonstrateshow some Web 2.0 tools are more appropriate in some

settings than others. Ednah Akiiki Karamagi and Mary Nakiryadescribe the work of the Busoga Rural Open Source andDevelopment Initiative (BROSDI) in Uganda. BROSDI workswith a network of farmer organisations to generate, collectand share local information about effective agricultural prac-tice. BROSDI integrates a range of Web 2.0 tools and moretraditional approaches – from blogs, mobile phones anddigital radio to regular Knowledge Sharing Forums andworking with Village Knowledge Brokers.

People before technologyWhen using Web 2.0 tools and applications for development,it is important not to become sidetracked by a technology-driven hype, where excitement about the tools drives theirusage, rather than what people can do with them. So it isimportant to reflect on some of the lessons learnt from previ-ous experiences of using information communication tech-nologies for development – and consider the strategies,issues and challenges related to integrating Web 2.0 tech-nologies into development approaches.

For example, Anriette Esterhuysen explores the lessonslearnt in the paradigm shift from information communica-tion technologies for development (ICT4D) to Web2forDev.ICT4D helped to mainstream ICTs into development thinkingand highlight the scale of the issues of access and connec-tivity in the developing world. Yet ultimately, ICT4D wasdriven by technology hype and a narrow approach to theappropriation of the tools, with ‘too much emphasis on newtechnologies, and too little on the need to integrate withother tools and skills, and with development theory and prac-tice’. In contrast, Web 2.0 tools have enabled many peopleto explore these new technologies ‘on their own terms’ –mostly because these tools have a stronger focus on socialand decentralised networking rather than on strategic imple-

“These tools have helped to increasethe spread of information and ideas – aswell as shifting the balance of powerbetween producers and consumers ofinformation.”

11 For example, through improved access to market information, they are helpingto reduce transportation and transaction costs and introducing new forms ofincome-generation (Samii, this issue).

Author Ednah Akiiki Karamagiexchanges contact details withanother conference participantafter her presentation onenhancing knowledge-sharingin rural communities usingWeb 2.0 tools.

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mentation by organisations. Web 2.0 technologies have alsoexperienced their fair share of technology-driven hype andarguably they, along with the ICT4D field in general, arelearning from early mistakes and are becoming more people-focused and user-driven.

Many donor-funded projects have a history of focusing ontechnology supply without fostering demand. Clearly, keyissues still remain: access, connectivity, capacity-building, liter-acy and language. Pilot projects often supply equipment andInternet access without building community outreach servicesthat work in conjunction to build local capacity, content andacceptance. The success of a pilot project is often hard to repli-cate because it is based on simplistic indicators such as usernumbers. Contextual factors such as translation of materialsinto local languages are not taken into account. ‘To be sustain-able, technologies need to factor in social realities’ (Garside,2009). Esterhuysen argues that we need to ‘holistically appro-priate, adapt and integrate these technologies for develop-ment in our work with people, information and technology.’

In development circles, there is also the risk of assumingthat market forces will provide the basics for Web 2.0 toolsto flourish – infrastructure, access and appropriate applica-tions. We need to ensure that we begin to ‘appropriate theseplatforms in the context of challenging fundamental socialinequalities,’ (Esterhuysen, this issue). The challenge is tofactor in capacity building – adopting Web 2.0 tools involveslearning what the technologies can do as well as under-standing what they can offer. As Zuckerman writes, ‘usingthe appropriate tools, for the right job at the right time, issomething that we all have to understand.’

Web 2.0 tools for improving advocacy andgovernanceProponents of Web2forDev point to the increased trans-parency and accountability that Web 2.0 tools can bring toonline ‘conversations’. For Kreutz, blogging represents aradical shift from a more traditional, top-down mode ofcommunication to a more ‘publicly open and transparent’one. A blog (short for ‘web’ and ‘log’) is a website like anonline journal. It is an easy way to publish content for peoplewith Internet access. Deh also reflects on the use of videoblogging for information-sharing and advocacy purposes bythe Ghana Information Network for Knowledge Sharing(GINKS). Similar to a blog, a video blog – or ‘vlog’ for short– contains short segments of video content, which you canwatch online without having to download them. Usually inthe form of interviews, these vlogs help members to shareinformation about ongoing work and experiences. ForKreutz, ‘this bottom-up approach to speaking out aboutsocial, economical or political issues has the potential toengage a broader public sphere in the development sector.’Yet while the use of blogging for development is beginningto gain popularity, there are relatively few of them.

In fact, most early adopters of Web 2.0 tools for devel-opment have been activists, either appropriating the tools fortheir own use or devising new tools to satisfy a need (Zuck-erman, this issue). Web 2.0 tools – many created specificallyfor recreational purposes – can also be used for more inno-vative purposes. Zuckerman’s view is that governments arereluctant to prevent people from using them because thesetools have a ‘social cost’ to attempt to control or prohibit.One example is publishing photos with captions on photo-sharing websites that document human rights abuses thatpeople might otherwise be unable to communicate to theglobal community. Social networks – such as MySpace andFacebook – were created so that people could network withfriends and family online. Yet campaigning groups are alsoappropriating these tools to network with one another andto alert people to causes.

Web 2.0 tools and mobile phones are also helping topromote the spread of citizen journalism, particularly in polit-ical activism – helping to generate an overview of shared real-ities, experiences and perceptions, which can also be used tohelp hold governments and institutions to account (see e.g.Okolloh; Zuckerman; Kreutz, this issue). For example, beforethe widespread use of blogs, Indymedia, a volunteer-runinternational network of citizen journalism news websites,radically altered the way in which anyone – individuals,activists and campaign organisers – could publish their own

Maize farmerElizabeth Chikususending an SMSmessage.

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news online and share information. By providing a news plat-form that allowed anyone with Internet access to instantlypublish their reports and pictures without the need to regis-ter, they opened the doors to self-publishing. Then, as now,demonstrators were often demonised in the press anddissenting voices marginalised. Indymedia provided platformswhere alternative voices could be heard, people could collab-orate in publishing breaking news and protest reports, andspace for political discussion and discourse. Volunteers madewidespread use of wikis and online instant messaging tocoordinate reporting and mobile phones and SMS for gath-ering and distributing news. This revolution in citizen jour-nalism earned Indymedia UK the New Statesman New MediaAward for Advocacy 2002.12 13

Similarly, Ory Okolloh (this issue) describes how in Kenyaan innovative website was developed for sharing informa-tion. During the election crisis in 2007, a media blackoutmeant that citizens were unable to access information aboutevents unfolding on the ground. So a group of Kenyan

activists created the Ushahidi website. Ushahidi (meaning‘testimony’ in Swahili) enabled citizens to send in newsreports either via the Internet or mobile phones. This ‘crowd-sourcing’ helped to create an immediate overview of events,as well as a time-indexed repository of reports. Ushahidi hasnow been redeveloped to improve its potential for applica-tion in humanitarian crisis situations – an excellent exampleof a mash-up, which integrates a series of Web 2.0 applica-tions including e.g. web-based interactive maps that allowusers to track reports from specific locations to monitorhotspots of activity.

It should be remembered that a tool does not make acampaign. Web- and mobile-based advocacy, like any otheradvocacy campaign, requires people, planning, time andresource commitments, and capacity building. Arguably, Web2.0 tools can also be used for propaganda and misinforma-tion – by activists, corporations and the state alike. Particularlywith mass participation, there are also issues of verifying dataand creating trusted sources of information. Yet as Okollohwrites, ‘Information in a crisis is a patchwork of sources. Youcan only hope to build up a full picture by having as manysources as possible.’

Increased transparency also presents its own challenges

Jon Corbett and TimKulchyski on the panel ofa plenary session at theWeb2forDev conference.

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12 The New Statesman is an award-winning UK current affairs magazine. TheNew Media Awards celebrate UK new media projects that benefit society,government or democracy. See: www.newstatesman.com/nma13 See: www.indymedia.org.uk

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(Zuckerman, this issue). ‘Letting everybody speak to a poten-tially global online audience is extremely threatening.’ Thisapplies equally to repressive states, organisations with vestedinterests, and the individuals or groups publishing information.

Developing and adapting appropriate Web 2.0 toolsMany Web 2.0 tools are free or low-cost ‘off-the-shelf’ andas Zuckerman argues, appropriating these tools for develop-ment can be more cost-effective than developing whole newapplications, for example online photo-sharing platforms.Given the resources involved in software development, it isalso often unrealistic to design completely new tools.

However, we may also need to consider adapting themand if necessary develop new tools for developmentpurposes. And although many Web 2.0 tools have a partic-ipatory use there is also the issue of the design processes forthese tools – which are often less participatory. Many canparticipate in using them, but mostly have no control in howthey are designed, or what they are designed for.

The increasing use of open source software (OSS) has ledin many cases to a much more open process around soft-ware development.14 Because OSS code is available in thepublic domain it has encouraged the development ofcommon programming interfaces. These interfaces plus thenon-commercial nature of the software allows other peopleto rapidly add to and adapt these tools and drives develop-ment forward: people make improvements to software andmake them publicly available. Many Web 2.0 platforms havebeen developed using OSS.

In fact, Web 2.0 has helped to foster an increasing partic-ipatory culture in software development – with greaterpotential for user feedback and collaboration. While moreprogressive software developers have always solicited feed-back from users through email and online discussion forums,it is now almost obligatory for developers to have their ownblogs, informing users of planned developments, respond-ing to problems and engaging in dialogue with users overthe software development process.

Activists were often the first people to start playing with,hacking and combining tools to produce new services to fulfilan immediate need. This approach has now become a main-stream activity for software developers. Increasingly, publish-ers of tools, software, and platforms encourage thedevelopment of third party applications (plug-ins and add-ons) which enable new functionality to be easily added orintegrated into the original product. In a similar way there

has been an explosion in ‘widgets’: mini portable applica-tions which can be easily added to a website to provide addi-tional functionality and dynamic content. Widgets can alsobe combined to create new functionalities.

Web 2.0 tools have also made content much moreportable on the Internet, allowing users to create their own‘mash-ups’ of data from multiple sources. At its simplest, amash-up could be just creating a page that pulls in differentcontent from multiple RSS feeds, be it text, pictures, orvideos. Users can either do this themselves, or use a platformdesigned specifically for creating customisable personal start-pages, such as Pageflakes or iGoogle.15 A more advancedmash-up is one that actually combines data sources toproduce a new set of data or service that was not provided(or necessarily intended) by the original publisher. A goodexample is how data about events can be combined withonline maps (see e.g. Okolloh, this issue). In this way, usersthemselves are adding value to existing data and creating anew resource.

Learning to share: collaborative online spacesOne fundamental benefit of using Web 2.0 tools is theenhanced ability for people to collaborate and worktogether online. Applications like wikis can facilitate greaterinteraction e.g. on documents or developing collections ofonline resources and materials (see e.g. Rambaldi and Barth,this issue). Wikipedia is a phenomenon that clearly demon-strates the power of wikis. The content generated on themultiple different language versions of Wikipedia has beencreated by literally hundreds of thousands of people – andanyone who has an Internet connection and who is literatecan edit and contribute to the project (Zuckerman, thisissue).

Web 2.0 tools can also be particularly useful for projectsaiming to revitalise culture and enhance community devel-opment. Jon Corbett, Guy Singleton and Kado Muir discusshow an innovative project sought to find ways to help bridgethe generational divide between Aboriginal communityelders and youth through the use of Web 2.0 and otherdigital tools. Particularly successful was a participatory digitalvideo project, where the project team and community eldersworked with a group of youths to produce a short videowhich was then published on video-sharing websites. Thevideo subsequently went on to win international acclaim,demonstrating the power of the tools for advocacy purposesand to positively engage youth in such activities.

14 For more information on OSS see glossary, p.122 (this issue).15 See: www.pageflakes.com and www.google.co.uk/ig

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Online social networking websites are another phenome-non that development practitioners are recognising as increas-ingly useful. Online social networks are a new generation ofcommunity platforms which are similar to websites but offerspecific interactive features and tools. An online socialnetwork brings people together and enables them to findothers who share common interests and/or activities and whoare interested in learning more about each other and whatthey do. They can be used to target, create or enhancenetworks or communities of practice. For example, DuncanMacqueen describes the development of the Forest Connectonline social networking website.16 Members of the interna-tional Forest Connect Alliance had expressed a strong demandfor greater information-sharing about state-of-the-art prac-tice in small and medium-sized forest enterprises. Since itscreation, the online social network has attracted an increasingnumber of genuinely active members. In addition, the websiteutilises the power of social bookmarking and RSS feeds toenhance the ways in which people are able to categorise, findand share relevant information via the website itself.17

Because the tools are easy to use and accessible, Web 2.0tools can quickly fulfil a need, e.g. in response to crises or anurgent or clear need for information. But however useful thetools, people still need to be motivated to participate in usingthem – whether they are donors, development agencies,community organisations or individuals. Simply making thesetools available is not enough. We also need to create – andlearn to value – a culture of information-sharing. The appli-cation of these tools needs to have a clear utility and purposethat is both appropriate and demand-driven. For example,the process of organising the Web2forDev conference hascontributed to building a community of practice (Barth andRambaldi, this issue). However, the organisers also faced chal-lenges such as hesitancy to explore new tools, choosing fromthe many Web 2.0 applications available, and the steep learn-ing curve involved in testing and adopting them.

Many Web 2.0 websites are established with the best ofintentions, yet care needs to be taken that they are kept perti-nent, resourced and moderated. Good intentions and thelow cost of establishment are not sufficient in themselves toensure the long-term upkeep and relevance of the servicesoffered. As Kreutz emphasises in relation to blogging, ‘Atten-tion and visitors are not guaranteed. You need to persevereto find the audience or help the audience find you.’ This isalso echoed by Corbett and Kulchyski (this issue). In their

experience, allocating adequate resources to maintaining andupdating information on blogging websites is crucial toensuring the community’s interest in using it. Likewise,Okolloh (this issue) compares the success of the Ushahidiplatform in Kenya to its less successful deployment in theDemocratic Republic of Congo. This may have been for anumber of reasons: a lack of public motivation to participate;wariness of possible reprisals; or a reluctance of humanitar-ian agencies to share crisis information.

Building and maintaining vibrant online communities fordevelopment requires capacity building, time and resources– and these requirements are identified throughout the arti-cles in this collection. One challenge is to understand andcontribute to collaborative online spaces for development, toshare and holistically generate relevant, timely and above alluseful content. Yet there are other fundamental issues wealso need to be aware of.

Intellectual property, privacy and securityAs we have seen, Web 2.0 tools have the potential toenhance the ways we interact and share information online.However, a word of caution is required. Issues such as whohas access to the information generated need careful consid-eration. It is also important to consider issues of safety in theprocess. Is the information being uploaded culturally sensi-tive? What are the implications of making this informationavailable to a broader audience? Who may be put at risk bysharing this information? Who is using this informationwithout your knowledge – and for what purposes?

Increasingly, commercial sectors are using these tools forsocial marketing and to promote brand images. Often,people concede their privacy and/or intellectual propertyrights over information to online service providers withoutrealising it, for example when content is uploaded towebsites like Facebook or YouTube or location-specific datais entered on Google Maps. Jon Corbett and Tim Kulchyskidiscuss the importance of intellectual property rights whenusing Web 2.0 tools for development. In this new era of‘social computing’, information that is shared on the Inter-net is usually publicly accessible. The authors describe aproject working with Hul’q’umi’num’-speaking communities

16 See www.forestconnect.ning.com.17 See also our short introductions to social networking, social bookmarks and RSSfeeds, Tips for trainers, this issue..

“Building and maintaining vibrantonline communities for developmentrequires capacity building, time andresources.”

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based in Canada to revitalise their language. The project useda range of approaches – including participatory video andWeb 2.0 tools – to develop language learning materials.Here, the authors describe how the project participantsstrategically chose to retain much of their valuable culturalknowledge within their own communities. For example, onlyselected video segments were uploaded on public video-sharing websites. In addition, access to the community's blogwas limited to registered users only. In this way, the projectlimited access to these important cultural resources for peopleoutside of the Hul’q’umi’num’ communities.

We need to be clear about who owns the informationthat we enter and upload on our social networking websitesand as with anything on the Internet always be careful aboutuploading personal information. Always check the terms ofservice before joining an online network – some serviceproviders retain the right to use your material without yourpermission. Find out what rights the service provider has interms of using your data and what rights you have torecall/delete your data.18 There have also been some concernsexpressed regarding the use of Facebook and many othersocial networks as a means of surveillance and data mining– people have been blacklisted, lost their jobs and evenimprisoned as a result of information they have published. Inaddition, there have been instances where such services haveshut the accounts of particular individuals or online groupswithout warning (see e.g. Lee, 2007; Mishra, 2009). Somestates have also banned the use of Facebook in their coun-tries for promoting criticism of authorities.19

There is also the issue of backing up your data. Best prac-tice is that digital data should always be safely stored (or‘backed up’) somewhere else offline – it is not advisable totrust that information you have uploaded online will remainthere. In addition, when subscribing to third party applica-tions and services, the service may alter, malfunction or disap-pear – in such instances, subscribers are not in control ofwhat happens to their information. And while third partyonline social networking platforms can create a vibrant onlinecommunity, you cannot ‘back up’ a social network. So ifsecuring data is a major issue, using a more sophisticatedcontent management system (CMS) that can be run on yourown server space may be more appropriate than using thirdparty platforms.20

Evaluating effectivenessMonitoring and evaluating the effectiveness and appropri-ateness of these tools is fundamental. Implementing thesetools requires a careful consideration of who can or cannotparticipate – and who will benefit. Multidisciplinaryapproaches to integrating Web 2.0 tools into developmentprojects and processes are key. How do we decide whetherand what tools are appropriate in individual contexts?

One example of a people-focused, needs-basedapproach to adopting Web 2.0 tools within local communi-ties is provided by the Arid Lands Information Network(ALIN) within East Africa. The ALIN approach builds commu-nity trust by involving existing traditional social networks andempowers communities to drive their own informationneeds. Local outreach volunteers – who both train and actas ‘info-mediaries’ – are available, along with a wide rangeof ICT-based and traditional tools, including communityradio and drama, focal groups, participatory video, comput-ers with Internet access, a cross-network online web portal,mobile text message services and newsletters. ALIN commu-nities have a strong, sustained interest in ICTs and Web 2.0technologies – importantly driven by them defining andowning the combinations of tools which are appropriate forthem. This involves a strong element of local capacity build-ing, a slow introduction to new technologies, and tech-niques put in place to monitor the ‘success’ of the tools.

In terms of evaluating ‘success’ of a particular tool orinformation resource, the important question here is whatare we trying to monitor and evaluate – are we attemptingto monitor outputs such as numbers of users? For this simpletype of monitoring there are a range of website statisticstools (unique visitors, number of document downloads etc.)and third party website statistics providers such as GoogleAnalytics.

A more nuanced definition of ‘success’ means lookingat outcomes rather than just outputs – who has benefitedfrom these tools and in what way? For example, what are

“Implementing these tools requires acareful consideration of who can orcannot participate – and who willbenefit. Multidisciplinary approaches tointegrating Web 2.0 tools intodevelopment projects and processes are key.”

18 For example, Facebook and YouTube retain the rights to use any informationuploaded by members. In addition, some websites such as Facebook retain apermanent archive of all material uploaded – even after deleted by the member fromtheir own profile page. See also Social networking, this issue.19 For more discussion, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Facebook20 For more information about CMS see Social networking, p.112 (this issue).

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the outcomes of introducing new Web 2.0 market pricingtools in a local farming community? To understand thisbetter it is useful to have knowledge of our existing (non-Web 2.0) social network membership as a baseline referenceand applying a range of techniques to monitor change inoutcomes (e.g. behavioural change) that then can be implic-itly linked to development impacts.

One promising approach that has been used within localcommunities to understanding outcome changes is to usetools to analyse social network structures. These provide aproxy for a ‘knowledge map’ of information flows. Withincommunities and across business relationships, these socialstructures act as information distribution networks. They area trusted source of new knowledge. Mapping them providesa guide for introducing Web 2.0 tools in a socio-culturallysensitive way, as well as a template to better measure whouses the technologies and whether development benefitsarise from it.

Practical techniques to perform mapping have beenpioneered by organisations such as the Consultative Groupon International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). And there area host of non-ICT workshop-based activities that can be used,such as the Net-map Toolbox (Schiffer, 2007). This makessocial network mapping accessible to development practi-tioners. Once the local social networks have been mapped,we can better understand how changes to these socialnetworks are effected when new Web 2.0 tools (such as SMSand web-based market pricing systems) are introduced.

When it comes to more anonymous and widelydispersed social networks with hundreds, possibly thousandsof users, measuring outcomes is extremely challenging.However, evaluation needs to at the very least infer directinvolvement (e.g. leaving comments) or else how thewebsite content is repurposed, tagged, bookmarked, linkedto, mashed-up and shared down the line. This helps todemonstrate how interesting and socially relevant a websiteand its information are to users of the network. A variety ofapproaches from user surveys, to harvesting informationfrom user profile data, and webpage visitor patterns can beused to gain more information about the network users andtheir changing behaviours. Additionally, many Web 2.0 toolsand platforms provide the ability to order and rank popu-larity, instances of use or the number of times items or pagesare linked to.

The reality is that because Web 2.0 is relatively new andimpact is difficult to infer from the mere existence of infor-mation networks, we have not developed mature formalmechanisms to monitor and evaluate the impacts of Web

2.0 tools. In the broader field of ICT for development thereare some useful frameworks emerging, particularly in meas-uring the effects of newly introduced ICTs on pilot commu-nities.21 These frameworks are useful in approaches toassessing outcomes where there is direct physical access tocommunities using Web 2.0 tools on the ground. They areless useful where the tools are used by a network ofgeographically dispersed and often anonymous users – suchas an NGO using an interactive website for advocacypurposes. Here the automated tracking, participatory activ-ity monitoring, and survey tools mentioned are aids to infer-ring outcomes and development impacts.

Ways forwardThe most successful approaches to implementing develop-ment programmes are those that become self-sustaining –shifting away from a reliance on donor funding to becomedemand-driven. This would apply equally to initiatives usingWeb 2.0 tools (Garside, 2009). As the articles in this collec-tion demonstrate, this can happen if the services that theseWeb 2.0 applications and tools offer are perceived as rele-vant, that they offer important and up-to-date information ina way that builds on technologies that are low-cost andalready in use (such as mobile phones), and if the impactsare monitored and evaluated for effectiveness.

We should also not assume that market forces willprovide the basis for supporting the development and infra-structure for Web 2.0 for development. Privately-run Web2.0 services may become profitable. But we cannot assumethat these services will extend to wherever there is a need. Soit is still vitally important for donors to continue to supportthe implementation of services beyond using simplistic indi-cators such as profitability.

In addition, many within the development community may

21 For example see ‘Impact Assessment of ICT-for-Development Projects: ACompendium of Approaches’ www.sed.manchester.ac.uk/idpm/research/publications/wp/di/di_wp36.htm

“The most successful approaches toimplementing development programmesare those that become self-sustaining –shifting away from a reliance on donorfunding to become demand-driven. Thiswould apply equally to initiatives usingWeb 2.0 tools.”

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CONTACT DETAILSHolly AshleyParticipatory Learning and Action seriesInternational Institute for Environment andDevelopment (IIED)3 Endsleigh StreetLondon, WC1H 0DDUKEmail: [email protected]

Jon CorbettCommunity Culture and Global StudiesUniversity of British Columbia OkanaganCanadaEmail: [email protected]

Dave JonesIndependent media consultantEmail: [email protected]

Ben GarsideSustainable Markets Group International Institute for Environment andDevelopment (IIED)3 Endsleigh Street, London, WC1H 0DDUKEmail: [email protected]

Giacomo RambaldiTechnical Centre for Agricultural and RuralCooperation EU-ACP (CTA)WageningenThe NetherlandsEmail: [email protected] [email protected].

REFERENCESGarside, B. (2009). Village voice: towardsinclusive information technologies. IIEDBriefing Papers. IIED: London. Online:http://tinyurl.com/IIED-ICTbriefingKabissa wiki (Ongoing) ‘Web 2.0 in AfricanCivil Society.’ A report prepared for the MarcLindenberg Center. The content of this Wiki islicensed under a Creative CommonsAttribution-Share Alike 3.0 License. Online:http://wiki.kabissa.org/web_2.0/startLee, E. (2007) ‘Laborstart: Bandwagons andBuzzwords.’ Eric Lee blog. Online:www.ericlee.info/2007/11/bandwagons_and_buzzwords_faceb.htmlMatthess, A. and Kreutz, C. (2008) TheParticipatory Web: New potentials of ICT inrural areas. GTZ: Germany. Online:www.gtz.de/de/dokumente/en-ict-web.pdf(1.6 MB)Mishra, G. (2009) ‘The Perils of FacebookActivism: walled gardens, serial activists andhackers.’ Blog article, 17th April 2009.DigiActive.org. See: http://tinyurl.com/facebook-on-digiactiveSchiffer, E. (2007) Net-map Toolbox: Influencemapping of social networks. CGIAR/International Food Policy Research Institute.See: http://netmap.wordpress.com Thompson M. (2007) ‘ICT and DevelopmentStudies: Towards Development 2.0.’ Paperpresented to DSA Annual Conference 2007,BrightonVickery, G. and Wunch-Vincent, S. (2007) Weband User-Created Content: Web 2.0, wikis andsocial networking. OECD. Online:http://tinyurl.com/oecdWeb2Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web2fordev

still need further convincing about the power of Web 2.0 toolsto harness change. As Corbett, Singleton and Muir write, ‘Thereis a gap between what community members consider validevidence to support what they see as the impact of ICT andWeb 2.0 usage within the community, and the comparativeacademic evaluation of such findings.’ Further work is neededto demonstrate the benefits and identify both best and worstpractice if these tools are to be better mainstreamed into devel-opment work. This means bringing together multidisciplinarygroups of practitioners that include social scientists, economists,as well as computer scientists to develop better and morerobust monitoring and evaluation techniques.

In fact, from our experience in working with authorsto create this collection of articles, what has becomeapparent is that for many of them, their experiences ofusing Web 2.0 tools for development are still relativelynew. As with any new and emerging community of prac-tice, lessons are still being learnt. Some areas of experi-ence are more mature than others. What is clear is thatthe use of Web 2.0 tools for development is not yet wide-spread within development circles – but we hope that thiscollection of articles will demonstrate both the widerpotential as well as critical reflections on the challengesand ways forward.

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IntroductionIt is not often when summing up at a conference that youfind yourself with a summary which becomes a usefulmnemonic for day-to-day work in the field. Yet this was thecase at the Web2forDev conference in 2007. A complicatedconference was summarised by two hands.1 The left handrepresents the tools needed in Web 2.0. The right handrepresents the issues we need to address in our approach tohow we use them.

In every training event since, I still find myself using thetwo hands to explain Web 2.0 to the development sector (seeBox 1).

Left hand of Web2forDev: five key Web 2.0 toolsAt the Web2forDev conference, Pete Cranston of Oxfamprovided a useful story from a previous conference about theneed to know five key tools to understand Web 2.0.2

• Blogging: blogs and video blogs are used to publish ourown content in words, speech or images. A blog (short forWeb log) is a website, usually maintained by an individual.

It contains regular commentary, descriptions of events, orother material such as photos or videos. To ‘blog’ means tomaintain or add content to a blog.

• Wikis and social networks: these tools are used to jointlydevelop and exchange ideas. A wiki is a page or collectionof web pages designed to enable anyone who accesses itto contribute or modify content. Wikis are often used tocreate collaborative websites and to power community

by CHRIS ADDISON

2The two hands of Web2forDev:a conference summary

The topic of Web 2.0 for Development is like the fingers of two hands.Each finger represents one component of development work. Whenworking with Web 2.0 tools, we need to consider the interactionbetween each finger of each hand.

First, we find ourselves with a left hand full of Web 2.0 tools:• Blogging• Wikis and social networks• Tagging and social bookmarking• Feeds• Mash-ups

However, these tools are no use for development if we do not useour right hand of approaches. These approaches were provided by anumber of conference participants:• People• Access• Participation• Content• Impact

Box 1: The two hands of Web2forDev

1 This article is based on the comments and observations of the conferenceparticipants, which were brought together during the final plenary session. Formore information about the conference, see the overview, p.8 and also Barth andRambaldi, p.95 (this issue).2 Pete Cranston explains the five tools at http://blip.tv/file/406897/

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websites. Social networking tools focus on building onlinecommunities of people who share interests and/or activi-ties.

• Tagging: we also use tags and bookmarks to order ourthoughts. A tag is a keyword or term assigned to a piece ofinformation. Tags are chosen informally and personally. Tagshelp describe an item and allow it to be found again bybrowsing or searching using that keyword. A collection ofonline user-generated tags is often referred to as a ‘folk-sonomy’.3

• Feeds: RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds are used tospread the word to other websites and across the Internet.RSS feeds allow you to see when websites add newcontent. RSS feeds aggregate links to new content e.g.headlines and articles in one place, as soon as they arepublished, without you having to search for them manu-ally on the Internet.

• Mash-ups: mash-ups help to bring a view of the webtogether for ourselves and others. A mash-up is a webapplication that combines data from more than one sourceinto a single integrated tool, e.g. using text, photos, videosand audio files.4

During the conference, we heard from Prince Deh inGhana and Ednah Karamagi in Uganda – about how blog-ging and video blogging (vlogging) could play their role incommunicating development issues (see Deh and also Kara-magi and Nakirya, this issue). Working together throughwikis and social networking platforms was presented byDevelopment Seeds in their description of the systems they

had built for development agencies. Oxfam showed howthey reach northern audiences through the social networkingplatforms MySpace and Facebook.5 Tagging was describedby Euforic in the way they had built an entire website aroundthe social bookmarking tool Delicious.6 Ethan Zuckermanexplained how RSS feeds were used to bring together differ-ent perspectives from around the world into one website, toproduce Global Voices (see also Zuckerman, this issue).

Right hand of Web2forDev: five key approachesHowever, these Web 2.0 tools are no use for development ifwe do not use our right hand of approaches:• People: we need to look at the people we use the toolswith and for, considering their needs. Are the tools appro-priate? • Access: it is important to remember issues of access,connectivity and language. Who does and does not haveaccess to the tools? Who can or cannot read or listen to theinformation you want to share using these tools?• Participation: we need to support participation andconsider motivations. How do we facilitate participation?Who can or cannot participate, and why? • Content: it is important to consider issues of content (style,media and type). What information is being shared? Withwhom? For what purposes? • Impact: lastly – and most importantly – none of this is worthwhile without measuring impact. Are these tools contribut-ing to a positive change of progress and innovation? How dowe measure impact?

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3 For a definition of ‘folksonomy’ see glossary, p.121 (this issue).4 The descriptions for these Web 2.0 tools are adapted from entries in Wikipedia,a free online encyclopaedia that anyone can edit. See: http://en.wikipedia.org

5 See: www.myspace.com and www.facebook.com6 See: http://delicious.com

The ‘two hands’ image,created by Jon Corbett duringthe Web2forDev conferencefor the final plenary session.

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Throughout the conference participants emphasised howimportant it is not just to promote the tools but to start withthe people involved – and to decide which tools are relevantand necessary. We heard repeatedly how certain tools werebetter matched than others to different groups of people.One of the most successful tools – considered by some as‘Web 2.0 before Web 2.0’ – is DGroups, with over 100,000registered users. This was not because it was the latest soft-ware and most sophisticated tool – but because it matchedits users’ needs.7

Matching the left and right hands: tools in action atWeb2forDevThe final session drew out some lessons learnt from partici-pants at the conference. Participants had been encouragedto write their thoughts and observations on the conferencedemocracy walls.8 Using these and other comments made inthe final workshop, their comments were then summarisedand matched against the components of the two handsmodel.

Why use Web 2.0 for development?One participant observed that while a lot of Web 2.0 toolswere thought to be for entertainment, they can also be usedfor business. Ethan Zuckerman (this issue) made the pointthat because many Web 2.0 tools are in mass use they aredifficult to ban. Because so many Internet users want to usethese tools for uncontroversial, mainstream social purposes,authorities are reluctant to block access to them. Forexample, Ethan Zuckerman (this issue) spoke about how thepopular photo-sharing website Flickr allows anyone to putcaptions on their photos to share with others – but this alsomeans that Internet users can use these captions to postpolitically sensitive texts online, which some governmentsmight otherwise block people’s Internet access to.9 AnrietteEsterhuysen (this issue) talked about the trade-offs andbenefits of using Web 2.0 for entertainment. From a devel-opment perspective, those with sufficient access to themcan use the tools to facilitate livelihood benefits. But equally,‘fun’ draws users in and provides an interest factor.

BlogsFor many at the conference, blogs allow you to reach asmany people as possible with your ideas and use them tohighlight unread material (see also Kreutz, this issue). Becausebloggers like to link between each others’ websites, andbecause authors tag their comments and blog entries, blogscreate useful networks between related websites. Videoblogging, or vlogging, seemed particularly useful to civilsociety organisations because of its immediate visual appeal(see Deh this issue).

WikisThe conference wiki provided a way to structure our thoughtsin preparing the conference, to provide an annotated sched-ule during the conference and to form a report after theconference (see also Barth and Rambaldi, this issue). Theintroductory session the day before the conference showedmany how to use this useful tool for the first time. Perhapsthe wiki was not used as much as expected by participants toadd content, but it certainly became an important referencepoint. One participant commented that they found the wikito be ‘exciting, immediate, and empowering – everyone hasa say’.

TagsParticipants’ observations on tagging materials on the webwere more limited than on other tools and approaches. Thisstill seemed to be an area where few of the participants wereworking. However, the interesting thing was to see how

7 DGroups is an online platform offering tools and services for groups andcommunities interested in international development. See: www.dgroups.org 8 A democracy wall is a structured open space where people can post their ideasand opinions in a free, focused and concise manner. See PLA 58 ‘Democracywalls’ Tips for Trainers (Rambaldi, 2008). Read free online:http://tinyurl.com/c8gkn39 Flickr is a free to use image and video hosting website and online communityplatform, where users can upload, view and share images and video clips. Seewww.flickr.com. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flickr

A snapshot of participants’comments on one of theDemocracy Walls at theWeb2forDev conference.

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Internet users use tagging in different ways. For example,Christian Kreutz explained how tagging is used to create non-hierarchical folksonomies. These folksonomies, or collectionsof popular tagging keywords, emerge as commonly-usedwords are used over and over again as people ‘tag’ materialthey upload to the Internet, and start to use popularkeywords used by others to describe similar content.

Another emphasised the opportunities for sharing. ‘Tagshave a social dimension, organising information better forother searchers who use those keywords.’ Taxonomy isnormally derived to serve a broader community and hasdeveloped to assist classification, avoid ambiguity of itemsand provide a structured method of retrieval.10 Tagging allowsthe author to organise their articles, structure them in a blog,and allows their content to be featured on other websites byany online community that actively seeks content taggedwith particular keywords, or tags. Tagging is often used fornavigation whilst keywords and taxonomy have emerged forretrieving information.

Participants were encouraged to tag all items related tothe conference which they uploaded onto the Internet as‘Web2forDev’.11 This led to a vast repository of ideas andopinions around the meeting (see also Barth and Rambaldi,this issue). The only issue with this was the need for guide-lines to decide the best way the tag could be used.

FeedsRSS feeds help to filter the sheer volume of content availableonline. They aggregate links to new content in one place e.g.headlines and articles, as soon as they are published, withoutyou having to search for them manually on the Internet.Many participants felt there was a need to move to RSS feedsto unlock valuable new content from websites. They also feltthat many organisations were resisting using RSS feeds toshare new content – and that this was due to a misunder-standing of what – and how – feeds share information. Feedsare a form of marketing and advertise your content to others,because by gathering together links to new content and‘feeding’ them to other interested Internet users, this helpsbring new audiences to your website. They do not just givecontent away.

Mash-upsUsing Web 2.0 tools, ‘mash-ups’ allow users to combine,restructure and reuse different types of information – andfrom different sources – that are already available online, suchcombining maps with text, photos, and/or videos.12 We sawintriguing examples ranging from websites to maps. Oneparticipant made an interesting observation. ‘In my mind[these] are all facets of the same phenomenon: that infor-mation and presentation are being separated and thenrestructured in ways that allow for novel forms of reuse.’ Thekey point for the future is how individuals ‘mash-up’ theirown view of content without the need for in-depth techni-cal knowledge. An example of this is a user’s personalwebsite start-page. iGoogle is an example we often use onour training courses.13 For an example of the combined inputfrom blogs, wikis and tagged documents through the use offeeds, see the page opposite.

PeopleThe people-centred approach was emphasised by commentsfrom two participants in the final wrapping up session.

It’s not about the tools – it’s about the people who areconnected by these tools.

Again and again we heard, ‘It’s all about people’. Weshould not get lost in the hype over the new technologies.Without the people to generate the content, both thecontent itself and means of sharing this content/knowledgeis meaningless. Web 2.0 tools and information communica-tion technologies (ICTs) in general, are simply sets of toolsthat when combined with the right approaches can facilitatebenefits to both lives and livelihoods.

AccessHowever, you still need access to the tools to use them – nomatter how useful they are. Access was illustrated in differ-ent ways. Time and again, we heard about variable Internetconnectivity across Africa and unreliable power supplies –and how both are affected by business and politics. We heardabout other key constraints such as language, with so fewWeb 2.0 tools available in languages other than English. Evenwhere access was possible, people were looking for the keyskills of how to encourage participation and build capacity10 Taxonomy is the practice and science of classification. A taxonomy is a

particular classification arranged in a hierarchical structure. Adapted from source:Wikipedia.11 For example, conference participants were encouraged to tag any commentsthey had written about the conference when writing posts on blogs such ashttp://blog.web2fordev.net and www.crisscrossed.net. See also Tagging, p.117(this issue).

12 For more information on mash-ups, see glossary, p.122 (this issue).13 iGoogle is a personalised web start-page. Similiar platforms include Pageflakesor Netvibes. See: www.google.co.uk/ig; www.pageflakes.com;www.netvibes.com.

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for people to participate. One thing that became clear fromthe conference was the strong role that mobile phones canplay in providing this access (see Samii; Okolloh; and alsoKaramagi and Nakirya, this issue).

ParticipationWhile many emphasised the important role participationplays in Web 2.0 approaches, some regretted that presenta-tions at the conference did not emphasise this enough.However, it seemed as though that this was the reality formany (although certainly not all) organisations at the time ofthe conference.14 While Web 2.0 is also known as ‘the partic-ipatory web’ we need to make a distinction between simplyusing the ‘participatory web’ and combining the use of thesetools with participatory approaches which generate, collectand share information.

ContentWhatever the new technology, the same concerns aboutcontent remain. Some were concerned about how northerninformation continues to dominate new Web 2.0 services.Others saw the new tools as a way to more readily capture,generate, validate and share local content (see e.g. Karam-agi and Nakirya; and Corbett et al., this issue). This workedparticularly well for audio and video materials where literacywas less of an impediment to their use. In addition, Web 2.0tools such as RSS feeds are coming into their own, helping tofilter the sheer volume of content available. But the sameconcerns remain: what content, made and shared by who –and who with? The way we present content will depend somuch on the audience we are trying to reach. The new toolsprovide a completely different way of working, for exampleallowing many people to work on a document at one time,but there are still times we still need to structure the reviewand final editing process. Quality, relevance and clarity willstill need to be maintained, regardless of the process used,whether using a pencil or Web 2.0 tools.

14 A good example of a participatory online community is the Open Forum onParticipatory Geographic Information Systems and Technologies – a vibrantinternational community of practice which hosts four distinct online discussionlists: Anglophone, Latin American (Spanish), Lusophone (Brazilian) andFrancophone. See: www.ppgis.net

An example of a ‘mash-up’using iGoogle mash-upsoftware. It uses RSS feedsto gather together links tonew and existing contentfrom many differentwebsites in one place. Seewww.google.com/ig

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Measuring impact: is it worth it?The discussions running through the conference focused ona need to measure impact – not just in terms of number ofvisitors to a website, or how many people use Web 2.0 serv-ices – but what impact the information has had on their lives.

I think this point is extremely important. It is about theimpact these technologies can have on our lives, fromsharing information and knowledge to improve our liveli-hoods, to building social networks and online communitiesunited in a common cause. Positive change is the goal – notjust introducing new technologies. We need to put in placemonitoring and evaluation to measure how well – andwhether – these tools are having the impact that we havesought. Many participants commented on how this could bedone. The two techniques most often mentioned in thiscontext were Outcome Mapping approaches and MostSignificant Change. Both are monitoring and evaluationmethodologies focusing on the changes around the peoplein a project rather than outputs from the activity such asreports, publications or networks. Outcome Mappingcaptures changes in what people do differently (behaviours,actions), while Most Significant Change documents howthey perceive and appreciate change.15

General conclusionsThe general conclusions of the participants in the closingsession of the conference stressed the scale of change. Sothis dialogue was essential. The conference participants werepeople working in many different aspects of the develop-ment sector. And everyone stressed that our approaches toWeb 2.0 need to be interdisciplinary. There was particularly

an emphasis that often anthropology and technology wereneeded in combination: good practice requires carefulconsideration of process, inclusion, transparency andaccountability. Web 2.0 tools are like any other set of tools –and their selection and use should be based on considera-tions of power in the process.

Many expressed their enthusiasm to get home and try Web2.0 approaches. One interesting observation was that partici-pants would still be taking paper home from the conference– noting down email addresses and writing articles on whatthey had seen – so more traditional forms of communicationwere not replaced by Web 2.0 tools. In particular, one pointresounded with me. Participants needed to experiment to findwhich tools were appropriate to their situation. There may bea whole array of Web 2.0 tools and opportunities available,but they each match a particular need. And as the story aboutthe hands says, you should be careful how you use them.

We may meet or greet with our hands and differentcultures use different gestures. The fingers may represent ourtools and approaches, but some combinations may causeoffence. Web 2.0 tools should always be supportive of a devel-opment action. So when exploring the new web for develop-ment, it is useful to remember the toolkit represented by ourtwo hands.

“Web 2.0 tools are like any other set oftools – and their selection and useshould be based on considerations ofpower in the process.”

CONTACT DETAILSChris AddisonAvenue de broqueville 140Brussels 1200BelgiumEmail: [email protected]: www.euforic.org

NOTESMany thanks to Giacomo Rambaldi of TheTechnical Centre for Agricultural and RuralCooperation EU-ACP (CTA) for the opportunityto facilitate the Web2forDev conference, toLucy Lamoreux as my colleague facilitator andin particular in helping to change the 300-seatauditorium into a workshop environment, toJon Corbett for embodying the idea in the two

hands graphical image and to Holly Ashley ofIIED for her work on this article.

This article has been adapted from anarticle on the Web2forDev conference wiki,‘Two Hands of Web2forDev’. Source: http://wiki.web2fordev.net/index.php/Two_Hands_of_Web2forDev. Short URL: http://tinyurl.com/web2hands

15 See Ricardo Ramirez, Impact of Public Access to ICT (IPAI) project wiki:http://tinyurl.com/dz5jat. For information on Outcome Mapping see:www.outcomemapping.ca. For Most Significant Change see:www.mande.co.uk/MSC.htm

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Part II: Studies ofWeb 2.0 toolsIn Part II, the articles examine some of the uses of specific Web 2.0 toolsfor development purposes.

First, CHRISTIAN KREUTZ explores the potential of blogging fordevelopment. A blog enables users to engage in two-way conversationsand link to one another to form new information-sharing networks.Blogging represents a shift from a more traditional, top-down mode ofcommunication to a more ‘publicly open and transparent’ one. While theuse of blogging for development is beginning to gain popularity, theseblogs are still in limited use – and issues of access and literacy remain afundamental challenge in many parts of the world.

DUNCAN MACQUEEN describes the development of an online socialnetworking website. Members of the international Forest Connect Alliancehad expressed a strong demand for greater information-sharing. Thewebsite provided a platform for members to quickly and easily access andshare information about state-of-the-art practice in small and medium-sized forest enterprises. Since its creation, the online social network hasattracted an increasing number of genuinely active members. Althoughdonors still need persuasion to fund further website development, earlyindications are that the initiative is having a positive impact.

Next, PRINCE DEH describes the use of video blogging by the GhanaInformation Network for Knowledge Sharing (GINKS). Similar to a blog, avideo blog – or ‘vlog’ for short – contains short segments of video content.Usually in the form of interviews, these vlogs help members to shareinformation about work and experiences. Deh also considers thepotentials of vlogging for advocacy purposes, as well as the challengesinherent in using Web 2.0 tools in countries such as Ghana, where Internetaccess is still mostly limited to urban areas.

The final article in Part II is by ROXANNA SAMII, and reflects on the risingpopularity of mobile telephony for development purposes. Across theworld, the mobile phone is becoming a more accessible, affordable andconvenient means of communication than the Internet and computers.Particularly in Africa, as the cost of services and handsets continue toreduce, mobile phones are increasingly becoming the preferred tool foraccessing and sharing information. As the impacts of this new ‘revolution’are starting to be assessed, Samii argues that mobile phones have thepotential to become the first universally accessible informationcommunication technology.

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IntroductionIdeas that spread through groups of people are far morepowerful than ideas delivered at an individual.Seth Godin

The World Wide Web has changed dramatically in recentyears, not just in its sheer number of users, but in particular,in the new forms of participation it offers. Sometimesreferred to as the ‘read and write’ web, Web 2.0 technolo-gies now make it potentially possible for every Internet userto have a voice and a worldwide audience – linking peoplefrom around the world in an unforeseen way. With the firstphase of the web, most people could only read information.Now, it is possible for most Internet users to create contentand edit websites (see Box 1).1

Commenting, editing or writing articles can be at ourfingertips – and this shift also applies to development. Grass-roots activists were the first to tap that potential – with veryfew means you can create an online platform for your cause.One example is the village of Nata, Botswana. Villagers thereface severe problems due to poverty and HIV/AIDS. Yet thevillagers have a blog, where they describe their daily strug-

gles from their own perspectives. Via this blog, supportersworldwide can engage and follow the latest news.2

Even organisations like the World Bank have joined thepublicly open and transparent conversation about the chal-lenges of development via blogs. Shanta Devarajan, ChiefEconomist of the African region, proclaims in his blog thatAfrica can end poverty.3 He discusses ideas, solutions andchallenges online with whoever is interested. Slowly, top-down communication is shifting to a two-way conversation.One of the successful key factors of blogging is that it flour-ishes from volunteer engagement.

Who blogs and why?In the early years of the Internet, technical constraints limitedhow we published our own content online. Today, there aremultiple websites where users can participate by publishing

by CHRISTIAN KREUTZ

3Exploring the potentials ofblogging for development

1 For a definition of ‘blog’, see glossary, p.121. See also Blogging p.106 (this issue).

“Slowly, top-down communication isshifting to a two-way conversation. Oneof the successful key factors of bloggingis that it flourishes from volunteerengagement.”

2 See: http://natavillage.typepad.com/3 See: http://endpovertyinsouthasia.worldbank.org/blogs/shanta-devarajan

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their stories, collaborate with others, or simply comment.Blogs have been synonymous with this recent shift in webcommunication tools towards the ‘social web’, often referredto as Web 2.0. A global network of blogs has created its ownpublic sphere – known as the blogosphere – where millionsof bloggers write their stories worldwide.4 Although blogsare mostly personal, there are blogs about all kinds of topics,from sharing a hobby or political opinions, to offering infor-mation as an expert, campaigning for a cause, or linking co-workers within a project or organisation. Bloggers can writeabout their insights and opinions – and trigger a discourse orcontroversy.

All bloggers share the potential opportunity speak to aglobal audience. Particularly for development, previouslyunheard people can tell their stories. In the short history ofblogging, however, only a minority of people has participatedby writing or commenting. Few blogs have a large audience.Few bloggers focus on development, and the existing devel-opment blogs are still loosely linked. But there are variousfascinating examples offering new ways of informationexchange through blogs.

Blogging in action The connectedness of blogs allows ideas and information tospread quickly throughout the Internet. African citizen jour-nalism is slowly on the rise. Equipped with mobile phones, in

projects such as Voices of Africa, bloggers film interviews andupload stories from around the continent.5 Another exampleis the Indian Kisan blog. Farmers can post questions to theblog, which are answered by other farmers or scientists. Inthis way, the Kisan blog is contributing to sharing experiencesof rural farmers in India.6

Bloggers connect not only to share information, but alsoto take action. One interesting phenomenon is that peopleare blogging in many different languages. In Asia, Africa andLatin America blogs have become important transmitters ofnews and expertise. In the Arab region, blogs have becomea major tool for political activism.7 Through blogs, humanrights activists connect, coordinate and publish informationsuch as incidents of torture or protests not reported in media.Much political debate has now moved to the Internet.8

However, this has also resulted in increased censorship in5 See: http://voicesofafrica.africanews.com6 See: http://kisan.wordpress.com7 See e.g.: http://aliveinbaghdad.org8 See e.g.: http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/publications/2008/Mapping_Irans_Online_Public.Or short URL: http://tinyurl.com/iran-online

4 The blogosphere is a collective term encompassing all blogs and theirinterconnections. Source: Wikipedia

A blog, short for ‘Web’ and ‘log’, is basically just a website with articles,but with some decisive elements: • Everyone can easily create his or her own blog and write posts about

any kind of topic. • Most blogs are written by one person in the form of a diary or

journal. The author can opt to allow other readers to interact andwrite their own comments on the blog.

• This offers readers an opportunity to participate by commenting oneach other’s posts and engaging in discussion.

• Unlike an online forum, blogs start with the newest posts rather thanthe oldest ones – this gives them a sense of immediacy.

• A blog is a little publishing system, which allows you to add photos,videos and audio.

• The majority of blogs link to each other, forming new networks andinformation pathways.

Blogs…• are an expression of personal opinion; • help trigger discussions online; and • link to other blogs, picking up on other ongoing conversations online.

Box 1: What is a blog?

The Nata village blog is afundraising tool, whichalso enables websitevisitors to meet thepeople of Nata and tolearn about their storiesand how they live.

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many countries, restricting freedom of expression, with somebloggers imprisoned for writing about political or social issues(see also Zuckerman, this issue). For example, in countriessuch as Egypt, China or Iran, bloggers – and the blogosphere– are under surveillance by their governments and increas-ingly by Internet companies.9 However, blogs are often oneof the few – or only – sources of information available online,particularly in conflict situations (see also Okolloh, this issue).

Accountability and transparencyCompared to normal development websites, bloggers bothanalyse and link information – and in the process, createmeaning. Bloggers are also notified (‘pinged’) every timethere is a new link from another blog to their own posts. Itgenerates interaction between bloggers and also measuresthe popularity of a blog – e.g. citations and affiliation (i.e. alist of links to other blogs). Bloggers weave a web of knowl-edge, expertise and perspectives. In a way, blogging meanslinking conversations and other existing blogs, increasing theebb and flow of information. This forms hubs or nodeswithin networks, where bloggers aggregate information,and give orientation and relevance – and also become effec-tive filters of information. They act like fishers, who pick the

most relevant pieces of information out of the net.10 Thisaggregation is important to find different blog posts withdifferent perspectives.

The advantage of filtering is that these bloggers give anoverview on interesting topics. The disadvantage is that ablogger decides that on a personal basis and it might bebiased information. Critics such as Andrew Keen wonderwhere the added value of this growing content lies –compared to professionally compiled information by jour-nalists. Many say that most blogs ‘copy and paste’ fromother blogs or repeat themselves, often ending in an echochamber of mutual confirmation. Networks of sympathisingblogs often do develop where not enough perspectives areheard or discussed. However, blogging proponents under-line the strength to link information from different connec-tions, disciplines and interests and highlight the possibilityfor direct feedback. The paradigm shift is that each Internetuser is able to link information and can add values andperspectives – Wikipedia and worldchanging.com are goodexamples.11

These networks of blogs and their readers become alarge conversation, where everyone can participate. Newideas and interpretations of them find their way to different

11 Wikipedia is a free online encyclopaedia that anyone can edit. It is amultilingual, Web-based, free-content encyclopaedia project. The name‘Wikipedia’ is a combination of the words wiki (a type of collaborative website)and encyclopaedia. See: en.wikipedia.org

9 For more information see Reporter Without Borders: www.rsf.org10 A good example is Technorati, the largest worldwide blogging directory. See:technorati.com. Afrigator is a portal that aggregates many different African blogsthat report on topics from different parts of the continent. See: http://afrigator.com

Initiated by the Voices ofAfrica Media Foundation, theVoices of Africa project waslaunched in late May 2007.Reporters gain experience inuploading texts, photos andvideos – much of their workis published on this website.

Crisscrossed is one exampleof a blog which exploresthe use of informationcommunicationtechnologies (ICTs) and Web2.0 tools for development,social change andknowledge management.

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blogs every day. Much of this kind of exchange was alreadyhappening through email mailing lists. However, theseconnections made by blogging are accessible to anyoneonline: they are not limited to a certain thematic mailing listand so are more transparent.

Examples in developmentFor development, this linking and exchanging becomesessential. Multidisciplinary approaches are key to tacklingcomplex environmental problems. Blogs have opened upnew channels for development communication. Oneexample is the UK Guardian newspaper’s ongoing Katineproject in Uganda.12 Villagers, journalists, scientists and aidworkers are invited to write openly their perspectives aboutthe project on a blog on the newspaper’s website. It entailscontroversial discussions around development aid, but alsoshows the complexity of community-driven developmentprojects. For example, on the Katine blog, Richard M.Kavuma writes bluntly, ‘The trouble is, the need is muchgreater than the project budget.’ This is a direct commentabout the limitations of development aid.13

Blogging can allow us to be transparent about projects.It gives more space for opinions, different perspectives andreflections than traditional communication channels. Thesecan help influence the course of a project. But here, thelimits of blogging also appear: one blogger made thecomment that, ‘At its best, the Guardian’s reporting allowsus to analyse and think about life in Katine in a careful way.’Just blogging does not necessarily have a demonstrableimpact on development.

For many organisations, blogging offers the chance toenter into an ‘authentic two-way conversation’, enablingpeople to provide feedback in an open manner – and moreeasily than before. This bottom-up approach to speaking outabout social, economical or political issues has the potentialto engage a broader public sphere in the developmentsector. But it seems only a few organisations in the devel-opment field have discovered the potential of blogging –and not all appreciate this degree of openness. Unfortu-nately, many of the existing initiatives are often onlyrandomly linked – they are islands rather than networks.

Yet Allison Fine (2006) argues that future organisationshave to embrace this kind of openness and learn to improvetheir listening skills. For development organisations, whichare non-profit and publicly-funded, there is a chance to

improve transparency. Although there are examples ofincreasing political influence of blogs, particularly in the USA,the political blogosphere in most countries is still marginal.The communication power of blogs has not yet challengeddevelopment organisations – but they can act as watchdogs.As Daniel Kaufmann, Director of the World Bank Institutewrites on his blog,

Blogs are playing an increasingly important role forimproved governance. Blogs do not face the restraints ofcommercial print media. The blogosphere is a planetapart from traditional PR departments of public institu-tions, enabling citizens to share unfiltered information,expose misdeeds, and freely express views. Blogs helpmake governments and public institutions more account-able.14

Blogs and organisational knowledge-sharingSome organisations, however, are starting to explore blog-ging for internal knowledge-sharing. They use blogs to keepa community of practice running or to improve a depart-ment’s communication or even for project management.15

Contrary to the traditional Intranet, where few write formany, internal blogs allow everyone to participate and bereaders and authors. In its informal approach, bloggingencourages storytelling and places an emphasis on individ-ual experiences. For project management, it can be used todocument the project history in one central place. This helpsto highlight the different perspectives and voices of a projectin a more horizontal communication approach.

It also has the potential to make the implicit explicit. Thisoffers organisations the opportunity to not only weave aweb of organisational knowledge, but also communicatethrough their blogs with external audiences. Internal blogsare a good way to experiment with blogging and grasphidden experiences, and also put employees at the centreof internal communication.

“These networks of blogs and theirreaders become a large conversation,where everyone can participate. Newideas and interpretations of them findtheir way to different blogs every day.”

12 See: www.guardian.co.uk/katine13 See: www.guardian.co.uk/society/katineblog/2008/nov/10/one-year-on-uganda

14 ‘Blogging for transparency and good governance: on IFIs.’ Blog post, 26th April2008. See: http://thekaufmannpost.net/blogging-for-accountability-good-governance15 For example in Egypt, GTZ uses a blog as an internal exchange platform.

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Some challenges to be aware ofSince the creation of the first blog, we have witnessed ahuge boom. But not all blogs become vibrant spaces fordiscussion. Many blogs quickly lapse or are rarely updated.Finding an audience is usually a major challenge. Many alsounderestimate how much time and resources a blog needs.It takes skill and patience to achieve a vibrant blog with anactive, commenting audience. Attention and visitors are notguaranteed. You need to persevere to find the audience orhelp the audience find you (see Box 2).

Issues of access and literacyFor the average, experienced Internet user, you can quicklylearn the publishing process for a blog post. It should nottake more than three mouse-clicks, including writing thetext. But not everybody is as well connected or has theexperience to use this tool and its opportunities. The partic-ipatory web has opened new ways of interacting on theInternet, but there are obstacles: access, cost, time, literacyand a certain degree of media literacy.

Particularly in developing countries, few people haveInternet access or the means (literacy and media compe-tence) to engage in such a conversation. Also, just a fewlanguages dominate and there are very few bridgesbetween them. The majority of online developmentdebates are in English and exclude many groups fromparticipating. Some of these obstacles will remain or mighteven intensify.

The speed at which innovation is transforming how we

use the Internet is breathtaking. Even so, bandwidth is abig constraint. One approach to bridging the online andoffline world is social reporting, where knowledge-sharingis documented for the Internet and vice versa. Participantsat events act as reporters to present the different opinionsand perspectives articulated within a group. The results canbe texts, videos or audio presented on a website.16

Reading blogs also means that the reader has to findcontent and then also filter it to create their own under-standing. It takes a certain level of education and familiar-ity with different writing styles to do this. Also less ‘medialiterate’ people may take blogs as factual and ‘trustedsources’ in the same way they would a newspaper.Although there are numerous cases of blogging that havehelped to empower people – it does not benefit all causes.With all technology, a best fit approach is key: focus onneeds. Not all communication solutions need to techno-logical. In the development context, the key question mustalways be: how can this potential tool help?

Lastly, there is also a risk that the front-runners are farahead of normal Internet users. I share the author of We-Think Charles Leadbeater’s (2008) concern: ‘Those alreadyrich in knowledge, information and connections may justget richer.’

ConclusionBlogging can have a positive impact on communication andempowerment, but nevertheless there are limitations. Thereis still very little evidence of blogging making a differencefor development. In my opinion we are still at a very earlystage in this whole movement. So long as the South cannotparticipate more easily and until northern organisationschange their mindsets towards openness, blogs and all theseother wonderful Web 2.0 tools will have limited effects.

“Blogging can allow us to betransparent about projects. It givesmore space for opinions, differentperspectives and reflections thantraditional communication channels.”

16 Social reporting is where a group of participants at an event interactively andjointly contribute to some form of reporting, in text, photos, images or video. Theresulting ‘social report’ is made accessible, usually online, as soon as possible,sometimes as a half-product. This allows others to join in, to extend, to adjust orremix. Joint live blogging is one way of creating social reports. Source: ‘What is socialreporting?’ See: http://ictkm.wordpress.com/2008/12/04/what-is-social-reporting

• There are several free blogging websites available from which youcan easily create a blog. Two of the biggest ones are Wordpress.comand Blogger.com

• Blogs can easily be administered from simple web-based interfacesto add applications such as video clips, photos, or other types ofinformation.

• Think of a topic you want to write about and have an audience inmind. Check blogs on similar topics and start by commenting onthem if you do not want to start your own blog right away.

• Write interesting content for readers. Add value to existingconversations and write authentically.

• An important key is to link to other blogs for reference. Pick updiscussions on other blogs and link to your favourite blogs tobecome part of a network.

• Do not underestimate the effort of blogging. Writing takes time, butregularly blogging keeps your blog dynamic.

• Blogging needs patience, but can also be seen as a good process ofself reflection, where you digest the things you learn online andoffline.

Box 2: Some tips on how to start a blog

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Blogging is just one form of publishing and interacting.Many Internet users are publishing content on wikis or onsocial networks such as Facebook, which allow their

“With all technology, a best fit approachis key: focus on needs. Not allcommunication solutions need totechnological. In the developmentcontext, the key question must alwaysbe: how can this potential tool help?”

members to interact and facilitate collaboration. Mobilesocial networks go in the same direction, letting you inter-act from your mobile phone wherever you are.17 Never-theless one key problem of all these initiatives is that theyalways struggle to get a spill-over effect to the offlineworld.

It is not only about publishing, but interacting withinyour own networks. Enthusiasts see in this open collabo-ration promising times ahead, where development chal-lenges are tackled collectively. So whether you choose touse blogs or any other Web 2.0 tools – remember, it is thepeople who form these networks and their exchange thatcreate value, ideas and innovation.

17 For example Twitter, a micro-blogging tool, has had far more networkingeffects and interesting real life effects than ordinary blogging. Users can send andreceive short text updates via the Internet or a mobile phone. See Micro-bloggingand Twitter, p.108 (this issue).

CONTACT DETAILSChristian KreutzCrissCrossed ConsultingWeberstraße 5060318 FrankfurtGermanyEmail: [email protected]: www.crisscrossed.netLinkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/ckreutz

REFERENCESFine, A. (2006). Momentum igniting socialchange in the Connected Age. Wiley-Joss. Seealso: www.momentumthebook.comGodin, S. (2007). Meatball Sundae: is yourmarketing out of sync? Portfolio PenguinGroup: USAKeen, A. (2007). The Cult of the Amateur:how today’s Internet is killing our culture.Doubleday: New York. See also:http://thecultoftheamateur.comLeadbeater, C. (2008). We-think: massinnovation, not mass production: the power ofmass creativity. Profile Books: London. See:www.charlesleadbeater.net

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Introduction Connecting practitioners working on similar issues across theworld is the theme of this article. The aim is to explore howa social network was developed and how effective it hasbeen. Described here is the use of a new Web 2.0 platformto share new approaches and tactics, currently used bysupporters of small and medium forest enterprises (SMFEs).The new Forest Connect website makes it possible for agrowing number of these practitioners (currently in excess of300 from 48 countries) to upload information, eventannouncements and work opportunities, discuss key issues,access reports and practical manuals, share photos andvideos and send personal messages to other site users.1 Forthose new to this area of development, it provides a way toquickly and easily get access to information about state-of-the-art practice in small forest enterprise support (see Box 1).

Launched in January 2008, theForest Connect website has seen asteady increase in membership anduse among government, non-government and private sectororganisations that support SMFEs.

The global context provides hints as to why this might be thecase. SMFEs (forest enterprises with 10-100 employees) makeup 80-90% of forest enterprise numbers and 50% of formalforest sector employment in most developing countries(Macqueen, 2008). If the much more numerous informalenterprises are factored in, for example the many timber ornon-timber forest product enterprises which operate withoutformal business registration or outside legal forest licensinglaws, it can be that SMFEs dominate forest outcomes. Glob-ally, they add value to an estimated US$130 billion per year.With the twofold clamour to avoid climate-threatening defor-estation and reduce poverty, making SMFEs sustainable inenvironmental, social and economic terms is increasingly seen

by DUNCAN MACQUEEN

4Web 2.0 tools to promote socialnetworking for the ForestConnect alliance

1 See: http://forestconnect.ning.com

SMFEs face a number of problems such as excessive bureaucracy,unstable policies and regulations, poor access to credit, poor marketinformation, inadequate technology, poor infrastructure, andinsufficient business know-how. Forest Connect members link theseenterprises with markets, service providers and government in severalcountries. Amongst various other activities, the International Institutefor Environment and Development (IIED) and the Food and AgricultureOrganisation of the United Nations (FAO) have developed a dynamicweb portal where every one can share/exchange their ideas with otherForest Connect members around the world.

Box 1. Ram Subedi (Enterprise and Marketing adviser, AsiaNetwork for Sustainable Agriculture and Bioresources,ANSAB, the Forest Connect country partner for Nepal)comments on the Forest Connect networking website

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as a priority. As a result, new SMFE initiatives are springingup all over the world. With them comes the need to developthe capacity of practitioners working to support SMFEs whofrequently come to the theme of enterprise and marketsfresh, often without any vocational training beyond a tech-nical background in forestry. It is understandable thereforethat new practitioners would seek out a website that canbring them up to speed on this area of practice.

Background Diagnostic work on SMFEs highlights their dominance in theforest sector and the challenges they face (Kozak, 2007).Principle among these challenges is the widespread isolationof SMFEs from four groups of actors: other enterprises withwhom to pursue scale efficiencies and bargaining power,markets, business development and financial serviceproviders, and decision makers who determine the businessenvironment (Macqueen, 2007). This isolation was identifiedby numerous SMFE managers and support organisations atan international meeting on Small and Medium Forest Enter-prise Development for Poverty Reduction at the The TropicalAgricultural Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE),Costa Rica from 23rd–25th May 2006. As a result of these

discussions, IIED and the Community-Based Forest EnterpriseDevelopment Programme (CBED) of FAO developed aresponse. Together with inputs from various country partners,they developed an alliance called Forest Connect dedicatedto addressing the isolation of SMFEs. The aim was tostrengthen the capacity of national partners to facilitatebetter linkages between SMFEs, markets, service providersand decision makers. Funded project activities began in early2007 with partners from Burkina Faso, Ghana, Guatemala,Guyana, Mozambique and Nepal. By 2008 in-countrydemand had led to the addition of China, Ethiopia, India,Mali and Laos.

Early Forest Connect activities included diagnostics toraise awareness of the extent and nature of small forestenterprises in each context. Financial and business serviceproviders have been mapped and in some cases, bench-marked. Communication platforms, hosted by ForestConnect partners, that aim to maintain contact with SMFEsare now active or are being established using newsletters,bulletin boards, trade fairs, mobile telephone price andpayment services and the Internet to facilitate better linksbetween small forest enterprise associations, markets, serviceproviders and policy makers. Specific training courses to

Sharing informationabout Ethiopian SMFEbusiness trainingevents with ForestConnect partnersthrough the website.

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improve forest product design and business practice havebeen carried out.

While still in its early phase of development, it has quicklybecome clear that there is strong demand for greater sharing ofknowledge. This demand was articulated in emails and at meet-ings, both by Forest Connect partners who wanted to knowwhat each other was doing, and by numerous practitioners whosupport SMFEs in countries that the Forest Connect alliance isunable to provide financial support to. In early 2008, IIED decidedto explore the potential of using an Internet platform to developa social networking website with registration open to all thatwould enable partners and other interested parties to share infor-mation more easily. Funding came from the UK Department forInternational Development (DfID), Danish Ministry of ForeignAffairs (DANIDA), Swiss Agency for Development and Cooper-ation (SDC) and the Norwegian government (NORAD).

Methods and processes The potential to be more creative in networking partners hasemerged through developments of Web 2.0 platforms. Web2.0 is a term describing new World Wide Web technologiesand web design that allow greater information sharing andcollaboration with options for both public and privatecommunication between users. Web 2.0 concepts have ledto the development and evolution of web-based communi-ties and hosted services, such as social networking websites,video-sharing websites, wikis and blogs. IIED reviewed andthen selected one social networking platform that appearedmost useful, Ning.com. The advantage of Ning was that ithad pre-designed modules (e.g. for member profiles, messag-ing between members, text boxes, blogs, discussion forums,video- and photo-sharing) that even the electronically chal-lenged could click and drag to make a presentable and func-tional website. The blog and discussion forum tools providea means to publicly add written text, while the messagingtool allows members to communicate directly with oneanother (albeit in a way that others can see if they look atindividual member profiles). Although it does not have adedicated document repository facility, the website has thecapacity to create a virtual library of useful documentsthrough a link to another useful social bookmarking website,Delicious.com.2

The co-managers of the Forest Connect alliance targeteda particular audience – civil society groups, governmentdepartments and private sector representative bodies – whoacted to support SMFE development. Content was designedto build capacity of those organisations by providing guid-ance on approaches and tactics to supporting SMFEs, as wellas national summaries of SMFE activities. The website wasnot deemed appropriate for SMFE managers themselves,many of whom do not have Internet access, and whoseneeds are more context-specific. For SMFEs themselves, moreaccessible country communication platforms have beendeveloped as described above.

Initial discussions within the co-management team wereheld to determine what features the website should containand what it would look like. The actual process of convertingthat design into reality took less than a day, with one IIEDteam member developing the main framework and then theIIED Forest Connect co-manager stocking the site with a fewuseful reports and manuals on SMFEs, example blogs anddiscussion topics, photos and videos to stimulate interest.Forest Connect country partners were then invited to join inlate January 2008. In addition, links were made to severalexisting websites of Forest Connect partners, the content ofwhich had been driven by in-country decisions on the mostuseful national information on SMFEs in consultation withthe IIED and FAO co-managers. Once initial feedback wasreceived from these initial Forest Connect country partners,a wider group of SMFE practitioners and known resourcepersons were invited to join the website. All new membersreceived a welcome message to encourage them to spreadword to others who might find it useful. In two weeks 100new members had registered, followed by a further 50 moreafter nine weeks – and another 50 after 20 weeks. In the firsttwo weeks membership came primarily through existingForest Connect links and relationships, but this dynamicrapidly broadened out to include distant chains of ‘contactsof contacts’ and those who found the website independently

“In early 2008, IIED decided to explorethe potential of using an Internetplatform to develop a social networkingwebsite with registration open to allthat would enable partners and otherinterested parties to share informationmore easily.”

2 Social bookmarking website Delicious allows users of a Ning website to createa list of documents already available on the Internet and tag each one withexplanatory terms or keywords. These tags can then serve as an index for otherusers. For example, a document might be tagged with words such as ‘manual’or a country name such as ‘Guatemala’ to allow website users interested in aparticular topic or region to find information more easily. See also Socialbookmarking, p.119 (this issue).

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using Internet search engines when looking for relevantmaterial on SMFEs.

The IIED co-manager of Forest Connect and IIED websiteadministrator at IIED, who had developed it without any priortraining, noticed after the first few weeks that repeat visitswere limited. In order to encourage repeat visits and newmembers alike, a threefold strategy was adopted. Firstly, aconcerted effort was made by the IIED co-manager of ForestConnect to upload a regular stream of useful new informa-tion drawn from the many other institutional websitesdealing with SMFEs. Secondly, the project developmentswithin the Forest Connect alliance were edited by the IIEDco-manager of Forest Connect into news features (e.g. work-shop proceedings, country developments and managerialdecisions such as the election of an international steeringcommittee). Thirdly, a short bimonthly email digest was initi-ated to inform existing members of recent additions anddevelopments, under the headings of: news, resources,discussions, blog posts, photos and videos. By highlightingsuch contributions, repeat visits by members have greatlyimproved.

Lessons learnt, critical reflections and analysisBy March 2009 the Forest Connect social networking websitehad in excess of 300 members, many of whom visit thewebsite regularly (or at least occasionally following thebimonthly digests). Members have started to add blog postswith useful reports, or to post or participate in discussions.Many also use the website to send individual messages toother members. Some post messages announcing financial orconsultancy opportunities. Many have added photos of theirwork. A number have downloaded reports or manuals fromthe document library. Comments, such as those in Boxes 1-3 indicate that at least some members find the websiteuseful.

A number of lessons have been learnt through thisprocess, which others with similar visions might find useful:• Keeping the confines of content and audience clear has

helped to assemble a membership that is genuinely active inthis field with useful experience to share.

• IIED management of this online social network (by the co-manager of Forest Connect) has taken considerable energyand time (at least one day per month). The Forest Connectalliance has evolved very much as an organic response to aperceived set of partner country issues, with funding raisedalong the way, rather than as a top-down and pre-designedproject. Given the retrospective understanding of howuseful this activity has been, it would be useful to budgettime for website management into a Forest Connect allianceproject, but this has not yet proved palatable to donors.

• Few members have taken on a proactive role in uploadingmaterial unless actively promoted and chased to do so. TheIIED site managers suspect that many supporters of SMFEswould appreciate wider exposure of their ideas and materi-als, but are inevitably time-constrained. While it may bepossible in future to build in contractual requirements forfunded Forest Connect partners to share their materials onthis website, beyond this small contractual group thewebsite manager’s knowledge of – and time to pursue – themain actors in the field will be critical to broadening futurecontributions.

• Keeping the website fresh with new information and peri-odic updates to members has encouraged greater use andinformation sharing. The greatest interest seems to relate tonew country reports, practical manuals and announcementsof financial or consultancy opportunities – these can help toattract repeat visits.

• The document library available through the Delicious plat-form has been useful (in common with other documentarchives). However, the existing platform is not fully search-able and requires a careful use of the tags described in theprevious footnote to make resources easily available. Withhindsight it would have been useful to have given carefulthought to the most useful category tags in advance. Forexample, it now seems best to have a few broad docu-ment tag categories such as ‘manual’, ‘report’, ‘case study’

“The potential to be more creative innetworking partners has emergedthrough developments of Web 2.0platforms.”

The Forest Connect network site is a very useful hub site that allowsone to keep up to date on important developments amongst the otherForest Connect project partners without having to necessarily visit allthe separate project websites. I also particularly appreciate thedifferent resources that members of the network put up on the site. Onrelational aspects, having photos of members that rotate on the homepage of the site creates a greater sense of a shared communityespecially when you start recognising some of the faces.

Box 2. Yarri Kamara (Enterprise support manager forTreeAid West Africa, the Forest Connect country partnerfor Burkina Faso) comments on the Forest Connectnetworking site

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‘review’ supplemented by more specific geographical tags such as ‘Ethiopia’, ‘Burkina Faso’ or content-specifictags such as ‘finance’, ‘marketing’, ‘business development’etc. Setting up such a hierarchy carefully in advance wouldhave avoided the need to retag numerous documents later on, a process which is currently happening, ratherlaboriously.

• While one or two documents have been made available inSpanish and French, the website itself is entirely in English– primarily because of lack of funds to pay for translationand the lack of an easy format in which to provide trans-lated content. Administrators are currently fundraising forthis, but have neither encouraged nor discouraged usersfrom uploading documents in their own languages to date.With members from 48 countries, the linguistic short-comings of the website are obvious.

• It is a challenge to provide the necessary guidance on how to

use the two main avenues for contributing written materialsto the website, blog and discussion tools. Several memberstried and gave up, either through lack of familiarity or timetaken using slower connection speeds, opting instead to sendfiles to the website administrators to upload. Others find thewebsite a bit difficult to navigate, which could be addressed,time-permitting, by adding a ‘how to use this website’manual as a featured publication (see Box 3).

• There have been a few instances of mistaken uploads ordeliberate attempts at self or institutional promotion, butthese can easily be dealt with through private messages tothose concerned to indicate why certain types of use mightclog the site with inappropriate material – followed bymutually agreed deletion of unwanted content.

The inability to search or sort members alphabetically orby country or institution on Ning websites is a major draw-back for those wishing to identify potential contacts in differ-

A screen shot of theForest Connect socialnetworking website.

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ent institutions or countries. Presently, a search involves pageby page scrolling through many hundreds of members.

Ideas for ways forward Fundraising for time to develop the website further is anobvious priority – for example, providing better guidance forusers, doing more translations and chasing up potentialresource contributors would help move the website beyondan information source towards the true social network that isstill embryonic at present. In addition it might prove possibleto build in responsibilities into the terms of reference of ForestConnect alliance partners for scanning and uploading regionaldocuments. This too might help to encourage broader sharingof information. In addition, there are plans to experiment withmore opinionated discussion starters to try and invoke moreactive debate on the website. While the website has not beenused for any formal e-conference, this would potentially bepossible using a set of considered discussion topics andsummaries to which participants could respond.

The limited experience of managing this networkingwebsite to date suggests that the technology could poten-tially be used by other ‘communities of practitioners’ in otherfields. It seems most appropriate to well-connected interme-

diary organisations rather than local community or privatesector groups. Feedback would be welcome from othersusing alternative Web 2.0 platforms that might provide someof the functionality that constrains the utility of Ning. Budgeting the time for managing such sites is an importantconsideration.

ConclusionThe Forest Connect networking website has allowed institu-tions supporting SMFEs to share useful information pertinentto their field of work. It has put members in touch with oneanother and helped to create a virtual archive of resourcesand ideas for practitioners. The technology involved couldhelp other groups of practitioners hoping to achieve similaraims. Launching such websites is relatively easy. Finding thetime, budget, and incentives for participating users tocontribute and keep them going is more of a challenge!

“Fundraising for time to develop thewebsite further is an obvious priority – forexample, providing better guidance forusers, doing more translations and chasingup potential resource contributors.”

CONTACT DETAILSDuncan MacqueenNatural Resources GroupInternational Institute for Environment andDevelopment (IIED)3 Endsleigh StreetLondonWC1H 0DD, UK.Email: [email protected]: http://forestconnect.ning.com

REFERENCESDonovan, J., Stoian, D., Macqueen, D., andGrouwels, S. (2006) ‘The business side ofsustainable forest management: Small andmedium forest enterprise development forpoverty reduction.’ ODI Natural ResourcePerspectives 104, Overseas Development Insti-tute: London, UK.Kozak, R. (2007) ‘Small and medium forestenterprises: instruments of change in a devel-oping world.’ Rights and Resources Initiative:Washington, USA.

Macqueen, D.J. (2007). ‘Connecting smallenterprises in ways that enhance the lives offorest-dependent people.’ Unasylva 58 (228):26-30Macqueen, D.J. (2008) ‘Supporting small forestenterprises: A cross-sectoral review of bestpractice.’ Small and medium forest enterpriseseries, issue 23. International Institute for Envi-ronment and Development: London, UK.

I have found the website to be very useful in terms of the practicalliterature and manuals on support to small and medium forestenterprises. This means that many countries don’t need to spend anenormous amount of resources to recreate these manuals for trainingand other capacity building efforts. They just need maybe minor tweaksto make the literature adaptive to particular countries and targetedgroups. I do feel like I am navigating in a maze – it is bit cluttered andconfusing – however I do eventually get through.

Box 3. Sharon Ousman (Researcher at IwokramaInternational Centre for Rain Forest Conservation andDevelopment, the Forest Connect country partner inGuyana) comments on the Forest Connect website

I found the Forest Connect website a useful source of information onSMFEs and sector development. The way the website is structured isvery much user-friendly. Only in one minute, I can already make a quickscan on what is new and what is interesting for me.

Box 4. Phuong Thao (Ministry of Industry and Commerce,Department of Production and Trade Promotion, theForest Connect country partner in Lao PDR) comments onthe Forest Connect networking website

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IntroductionA new wave of opportunities has been presented by Web2.0 tools.1 Websites have been transformed and the web isnow being used in new and different ways to reach out topeople of all races and identities. A video blog – also knowas a vlog for short – is one such next-generation web appli-cation.2 This article reflects some experiences of using vlog-ging as an information-sharing and advocacy tool fordevelopment in Ghana.3

The Ghana Information Network for Knowledge Sharing(GINKS) uses information communication technologies (ICTs)and Web 2.0 technologies as a leverage tool to share infor-mation and knowledge with its membership and audience.GINKS has been popularising the concept of vlogging inGhana and elsewhere because of how the tool can helppromote information- and knowledge-sharing using free orlow-cost Web 2.0 tools on the Internet, with the potential toreach a wider audience with minimal cost.

Vlogging is a process of making and publishing videos onthe Internet with the intention of sharing information. Like

blogs, video entries are relatively short discussion pieces,which aim to share information and trigger debates aboutparticular issues. Entries are displayed in reverse chronologicalorder, where people can comment on the videos and sharetheir ideas, stories and information, linking to other bloggersonline and creating new conversations.

The vlogging process requires little specialised expertise,which makes it relatively easy for beginners to learn how todo. It does require the use of computer, Internet and videotechnologies, so a level of literacy and language skills arerequired. However, vlogging relies less on these skills thanwritten blogs. Vlogs can help to present stories in a relativelysimple and attractive format, making information more acces-sible, particularly if the story is short and interesting. Thevideos that our members contribute include sharing informa-tion and reflections on good practice in their different areasof work. Most of the videos we record are interviews withpeople and groups who have ideas about good practice aboutICT4D they want to share and which we think will benefit atleast one of the stakeholders of our network.

by PRINCE DEH

5Promoting information-sharingin Ghana using video blogging

1 For a definition of Web 2.0, see glossary, p.123 and overview, p.8 (this issue).2 Here, video blogs are referred to as ‘vlogs’. For a definition of both ‘blog’ and‘vlog’, see glossary, p.121. See also Blogging p.106 (this issue).3 Visit our vlog online: www.ginks.blogspot.com

“Like blogs, video entries are relativelyshort discussion pieces, which aim toshare information and trigger debatesabout particular issues.”

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About the GINKS networkThe network was founded by a group of 15 organisations inpartnership with the International Institute for Communicationand Development (IICD). GINKS aims to create a platform forinstitutions and individuals to promote dialogue and share expe-riences in order to help maximise the potential of ICT tools forsocioeconomic development. Before this, ICT professionals,decision makers and advocates in Ghana had very few optionsfor linking up with other colleagues to share information aboutbest practice and lessons learnt, or to network and discuss issuesthat related to the evolving ICT industry in Ghana.

The GINKS network is an open forum, which helps tobring together individuals and groups who are interested ininformation and communication technologies for develop-ment (ICT4D). Since its official launch in October 2003,membership has doubled from approximately 200 to over 500members. GINKS offers innovative ways for information andknowledge-sharing among ICT professionals and decisionmakers on ICT4D across the country. Its aim is to fill the knowl-edge-sharing vacuum by creating both online and offlinespaces where discussions can be held, lessons can be sharedand best practices transferred to promote ICT for develop-ment in Ghana.

The network is a diverse group of people with differentbackgrounds, who use the information shared by the networkto improve productivity and livelihoods. Members range fromstakeholders in the ICT industry, rural development, environ-mental protection, agriculture, health, gender and youth.Though an open forum, it encourages targeted discussions tomeet the needs of particular groups. Thematic forums createspecialised spaces for members with a common interest toshare experiences across the country.4 GINKS regularly receivesfeedback and comments from its members on how benefi-cial they find the information shared in this way.

The GINKS website is used to share information on ICT4Din Ghana.5 In partnership with BusyInternet (a cyber cafe andInternet Service Provider in Ghana), GINKS also publishes amonthly newsletter about ICT4D called Cyber Series. Thenetwork also publishes the iConnectGhana newsletter, whichremains the topmost media devoted to news on ICT4D inGhana. Additionally, there is a GINKS DGroups email mailinglist with over 430 subscribers, which offers a platform forengagement irrespective of physical location.6 We also encour-age our members to share their experiences of developmentwork with the network by producing short video blogs whichare then uploaded to our online blog.

How do you make a video blog?When creating a vlog about a particular issue or topic, vlog-gers need to consider what type of information they want toshare and how to present it. Recorded video segments arenormally five minutes or less – similar to the length of writtentext you might find on a blog. This helps to keep the videosconcise and interesting to watch. It also helps to keep videofile sizes small and manageable, both to upload and viewonline. In our experience, a good format is to record an indi-vidual or group interview, e.g. telling a story or illustrating theirworking practice for a particular issue.

In recent years, the technology required to produce a vlog

4 For example, the GINKS-Tech Forum focuses on technical issues and GINKS-Women&ICT4D focuses on gender issues related to ICT4D.5 See: www.ginks.org6 DGroups is an online home for groups and communities interested ininternational development. See: www.dgroups.org

Examples ofinterviewsuploaded on theGINKS video blog.

“Asking someone to give youconstructive feedback can help to makesure that the video is clear, informativeand interesting.”

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expensive for the ordinary citizen to buy. People can accessthe Internet using cyber cafes, but these can only be locatedin Ghana’s big cities. Accra alone accounts for about 60%of cyber cafes in Ghana. Mobile phones which allow you toconnect to the Internet are still too expensive for Ghanaiansliving in rural areas to afford – however, the use of mobilephones is steadily rising. As both the handsets and call tariffsare becoming more affordable, this may be less of an issuein future (see also Samii; Karamagi and Nakirya, this issue).

Because producing video blogging requires minimumtechnical skills, we have found it is a useful tool for thenetwork to use when working with communities in ruraldevelopment contexts. Yet it must be said that these commu-nities have not themselves started vlogging. It is still a toolleft in the hands of those that have the resources andconnectivity needed to vlog. However, the proposedCommunity Information Centre (CIC) project may well helpin bridging the rural-urban digital divide and provide betterInternet access to Ghanaians throughout the country. TheCIC project was initiated by the government in partnershipwith United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) tohelp extend connectivity to all parts of Ghana. These centreswill be equipped with an Internet connection, at least fivecomputers, printers, scanners and fax machines. Every districtof the country is expected to be provided with one CIC.Although this will improve access to both the technologiesand the Internet, there are still challenges to consider, such ashow many people will be able to access and use the CICsfacilities in practice and how practical it is for people to travelto and use them.

There is also the challenge of getting people to share valu-able information and knowledge. We need to develop ways

The GINKS has used vlogs to capture some interesting experiencesfrom a two-year research project that the network undertook with acommunity in rural Ghana in collaboration with the InternationalDevelopment and Research Centre (IDRC). The project explored how toenhance information- and knowledge-sharing among underprivilegedcommunities in Ghana by defining mechanisms and tools to generateand disseminate relevant local content using appropriate andacceptable ICT formats.

As an important component of the research, GINKS worked withrural women farmers to use video to document and capture theirstories, as they talked about how to cultivate various food crops,process the end products and how to find customers for their productsfrom within and outside their local area. These videos were edited andcopies made available to other members of the community at aninformation and resource centre in the village that GINKS helpedrefurbish.

Box 1: Vlogging – an example from practice

has become simpler to use and more affordable, requiringcomparatively less resources and training. The minimum toolsyou need to make a vlog are:• a video camera/camcorder7;• a computer with video-editing software;• an Internet connection;• a blog account/space; and • an online video account/space.

Once the interviews have been recorded, the raw video isthen downloaded onto a laptop or desktop computer andedited using various video-editing software programmes,which are either free or low-cost and also easy to use.8 Beforeposting a video to your vlog website, it is also important toask someone else to watch it. Asking someone to give youconstructive feedback can help to make sure that the video isclear, informative and interesting. It is also useful to transcribethe audio speech into text before you upload it and to alsoupload this text to accompany the video version.

After editing the video, it is then uploaded onto a video-hosting website on the Internet.9 We use the GINKS BlipTVspace from where we share the video by linking it to theGINKS blog.10 From here, you can then share your videos withthe public. We announce new video links to the GINKSnetwork. Like any other blog, the GINKS vlog also has afeature for members to comment and share ideas.

Challenges for vloggersThe challenges of vlogging are interlocked. The major chal-lenge is connectivity and access to the Internet. In the devel-oping world, this is one of the main hindrances to sharinginformation and knowledge. Where there is access, it is too

7 At GINKS, we use a digital camera and also mobile phones which have a built-in camcorder. 8 We have used e.g. Apple’s iMovie, Final Cut Pro and Windows Movie Maker.9 YouTube, BlipTV and Google Video are all video-sharing website where userscan upload, view and share video clips. See www.youtube.com, http://blip.tv, andhttp://video.google.com.10 See: www.ginks.blogspot.com

“Web 2.0 tools such as vlogging havethe potential to become an importantadvocacy and information-sharing tool.The question remains of how to extendthe benefits of Web 2.0 tools muchwider and beyond the scope ofGhanaian cities.”

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of demonstrating the social, political and cultural benefits ofsharing information. We have simply not mastered the cultureof documenting best practices here in Ghana. Maybe peoplehave not realised how important it is. This is gradually chang-ing with the influx of new, more affordable technologies. Asthe use of the tools for development purposes continues togrow, sharing information is more and more regarded as atool for nation-building.

Lastly, the equipment used for vlogging is still a luxury formost people in our part of the world. It is not common to seepeople with digital cameras – and those who do may not havethe Internet access to be able to vlog successfully. What makesWeb 2.0 tools thrive is the availability of Internet connectivity.In the absence of that, Web 2.0 – and video blogs – simplycannot exist for those without. So it is important to continueto use low-tech communication methods and techniques,which are more accessible to those who do not have accessto the technologies.

The future of vloggingWeb 2.0 tools such as vlogging have the potential tobecome an important advocacy and information-sharing

tool. The question remains of how to extend the benefits ofWeb 2.0 tools much wider and beyond the scope of Ghana-ian cities. The CIC example is only one approach – and it isimperative that government makes conscious efforts toensure that our rural folk get onto the information highway.

However, it is important to remember that the benefit ofthis and other Web 2.0 tools to the rural poor – who formthe majority in Ghana – depends largely on the issues ofconnectivity and access. If people are better able to accessand share relevant information elsewhere and by othermeans, they are more likely to use other, more appropriatesolutions instead. So it is important to use a combinationof approaches to sharing information, both online andoffline.

We do believe that vlogging can be used as an effectiveadvocacy tool, helping to project and amplify the voices ofthe rural poor. We also continue to work towards achievingour aim of bringing information and knowledge to all – andmany more rural communities have stories to share with thelarger public. Vlogging has the potential of making animpact on policy – if there is clarity in the message beingconveyed to both policy makers and the media.

CONTACT DETAILSPrince DehEmail: [email protected]

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IntroductionThe International Telecommunication Union (ITU) estimatesthat there are 3.3 billion mobile phone subscribers world-wide.1 The vast majority of users never part from their ubiq-uitous mobile phone. These little hand-held devices cancontain our daily appointments, address book, emails,photos, music and even allow us to access the Internet.

The mobile phone is equally important for our brothersand sisters in developing countries. It has revolutionised thelives of millions of urban and rural poor by connecting andinvolving them in viable economic activities. Mobile telephonyis affordable, scalable, self-sustaining and empowering.Mobile phones are paving the way for men and women toachieve socioeconomic goals and provide food security totheir families. They provide a wide range of services at areasonably low cost. They are becoming more affordable,because of flexible and different pricing models. Handsetscost between US$40-50. Airtime is also affordable – this iswhy prepaid services are so popular in Africa. If one personin a village has a mobile phone others can use it – a mobile

phone is not necessarily confined just to one person. Mobile telephony is the predominant mode of commu-

nication in developing countries. It has contributed substan-tively to reducing the digital divide – something otherinformation communication technologies (ICTs) such ascomputers did not manage to achieve. For many, mobilephones are a more appealing and viable tool than previousinitiatives like telecentres (see Box 1). And they are the only

by ROXANNA SAMII

6Mobile phones: the silver bulletto bridge the digital divide?

1 ITU is a United Nations specialised agency for telecommunications. ITU collectsthe most comprehensive range of statistics on Information and CommunicationTechnology (ICT) penetration, accessibility and use. See: www.itu.int/ITU-D/ict/publications/world/world.html

The telecentre movement in the late 20th Century aimed to provideaccess for people in developing countries to ICTs, computing andInternet services. A number of donors funded telecentre projects withthe vision of bridging the digital divide.

Telecentres faced a number of challenges. They were mostly locatedin isolated and remote areas to serve an entire village or community.Villagers usually had a long walk to reach them. Providing basic ICTinfrastructure and connectivity was costly and it was hard to servicebroken equipment because of the remote locations.

However, financial sustainability posed the biggest challenge.Usually, when funding ended, telecentres gradually turned into shabbyshacks with broken and/or obsolete equipment. Unlike mobile phones,telecentres did not promote entrepreneurship growth and employmentopportunities, such as selling pre-paid airtime cards, renting outhandsets, or recharging battery services.

With mobile handsets, poor rural women and men do not need towalk to remote telecentres to access ICTs. Instead, they havesimultaneously bypassed the landline, the laptop and the need toconnect to the Internet.

Box 1: Mobile phones and the demise of telecentres

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ICT sector where developing countries are catching up with– and in some cases – overtaking developed countries.

Mobile telephony is providing timely, localised and rele-vant access to information, which has helped reduce produc-tion and transaction costs. For example, poor rural peopleuse mobile telephony to receive commodity price informa-tion via mobile phone text messages, or Short MessageService (SMS), to gather market intelligence so that they canmake targeted trips and save on travel and transportationcosts. Mobile phones are also being used to provide medicalservices such as using SMS to remind patients of medicalappointments and vaccinations or to disseminate informa-tion about sexually transmitted diseases and to monitorpatients.

Mobile phone revolution: the numbers speak forthemselves

Every generation needs a new revolution.Thomas Jefferson

The mobile phone revolution is our generation’s revolution.It has changed our culture, economy, and social and politicallives. It promises to become the first universally accessible ICT.And it is a unique revolution.• It is truly global and not limited to a specific country, region

or sub-region.• It has been a catalyst for unprecedented global economic

and social benefits. • Because it is global, it is becoming increasingly more acces-

sible to those who are marginalised and less advantaged. • It is an early example of a mash-up when this term did not

even exist.2 Mobile phones are now integrated platformsoffering both content and telecommunication services.Some models also incorporate cameras and can recordvideos etc.

Some argue that new ICTs such as mobile telephonyincrease the gap between the ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’. YetITU statistics show that 3.3 billion people (50% of the world

population) are mobile subscribers against 1.3 billion Inter-net users. Approximately 72% of total global telephonesubscribers are mobile subscribers. Recent estimates showthat in Africa, only 6.5% of people are Internet users, whilenearly 281 million people (30%) are mobile subscribers.

In Africa, many countries have completely skipped thetelephone landline and have moved directly to mobile teleph-ony. One could argue that this makes mobile technology thefirst modern telecommunications infrastructure in this conti-nent (see Box 2).

The anecdotal example in Box 2 shows how those previ-ously excluded because of lack of infrastructure can now takean active part in improving their livelihoods thanks to theaffordable and different pricing schemes of mobile services.There are people who are excluded and may even be worseoff because market access now relies on inclusion, butmobile telephony has brought more inclusion. The herder inmy personal example does not have access to a fixed tele-phone line, therefore previously he was excluded. Today,thanks to mobile telephony he is not. Although we are stilllacking empirical evidence, what we are observing indicatesthat mobile telephony most probably does not (and will not)create exclusion because it is affordable and easy to use.

Rural connectivity: a revolution within a revolution The mobile phone can catalyse development and help erad-icate rural poverty. Seventy-five per cent of the world’spoorest people – 1.05 billion women, children and men – livein rural areas and depend on agriculture and related activitiesfor their livelihoods. We may think that for them a mobilephone is a luxury. But guess what? We are wrong!

A recent World Bank study states that ‘there is a myththat the rural poor are not able or not willing to pay formobile telecommunication services’ (Bhavnan et al., 2008).Observations in the field are that mobile phone accessibility

2 A mash-up is a derivative work consisting of two pieces of media joinedtogether. Source: Wikipedia. See also glossary, p.122 (this issue).

“Mobile telephony is the predominantmode of communication in developingcountries. It has contributed substantivelyto reducing the digital divide.”

In November 2008 I visited a remote and isolated irrigation site in theGash Barka region, part of the International Fund for AgriculturalDevelopment (IFAD)-funded Gash Barka Livestock and AgriculturalDevelopment programme. During the field visit I stood in awe whenthe mobile phones of the extension worker and a herder startedringing.

I had not seen any mobile phone signal transmitter towers on theway there. However, there was reception and both the herder andextension worker were able to communicate. The extension workerimparted some technical information to his colleague and the herderinquired about the possibility of taking cattle to the Asmara livestockmarket on Monday.

Box 2: Out of the blue in Eritrea…

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is helping to facilitate previously marginalised groups to takea more active part in the economic and social spheres of theircommunities and beyond, such as women, landless workers,herders, fishers, small-scale farmers, indigenous peoples andilliterates with no access to basic services.3 Many poor ruralhouseholds now spend 4–8% of their income on mobiletelephony (Hammond et al., 2007).4

Mobile phone growth drivers: a unique business modelA number of enabling socio-economic and political condi-tions such as ease of use, liberalisation of the telecommuni-cations sector and prepaid services have contributed to theexpansion and popularity of mobile telephony, especially inrural areas of developing countries.

Compared to computers, mobile phones are much easierto use. They require little or no specialised computer andmedia literacy skills, unlike the Internet and applications likeemail. Previously low penetration rates have encouragedservice providers to invest in new areas to increase business.5

There are shorter payback periods on investment both for theprivate/public sector investors and farmers and low installa-tion costs. All these factors have contributed to the rise ofthe popularity of the mobile phone.

The liberalisation of the telecommunications sectorsupported by sound regulatory mechanisms has opened themarket to competition. This has encouraged private sector

investment in developing countries, and increased competi-tion among different operators. As a result, consumers arebenefiting from better services at better rates.

In Africa prepaid subscriptions accounts for 95% of totalmobile subscriptions. The ‘pay as you use’ business modeloffers numerous advantages to poor rural people. There isno formal registration or waiting lists. The user does not needto submit financial and physical data and s/he can controlcosts, especially when savings and incomes are low. Mostimportantly there is no need to present a credit history, as theprepaid service reaches out to the ‘unbankable’.6

Innovative use of mobile telephony brings economic pros-perity to poor rural people. For the 1.05 billion rural poorpeople living on US$1.25 a day or less, the mobile phonerepresents a viable way for improving their lives. It is enablingsmall entrepreneurs to have direct access to market intelli-gence, providing employment opportunities and creatingopportunities for public and private sectors to invest andmodernise infrastructure. World economists may be busyunderstanding the full impact of the current financial crisis,but they are equally struggling to calculate the macroeco-nomic impact of the mobile revolution.

Mobile phones and small businessesMobile phones have spearheaded a host of new and inno-vative income-generating activities for small businesses.These include recharging mobile phone batteries, sellingprepaid cards, renting out phones and/or airtime and otherservices such as reading and sending SMS messages. In Africaand elsewhere, occasional labourers put up adverts in village6 i.e. those who without the prerequisites to open a bank account, which meansmany in rural populations.

3 For example, keeping in touch with family and friends, accessing previously lessaccessible information – such as weather reports or commodity prices – or simplyhaving a point of contact, which previously was a luxury.4 The Next 4 Billion shows that ‘low-income’ does not mean ‘no income’. Ithighlights how expenditure on ICTs and mobile telephony are consistentlyincreasing.5 Penetration rates refer to the number of active mobile phone numbers (usually asa percentage) within a specific population.

Farmers Dina Lunguand ElizabethChikusu send anSMS to find out thelatest maize prices.

Market investigator StanleyMchome uses his mobilephone to help farmers getthe best possible prices fortheir produce.

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centres with a mobile phone number to offer services, orsubscribe to receive job alerts via SMS from unemploymentcentres. Mobile phones can also minimise travel costs allow-ing people to move when there is a concrete economicopportunity.

A 2005 London Business School study found that ‘forevery additional 10 mobile phones per 100 people, acountry’s gross domestic product (GDP) rises 0.5 percent’(Waverman et al., 2005). According to the study:• In South Africa, a survey of small businesses run by black

people showed that more than 85% rely solely on mobilephones for telecommunications. Of these, 15% previouslyhad no access to telephony. Over the last decade thenumber of businesses using mobile phones in South Africahas increased by nearly 125%.

• In Egypt, 90% of the informal sector (including small retail,manufacturing and service activities) relies exclusively onmobile telephony.

• In South Africa, 62% of businesses (and in Egypt, 59%)said mobile use was linked to an increase in profits.

• In Tanzania, 97% of people surveyed said they could accessa mobile phone, while just 28% could access a landlinephone.

Mobile phones and access to market informationFor producers, access to reliable market information increasesincome (see Box 3). In the past they relied on governmentsto provide market information. In addition, transaction chainsare long, volumes of goods are often small and of variedquality, and prices are highly unstable. For example, smallproducers trading in rural areas in Africa face enormous chal-lenges such as lack of access to reliable and up-to-date

market information, poor transportation infrastructure andcompetition. Small producers are vulnerable to unscrupuloustraders and middle-men giving them prices at below-marketrates. Producers may be reluctant to diversify into differentproducts for fear of not finding a profitable market for theiroutput.

The relatively affordable airtime of mobile phones hasmade transfer and exchange of information easier. Informa-tion dissemination happens either through structured serv-ices and subscriptions such as Tradenet.biz and Zambia SMSMarket Information Service or through unstructured andinformal use of mobile phones – and by blending formal andinformal services. People can use their mobile phone both todirectly communicate with buyers and also to accesscommodity prices via SMS (see Box 4).

Cellular banking: the bank of the ‘unbankables’Mobile phones are now providing ‘cellular banking’ to‘unbankable’ clients. For example, millions of poor ruralpeople now use their mobile phones to send money homeand to deliver microcredit loans where there are no bankingfacilities.

Increasingly, private sector companies are providing marketinformation to farmers. Tradenet.biz is one such enterprise. Althoughstill in its infancy, it already covers 15 countries and 500 markets. It isavailable to users anywhere in the world. It offers a range of keyinformation to producers, processors and others working along thesupply chain: from price updates, harvests, transport, trading offers,disease outbreaks, weather and more.

Tradenet.biz uses markets as a venue to raise awareness about itsservices. Tradenet agents set up kiosks and offer market informationadvice, register people for the service and configure alerts on people’smobile phones.

Tradnet.biz also uses new peer-to-peer technology, which allowsusers to share their resources – in this case information – via mobilephones to create a service. It also links the vast and growing databaseof market information to cellular networks. See: www.tradenet.biz

Box 3: How new technology can strengthen rural markets

On the island of Mauritius, the fishers of the Tamarin community underthe IFAD-funded Rural Diversification Programme do not have directaccess to the fish market. As a result, they are excluded. However, theyuse their mobile phones to inform buyers of their daily catch and totake orders. This way they do not over fish and are sure that they willsell their daily catch. This has increased economic efficiencies and alsohelps to protect fish stock – which in turn has a positive impact on thelagoon ecosystem.

Box 4: Mobile phones open up markets for fishermen

Twaha-Abdallahcommunicatingcommodity prices.

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According to the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor(CGAP), approximately 1.5 billion mobile users in developingcountries have little or limited access to formal financial serv-ices.7 With limited formal banking infrastructure there arefewer options to transfer money and access banking serv-ices. CGAP argues that the mobile phone could potentiallyprovide a low-cost alternative to banking via the Internet,cash machines or point-of-sale, cutting costs by up to 50%.Microcredit and microfinance institutions have enoughevidence to unleash the potential of cellular banking and startcreating ‘branchless banking channels using mobile phones’.

Social cohesiveness and sense of communityIn rural communities in developing countries, it is commonfor one person or a group of people to own a mobile phonehandset and rent it to other community members along withreading and writing text message services.

From a social networking perspective mobile phones havealso had a positive psychological impact. Connectivity hasallowed families and the diaspora to keep in touch. Anthro-pologists like Dr Mirjam de Bruijn are intrigued by the waymobile users in developing countries have invented mecha-nisms such as ‘beeping’, ‘bipage’ or ‘flashing’ as codes toalert someone else to call them. Mobile providers are equallystruggling to make money by working around the ingenuityand inventiveness of poor rural people.

How can ICTs help poor rural people? The focus must be on people and their needs. ICTs need tobe appropriate, sensible and meet the requirements of poor

rural people so that, as a tool, ICTs can increase their bargain-ing and purchasing power. The uptake of technology canonly be successful if it is demand-driven and responds to theneeds of beneficiaries.

ICTs and more specifically mobile telephony can continueto contribute to further development if:• we use participatory approaches, as outlined in the exam-

ples below, to find out and understand the needs and chal-lenges of poor rural people;

• national poverty reduction strategies systematically includeadoption of appropriate ICTs;

• there is a commitment to build the capacity of communi-ties and local organisations to lead and own the process ofappropriation; and

• there is a blending of old and new technology to create athree-tier system of public, private and community.

Examples of mobile telephony in actionThe following examples show how farmers have participatedin identifying and defining their needs, working with donorsand other stakeholders to develop mechanisms to harnessthe power of mobile phones. This participatory approachallowed farmers to actively take part not only in the designbut also to take responsibility in implementing the variousprojects and activities.

SMS Market Information Service, ZambiaIFAD supports the Smallholder Enterprise and MarketingProgramme (SHEMP) in Zambia. Working with the ZambiaNational Farmers Union (ZNFU), it identified the need toprovide market intelligence to farmers. In August 2006, theprogramme introduced an innovative, simple and cost-effec-tive way to access commodity prices, using an SMS MarketInformation Service. To ensure good governance and provideequitable, fair and transparent services, the ZNFU developeda code of conduct outlining the expectations and rules ofengagements for farmers, traders, processors, buyers and

“In Africa, many countries havecompletely skipped the telephonelandline and have moved directly tomobile telephony. One could argue thatthis makes mobile technology the firstmodern telecommunicationsinfrastructure in this continent.”

7 See: www.cgap.org

Remote village inEritrean Gasha-Barkaregion lacking runningwater and stableelectricity, equippedwith satellite dish.

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ZNFU agents. It also provides detailed contact information toreport irregularities. The service provides weather informa-tion, business news, up-to-date market prices, and listsbuyers for 14 major commodities in a cost-effective, accessi-ble and reliable manner. Extension workers also provide addi-tional training and capacity building. For those with Internetaccess, the system is also supported by a website.8

The SMS system is simple to use. To obtain the best pricesfor a commodity, farmers simply send an SMS message to4455 containing the first four letters of the commodity name.Within seconds, they receive a text message with the bestprices by buyer using abbreviated buyers’ codes. To get bestprices in a specific district or province, he or she simplyincludes the province/district code after the commodity code.

The farmers then send a second SMS message with theselected buyer’s code to 4455. A text message is sent backwith the buyer’s contact name and phone number, thecompany name and address and simple directions for reach-ing both. Farmers can then call the contact and start trading.The farmers pay US$0.15 for each text message.

This market intelligence system is continuously gainingpopularity. It is empowering farmers to negotiate deals byoffering time-sensitive information and fostering trans-parency in pricing. SHEMP and ZNFU continuously updateprices on a daily and weekly basis. To ensure sustainabilitythe system is managed by local institutions. They alsoconduct public advocacy activities to attract corporate spon-sorships.

Over 100 traders and processors are now providingweekly price updates. Website visits and the number of SMSmessages are continuously increasing. For example, in 2007between February and June, 520 weekly SMS wereexchanged. Between July and August over 1220 weekly SMSmessage were exchanged. Smallholders today have thenecessary information to know what to grow, where to selltheir products and at what price.

“By now, policy makers anddevelopment agencies should haveenough evidence that of all ICTs, mobilephones have the best potential tostimulate growth in developingcountries.”

Shu shu shus in TanzaniaFarmers’ inventiveness has spearheaded another phenom-enon. Poor farmers in Tanzania under the First Mile Projectare using mobile phones to access market information inreal time.9 Market ‘spies’ – known locally as shu shu shus –investigate prices and what is selling at local markets, anduse their mobile phones to report back to their villages. Thecommodity prices are then transcribed on village noticeboards and also broadcast on radio. In partnership withTradenet.biz they will soon be using mobile phones toaccess even more market information. This blend of old andnew technology is helping farmers build better and morecollaborative market chains from producer to consumer.

Making mobile phones universally accessible

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.It does not matter how slowly you go, so long as you donot stop.Confucius

By now, policy makers and development agencies shouldhave enough evidence that of all ICTs, mobile phones havethe best potential to stimulate growth in developing coun-tries – and that investing in mobile services can contribute toboth economic and social development. Phone manufactur-ers and service providers should recognise that the poorestpeople have turned out to be one of their biggest markets.Mobile telephony has not only helped bridge the digitaldivide but has been a catalyst to eradicate rural poverty andimprove the livelihoods of the marginalised and poor.

To truly make mobile telephony the first universal accessICT there is a need to:• put in place sound ICT policy in collaboration with govern-

ment, civil society, private sector actors and consumers;• invest more in mobile infrastructures and services in rural

and disadvantaged areas;• strengthen the capacity of rural entrepreneurs and farm-

ers’ organisations to better exploit the potential of mobilephones;

• deliver relevant and timely content and further developpeer-to-peer information systems;

• reduce both airtime and handset prices; and• put in place better and enabling regulations to allow

mobile services to thrive and expand.

8 See: www.farmprices.co.zm

9 The First Mile Project is supported by the Government of Switzerland andimplemented in collaboration with the Government of Tanzania’s and the IFAD-funded Agricultural Marketing Systems Development Programme (AMSDP).

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“Observations in the field are thatmobile phone accessibility is helping tofacilitate previously marginalised groupsto take a more active part in theeconomic and social spheres of theircommunities and beyond.”

Finally, to really appreciate the power and potential ofthis revolution, the mobile sector also needs to capture

what official statistics are unable to: the ‘informal use’ ofmobile phones – those sharing a subscription within acommunity.

Given the conducive environment, it should not be longbefore the private and public sectors join forces and startproducing the US$10 handset – with the vision of produc-ing the US$1 handset and further reducing airtime costs.And yes – this can be done through joint private-public andcommunity partnerships, working to identify communityneeds and to understand their realities and constraints tobuild systems that are both profitable and work effectivelyfor those communities.

CONTACT DETAILSRoxanna SamiiManager, Web, Knowledge and DistributionServicesInternational Fund for AgriculturalDevelopment (IFAD)Via Paolo di Dono, 44Rome, ItalyEmail: [email protected]: www.ifad.orgTel: +39 06 5459 2375

REFERENCESWaverman, L., Meschi, M. and Fuss, M.(2005). The Impact of Telecoms on EconomicGrowth in Developing Countries. LondonBusiness School: LondonBhavnan, A., Won-Wai Chiu, R., Janakiram, S.,Silarszky, P. (2008). The role of mobile phonesin sustainable rural poverty reduction. WorldBank.Hammond, A., Kramer, W J., Tran, J., Katz, R.,and Walker, C. (2007). The Next 4 Billion:Market Size and Business Strategy at the Baseof the Pyramid. World Resources Institute(WRI) and International Finance Corporation(IFC).

USEFUL LINKSIFAD: www.ifad.org

Rural Poverty Portal:www.ruralpovertyportal.org

Tradenet: www.tradenet.biz

Zambia Market Information System:www.farmprices.co.zm

Africa Connect: www.connectafrica.net

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Theme section

Part III: Issue-basedstudiesHere, the articles explore how Web 2.0 tools are being integrated andused to address specific development issues.

JON CORBETT and TIM KULCHYSKI discuss the importance of intellectualproperty rights when using Web 2.0 tools for development. The authorsdescribe a project working with Hul’q’umi’num’-speaking communitiesbased in Canada to revitalise their language. Using a range of tools andapproaches including participatory video, the project also developed aseries of short language-learning videos which were uploaded to video-sharing websites. However, not all the material generated was madeavailable online. The participants strategically limited how much of theirvaluable cultural knowledge was made public, retaining much of it withintheir own communities.

Next, EDNAH AKIIKI KARAMAGI and MARY NAKIRYA describe the work of theBusoga Rural Open Source and Development Initiative (BROSDI) inUganda. BROSDI works with a network of farmer organisations togenerate, collect and share local information about effective agriculturalpractice. BROSDI integrates a range of Web 2.0 tools and more traditionalapproaches – from digital radio, mobile phones and blogs to regularKnowledge Sharing Forums and working with Village Knowledge Brokers.

ORY OKOLLOH explores the potentials for citizen journalism or‘crowdsourcing’. The author describes how in Kenya the innovativeUshahidi website was developed for sharing information during theelection crisis in 2007. The website enabled citizens to send in and receivenews reports either via the Internet or mobile phones. The Ushahidiplatform has now been redeveloped to improve its potential forapplication in humanitarian crisis situations – integrating a series of Web2.0 applications.

Next, JON CORBETT, GUY SINGLETON and KADO MUIR describe how a jointproject with the Aboriginal Walkatjurra Cultural Centre in Australia,Curtin University of Technology and the University of British ColumbiaOkanagan have been exploring the use of Web 2.0 tools to help revitaliseculture and enhance community development. This article explores howthe use of Web 2.0 and other digital tools has contributed towards thisaim – and how using the tools helped to positively engage youth in suchactivities.

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IntroductionWeb 2.0 technologies have been hailed as a new paradigmin Internet communication.1 They offer a web-based experi-ence that encourages user-generated data, active engage-ment with the material, and the sharing of ideas, thoughtsand information. Often referred to as the ‘social’ web, Web2.0 tools are open to anyone to access, critique, commenton and reproduce.

We use the term ‘anti-social’ because we refer to the factthat using Web 2.0 tools in the context of restoring a declin-ing indigenous language might not always be appropriate.We reflect on how Hul’q’umi’num’-speaking communitiesbased in Southern Vancouver Island, Canada, have experi-mented with using blog-based mash-up tools – and havesubsequently chosen to retain and distribute the informa-tion using media that they can control more satisfactorily.

Background

Of the estimated 7,000 languages spoken in the world todaynearly half are in danger of extinction and likely to disappearin this century. In fact, one falls out of use every two weeks.New York Times, September 2007

Language is the essence of culture and identity. It situatespeople within the place from which they come. It is the livingexpression of – and means of sharing – local knowledge andcultural understanding. It is both a bridge to the past andkey to the future survival of cultures worldwide.

In Canada, as in many other former colonial nations,indigenous languages are close to being lost forever. TheHul’q’umi’num’-speaking communities – which includeCowichan Tribes, Chemainus First Nation, Penelakut Tribe,Lyackson First Nations, Halalt First Nation, and LakeCowichan First Nation – are no exception. The survival oftheir language now lies at a critical juncture. As the Hul’q’u-mi’num’ Treaty Group (HTG) website clearly states, ‘Assimi-lationist policies, particularly residential schools, largelywiped out the use of our language.’ There remain fewerthan 100 fluent Hul’q’umi’num’ speakers alive today out ofa community of approximately 10,000 – the majority ofwhom are over 60 years old. Fluency levels continue todecline amongst younger generations.

HTG is an organisation that acts of behalf these FirstNations. They have begun a major language revitalisationproject in collaboration with researchers from the Universityof Victoria and University of British Columbia Okanagan. Itis funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities ResearchCouncil of Canada through the Community UniversityResearch Alliance programme. The project engages univer-sity researchers to test the use of digital multimedia in

by JON CORBETT and TIM KULCHYSKI

7Anti social-computing:indigenous language, digitalvideo and intellectual property

1 For a definition of Web 2.0, see glossary, p.123 and overview, p.8 (this issue).

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language learning. The ultimate aim is to support the rein-corporation of the Hul’q’umi’num’ language into thecommunity. It is guided by an elders advisory board madeup of interested and fluent language-speaking elders fromthese six Hul’q’umi’num’ communities. There are already anumber of important and ongoing Hul’q’umi’num’language projects in the community.1 However, elders recog-nised the need to take language from a classroom andexpert-oriented environment and bring it back into theeveryday lives of community members. The interactive digitalvideo disc (DVD) and Web 2.0 components described herehave attempted to achieve this goal. Work began in May2004 and is still ongoing.

Digital technology is becoming easier and cheaper toaccess, produce and distribute. Many groups are now usingnew media (including audio, video and text-based materi-als) to document and communicate their positions and infor-mation. Language learning in particular lends itself well todigital multimedia – especially digital video. Video is visually

appealing, easily accessible to the viewer and involves astrong creative endeavour. These are important elements forengaging elders and youth in the community in crafting andevaluating language-learning materials. It can increaseaccess to – and visibility of – the language in schools,language classes, communities and to the general public.

They also offer an unprecedented opportunity to helpfoster an interest in the language and subsequently providematerials to help learn it. The hope is that these tools mighthelp to revitalise the Hul’q’umi’num’ language and helpbring it back from the brink of extinction.

Methods and processes The tools used by the project have changed dramaticallyover the past five years, reflecting the continuing advance-ments of digital technologies. We began by using a range ofdigital video tools to produce a series of interactive DVDs todocument and communicate the Hul’q’umi’num’ languagein an engaging and educational manner. Later, we began toexperiment with Internet-based Web 2.0 technologies.Throughout each stage, we employed the principles of

1 Among others these include a Hul’q’umi’num’ dictionary project, a languagementoring programme and evening school.

Filming Willie Seymour, oneof the remaining fluentHul’q’umi’num’ speakers, inKuleet Bay, in ChemainusFirst Nation’s lands.

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participatory video to ensure that the community consideredall the digital media productions as their own endeavour –and that they maintained exclusive ownership of the finalproduct (see Lunch and Lunch, 2005). Community memberswere key decision makers in the design, filming location andcontent of the DVDs.

The role of the technology intermediaries (in particularthe university collaborators) was to provide communitymembers with hands-on training and skills in filming andDVD production. An advisory board was created, comprisingof representatives, both men and women, from each of theHul’q’umi’num’-speaking communities. Perhaps moreimportantly, the project developed a close relationship withthe existing HTG elders’ advisory boards. They considered itimportant that the DVD subject matter would not only focuson language, but also contribute to the revitalisation andstrengthening of cultural practices and understanding. Theyidentified themes including documenting traditional formsof public ceremonial speech and cedar-bark harvesting andweaving. These became the principal projects on which weworked.

The advisory board also gave guidance throughout andwas instrumental in the approval process for each of theprojects. This was particularly important because the firstmajor project that we worked on, Bighouse Speaking, isconsidered very culturally sensitive (see Box 1). BighouseSpeaking deals with ceremonial protocols and it is one ofthe principle fora where the Hul’q’umi’num’ languageremains of central importance. The elders recognised theimportance of documenting the language associated withthe Bighouse, but the project needed to be approached withgreat care and sensitivity. It was important to work closelywith elders throughout the project, to ensure that themessage, content and presentation of the material werecorrect and appropriate.

With both the Bighouse Speaking and cedar bark proj-ects, the CURA/HTG project partnership wanted to combinelanguage-learning with a cultural activity. The aim is thatwhen both are combined the subsequent materials are more

likely to be relevant to and engage community members.The process works directly with local language speakers thatare also knowledgeable of the cultural activity. The elders’advisory board worked with the community to identify theseknowledge holders through a series of consultations. Theknowledge holders (such as Willie Seymour discussed in Box1) determine the material, content and location for the videoand continue to work closely with elders to develop therough footage into a finished product.

Although community elders approved and validated theinformation throughout, we showed the finished productto the wider community for their evaluation and approval.This was an important step in handing over ownership tothem. In a series of public screenings, community memberswould provide feedback and suggest changes. In everysession minor recommendations were made and these wereimmediately incorporated to the DVD materials.

We initially chose to use DVDs rather than Internet-based tools. With DVDs, people can access language-related information in their own homes without relying oncostly high-speed Internet access to view or downloadmultimedia content. At that time only 10-15% of commu-nity members had access to high-speed Internet access athome, due to poor broadband access on the reserve lands.In comparison, over 90% had access to DVD players. Soinstead, project collaborators decided to emulate the sort ofuser interactivity that is more commonly found with web-based technologies.

The digital DVD content includes language drills, wordexercises and other user-determined material. The DVDmenu allows the user to select the type of information that

“We use the term ‘anti-social’ becausewe refer to the fact that using Web 2.0tools in the context of restoring adeclining indigenous language mightnot always be appropriate.”

We worked closely with Willie Seymour to produce two DVDs. Willie isone of the most respected bighouse speakers in Southern VancouverIsland and a fluent Hul’q’umi’num’ speaker. Willie was raised by hisgrandparents and his grandfather was a bighouse speaker. Heremembers much of his childhood growing up in the bighouse. Theproject filmed Willie discussing the significance of the language, therole of the bighouse for the Hul’q’umi’num’ people, the current state ofthe language and his hope for its future revitalisation. Willie alsodescribed a bighouse naming ceremony. During the filming, Williediscussed his personal experiences and stories told to him by hiselders. He would speak first in Hul’q’umi’num’ and then in English.Throughout the filming process a community elder was also present toensure that the material was correct and appropriate.

This footage was then captured onto a computer. Language expertsin the community transcribed and translated the recordings, to use assubtitles. Stories and other materials were worked into interactivelearning exercises that were also included on the DVD.

Box 1: The Bighouse Speaking Project

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they want to access, achieving a high level of user choiceand interactivity. In addition, users are unlikely to access allthe content in one go. Instead, they can access shortsections of information as and when they want. This flexi-bility makes the DVDs a robust language training tool thatcan be used easily at home or in the classroom.

The role of Web 2.0 in Hul’q’umi’num’ languagerevitalisationBy early 2007, the collaborators proposed reusing the videomaterials in a Web 2.0 format. They hoped to increase therange of people accessing the language material. In partic-ular, they wanted to encourage the input of youngercommunity members. Hul’q’umi’num’ youth were increas-ingly using online social-computing technologies for enter-tainment and communication. More and more people hadaccess to broadband either at home or using publicly acces-sible computer services (for example in the Cowichan Tribesyouth centre).

Community project collaborators began developing ablog-based mash-up.2 3 It combines photo, video and audiomaterials housed on Picasa Web Albums and YouTube withtext and dictionary-based materials in text form.4 5 Selectedsections of video from the earlier DVD project were reusedin this new format. The blog can be easily updated bycommunity moderators. In theory, this provides fresh mate-rial on a regular basis, encouraging users to return to thesite to access new language material. It can also allow regis-tered users to comment on material on the blog, helping tocontribute to a growing online Hul’q’umi’num' languagelearning community. Initially there was interest and Hul’q’u-

2 Blogger is a free blog publishing tool from Google where you can post text,photos and video. See www.blogger.com3 A mash up is a web application that combines data from more than one sourceinto a single integrated tool, e.g. using text, photos, videos and audio files.Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mashup4 Picasa Web Albums is a website where registered users can upload, view andshare their photos online for free. See www.picasaweb.google.com5 YouTube is a video sharing website where users can video clips. Seewww.youtube.com

Cover of Xe’xe’ Sqwal(the Sacred Language)interactive DVD.

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mi’num’ community members made a number ofcomments. However, populating the blog with fresh mate-rial on a regular basis has proven to be challenging becauseof competing time pressures on the moderators. As a result,community interaction and comments have dwindled.

Lessons learnt, critical reflections and analysis Since 2004 we have learnt a number of significant lessons.Most important was the need to keep elders and commu-nity members involved and up-to-date throughout theprocess, ensuring that their comments and ideas were incor-porated into the final media products. However, communitymembers are geographically dispersed so this was not alwayseasy. We organised a series of open screening sessions, whichwere advertised in community newspapers and newsletters.Often turnout was reasonable with up to 30 people attend-ing. We screened the DVDs during National Aboriginal Day,when up to 200 people viewed the video materials. Theseopen venues gave community members the opportunity totalk with both community and university project membersabout the materials.

Our second general lesson was that producing thesemedia products takes substantially more time and commit-ment than we had initially considered. We (the technologyintermediaries) found ourselves working on several projects

simultaneously. Our time was often split between differentcommunity organisers and knowledge holders. We had toprioritise certain projects, which affected our ability to finaliseothers. Added to this we needed to involve members from allsix of the communities involved and other project partners, inevaluating the finished media. As one team member noted,

Whenever we pushed back a timeline we always endedup pushing it back even more. And that wasn’t wrong. Ifyou give projects the time to build on their own and allowthem time to develop their own momentum, then that willensure a successful end.

Lessons learnt: Web 2.0 applicationsUndoubtedly the transition from DVD to web-based tech-nologies was good for the Hul’q’umi’num’ language revi-talisation project. Several obvious benefits included:• we could reach a broader and far-reaching audience (in

particular the Hul’q’umi’num’ youth);• it helped promote and develop an interested online

community; and • the technologies were affordable (i.e. free) and easy to

setup, update and maintain by project moderators workingon a voluntary basis.

Using Web 2.0 technologies had several other specificbenefits. Establishing a ‘traditional’ static website for theproject was expensive. It also took control away fromcommunity members. Users on a static website are treated aspassive recipients of information, determined by the websitecreator and designer. With Web 2.0 application users havemore influence. Any user can provide feedback, suggest andcontribute content, and generally take a more active role inthe website’s scope and relevance.

Using online video-sharing applications (specificallyYouTube) allowed us to repurpose and reuse material thatwe had already recorded in the project’s earlier participatoryvideo phase. We had high quality material – of great commu-nity relevance – which had not been used in the final DVDproducts, such as several stories told by Willie Seymour afterfilming for the Bighouse Speaking DVD.

When producing the DVDs, we often ended up with longvideo sections 20 or 30 minutes long, which are not ideal forlanguage learners. On most Web 2.0 video sharing websitesyou can only upload short videos (e.g. on YouTube, files mustbe less than 10 minutes long). Initially we saw this as a weak-ness. However, it was an ideal length for ‘learning segments’.They are short enough to maintain attention (particularly withschool children). Once online, the user can select the specific

Screen capture ofthe Hul’q’umi’num’blog mash-up.

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segments they want to watch. Short videos are also easier toedit and prepare than longer ones, often by using a singlevideo camera (rather than two).

The CURA project funding is beginning to wind down. Sousing ‘out of the box’ Web 2.0 applications is very attractive.Both maintenance and the short to medium term manage-ment is low cost. The project partners can still use the equip-ment bought when the project started to record, capture andedit photographs, video and audio material – but rather thanhave to create and physically distribute interactive DVDs (anexpensive and lengthy process) they can post their materialsdirectly online, dramatically cutting distribution costs.

Assessing difficulties and successesElements of the project have been highly successful in gener-ating interest in the Hul’q’umi’num’ language, particularlythe interactive DVDs. However, the Web 2.0 component hasnot generated as much community interest as anticipateddespite initial community enthusiasm, demonstrated bycomments made to project staff. Undoubtedly this is becausethe community and university moderators need to continu-ally update material to maintain the blog. The difficulty is thatthe blog was not directly funded by the project, but set upand maintained on a purely voluntary basis. We have notbeen successful in outsourcing the moderating role to othercommunity members.

Despite this, we do feel that the blog has the potential tobe a good communication tool, helping to stimulate interestin language using many different forms of media, as well ascontributing to developing a cohesive community of peopleinterested in Hul’q’umi’num’ language revitalisation. However,this requires hiring a dedicated moderator to act as a marketerand animator for the website. Their role would be to encour-age community involvement and ensure that sufficient newcontent is uploaded to the website. However, our projectcould not support this position. As a result, the full potentialfor the Hul’q’umi’num’ website has not been fully realised.

A word of caution using Web 2.0Web 2.0 applications do offer enormous potential. However,there remain several significant issues. So we remaincautious of endorsing this medium for the revitalisation of

the Hul’q’umi’num’ language. These concerns are specificto the use of Web 2.0 technologies to communicate tradi-tional knowledge and indigenous language materials, and inparticular, intellectual property rights. This caution has alsobeen voiced by several community elders. As one teammember noted,

Just because you can record it, doesn’t mean that you actu-ally have to record it and put it on the Internet. We’verecorded many things that actually stay with specific families.

Most significantly, material shared via the Internet isusually considered to be public. There are few controls in placeto manage how that material is used, reused, misinterpreted,manipulated, distorted and controlled. This is particularlyimportant when considering the difference between ‘infor-mation’ and ‘knowledge’. There is a clear distinction. Infor-mation is data that is passive until we interpret and process it(David and Foray, 2002). Much material posted on Web 2.0websites can be categorised as information – inert, transientand often self-indulgent. Knowledge is the sense that peoplemake of information. As Scoones and Thompson (1993) note,

Knowledge is not just ready to be picked like an apple ona tree. It is embedded in social contexts and attached todifferent power positions.

Knowledge in society is not objective or static, but everchanging and infused with the values, beliefs, skills, attitudesand practices of those who have it (Panos, 1998). Howeveralready, much user-generated information found on Web 2.0social networking applications is considered by many as tran-sient and unimportant.

The Hul’q’umi’num’ language reflects knowledge thathas accumulated over time immemorial by successive gener-ations. It is a vital element for community identity and main-taining cultural distinctiveness in the face of colonisation. Itis embedded in community practices, institutions, relation-ships and ritual. Different types of knowledge exist simulta-neously within a community. Although much is common orshared knowledge, held by many, much of it is specialisedknowledge, held by a few with special training (IIRR, 1996).Formal traditional systems facilitate the transfer of some ofthis knowledge, such as ceremonies, festivals and otherprocesses. For example, the Bighouse Naming CeremonyDVD contains sensitive information that is only available (andrelevant) to Hul’q’umi’num’ speakers – on the request ofcommunity elders it is not available for public distribution.

“Language learning in particular lendsitself well to digital multimedia –especially digital video.”

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“We are conscious that the excitementof working with new tools might createa sense that the technology is thedriving force for the project, rather thanthe need for language revitalisation.”

CONTACT DETAILSJon CorbettCommunity Culture and Global StudiesUniversity of British Columbia OkanaganCanadaEmail: [email protected]

Tim KulchyskiCowichan TribesBritish ColumbiaCanada Email: [email protected]

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSThe authors are indebted to members of theproject ‘Language Revitalization in Vancouver IslandSalish Communities: A Multimedia Approach’,Hul’q’umi’num’ Treaty Group (HTG) and theDepartment of Linguistics, University of Victoria.REFERENCESDavid, P.A. and D. Foray (2002) ‘An introduction tothe economy of the knowledge society.’ Interna-tional Social Science Journal issue 54 Grenier, L. (1998) Working with indigenous Knowl-edge: A Guide for Researchers. Ottawa, Ontario:International Development Research Centre

IIRR (1996) Recording and Using indigenousKnowledge: A Manual. Manila, Philippines: Inter-national Institute of Rural ReconstructionJohnson, M. (1992) Lore: Capturing TraditionalEnvironmental Knowledge. Ottawa, Ontario: Inter-national Development Research CentrePANOS (1998) Information, Knowledge and Devel-opment. New York: World BankScoones, I. and J. Thompson (1993) Challengingthe Populist Perspective: rural people’s knowledge,agricultural research and extension practice. UK:University of Sussex, Institute of DevelopmentStudies

The key point is that the Hul’q’umi’num’ language isintrinsic to the identity of a people facing both an accelerat-ing loss of culture and rapid changes in the natural environ-ment. Releasing this knowledge onto the Internet mightdevalue the significance of the knowledge to the status ofinformation. The knowledge of the Hul’q’umi’num’-speak-ing communities has been expropriated for generations.Community elders do not want to find themselves in a situ-ation where what remaining information they do control alsobecomes expropriated.

With DVDs, the information exists in a physical form,which is hard to copy. As with the Bighouse Naming Cere-mony DVD the community can regulate who has access to it.If this material is uploaded to the Internet, any level of restric-tion and control is lost. This is a highly significant issue formany indigenous groups around the world and greatly influ-ences their willingness to use the Internet (and particularlysocial networking applications) to share important culturalinformation between community members, or more gener-ally with the public.

A second caution is that language revitalisation is not ashort-term venture. Though the Hul’q’umi’num’ languagehas eroded relatively fast (within two generations), to bringit back into everyday use by community members will take anenormous effort, funds and, perhaps most importantly, time.We question whether Web 2.0 applications will continue tobe offered as a free service – or even offered at all. This isparticularly relevant given the current downturn in the globaleconomy. If services are removed, or universal access iscurtailed, what will happen to the materials housed on thoseWeb 2.0 applications? How easily will it be repatriated? Willit simply be lost? Important information should not be storedexclusively on these websites. More traditional systems ofdata archiving are as important as the ways in which we candistribute knowledge.

Conclusion The initial project results suggest that digital multimedia andWeb 2.0 applications in particular, have the promise tocontribute to the ambitious goal of language revitalisation.However, we are conscious that the excitement of workingwith new tools might create a sense that the technology isthe driving force for the project, rather than the need forlanguage revitalisation and using the best medium by whichlanguage-learning content can be delivered. The words ofArthur C. Clarke seem particularly relevant to the role Web2.0 might play in language revitalisation:

Before you become too entranced with gorgeous gadgetsand mesmerising video displays, let me remind you thatinformation is not knowledge, knowledge is not wisdom,and wisdom is not foresight. Each grows out of the otherand we need them all.

Realistically, these tools can contribute to helping createcommunity, particularly a community that is interested inlanguage-learning. However, in order for language revitali-sation to take place in a meaningful and sustainable manner,community members have to actually engage with theelders in the community. There is no substitute for face-to-face contact.

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IntroductionIn recent times, conventional wisdom among governmentand civil society has been that better farm outputs requirethe use of modern farming techniques. Although impor-tant, these techniques require inputs like hybrid seeds,fertilisers, pesticides, herbicides and machinery. But howpractical is it to implement them in grassroots farmingcommunities in Uganda when farmers live on barely oneUS dollar a day?

Experience has taught us that farmers themselves holdthe information necessary to help improve their livelihoods.They simply require the platforms and resources to enablethem to share that information.

Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) like BusogaRural Open Source and Development Initiative (BROSDI) arestriving to bridge this gap.1 Our approach to sharing farmingknowledge is a blend of participatory developmentapproaches with information communication technologies(ICTs) and Web 2.0 tools. In particular, the use of mobile tele-phone text messaging services (SMS) for sharing informationhas proved very effective.2 This article explores some of the

ways in which we work with farmers to generate and sharelocal information using these tools.

BackgroundBROSDI seeks to empower rural communities to exploit theirenvironment using ICTs and other knowledge-sharingmethods for sustainable livelihoods. It uses a multi-stake-holder approach, engaging with government, civil society andthe private sector. This is done through our education, healthand agricultural programmes that primarily target orphanchildren, youth and women.

BROSDI uses a range of approaches to facilitate the gath-ering and exchange of information. Web 2.0 and other ICTtools include websites, audio and text blogs, compact discs(CDs), telephone calls and conferencing, mobile phone SMStext messaging services and printed newsletters andbrochures.3 In addition, information is gathered and dissem-inated during Knowledge Sharing Forums, via the Collectingand Exchange of Local Agricultural Content (CELAC)Programme’s District Agricultural Network and Village Knowl-edge Brokers, and during Annual Knowledge Fairs, where

by EDNAH AKIIKI KARAMAGI and MARY NAKIRYA

8Tools for enhancing knowledge-sharing in agriculture: improvingrural livelihoods in Uganda

1 See www.brosdi.or.ug2 Sending a text message via mobile telephone is known as Short MessagingService, or SMS.

3 For a definition of ‘blog’, see glossary, p.121. See also Blogging p.106 (this issue).

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farmers gather to display or trade produce or other goodsand to share information about local agricultural practice.4

Collecting and Exchange of Local Agricultural Content(CELAC)In March 2005, BROSDI began a new agriculturalprogramme. CELAC aims to improve the livelihoods and foodsecurity of rural farmers, especially women. In particular, theproject promotes the sharing of indigenous farming knowl-edge and information management of local agricultural prac-tice among grassroots farmers who cannot afford modernfarming inputs.

The project facilitates farmer groups to register ascommunity-based organisations, and encourages them tojoin the project’s District Agricultural Network, representedby elected Village Knowledge Brokers. Each group alsoreceives seed funding to begin small income-generating activ-ities. The aim is to foster learning from diverse experiences,

increase work effectiveness, and help farmers engage inmore effective problem-solving – and to help ensure that thegroups and the network are sustainable in the longer term.

Developing local agricultural contentCELAC collects information about effective agricultural prac-tice and adapts and repackages it into formats that areappropriate for rural farmers, most of whom have not had abasic education. The content consists of both local andoutside information.

Knowledge Sharing ForumsKnowledge Sharing Forums are convened to promote theexchange of local agricultural information among farmers,using participatory peer-to-peer education and learning.Farmers, government officials (especially in the agriculturaldepartments) and civil society organisations are all invited totake part in these participatory discussions, to share infor-mation about ‘how they do it’, ‘the good and bad practices’and new ideas (See Box 1).

Forums are usually themed around generating informa-tion for a targeted crop or livestock type, e.g. goats, chickens,beans etc. The farmers decide on the topic beforehand andalso invite other farmers to participate, who they have iden-tified as being knowledgeable about effective farmingmethods for that particular topic.

The farmers choose amongst themselves a convener, tofacilitate the discussions using participatory methods, e.g.group discussions or card sorting. The whole farming processis discussed, from crop preparation to post harvest methods.The project team then helps the group to document theoutcomes for later dissemination, using audio equipment, alaptop, a digital camera, pen and paper.

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4 For example in 2007, over 600 farmers from different areas of the countryparticipated in our Annual Knowledge Fair. The fairs are organised in partnershipwith the Humanist Institute for Development Cooperation (Hivos).

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Participants gather atthe 2007 CELAC DistrictFarmers NetworkAnnual Knowledge Fair.

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The District Agricultural Network and Village KnowledgeBrokersDuring the Knowledge Sharing Forums, the project team alsoinvites the participants to join the CELAC District AgriculturalNetwork. Participants select one person from each village tobecome their Village Knowledge Broker (VKB) and to act astheir representative in the network (see Box 2).

VKBs are expected to be the information vanguards ofthe village they represent. Information generated by theCELAC project is processed and repackaged and then dissem-inated back to the VKBs, who in turn pass the information onto village members. The VKBs also periodically hold mini-Knowledge Sharing Forums within their communities. Werequest that they send any information generated to theteam, which is in turn disseminated to the other farmers.Before it is more widely distributed, the information receivedfrom farmers and VKBs is first tested and verified. This isimportant because of the potential negative impact on farm-ers’ crops and livestock.

Getting flexible with other tools for sharingknowledgeOnce BROSDI and the CELAC project have collected the infor-mation generated and documented e.g. from VKBs andother farmers or during forums and field visits, it is thenrepackaged and distributed. The information is organisedinto detailed ‘How to Guides’ (booklets and audio CDs) andsingle-page summaries for distribution to the network. Audioversions are also uploaded on our audio blog for others todownload.5 We also further summarise the information intomobile phone text messages (SMS), which are sent out toover 400 farmer subscribers on a weekly basis – and ourdatabase is growing.

The next section explores how these tools andapproaches work in practice.

Sharing agricultural information using mobile phonesDue to the liberalisation of the airwaves, various telecom-munication networks have extended their mobile phone serv-ices to rural areas and subsidised the costs of mobiletelephone handsets – something that rural people have takenadvantage of. Text messages are a less expensive and moreaccessible means of information access and dissemination,in particular for women farmers who are the major familyincome earners. SMS can be used anywhere provided onehas a mobile telephone and access to a network.

The project enables farmers to subscribe to a service toreceive information by weekly text messages. The SMS isdisseminated in both English and Luganda, a Ugandan locallanguage.

5 See the BROSDI audio blog: http://audioblog.podbean.com. For a definition of‘audio blog’ see glossary, p.121 (this issue).

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Members of theMasaka DistrictFarmers Networkmeeting.

Interestingly, with each district visited, we found that knowledge-sharing for personal development is a new concept among farmers.During a turkey-rearing Knowledge Sharing Forum in Budaka Districtwe met Gwiko Geroshom, one of the largest local turkey farmers inPallisa District. He uses exclusively local methods to treat his turkeysand acquired all his knowledge from his parents and through trial anderror. We also met Namutosi Rose, whose livelihood is largelydependent on rearing turkeys. Namutosi had spent large sums ofmoney on medicines for her turkeys. During the Forum, she learnt howto treat her turkeys using plants growing wild on her farmland from aman she already knew – it had never occurred to her that he hadpractical answers to her challenges. Afterwards, Namutosi said:Gwiko is my friend, everybody’s friend. We all know him and that herears turkeys. What we didn’t know is that he has such enormousamounts of knowledge in turkey rearing. Our turkeys die everyday yetwe have the cure in our homes. More so, we call the ‘cure’ stubbornweeds and keep digging them out!Source: http://successtories.wordpress.com

Box 1: Knowledge Sharing Forums in action

The project has established village-level community knowledgebrokers, empowering women and men with the skills to collect, store,analyse and disseminate agricultural information within theircommunities. Elected VKBs do not have to be computer literate or ableto read and write. The project provides training, support, andinformation and encourages inter-group adult literacy classes. Farmersare asked to elect representatives who are:• sociable and willing to share knowledge;• active and living in rural areas; and• farmers, preferably women.

Box 2: Village Knowledge Brokers

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Every Monday, we repackage information and send it viatext messages to our subscribers, who then disseminate it toother neighbouring farmers (see Box 3). Some post themessages on notice boards in market places, or under jack-fruit or mango trees to protect them from the rain. Othersuse a public address system. They also make a written recordof the messages and file them for future reference. Otherfarmers without mobile phones can then access this infor-mation and further disseminate it.

These are significant information sources for other grass-roots farmers in the villages. The service helps them to shareand promote better farming practices using local content,e.g. garden preparation, planting, harvesting and postharvesting, marketing and pest and disease control meas-ures. For example, Cissy Serunjogi, a sweet potato farmer inLuwero district, is active in sending SMS alerts to otherfarmers about approaching dry spells and to remind them tostart preparing their gardens for the next season.6 The SMSsent have no defined word number count. Often, the recip-ient’s phones break the message into six to eight messagesdue to its long length (see Box 4).

Challenges and lessons learnt

Sharing on- and offline information: websites, blogs anddigital radioBROSDI used to broadcast a live monthly radio programme,facilitating farmers to travel to the radio station to share infor-mation about effective farming practice. However, a surveyrevealed that 90% of the farmers we directly serve did notlisten to the programmes because of a poor radio signal andbecause they preferred their local FM stations.

Instead, we now record and disseminate the farmers’interviews using audio CDs, digital online radio and an audioblog. For example, farmers are provided with copies of theCDs and audio equipment to enable them to listen to themas a group. Our Web 2.0 audio blog also helps to reach awider audience.7 All farmer interview recordings areuploaded to the audio blog, so that anyone with Internetaccess can download or listen to the different farming prac-

6 Cissy is also the current Luwero CELAC District Farmers Network Chairperson. 7 See: http://audioblog.podbean.com

Dilute 1 litre of milk with 9 litres of water. Spray the solution every 10days to prevent mosaic virus in tomatoes, tobacco and sugarcane.Weaker solution of 1 part milk to 10-15 parts water applied every 10days is effective in controlling mites and plant diseases in many plantse.g. blights, mildew, other fungal diseases and mosaic virus. Sprayevery 3 weeks to control spider mites and caterpillar eggs.

Box 3: An example of ‘repackaged’ information sent via SMS

The SMS sent have been of great significance especially because theygive practical solutions to many of our farming challenges that haveled to our household development through increasing our incomeavenues and amounts. Elizabeth Mpungu, a farmer from Masaka district, during a discussionat a CELAC Village Knowledge Brokers training at the BROSDIDevelopment Centre, Mayuge.

We don’t mind that the SMS is divided into batches. In fact, this attractsother colleagues when they hear my phone ring a number of times.Mwanja Edwin, Coordinator for the Mayuge CELAC District FarmersNetwork Chairperson and also the Agricultural Extension Officer inBaitambogwe sub-county.

Box 4: Comments on sharing agricultural informationusing SMS text messages

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tises described. This has helped to reduce the productioncosts of CDs. Through WorldSpace radio, BROSDI now alsofrequently downloads relevant audio files and uploads themon our website for public access.8

We also download text files and education materials tothe BROSDI website. CELAC also has a website where theshort ‘How to Guides’ and transcripts from the forums andfield visits and case studies can be downloaded in portabledocument format (PDF).9 Free printed copies of the ‘How toGuides’ are also available at BROSDI Development Centre.Similarly, printed copies of information are also available tofarmers during Annual Knowledge Fairs.

Another online information-sharing tool is the CELACtext-based blog, where farmers, staff and other agriculturalpractitioners can post local agricultural-related articles.10

Using this kind of Web 2.0 application is an effective way of

storing, managing and accessing information and enhancesnetworking and sharing. However, it is only accessed by avery small percentage of farmers. Although such tools arevery useful, Internet connectivity is limited in rural areas, andoften unaffordable to farmers.

To help bridge this gap, we also work to make onlineinformation available offline. The project periodically printsout articles and comments from the blog. It distributes themto the Village Knowledge Brokers to share with their commu-nities. Farmers are then able to read and also respond tothese blog posts via the VKBs, without having to access themonline. BROSDI keeps in touch with both the on- and offlineblog authors, mostly using mobile phones. This enables atwo-way communication between the distant parties.

Repackaging information like this is time consuming andexpensive. Yet the scales have to balance: information mustbe shared both on- and offline to maintain the flow of infor-mation between those who have Internet access, and thosewho do not.

Overcoming language and literacy barriersMuch of the information we produce and disseminate is inEnglish – so many people in rural populations are unable toread them. We produce information in the local language,Luganda, but those that cannot read are also left out.

BROSDI encourages farmers to take advantage of the freegovernment education programme, Universal Primary Educa-tion, or to ask their children to read the information for them.Often, children or fellow farmers rewrite what they can intheir local languages. One advantage is that all the VillageKnowledge Brokers can read and write English. In addition,the audio CDs help to overcome literacy barriers. Theseapproaches have enabled a wider audience to access theinformation we send out.

Issues of affordable and accessible toolsThe BROSDI CELAC project has shown that sharing indige-nous knowledge using ICT methods makes a significantcontribution to resolving local problems – and it is the adop-tion of mobile telephony services which has taken the lead.

“Text messages are a less expensive andmore accessible means of informationaccess and dissemination, in particularfor women farmers who are the majorfamily income earners.”

Screengrab fromhttp://audioblog.podbean.com

8 WorldSpace radio uses two satellites, AfriStar and AsiaStar, to broadcast morethan 100 digital-quality audio channels to people around the world, enablingthem to receive digital radio programmes that are not available or rarely found onlocal, regional or national terrestrial radio. See: www.worldspace.com9 See: www.brosdi.or.ug and www.celac.or.ug10 See: http://celac.wordpress.com

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However, there are challenges. Telephones need to becharged. Electricity is not evenly distributed especially in ruralareas. Those with electricity often charge exorbitant costs tocharge a mobile phone. Also, telecommunication companiestend to install networks in urban centres first. In some ruralareas, farmers have to travel long distances to access a mobilephone network or a Village Knowledge Broker with a tele-phone. Yet even with these challenges, the use of SMS hashad a positive impact for rural farmers.

Issues of gender and cultureAlthough rural communities have information to share,accessing it requires more than just mobilising people.BRODSI have discovered from their experience that manyfarmers are sometimes unwilling to share informationbecause of pre-existing culturally defined criteria and param-eters. Many do not intend to hoard their knowledge, but lackthe appropriate forums to share it in. Many grassrootscommunities are also not used to sharing information so it isparamount that the process is introduced gradually to them.People have differing susceptibility to change.

Each community also addresses gender concerns differ-ently. Rural communities have mixed views on women-onlyprojects, which often raise much curiosity among the men.In our experience, it is important that men are also closelyinvolved, provided they are not the dominant players. Whenother men see their involvement, local communities are moreopen to working with the project.

Involving communities in mobilising and conducting theKnowledge Sharing Forums using peer-to-peer learning canhelp to ease the process. We have found that rural commu-

nities are more willing to share knowledge using participa-tory approaches and processes. During these meetings, theCELAC team emphasises the need to share if you want tolearn. This strategy appears to work well. Normally, partici-pants begin to share when they realise that they too arelearning freely.

Farmers, other members of civil society and governmentneed to create a commitment to cooperate, to change, tochallenge – and to allow time for this to happen. It is impor-tant to understand the specific community culture. It requiresresearch and planning at the base level to explore issues e.g.of culture, gender, and how receptive people are to theproject. Visit the community and plan in advance how toaddress challenges and take advantage of strengths, andadjust your plans accordingly.

ConclusionInformation is a vital tool to enable and increase farmers’livelihoods, provided the farmer can use the information posi-tively. This information needs to be shared so that others notonly have and use it, but can also customise it for themselvesand share it again thereafter.

At BROSDI, our approach is to work with partners to iden-tify key needs or issues; determine appropriate knowledge-sharing and information management initiatives; and thencommunicate these initiatives in a language that matches theproblem being solved and the target group. The projectteam, the district farmers’ networks, government and othermembers of civil society have to work together in order forproject ownership to prevail.

We have seen the tangible benefits that sharing knowl-edge can have, from farmers who can afford to educate theirchildren and provide medical care for their families, toconstructing more permanent houses. We have seen farmerswho have benefited from increased farm outputs with eachseason and diversified their income-generating activities –helped by the use of appropriate tools for sharing knowledgeand local content.

“Information must be shared both on-and offline to maintain the flow ofinformation between those who haveInternet access, and those who do not.”

CONTACT DETAILSEdnah Akiiki Karamagi Email: [email protected]

Mary NakiryaEmail: [email protected]

Busoga Rural Open Source and DevelopmentInitiative (BROSDI) PO BOX 26970KampalaUgandaTel: +256 77 506 227Fax: +256 41 343 005Websites: www.brosdi.or.ug andwww.celac.or.ug

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Introduction This article reflects on the development of the Ushahidiwebsite. The idea behind the website was to harness thebenefits of crowdsourcing information (using a large groupof people to report on a story) and facilitate the sharing ofinformation in an environment where rumours and uncer-tainty were dominant.

At the height of the post-election violence in Kenya inlate December 2007 and early January 2008, my personalblog become one of the main sources of information aboutthe flawed electoral process and the violence that broke outthereafter.1

There was a government ban on live media and a waveof self-censorship within mainstream media, which createdan information vacuum. The government argued false orbiased reporting would result in even more ethnic-basedviolence, and that it wanted the opportunity to review mediareports before they went ‘live’. In response to the ban I askedpeople to send me information via comments on my blogand emails – about incidents of violence that they werewitnessing or hearing about throughout the country, andthat were not being reported by the media.

by ORY OKOLLOH

9Ushahidi,or ‘testimony’: Web 2.0 tools for crowdsourcing crisisinformation

1 See: www.kenyanpundit.com

I quickly become overwhelmed by the volume andthought how useful it would be to have a dedicated websitewhere people could anonymously report about incidents ofviolence online or via mobile phone text messages (SMS) –and if this information could be mapped so that people couldvisualise what was going on.2

Though there was a high risk of false reporting, I felt thathaving a vehicle where some information could be sharedwas better none – and that relying on local resources was agood way to do this. Information in a crisis is a patchwork ofsources. You can only hope to build up a full picture byhaving as many sources as possible. The Ushahidi websitewas not intended to be wholly accurate and certainly therewas no intention to achieve the standards e.g. of a main-stream newspaper or a human rights reporting organisation– the main focus was the immediate need to get informa-tion out.

Finally, the website was intended to be a ‘memorial’ orarchive of sorts for the events that happened – as a reminderof just how bad things got – so that Kenyans would hopefullyavoid repeating history at future elections.

How Ushahidi beganOn 3rd January 2008, I shared my thoughts on my blog andencouraged Kenyan ‘techies’ who were interested in building

2 Short Messaging Service (SMS)

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such a website to get in touch. The response was lighteningfast. Within a day or two a group of volunteers had coalescedand the domain was registered. That was the genesis ofUshahidi, which means ‘testimony’ in Kiswahili.

The website went live less than a week later. It was builtusing open source software with around 15-20 developersmaking different contributions.3 Most of these developerscame from Africa. The majority were Kenyans. There was nofunding for the website at the time – everything was done byvolunteers, from donating server space, writing the code,donating the short code for SMS calls and helping gather theinitial data to helping spread the word.4 It was a rapid proto-type model, based on the premise that things could beimproved as we went along by learning on the job. Webelieve this spurred our innovativeness and creativity. Wefocused on building and launching an overall framework, andaddressing the details and any technical hitches later.

Over 250 people began to use the new platform as ameans of sharing information. Some radio stations evenstarted using the website as an information source. Thewebsite was interactive. People could contribute and not justreceive information. We also had the expectation that sharinginformation would also help individuals and groups whowanted to figure out where help was most needed (see Box 1).

Issues around verifying reportsThe Ushahidi website allowed reporting via SMS and thewebsite itself. However, all reports had to be manuallychecked and approved by Ushahidi staff before they wentlive (see Box 2).

The ‘go-live’ process was easy for reports submitted viathe website but SMS reports had to be manually entered. The approval process was rather ad hoc. Where possible, we

called or emailed reporters to try to verify reports. Wherepeople reported anonymously, stories were counter-checkedby comparing with other sources e.g. mainstream media.Where information appeared credible but we could not verifyit, we posted it and noted that it was not verified.

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3 Open source software (OSS) can be defined as computer software for which thehuman-readable source code is made available under a copyright license (orarrangement such as the public domain) that meets the Open Source Definition.This permits users to use, change, and improve the software, and to redistribute itin modified or unmodified form. It is very often developed in a public,collaborative manner.4 ‘With the growing popularity of mobile phones, especially in developingcountries, SMS has become a familiar and widely used form of communication. Itoffers advantages over traditional voice services including reduced cost and theability to send messages to large numbers of people in a short amount of time.’Source: www.frontlinesms.com/what

5 FrontlineSMS enables you to provide local numbers in areas where larger SMSproviders do not operate. It is free software that allows you to send textmessages to large groups of people anywhere there is a mobile signal. Seewww.frontlinesms.com

“Information in a crisis is a patchworkof sources. You can only hope to buildup a full picture by having as manysources as possible.”

Ushahidi, meaning ‘witness’ in Kiswahili, describes itself as a tool forpeople who witness acts of violence in Kenya to report incidents thatthey have seen. The incidents are then placed on a map-based view forothers to see. Most incidents listed on the website are verified by localgroups working on the ground.

What is shocking about some reported incidents is the frequencywith which new, unreported episodes are being uploaded to thewebsite – indicating that official reports from aid agencies and theGovernment may have grossly underplayed the extent of damagearound the country.Source: Kinyanjui (2008)

Box 1: Extracts from ‘Kenya: Citizens' reporting toolcomes in handy.’

The first Ushahidi website model allowed people to send in reportsboth via SMS and on the website itself. This simplified diagram showshow SMS text messages move through the Ushahidi system in a two-way communication cycle.• An SMS text message gets sent to a local number• It is then rerouted through FrontlineSMS5

• This synchronises with the Ushahidi platform• The message shows up on the Ushahidi website• Administrators can then decide whether to send a message back to

the original sender

Box 2: How SMS messages are routed through Ushahidi

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This is the risk with any crowdsourcing social media tool.‘Truth’ is not guaranteed – but the idea behind crowdsourc-ing is that with enough volume, a ‘truth’ emerges that dimin-ishes any false reports. To avoid the risk of the website beingused for propaganda, reports were monitored before theywent ‘live’. Anything that appeared to be patently false,inflammatory or inaccurate was not posted. We anticipatedthat over time it would be easy to counter-check false reportsagainst what eventually made it to the mainstream media andby using the power of the citizens themselves to counteractfalse reports. For example, someone posted a false report ofviolence breaking out in a North-Eastern town called Garissa.Within hours we had received several reports from othersources saying that there was no violence in the area.

Developing potential: Ushahidi and humanitariancrisis situations

In Kenya, Ushahidi demonstrated the power of geograph-ically mapping real-time citizen reports and crisis-relatedinformation to help civilians avoid conflict.Randy Newcomb, President and CEO of Humanity United

As interest in the website developed, it became apparent thatthe tool had potential applicability beyond Kenya, particu-larly in crisis situations. Humanitarian-based crisis situationsdo not usually start with one flashpoint. They generally resultfrom a number of events and factors that have happenedover time. Kenya was one such example. While the violencewas depicted as a ‘sudden eruption’ of protests by support-ers of the opposition leader Raila Odinga, there were indica-tions that some of the violence was pre-planned.6

Our view was that Ushahidi could in the future help localand international NGOs working in crisis situations: fromearly conflict warning to tracking a crisis situation as it evolvesand facilitating response.

Redeveloping the Ushahidi platformAs a result of the growing public interest in Ushahidi and itspotential for wider replication we received funding fromHumanity United, an organisation dedicated to endingmodern-day slavery and mass atrocities. This has allowed usto rebuild the platform into a tool that any person or organ-isation can use to set up their own way to collect and visu-alise information.

The private alpha of the redesigned Ushahidi platform

was released in October 2008. The alpha is the initial versionof the rebuilt platform. It is being tested by a number ofgroups before the software is released to the general public.Pilot projects include Peace Heroes, the Democratic Republicof Congo (DRC) crisis and four others.7 8 We are surveyingour testers and plan to write case studies about the imple-mentation and testing process once this phase is completed.

It is too early to fully evaluate what impact the tool ishaving. However, we have some initial reflections based on ourexperiences in Kenya and our more recent experiences in DRC.

Challenges and lessons learntWe have tried our own deployment with the Ushahidi DRCpage to cover the crisis in Eastern DRC. That has been a veryuseful learning process for us, including the challenges ofbuilding in translation facilities, operating in a very low Inter-net access region and overcoming trust issues from the localpopulation as far as submitting information.

Our immediate experience with the DRC deploymentreveals that there is still a lot to be done and that eachcrisis/situation has its own set of unique challenges (andpossibilities). The main challenges are outlined below.• The lack of good local Internet connectivity. Although we

expected this and worked hard to get the mobile compo-nent ready, even our partner organisations are strugglingto maintain their access to the Internet.

• The lack of an Ushahidi point person on the ground. Thiswas a rare instance in which we were going to manage thedeployment itself at least initially, which is why we havetried to partner with groups such as Heal Africa. We sentout an outreach email and they were recommended to us

7 Peace Heroes: Unsung Peace Heroes is a campaign developed by ButterflyWorks and Media Focus on Africa Foundation. The goal is to nominate peoplewho helped do positive things during and after the post-election violence inKenya. Kenyan heroes are ordinary people who did extraordinary things for theirfellow citizens or their country. See: http://peaceheroes.ushahidi.com,www.mediafocusonafrica.org and www.butterflyworks.org8 Deployment to the DRC Congo happened on 7th November 2008 – the weekthe alpha version of the new Ushahidi Engine software was released. See:http://drc.ushahidi.com6 See: www.commondreams.org/news2008/0124-07.htm

“We anticipated that over time it wouldbe easy to counter-check false reportsagainst what eventually made it to themainstream media and by using thepower of the citizens themselves tocounteract false reports.”

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based on their lengthy experience locally and with moni-toring how the local population is being affected by thecrisis.

• The difficulty in raising awareness about Ushahidi in thelocal population and encouraging them to use it. We triedto promote the service wherever we could, via local blog-gers, local organisations, international NGOs, local radioetc.

Other challenges and lessons learnt are outlined below.

Blogging can help raise awarenessIt helps to have a relatively active and connected bloggingcommunity to raise local awareness (Kenya was a goodexample). Local bloggers help raise the profile of social mediatools like Ushahidi. DRC does have a comparatively small butactive blogging community of both locals and expatriates.We have encouraged bloggers to share their reports onUshahidi but so far no-one has done so.

Translation is importantWe need to tackle the translation issues and also work witha wider network of bloggers geographically and linguistically.

Be simple but effectiveThe tool needs to remain simple and functional as much aspossible – more complicated features slow the website downand make it harder to adapt to situations where there arefew resources on the ground.

Be clear about what you aim to doWe need to be clear about what Ushahidi is and is not. Unlikein Kenya, in Eastern DRC when approaching local organisa-tions and contacts we were often asked if they would be paidfor reporting to the website. Perhaps because the DRC crisishas been much longer and more persistent, organisations aremore hesitant to embrace this type of approach.

People need time and resourcesIn Kenya, some areas were isolated from the violence – andthe violence also ebbed and flowed. This meant people werebetter able to engage in citizen reporting. As someone closely

involved in assisting people in DRC pointed out to me, in acrisis situation most people are on the run – they do not havetime to file reports.

In places like Eastern DRC that is compounded by factorslike electricity cuts so mobile phones cannot be charged.Some people do not have the resources to buy credit so theSMS functionality does not really help them. Also, unlike inKenya, there is no MamaMikes option for donating credit.9

We are trying to get Zain, a leading mobile phone serviceprovider in Africa, interested in this type of service.

Gaining trustUnlike in Kenya, in DRC people are not used to a culture offree press – nor of people asking for their opinion. Mostimportantly, there is a huge lack of trust as well as concernsabout reprisals if people are targeted for making reports. Wehave tried to allay these concerns by emphasising that thereports can be anonymous and generic, e.g. ‘help is neededbecause of a cholera outbreak in Rutshuru’. However atpresent we do not have detailed guidelines for reporters.

Creating two-way information flowsIn an ongoing conflict like DRC, there is also the issue offatigue among the locals, which was not the case in Kenya.Ushahidi becomes just another organisation that is lookingfor information. Past experience has shown citizens thatsharing this information with the media, NGOs, UN Missionsetc. has not really changed anything. To address this, we arebuilding in functionality that closes the information loop –people are not just giving information but also receiving infor-mation e.g. on where to get help.

Creating a culture of sharingIn comparison to when we launched in Kenya, our efforts inDRC were much more structured. The Ushahidi DRC pagehas received great coverage in the international press.However, we have not received the volume of reports weanticipated. Many of those affected by the crisis or watchingthe situation closely had complained about the minimalmedia coverage on the DRC conflict. In contrast in Kenya,we received more reports with very minimal active outreachon our part. While we did not expect to receive thousandsof reports, we certainly expected more than we have receivedso far.

Another challenge is the distinct desire to silo informa-

“As interest in the website developed, itbecame apparent that the tool hadpotential applicability beyond Kenya,particularly in crisis situations.”

9 The MamaMikes remittance service empowers Kenyan immigrants in NorthAmerica and Europe to transfer help home – not via cash, but by sendingshopping credits, mobile phone airtime, and other gifts. See www.mamamikes.org

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tion among humanitarian organisations in DRC who shouldbe the natural users of Ushahidi – and this was also aproblem in Kenya. We encouraged NGOs to submit infor-mation collected in the field (which was substantial) but withno success. The reasons are unclear considering the benefitsof bringing more attention to a crisis and helping to strate-gically direct help. Perhaps it is a general reluctance toembrace innovation. Perhaps it is a belief that fundraisingworks best for those with the most information, andUshahidi is seen as a competitor. In any event, it is a hugeproblem. These organisations purportedly speak for thepeople who are affected by a crisis, yet do not appear towant to embrace this form of citizen reporting.

Ways forwardThe new Ushahidi platform will soon be available. It will allowthe aggregation of crisis information by displaying data fromvarious sources such as mobile phones, the Internet andmainstream news feeds on one page. The data can also beshown in a simplified geographical format. Anyone trackingor affected by a particular situation can submit reports.

This open source application will be available for free forothers to download, implement and use to bring awarenessto crises in their own region. The core platform can becustomised for different locales and needs. Implementingorganisations will be responsible for raising awareness aboutthe tool and encouraging e.g. members of the public andstaff members to submit reports. The rebuilt platform willhave various administration levels from data entry of reports(e.g. for organisations to submit their own reports from thefield), to full administrative privileges, which include theresponsibility of verifying the submitted reports.

Organisations will also be able to use the tool for inter-nal monitoring purposes. For example, a human rights organ-isation collecting testimonies about an event may not wantto release the information publicly to protect the anonymityof those testifying or because they want to verify the infor-mation first (see Box 3).

However, we do realise that it is a tool and not a solu-

tion. Our goal is to create the best tool possible to help makesense of emerging situations and to develop web and mobiletools that can help with visualisation and decision-making onwhere and how to deploy aid and other forms of assistance.

Final reflectionsAs the interest in the platform evolves and is refined in thedevelopment process, more lessons and challenges arebound to emerge. How can we handle the verification ofdata in a fast-breaking crisis? How can we extend Ushahidi’sreach in low-tech areas?

Although it is still very early days for Ushahidi, the devel-opment of the platform has already generated some usefullessons in terms of how to approach participatory media,especially in challenging environments. Ushahidi demon-strates how we can use open source software in humanitar-ian crises, the potential power of crowdsourcing, and theadvantages of keeping tools simple and easily adaptable. Weanticipate that the platform will revolutionise how manyorganisations handle their data and also democratise howinformation is collected and shared in crisis situations.

“Ushahidi demonstrates how we can useopen source software in humanitariancrises, the potential power ofcrowdsourcing, and the advantages ofkeeping tools simple and easily adaptable.”

10 For a definition of ‘RSS’, see glossary, p.122. See also RSS feeds p.115 (this issue).

Some of the technical features of the new platform will include:• Simple and fast web/Internet accessibility.• Map-based regional views for each country using web-based

interactive maps.• Pre-determined geo-location information for major cities.• Ability to send reports to Ushahidi through mobile phones.• Ability for people to sign up to receive text message alerts through

mobile phones.• Ability for people to sign up for RSS feeds to their mobile phone,

email or RSS feed reader – segmented by region, country or city.10

• Multilingual. • Detailed incident report page, including but not limited to: location,

date, description, category, links, images, and video. • Ability for others to submit more information about a specific

incident.• Track the number of reports coming in from specific locations and

designate them as ‘hotspots’ and apply a heat-map to that area withextra explanations.

• ‘How you can help’ area where different organisations email the siteadministrator to be added with a short description, contactinformation and link to their site.

• Possible addition of a simple donation system for a specificorganisation in the affected country (e.g. Kenyan Red Cross).

• Ability to post anonymous incident reports, by the contributor’schoice.

• A search and timeline feature.

Box 3: The new Ushahidi platform

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Ushahidi plans to make its mappingtool available globally for free tointerested parties and organisations.The Ushahidi team will be able toprovide technical customisations and support as needed.

CONTACT DETAILSOry OkollohEmail: [email protected]: www.ushahidi.comTwitter: www.twitter.com/ushahidi

REFERENCESKinyanjui, K. (2008) ‘Kenya: Citizens' ReportingTool Comes in Handy.’ Online blog report 15thJanuary 2008. Please note you need to subscribeto the website to view this report for free:http://allafrica.com/stories/200801150990.htm

For now, we will continue to embrace the rapid proto-type model and focus on pushing the boundaries of the

various areas that the platform touches on – crowdsourcing;visualisation; mapping; and mobile phone platforms.

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Introduction The Walkatjurra Cultural Centre is an Aboriginal organisationbased in Leonora, Western Australia. This article reflects ontheir journey as they invest in the uptake of digital technolo-gies, including most recently Web 2.0 applications, to revi-talise their culture and enhance community developmentboth socially and economically. We also highlight theoutcomes of a community-based youth empowermentproject involving university researchers and Aboriginalcommunity members.

Fieldwork began in May 2005 with the creation of aparticipatory digital video disc (DVD). The DVD was used bythe community as a vehicle to communicate traditional knowl-edge to help bridge the intergenerational knowledge divide,as well as to influence non-indigenous decision makers (localgovernment and mining companies). Community members,building on their video skills, are now using a number of Web2.0 technologies to expand both the scope and longevity ofthe original project. This project is still ongoing.

There were two principal purposes for using Web 2.0based tools:• to meaningfully engage Aboriginal youth in learning about

their rapidly forgotten local knowledge and help themadopt new skills; and

• to facilitate the youths’ direct participation in – and contri-bution to – the greater community development strategy.

BackgroundAs with many indigenous cultures, the Aboriginal people ofAustralia strive to maintain a strong relationship with theircountry and culture. This place-based affinity is especiallytrue for isolated rural communities. This connection to placeexemplifies what it means to be an Aboriginal Australian.Many Aboriginal families rely on their traditional ecologicalknowledge (TEK) of the surrounding environment andnatural resources for subsistence, cultural identity andemployment. However, two significant issues contribute tolimiting the role of this place-based identity in everydaycommunity life:• the breakdown of the intergenerational transfer of local

knowledge; and• that mainstream Australian society places little value on this

knowledge, making it appear parochial and largely irrele-vant in everyday Aboriginal life.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS,2003), 80% of the Aboriginal population speaks only English(similar to Australia’s non-Aboriginal population). Only around12% of the Aboriginal population speaks a customary

by JON CORBETT, GUY SINGLETON and KADO MUIR

10Web 2.0 for Aboriginal culturalsurvival: a new Australianoutback movement

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language. The younger generation have grown up in a widersociety that fails to recognise the significance of their knowl-edge and maintaining their indigenous identity. This has ledto the apparent abandonment of Aboriginal culture in pref-erence for a more dominant Western one.

In addition, large numbers of Aboriginal elders havelimited experience and ‘self-belief’ in their ability to mean-ingfully engage in Western modes of communication, espe-cially given that the written word is the main way oftransmitting cultural heritage in the western world. The resultis that many indigenous elders and parents face a significantchallenge in communicating the importance of their knowl-edge to both the non-indigenous community and youngerindigenous generations.

So how does an Aboriginal elder effectively communicateacross cultures this connection to place, demonstrate theirability to effectively self-manage natural resources, andengage the community youth in promoting intergenerationalknowledge transfer?

Recent literature suggests that more culturally adaptablemodes of communication using information communicationtechnologies (ICTs) may provide an answer (Chikonzo, 2006).

Aboriginal Australia, digital technology and Web 2.0Remote Aboriginal communities in Australia have used arange of ICTs for over thirty years to create and maintaincontact and networks outside their immediate space(Michaels, 1994).1 Today, many indigenous Australian groupsat the community level are using digital technologies for twomain purposes: • to get involved in some form of ‘development’, e.g. incor-

porating modern infrastructure into existing lifestyles and/orfor mobilising resources – including Web 2.0, video andother Internet-based applications; and

• to strengthen processes to ensure history stays in place

and/or for the enrichment of clan places, in what Christieand Veran (2006) describe as ‘envelopment’.

Examples of such practices include:• digital recordings of ancestral songs;• collections of digital photographs to share stories and

strengthen family identities;• generating digitised maps incorporating Aboriginal place

names to strengthen Native Title claims;• creating videos of storytelling with reference to particular

lands and places (history, management and ownership); and • using video cameras to bring together groups of elders to

pass on stories to the younger generation. The most anticipated benefit of digital technologies

(specifically Web 2.0 technologies) is their potential to bridgethe generation gap as a culturally adaptable mode ofcommunication.2 The process of involvement in digital tech-nology and associated end products has the potential fordeveloping, building or enhancing individual capacities.3

Australian organisations such as UsMob and dEadly mObuse various multimedia tools to enhance indigenous partici-pants’ skills, abilities, social capital and technical capacities.4

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1 In 1988 the first communication satellite was launched to provide remotecommunities in central Australia with radio and television. Today, the CentralAustralian Aboriginal Media Association (CAAMA) broadcasts radio to remoteindigenous communities. Imparja, a mainstream Aboriginal-run television station,focuses on contemporary indigenous issues mixed with mainstream interestshows, and the new National Indigenous TV (NITV) features 100% indigenousmedia content.

2 By and large the inclusiveness of digital technologies does not discriminatebetween genders or age groups. 3 E.g. knowledge archives, non-discriminate forums, cultural asset inventories,cultural validity etc. 4 UsMob is the first project to be launched under the Australian Film Commission(AFC) and ABC New Media and Digital Services AFC/ABC Broadband ProductionInitiative (BPI). It supports dynamic projects developed and produced specificallyfor broadband delivery on ABC Online. See www.abc.net.au/usmob

Figure 1: Map showing location of Leonora, WesternAustralia

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Methods and processes The Walkatjurra Cultural Centre in Leonora (Figure 1) is invest-ing heavily in digital technologies. The explicit aim is to enhanceboth community development and envelopment initiatives. Itbegan using many of the technologies outlined above, but isnow beginning to focus on the implementation of Internet-based tools, and in particular Web 2.0 technologies.

The rest of this article describes an ongoing project thatexplicitly seeks to revitalise culture and enhance communitydevelopment through the participatory use of digital tech-nologies. With funding from the Desert Knowledge Cooper-ative Research Centre (DKCRC), the project involvedcollaboration between the Walkatjurra Cultural Centre,Curtin University of Technology and the University of BritishColumbia Okanagan. The project process is divided into twodistinct phases. The first involved training youth in the use ofdigital video recording, editing and production techniques.The second involved taking these skills and transferring themto a Web 2.0 environment. Both of these phases aredescribed overleaf.

Figure 2: Community youth members uses a video camera

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This can help increase employment opportunities by easingthe transition from school to workplace environments and inlanguage maintenance and cultural awareness.5 Many devel-opment agencies use positive changes in socioeconomicstatus and the cultural awareness of individuals as key capac-ity building/development indicators. Arguably, the use ofICT/digital technology discussed here represents potentialexamples of capacity building/development/enhancement inpractice.

The digital tools used to achieve such development andenvelopment objectives are increasingly in the form of videos,DVDs, digital photos, and audio files. All these technologiesare readily available to most community members, makingthem relatively cost-effective. More recently, evolving Web2.0 applications are becoming accessible tools for authoringand disseminating digital content.

5 dEadly mOb is a mentoring programme, which uses ICT to create onlineopportunities for Aboriginal youth.

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Walkatjurra digital video projectParticipatory video (PV) is the use of video as a participatorycommunication tool. It has become increasingly popular overthe last twenty years, and is a particularly good tool to usewith oral societies and non-literate people. It is a process thatsupports community members to become ‘generators,creators, transformers and users of communication, infor-mation, skills and education for their own benefit’ (Norrish,1998). Video cameras have become lighter, easier to trans-port and straightforward to learn and handle – as well asmore affordable – even for relatively economically margin-alised communities. The videos produced do not need to bestudio processed and are easily disseminated.

Using the guiding principles of PV, project collaboratorstrained an enthusiastic group of youth from the WalkatjurraCultural Centre in filming, editing and producing a DVD.

To date, a core group of five youth have been involved insuch projects. This represents a small proportion of Aborigi-nal youth in Leonora. While inclusive participation is both akey process and outcome within such initiatives, initial inter-est and momentum was based around particular communitykinship networks to get the project going. The initial stagesof the project involved particular families in order to gener-ate project momentum and direction. Later on, once theinitial projects have been acquitted and evaluated, and therequired resources are gathered, a broader number ofcommunity members can then participate.

This training took place during a trip into the bush witha group of community members comprised of elders andyouth.6 The trip lasted four days and was intentionallydesigned to acquaint the youth with several locally importantbush foods. These included the bush tomato (Solanumcentrale), silky pear (Marsdenia australis), emu, witchetygrubs and kangaroo. As the youth learnt about these foodsfrom the elders in the group (their seasonality, harvesting,preparation and consumption), they recorded the teachingsusing the video equipment. There was strong evidence thatthe young members in the group were absorbing andprocessing their elders’ information, which might haveseemed less interesting had the technologies not activelyencouraged their participation. This was confirmed by theyouth taking away the video equipment several times duringthe trip and filming their own short videos that documentedthe foods being harvested and eaten, in essence reiteratingthe information that their elders had taught them.

On returning to Leonora the technology intermediaries,elders and youth spent three days producing a DVD. Oftenduring participatory video projects there is less interest in theediting component of the project. It is time consuming andtedious work. Yet the Leonora youth were engaged through-out – providing advice, voice-over segments and a large doseof enthusiasm. The final product was screened to everyonein the community.

Over the next twelve months the DVD went on to beshown at several national DKCRC conferences where theyouth members were invited to present their work. The youthand their DVD were also featured on state television andradio stations. This initial project set the foundation forseveral youth in Leonora to begin to really explore the videomedium as a means to communicate information aboutthemselves and their lifestyles to others outside of theirremote rural community.

Walkatjurra and Web 2.0 developmentRural Internet access has increased and become more afford-able in Western Australia over the last five years, largely dueto the rapid increase of mining industry activity. As miningcompanies expand, so does their need for communicationsinfrastructure, such as mobile phone towers. This hasprovided access to Internet and mobile communications tocommunities in regions that would normally be void of suchtechnology. This is an unexpected benefit for communitiesfrom an industry that historically disrupts Aboriginal culturalactivity.

This improved connectivity has enabled the next phase ofthe Walkatjurra Cultural Centre’s digital journey. Membershave built on and expanded their repository of cultural infor-mation and experimented with developing and implement-ing Web 2.0 technologies. This initially began with individualscreating private web pages. These became valuable tools forincreasing awareness of community issues, activities and serv-ices, and overcoming the barrier of distance that often affectsremote Aboriginal communities.

“Young members in the group wereabsorbing and processing their elders'information, which might have seemedless interesting had the technologiesnot actively encouraged theirparticipation.“

6 ‘Bush’ is a local term used to describe the outback or desert-like wilderness areasin Australia. Commonly used when referring to ‘traditional Aboriginal lands’.

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More recently, members have adopted the use of Web 2.0applications such as blogs, social networking systems, andVoice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services.7 8 9 The CulturalCentre set up several blogs with RSS feeds using Blogger, afree-to-use Google application.10 They used them to shareinformation about community issues, targeting both internaland external stakeholders. Internally, this provided commu-nity members with access to information outlining theprogress of the Cultural Centre’s activities. However, our infor-mal observations showed that community members preferredto communicate either face-to-face or by using mobilephones, which were becoming increasingly available, rather

than using the RSS feeds. Perhaps the categories of informa-tion displayed by the RSS feeds may have been too generaland did not encourage people to use the RSS feeds to accessinformation.

External parties such as private enterprise, governmentdepartments, partnering research institutions and other commu-nity-based organisations were provided with select parcels ofgeneral information. These related to cultural, environmental orpolitical issues that might influence their relationship and subse-quent level of support for the Walkatjurra Cultural Centre.11

At this point it is difficult to tell whether this strategy haschanged how external stakeholders respond to related socio-political community matters. However informally, stakeholder7 For a definition of ‘VoIP’, see glossary, p.123 (this issue).

8 For a definition of ‘blog’, see glossary, p.121. See also Blogging p.106 (this issue).9 Online social networking tools focus on building online communities of peoplewho share interests and/or activities. For a full definition, see glossary, p.123. Seealso Social networking, p.112 (this issue).10 For a definition of ‘RSS’, see glossary, p.122. See also RSS feeds p.115 (this issue).

11 Generally positive information regarding the community’s achievements andfuture development plans. Controversial aspects of native title and heritagematters and sensitive internal community information would not be broadcast inthis manner.

Figure 3: Community youth edit ‘Papinmaru’ in the Walkatjurra Cultural Centre

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feedback suggests this strategy has increased their holisticunderstanding of the community’s objectives – and how theirdecisions may impact on the community agenda. Further-more, by providing access to regular updates via RSS feeds onthe successes of the community youth ICT initiatives, donorbodies may also be more likely to support future fundingapplications because this information is more readily avail-able and immediately accessible to them.

Online social networking tools have been used by severalmembers of the Cultural Centre to increase access to infor-mation relating to the Centre’s initiatives. A Facebook groupwas created to outline and debate issues of land rights advo-cacy – a topical issue for Australian Aboriginal peoples, espe-cially members of the Cultural Centre. To date, 126 peoplehave joined. Many are indigenous peoples from outsideAustralia, providing personal accounts of similar internationalexperiences of land rights and indigenous counter-cultureclashes with mainstream society. These strategies aim toincrease awareness and political support for communityissues. But again, their impact and effectiveness remains diffi-cult to quantify.

VoIP services, in particular Skype, were set up on comput-ers within the Cultural Centre. Due to the transient natureof community life, mobile phones are valuable tools for main-taining social relationships.12 By using Skype, call costs aregreatly reduced, permitting far longer call times. Skype callscan be diverted through their mobile phones, providingconstant access. Although not widely adopted, it demon-strated that it could be a very powerful communication tool,linking other communication mediums (Internet, email,mobile phone, and landlines) at a very cost effective rate.

We also used Web 2.0 technologies to increase theimpact and outputs of the youth video projects. Through the‘Lonely Planet: Less than three’ competition, a web videocompetition hosted by the Lonely Planet travel company, the

youth created a short, less than three-minute, video docu-menting how they hunt papinmaru (a large lizard).13 Thevideo takes the audience into the bush and shows the youthsuccessfully hunting and then cooking their prey. The videowon broad acclaim and was awarded the runner-up prize inLonely Planet’s international competition. The Papinmaruvideo was posted on the official competition site and alsolinked to the Lonely Planet TV site.14

Community members and the youth used severalwebsites to showcase their video. This meant the video couldbe easily promoted, accessed and further shared. Thisallowed for a wider international audience, which subse-quently generated significant interest around the youths’ winand related activities at the Cultural Centre. The video wasalso uploaded to the Cultural Centre website. Wherever thevideo was uploaded, it was tagged with references back tothe Cultural Centre, marketing their activities, and the successof their youth.15

“By engaging the youth in positivetechnology interaction and permittingmeaningful participation in the Centre'sactivities, older generations areincreasing the likelihood of involvingyounger members.”

12 Aboriginal peoples regularly move between towns to fulfil kinship obligationssuch as births, funerals or ceremonies, making cost-effectiveness communicationwith dispersed families and friends important.

13 Papinmaru or goanna have a prominent place in the culture of AboriginalAustralians, including totemic relationships and representations within theircreation theory. 14 Although the Papinmaru video is no longer available on the Lonely Planet TVwebsite, for more information about the Less Than Three competition see:www.lonelyplanet.com/lessthanthree/winning_videos.cfm15 For a definition of ‘tagging’ see glossary, p. x. See also Tagging p. X (this issue).

Figure 4: The Papinmaru video on the Lonely Planet LessThan Three website

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“There is a gap between whatcommunity members consider validevidence to support what they see asthe impact of ICT and Web 2.0 usagewithin the community, and thecomparative academic evaluation ofsuch findings.”

The youth also edited a longer, 10 minute version of thevideo helped by several older Cultural Centre members.16 Thisturned it into a marketable product. It was offered for sale onthe Centre’s website and at related functions (art exhibitions,conferences, community events). Eighteen months after theywon the competition, every copy of the video was sold,around 50 copies at $20 each. The youth have been able togenerate a valuable product for the Centre.

By understanding the Cultural Centre’s objectives and therange of technologies its members use to achieve them, theimportance and relevance of the youth’s Web 2.0 video expe-riences can be clearly acknowledged. By engaging the youthin positive technology interaction and permitting meaningfulparticipation in the Centre’s activities, older generations areincreasing the likelihood of involving younger members todrive the Centre’s activities in the future.

Lessons learnt, critical reflections and analysis This project is a long-term undertaking. As a result, theprocess is adaptive. It has developed to accommodate andincorporate appropriate training curricula and tools requiredby the users of the technology. The innovative work, inter-national successes, and high profile have greatly enabled theWalkatjurra Cultural Centre to continue to raise funds forprojects. However, there still remains the need for longer-term commitment by participating youth – as well as moresupport by parents and other non-involved communitymembers. Walkatjurra Cultural Centre organisers haveattempted to incorporate a video and Web 2.0 teachingcomponent into the school curriculum in order to generategreater participation in the community at large. However, thishas been largely unsuccessful due to a lack of availablefinance from the school, and the view that such activities falloutside the range of core educational objectives for children(such as literacy and numeracy).

Researchers linked to the Centre have been approachedby youth independent of the project and asked about futurefield trips and DVD productions. We noticed that participat-ing youth often bring along friends to observe related activ-ities in the Cultural Centre. Their friends have also shown astrong desire for future participation and inclusion. Commu-nity members have also inquired about how their child mightparticipate in activities. This desire to participate was mostnotable after the youth made the Papinmaru DVD and wonthe Lonely Planet competition, once the positive outputs ofthe initiative had been publicly recognised. Improving futureparticipation seems to rest with the logistical, financial andethical capacity of staff within the cultural centre to mean-ingfully engage a greater number of community members.

Finally, and significant to both researchers and communitymembers alike, is how to improve both the measurement andevaluation of ICT-related research. There is a gap betweenwhat community members consider valid evidence to supportwhat they see as the impact of ICT and Web 2.0 usage within16 One of whom was non-indigenous and a university researcher.

Figure 5: Papinmaru DVD cover

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the community, and the comparative academic evaluation ofsuch findings. Participating researchers act as support mech-anisms for the community. Therefore, if they initiate intensiveproject appraisals and assessments, community members mayview this as distractive or inappropriate, or that their viewsand opinions are insufficient as stand-alone conclusions toquestions they themselves have sought to answer.

Conclusion This evolving exploration with digital technologies has beena largely positive investment of time and energy for theWalkatjurra Cultural Centre and the youth involved in theproject. The community views the Papinmaru web video asa tangible success. It has encouraged the centre’s youth tofurther develop their video-making skills. Four youthmembers took part in the Freemantle Film school programmein Perth, the state capital, in early 2008. Web 2.0 technolo-gies have greatly expanded their reach and their message,moving their audience from a very limited one to an inter-national forum. This has a strong impact on understandingtheir own potential and promotes the message of culturalsurvival and pride that is central to the Walkatjurra CulturalCentre’s intent.

There are clear lessons learnt to date from this project.Firstly, that youth living in marginal and remote outback

communities, if given access to tools and training, arecapable of producing original and innovative video materi-als. Using Web 2.0 technologies these materials can beshared (for a minimal cost) with international audiences. Thisin turn can greatly raise the profile of the youth and otherorganisations involved in the project. It has the potential toinfluence both the general public and decision makers, bygenerating a better understanding of remote AboriginalAustralia. Perhaps it will also influence longer-term decisionsrelated to rural connectivity provision.

Further community-based research on how other Aborig-inal groups can engage similar Web 2.0 initiatives for positivechange is needed. In particular, research needs to target andidentify key sociocultural environmental conditions thatpromote meaningful ICT and Web 2.0 interactions. This mayhelp to increase both the widespread adoption of such tech-nologies and the breadth of applications Web 2.0 technol-ogy may hold for Aboriginal peoples.

CONTACT DETAILSJon CorbettCommunity Culture and Global StudiesUniversity of British ColumbiaCanada.Email: [email protected]

Guy SingletonCurtin University of TechnologyAustraliaEmail: [email protected]

Kado MuirWalkatjurra Cultural CentrePO Box 13Leonora 6438AustraliaEmail: [email protected]

REFERENCESChikonzo, A. (2006) ‘The potential ofinformation and communication technologiesin collecting, preserving and disseminatingindigenous knowledge in Africa.’ TheInternational Information & Library Review 38(3): 132-138Christie, M. and H. Verran (2006) ‘Using digitaltechnologies in doing indigenous places inAustralia.’ ICTs, Development and IndigenousKnowledges. Lausanne, European Associationfor the Studies of Science and Technology

Michaels, E. (1994) Bad Aboriginal Art:Tradition, media, and technological horizons.USA: University of Minnesota PressNorrish, P. (1998) ‘Radio and Video forDevelopment.’ In (eds) D. Richardson and L.Paisley. The First Mile of Connectivity. Rome:Food and Agriculture Organization of theUnited Nations

“Research needs to target and identifykey sociocultural environmentalconditions that promote meaningful ICTand Web 2.0 interactions.”

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Part IV: Theory andreflection on practiceThe articles in Part IV reflect on some of the lessons learnt from previousexperiences of using information communication technologies fordevelopment. The authors discuss some of the strategies, issues andchallenges related to integrating Web 2.0 technologies into developmentapproaches – and of using appropriate tools for appropriate purposes.

ANRIETTE ESTERHUYSEN explores the lessons learnt from the informationcommunication technologies for development (ICT4D) paradigm shift toWeb2forDev. ICT4D helped to mainstream ICTs into development thinkingand highlight issues of access and connectivity in the developing world.However, ICT4D was mostly driven by technology hype and a narrowapproach to how we use the tools. In contrast, Web 2.0 tools have astronger focus on social and decentralised networking rather thanstrategic implementation. Yet key issues remain: access, connectivity,capacity-building, literacy and language. Esterhuysen argues the need toholistically appropriate, adapt and integrate these technologies in ourwork with people, information and technology.

Next, ETHAN ZUCKERMAN writes about the use of ‘simple tools for smartpeople’. Zuckerman examines how we can appropriate these tools fordevelopment purposes, and also how ‘using the appropriate tools, for theright job at the right time, is something that we all have to understand.’He describes how grassroots activists have been leading innovators in theuse and appropriation of Web 2.0 tools and explores how the mobilephone revolution is helping to overcome issues of access and connectivity.Lastly, he discusses the importance of filtering online content forrelevance, meaning and context, and the emergence of trusted, expertonline editors and aggregators.

Lastly, ANJA BARTH and GIACOMO RAMBALDI recount how the process oforganising the Web2forDev conference has contributed to building acommunity of practice. The authors reflect on the successes and challengesof adopting Web 2.0 and other ICT tools to create online collaborativespaces for the conference organisers. In addition, the authors draw onresults from two conference surveys to assess what impact the conferencehas had on both the participants and their ways of working and inhelping to form and maintain a new Web2forDev community of practice.

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IntroductionBy ‘circling the point’ I want to explore the relationshipbetween information and communication technologies fordevelopment (ICT4D) and Web 2.0 for development(Web2forDev).1 The term ICT4D is actually relatively new.When the Association for Progressive Communication (APC)network started using online information-sharing and emailsystems in the late 1980s, the term did not exist. By 1990,we described ourselves as a network supporting globalcomputer communications for the environment, humanrights, development and peace.2 Even the United NationsSustainable Development Networking Programme (SDNP) –which, in partnership with the APC, provided many peoplein developing countries with their first email access – did notuse the term ICT4D.3 People and institutions were activelyworking with information, documentation and technologyin developing countries, but did not see themselves as beingICT4D protagonists. Mostly, they were rooted in their own

by ANRIETTE ESTERHUYSEN

11Circling the point: from ICT4Dto Web 2.0 and back again

1 For a definition of the terms Web 2.0 and Web2forDev, see glossary, p.123-124and overview article, p.8 (this issue).2 Founded in 1990, APC is an international network and non-profit organisationthat wants everyone to have access to the Internet to improve their lives andcreate a more just world. To read more about the history of APC seewww.apc.org/en/about/history. 3 The SDNP closed several years ago. For more information see:www.sdnp.undp.org.

sectors, be it health, environmental sustainability, orwomen’s rights.4

The flaw of the technology hypeThe term ICT4D became more common in the late 1990s atthe height of the telecommunications boom. Liberalisation,privatisation, policy reform and a drive to expand marketscoincided with the idea that ICTs could transform the world.High-level initiatives such as the Digital Opportunity TaskForce, the United Nation’s High Level Panel of Experts, theUnited National ICT Task Force, and the World Summit onInformation Society (WSIS), demonstrated this new preoccu-pation with the role of ICT in development.5 6

As we consider Web2forDev, or the ‘participatory’ web fordevelopment, we should reflect not just on the successes, butalso on the challenges and weaknesses inherent in ICT4D.

Perhaps the main flaw of ICT4D was the frequent tech-

4 E.g. early ICT adopters included Satellife/Healthnet www.healthnet.org andHURIDCOS www.huridocs.org. IDRC (International Development Research Centre)were active in ICT4D as early as the 1970s. See http://tinyurl.com/dgmgwr. TheFood and Agricultural Organisation's (FAO) IMARK initiative (InformationManagement Resource Kit) was conceived and developed by people with both anunderstanding of farming and libraries and information.5 The Digital Opportunity Task Force (DOT Force), created at the G8 Kyushu-Okinawa Summit in July 2000, consisted of governments, private sector entities,not-for-profit and international organisations from developed and developingcountries. Its purpose was to identify ways in which the digital revolution couldbenefit all of the world's people, especially the poorest and most marginalised.See: Digital Opportunities for All: Meeting the Challenge, May 2001. Online at:www.g8.utoronto.ca/summit/2001genoa/dotforce1.html6 www.unicttf.org/index.asp

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nology-driven hype. It created a misleading expectation thatICTs enabled ‘leapfrogging’ over development obstacles. Thisoften diverted attention from development fundamentals (e.g.improving governance, ensuring basic freedoms and humanrights, education and training, institutional capacity, etc.). Inthe ICT sector itself, it obscured the need to invest in moretraditional information and communications infrastructure –such as libraries and community media – and the human skillsneeded to disseminate, manage and produce informationeffectively. None of these are mutually exclusive with ICTs. Infact they should be closely integrated. But somehow theICT4D paradigm put too much emphasis on new technolo-gies, and too little on the need to integrate with other toolsand skills, and with development theory and practice. Also,the people doing the thinking, planning and implementationof ICT4D were selected for their technology expertise, or linksto a very dynamic and assertive IT industry. There were ICT4Dprotagonists at international and local levels who understooddevelopment and advocated for more holistic approaches toICTs. But their voices tended to be less glamorous, and not aseasily heard, as those suggesting quick and cheap solutions.

Unclear transparency and accountabilityPart of the ICT4D paradigm was public private partnerships(PPPs) and new ways of thinking of the role of the state indevelopment. We still need to find ways to address both stateweakness in developing countries and channelling privatesector investment into building essential infrastructure.However, PPPs in the ICT sector were often short-sighted,lacking the necessary procedures to ensure accountability andtransparency. A weakness in the ICT4D paradigm became anunclear relationship between business and government. Thefact that many governments continued to own and controlnational telecommunications monopolies – even after privati-sation – made things even less clear.

Appropriating ICTs: from work to play and back againAnother disadvantage with ICT4D was a short-sightedapproach to project development and capacity building. Thisdid not encourage sustainable appropriation of ICTs. Projects

were often introduced with limited funding and resources,with minimal access to ICT infrastructure and support. Peopleimplementing these initiatives were expected to demonstrate,in very short time, how ICTs would alleviate poverty. In manydeveloping country organisations, when email was intro-duced, people had shared email addresses instead of privateones. Using email for personal purposes was frowned upon.ICTs for development were strictly for ‘development’ work.School networking initiatives took special precautions toprevent scholars from playing computer games.

In contrast, at the same time in the developed world,people were appropriating ICTs in a very different way, usingpersonal email, playing computer games, or checking stockportfolios. Online dating, gambling and shopping soonfollowed. Now, music and video downloads are part of thenorm. These are everyday activities for many people with Inter-net access, as common as using ICTs at work. But for peoplein the developing world, with slow and expensive Internetconnections, these activities remain unfeasible. In manycommunities these are not yet part of the cultural norm.

The difference is fundamental. In the developed world, awhole new generation has explored new technology on theirown terms, driving and creating the Web 2.0 developer anduser base. As we move forward in the transition into Web2.0 for development, we must not repeat the error of thenarrow approach to appropriating technology.

The benefits of the ICT4D paradigmThere were also many positive outcomes. ICT4D put the lackof Internet access and infrastructure in the developing worldclearly on the agenda. Development donors were forced toaccept that a huge and growing gap existed – and that, ifnot addressed, it could deepen the existing exclusions andsharp divides between the haves and have-nots. These divi-sions created and entrenched gaps not only between rich andpoor, but also between those who benefited from access tonew technologies and those who did or could not.

Debates on Internet content raised important concernsaround cultural and linguistic diversity – an issue that had beenneglected in most development discourse. In addition, theICT4D paradigm also created awareness of the need forcapacity and skills needed in the use, management andproduction of ICTs. At a macro-level, governments wererequired to include ICTs in poverty reduction strategies. Atproject level, ICT4D initiatives were expected to address funda-mental issues such as local ownership, community participa-tion, building local institutional capacity, ensuring sustainabilityand integrating learning in their project implementation.

“As we consider Web2forDev, or the‘participatory’ web for development, weshould reflect not just on the successes,but also on the challenges andweaknesses inherent in ICT4D.”

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Is the hype around ICT4D over?Do we no longer need to think of ICT4D as a priority in itsown right? This view seems to be held by many developmentagencies. There have been many significant improvementsand opportunities for addressing the infrastructure gap.Mobile phone handsets can be used to interact with theInternet. Fuel cell technologies and improved solar technol-ogy provides workable solutions to ICT energy needs. Moreenergy efficient computers are being produced. These arepositive developments. Yet equally, many development agen-cies, particularly non-governmental organisations (NGOs), areonly just beginning to see ICTs as relevant to development –and they are at risk making the same mistakes again. Thereis also an assumption that the basics (access to telephony,and technology and communications infrastructure) has beentaken care of – that market-led expansion of products andservices, particularly in mobile telephony, are solving theproblems which governments and international organisationshave failed to address for decades.

Do we still need ICT4D? Development funding has moved on from focusing on ICT4Das a sector in its own right. There is less financial support forICT focused projects – and the emphasis has shifted to inte-grating ICT4D into ‘traditional’ or mainstream development.

The ‘mainstreaming’ of ICTs in development can be seen asa kind of victory.7 The hype might be over, but developmentagencies now recognise the importance of incorporating ICTsinto developing country infrastructure development. Peopleworking in health, agriculture, governance and transparencyno longer question that ICTs can add value. Non-governmen-tal organisations no longer have to persuade donors to fundcomputer technology, Internet access, and website develop-ment. But a truly integrated and inclusive approach to ICTs indevelopment is still rare, and limited by the lack of affordableaccess to infrastructure – and capacity – for many people.

Businesses in developing countries, from small andmedium enterprises (SMEs) to multinationals are being enor-mously creative in developing new products and services torespond to – and generate – demand from low-incomecommunities, e.g. Mpesa in Kenya, a mobile phone basedmoney transfer initiative in Kenya.8 Yet both governmentsand local development organisations often lack the capacityand skills to effectively integrate ICTs in ways that contribute

to sustainable development, relying instead on consultants,and third party hardware and software companies. The resultis ICT projects which lack a longer-term developmentalperspective and impact assessment, and fail to build localcapacity to ensure sustainable and innovative use of tech-nologies. The problems produced by technology-drivenapproaches remain. We still need a special focus on ICT4Dto develop specialised knowledge and capacity, holisticapproaches to social change and development – and reliable,grounded ICT4D practitioners.

Like gender mainstreaming, the risk is that ICT4D could bemainstreamed out of existence. Basic infrastructure develop-ment challenges remain. Many people still do not have afford-able, reliable Internet access. Mobile telephony and the mobileInternet have enormous potential, but costs are still too highfor many people. A new digital divide is growing: the broad-band divide. Without broadband access in key institutions likeuniversities, businesses, government and the media, develop-ing countries will remain on the edge of knowledge generationand access. One online discussion group participant thatpreceded the Web2forDev conference commented:

As soon as a few rural communities begin to understandthe basics of the Internet and World Wide Web, a newtoolbox with new knowledge emerges. It is like running arace in which there is no finishing line. If you are a partic-ipant in this you can’t help but feel a sense of fatigue.

What can Web 2.0 for development offer?Some perceive Web 2.0 as a new phenomenon, others do not.I think both views are true. For example, social networking isdefinitely not new. People have been networking socially withICTs since the technologies were introduced. In the pre-webera thousands of ‘usenet newsgroups’ or ‘bulletin boards’allowed people from all over the world to participate in onlinediscussions that were very much like text-based versions ofblogs.9 10 APC hosted hundreds of these ‘conferences’ during

7 Mainstreaming is often used to describe a process of integrating an issue intoother areas, rather than having a special focus on it, in other words treating it asa crosscutting issue rather than a topic in its own right.8 Mpesa: www.safaricom.co.ke/index.php?id=228

“Somehow the ICT4D paradigm put toomuch emphasis on new technologies,and too little on the need to integratewith other tools and skills, and withdevelopment theory and practice.”

9 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USENET10 For a definition of ‘blog’, see glossary, p.121. See also Blogging p.106 (this issue).

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the 1990s. Many served as spaces for collaborative workamong environmentalists from all over the world both beforeand after the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro.11

Recent trends have introduced fundamental differences inhow people interact with the web. New social networkingplatforms like YouTube, Flickr and Facebook might seem friv-olous, but they generate excitement.12 They can add anelement of fun to how we network ‘for development’. Thetechnology learning curve can be alienating, but it can alsoencourage new creativity. I would describe Web 2.0 as a user-driven trend in platforms, tools and approaches that strength-ens the power of online networking. It responds to some ofthe problems of the online universe. In particular, it helpspeople deal with the proliferation of online content. It gives us

new plain language tools for classification (tagging) andsearching.13 It also gives us better content collation and infor-mation aggregation tools such as RSS (Really Simple Syndica-tions).14 Blogs and easy-to-use content management systemsmakes it fast and easy for anyone with access to create onlinecontent in multiple mediums, including audio and video.Moreover, the proliferation of sharing and copying content isproving a far more powerful challenge to restrictive, top-downintellectual property regimes than years of lobbying by opencontent activists have been able to produce.

Web 2.0 goes much further than the traditional web inremoving the barriers between producers, consumers andcreators of content. It gives people working in developmentinformation and communications an opportunity. Develop-ment content is hard to find. It is difficult and expensive tocreate. Web 2.0 can help us to do it in an interactive way. Itcreates new opportunities for existing journalists, and allows

This Bulgarianenvironmentalcampaign in2006 was wagedon and offline.

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11 The Association for Progressive Communications and the networking of globalcivil society: APC at the 1992 Earth Summit, by Rory O’Brien and AndrewClement, APC 2000. See: www.apc.org/about/history/apc-at-1992-earth-summit12 YouTube is a video sharing website where users can upload, view and sharevideo clips. Like YouTube, Flickr is a free to use image and video hosting websiteand online community platform. See www.flickr.com and www.youtube.com.Facebook is a free-to-access social networking website. See www.facebook.com.

13 See glossary, p.123, also Tagging, p.117 (this issue).14 See glossary, p.122, also RSS, p.115 (this issue).

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for the emergence of citizen journalists. It builds a culture ofsharing and has strong links with the movement for free andopen source software (FOSS).15

Can Web 2.0 tools make the Internet moreaccessible?That Web 2.0 is user-driven is significant for those of us whobelieve in the value of the ‘participatory web for develop-ment’. If users are shaping the future of the Internet, thenwho those users are, what language they use, and where theylive matters. The majority of Internet users are from devel-oped countries. Is it possible to create a body of users fromthe developing world who are active and engaged enoughto influence Internet development?

If sharing information is a fundamental characteristic ofWeb 2.0, so is a stable and permanent Internet connection.

People often see the lack of broadband access as a barrier tousing Web 2.0 tools in development work, and in develop-ing countries. APC views Web 2.0 as an opportunity forbetter use of limited connectivity and driving demand formuch-needed broadband. Used effectively, Web 2.0 tools canreduce limited and expensive online time. Perhaps the great-est opportunity lies in how Web 2.0 integrates text, images,sound, and video, with huge potential for developmentworkers. It helps us to manage content and share it withpeople who are not literate or who are visually impaired. Italso becomes an effective information-sharing medium incultures where text is not an obvious means of storing infor-mation. An excellent example are farmer blogs where pod-casting effectively connects rural communities with widerinformation networks.16 17

Ultimately, Web2.0 is about people working, sharing andplaying together online. We must not lose this concept when

Women with stories to tell learnhow to create short clips withimages and sound and share themfor human rights education andtraining. Uploading the videos tosites like YouTube, they are both theproducers and the disseminators.

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15 FOSS is software which is licensed to grant rights to its users to study, change,and improve its design by making its source code available. See e.g.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_and_open_source_software also glossary, p.122(this issue).

16 For a definition of ‘Podcast’ see glossary, p.122 (this issue).17 See e.g. ‘Sharing farmers’ knowledge through audioblog.’ Online: http://blog.web2fordev.net/2007/09/24/sharing-farmers-knowledge-through-audioblog/

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Children at this rural Nigeriancentre learn computer basicsby playing games. It’sunlikely that their Internetconnection is stable enoughfor them to use Web 2.0 yet.

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we use Web 2.0 tools for development. On social network-ing platforms like Myspace,18 Orkut19 and Facebook peopleshare information about their ideas, work, music, and rela-tionships, alongside discussing politics and participating inonline activism. This mix of the personal, political, entertain-ment and work could be key to unlocking the potential ofWeb 2.0 for development. Web 2.0 makes it possible toshare development information and knowledge in moreaccessible ways. It also gives us the tools to speak out andhold governments and development institutions to account.It allows us to network and learn more holistically. It increasesoptions for marginalised communities to speak for them-selves and create their own content.

Development is happening, but not everywhere or asmuch as many of us would like. For people in developingcountries, relying on foreign aid and governments is not themost reliable strategy, even if these play critical roles. Increas-ingly, communities are creating their own local solutions.Web 2.0 is the perfect platform for mediating and negotiat-ing this diverse, multi-layered response to development chal-lenges. You can move from collaborating on one website toprotesting on another. You can speak as an institution, as acommunity – or as an individual.

Web 2.0: Challenges and lessons learnt

Learn to share but understand risksThere are many challenges to consider in implementing Web2.0 for development. Sharing is a major challenge. To createa culture of sharing requires more than just talking. It requiresa different approach to policy-making and informationaccess, and a re-affirmation of legitimacy of global publicgoods and of the commons. It also requires us to trust otherswith our ideas and the products of our work.

Trusting becomes easier if you are organised and havegood defences. We have to approach social networking fordevelopment through building good information skills andawareness of how to protect privacy and communicate assecurely as possible. We must ensure that the communitieswe work with understand the risks of networking online,from privacy and security to the potential for the distortion,or abuse of information, negotiating what informationshould be private or public, and understanding who toconsult when deciding.

Appropriating the tools for ourselvesThere is also a business backend to Web 2.0. It is not justaltruistic people creating platforms to allow people to have agood time on the Internet. It involves money, buying and

18 See: www.myspace.com/19 See: http:/www.orkut.com

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“Web 2.0 goes much further than thetraditional web in removing the barriersbetween producers, consumers andcreators of content.”

selling. To appropriate these platforms for development weneed to be conscious of these trends. We need to takecharge. Many of these platforms run on open source toolsthat are readily available. We should use them and influencetheir development.

Developing capacityRegarding capacity development, we need to think differ-ently and not make the same mistakes of the narrow earlyICT4D approach, the idea that you needed skills first, beforeyou could have legitimate access to the tools – or thatwithout first investing in creating ‘useful content’, Internetaccess would not benefit poor people. With Web 2.0 this willnot work. People will only learn how to use the tools withrelatively unrestricted access to them. Creating their owncontent becomes the key to accessing useful content createdby others.

A challenge for many people in developing countries islearning how to appropriate the web as individuals, ratherthan as representatives of organisations or communities.Journalists are excellent at that and African bloggers are usingthis approach effectively. Yet people working in NGOs tendto be shy of blogging. We have a programme called APCAfrica Women, were we train women to use ICTs. They dofantastic work, but are very cautious of making their voicesheard online. One way of addressing this is to create group,or community blogs.

Language and cultureLinguistic diversity is another challenge. Web 2.0 is not onlyfor English speakers. For example, the APC website has beenbookmarked by more Spanish than English speaking readerson Delicious.19 Let us not make assumptions that we cannotcreate linguistic diversity for these platforms.

Someone at the Web2forDev conference raised a pointabout whether culture influences how ICT4D is implemented.Working within existing culture barriers is a challenge. Butperhaps culture changes and evolves even independently oftechnology. Culture is influenced by war, migration, poverty.What can sustain cultural coherence in any society arehealthy, functioning social institutions. Social institutionscome in many forms. Online communities can become partof the fabric of strong, inclusive societies. The power is in us.Development is about fighting daily battles, making connec-tions with others who are doing the same, finding innova-tors and influencing policy makers, whether we are usingWeb 2.0 or not.

ConclusionThe challenge of using Web 2.0 for development is no differ-ent from the challenges of ICT4D. We need to remainfocused on sustainable social change and development; onbuilding capacity and ownership at the local level and onusing holistic, integrated approaches in our work withpeople, information and technology. Web 2.0 can be animmensely powerful platform for development and for chal-lenging fundamental social inequalities if we use it to speakout, but also to share, listen and learn. I will end with a quotethat I think is relevant to how we should approach Web 2.0for development: ‘Fools talk. Cowards are silent. Only wisemen and women listen.’20 Let us not be quiet, and listen asmuch as we can on the participatory web.

19 Delicious (www.delicious.com) is a social bookmarking web service forstoring, sharing, and discovering web bookmarks. See also Social bookmarking,p.119 (this issue).20 The Shadow of the Wind (Spanish: La sombra del viento) by Carlos Ruiz Zafón,2001.

CONTACT DETAILSAnriette EsterhuysenExecutive DirectorAssociation for Progressive Communication(APC)Box 29755Melville 2109South AfricaEmail: [email protected]: www.apc.orgTel. +27 11 726 1692Fax: +27 11 726 1692

NOTESThis article is an edited transcription ofAnriette Esterhuysen’s keynote speech made atthe Web2forDev conference, 25th September2007. The author and guest editors would liketo thank Allisha Luther, University of BritishColumbia Okanagan, for transcribing thisarticle from the original video file.

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IntroductionI know very little about agriculture or food – but I do knowa little bit about Web 2.0.1 This phenomenon has so manynames, manifestations, and different ways to talk and thinkabout it. The one I usually use is the read-write web. Essen-tially, the Internet began as a way of sharing computerresources. But very quickly, it turned into human communi-cation. If you give people the opportunity to communicateover the Internet they will do so.

Email actually preceded the Internet. In 1965 at Massa-chusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), people were sendingemail back and forth because they shared the samecomputer. By 1969 we had the Internet, and by 1971, emailbetween computers – within nine months the majority ofInternet traffic was email. The World Wide Web started in1990. Web blogs (blogs) are over ten years old. Wikis areeven older than that, from 1995. Wikipedia is becoming anenormous phenomenon, and that is nearly eight years old.

We often forget is that this is actually relatively old tech-nology and ideas. Most Internet technology is over twentyyears old. So why are we talking about it now? Because it’snot about the tools, it’s about the people. We are experienc-

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1 For a definition of Web 2.0, see glossary, p.123 and overview, p.8 (this issue).

Top left: the first Cambodian bloggers conference, Phnom Penh, July2007. They call themselves the cloggers. They got together to talkabout how to bring forward Cambodian blogging. Top right: Jordanianbloggers, one of the most vibrant blogospheres in the world.3 They dida lot of the frontline reporting when the hotels were bombed inJordan. Bottom left: Tanzania, the TED African conference. Over ahundred bloggers came to this very elite technology conference held inArusha, Tanzania.4 Bottom right: Global Voices Forum, New Deli, 2006.This conference brought together bloggers from all around the world.

Box 1: Four sets of bloggers from around the world1

2 For a definition of ‘blog’, see glossary, p.121. See also Kreutz, p.28 andBlogging p.106 (this issue).3 ‘Blogosphere’ is a collective term encompassing all blogs and theirinterconnections. See also Blogging p.106 (this issue).4 Held 4th–7th June 2007 ‘Africa: The Next Chapter,’ Arusha, Tanzania.

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ing a seismic shift – it’s about who can be brought togetherwith these tools.

Issues of access and connectivityWeb 2.0 tools have an amazing capacity to bring peopletogether in the same place. Currently, there are well over abillion people online. And critically, in most developingnations you can now expect a small percentage of peopleonline. But this is very different from place to place. In NorthAmerica you can assume that if you put information onlinesomeone can access it. But in the developing world wecannot make this assumption.

The image above should be mandatory for anyone whouses Information and Communication Technology (ICT) fordevelopment. It is NASA’s view of the earth at night. It reallyillustrates the challenge. If somewhere is not lit up the oddsare that it does not have a good Internet connection. Youneed electricity to be online in a sustained, meaningful andengaged fashion. And lots of the world is still suffering frombasic infrastructure problems that make it very difficult toparticipate in many of the high bandwidth activities that weare talking about.

The image on the next page shows the fibre optic cables

connecting the world. There is a single cable in West Africa,the Sat Three cable.5 There is no cable at all in east Africa.Where these cables are is where you have the chance to getgood and inexpensive Internet connectivity. But there arelarge parts of the world without high bandwidth at this point.In places like these, it is not about laptops, or high band-widths: it is about much smaller devices, like the mobilephone. And the mobile is the most amazing revolution thatwe have seen in information technology so far.

The mobile phone revolutionWe are now rapidly heading towards 3 billion mobile phonehandsets worldwide. Even in less developed countries an esti-mated 80-90% of people have access to one. This is a levelof penetration of technology that changes all the rules of thegame. So when we think about participatory media, aboutread-write media, we have to think beyond the laptop andthe Internet. We need to think about projects like InteractiveRadio for Justice (see Box 1).

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5 ‘SAT-3/WASC or South Atlantic 3/West Africa Submarine Cable is a submarinecommunications cable linking Portugal and Spain to South Africa, withconnections to several West African countries along the route. SAT-3/WASCprovides the only optical fibre link between West Africa and the remainder of theworld.’ Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAT-3/WASC_(cable_system)

NASA’s view of the earth at night.If somewhere is not lit up theodds are that it does not have agood Internet connection.

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Mobile phones are also being used in election monitor-ing. This is incredibly powerful. In 2000, Ghana had a remark-able election. It was a relatively peaceful transfer of powerfrom one political party to another. It has really increasedGhana’s prosperity. One of the reasons for this was electionmonitoring, using mobile phones and FM radios. The theorywas, if someone was preventing you from voting at a pollingstation, you could make a mobile phone call. You didn’t callthe government or the police. You called the local radiostation. They would broadcast that people were beingprevented from voting and that if the police did not show upto enable people to vote, then it was public accountability.This model used SMS, radio and the Internet.6 7

8 United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC)

6 Another example of election monitoring is the Ushahidi project – see Okolloh(this issue). 7 Short Messaging Service (SMS): used for sending and receiving short textmessages via mobile phones.

Interactive Radio for Justice has been taking place in the easternDemocratic Republic of Congo. This is a fascinating radio and mobilephone project. It is an opportunity for people in Congolese villages toask questions of leaders, and these questions can be very pointed. ‘Hi,there are ten soldiers living in my home, they say I have to feed them.Do I have to feed them?’ You might guess this is a dangerous questionto ask, but you might want to ask the United Nations forces in charge,or the defence minister and the minister of justice – and that is whatthis radio programme does.8 It gives people – particularly women –the opportunity to send questions via mobile phone text messages tovery powerful people, and have them answer them over the radio.Groups of women organise listening parties around AM radios, tounderstand those answers. I think this is going to be the culture formany countries that we work in. It is not as sophisticated as some Web2.0 technologies. But it is back and forth and participatory – and ituses the right technology for the people it is trying to reach.

Box 1: Interactive Radio for Justice

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Using telephones to access informationOne of the most interesting new technologies is called IVR:Interactive Voice Response. It has great potential.9 It is a wayto build phone systems that provide audio information overyour phone. It is not written in text, the same way you wouldnormally get it on a website. The idea is that you can go intoa phone system and say, ‘Tell me about crop prices,’ or ‘Tellme about medical information.’ You either use voice recog-nition software, or work your way through an audio menu toget the audio delivered. This is so important because text-based web – and also SMS – only works well if you are liter-ate. For many people, to really access this information, it ismore appropriate to talk to them than it is to give them text.We can use FM radio, but that is still a broadcast technology.IVM allows people to retrieve information as and when theyneed it.

Learning from the activistsIf you give people the tools, they can feed you information.And for most people, those tools are mobile phones. Thereis a project in Zimbabwe, called Kubatana.10 They realisedthat most Zimbabweans are trying very hard to stay alive. Thechances of going to a cyber café and writing a long politicalessay are rather small. But many people in Zimbabwe havemobile phones. So Kubatana is asking people, for example:‘Are you going to participate in the next ‘stay away’?’11 Theythen use the Internet to connect – not with Zimbabweans,because that is not the best way to reach them – but withthe wider world. But they use the mobile phones to collectthe information from the people first. The mobile is the inputand the Internet is the output. As a Westerner, the Internetis the best way for me to access this information. For Zimbab-weans, it is SMS. And using the appropriate tools, for theright job at the right time, is something that we all have tounderstand. I recommend learning from these activists.

Something really interesting about working in Web 2.0with human rights is that activists are ‘lead users’. Lead usersare those who push the limits of what is possible with thetechnology because they need things that the technology isnot able to do. For example, the Egyptian Kefaya movement

is finding fascinating ways to use Web 2.0 tools to commu-nicate.12 One of the ways they have done this is by usingblogs as newsrooms. People in the field report using SMS,online instant relay chat services (IRC, or instant messaging),and digital photos. They make a phone call, and someonesitting at home in front of a high bandwidth connection actsas the newsroom, reporting on their activities, and otheractivities in Egypt, because otherwise it is very difficult to gettheir voices heard in the Egyptian press. This newsroom thensuddenly becomes the source for mainstream television andmedia all over the world. So if the local press will not reportwhat you are doing, you can become the local press by usingblogs.

This became very important for Alaa Abd El Fattah, whowas one of 800 people arrested during a protest in Egypt,2006. There was no media coverage of it at all. But Alaastarted blogging from prison. Alaa is married to Manal, andthey run a blogging website together.13 While Alaa was inprison, he wrote long blog posts, passed them out to Manal,and she would put them online. Despite spending 60 daysin prison, he was watched by the entire world, resulting in amovement to try and get him out of prison. It had interna-tional news coverage. When he was finally released therewere television reporters surrounding the court.

Another interesting Web 2.0 tool is Twitter.14 You canwrite a message of up to 140 characters long, and upload itonline either from a computer or via SMS. It goes out toeveryone who is following you. And many of the people whouse Twitter use it to say things like, ‘I’m at FAO giving apresentation’. It isn’t really rich discourse. But it is great foractivists, who, like Alaa, may end up in prison. So what yousay is, ‘I’m being taken to this police station, if I’m not out infour hours, please come and look for me.’ And this is howAlaa has used Twitter.

“In North America you can assume thatif you put information online someonecan access it. But in the developingworld we cannot make thisassumption.“

9 A good example is Voxiva, a company which has developed IVR solutions forthe health and microfinance sectors. See http://voxiva.com for moreinformation.10 www.kubatana.net: The NGO Network Alliance Project – an onlinecommunity for Zimbabwean activists.11 A ‘Stay away’ is a day of protest organised by the Zimbabwe Congress ofTrade Unions (ZCTU) where people are urged to ‘stay away’ from work to pressgovernment to address the economic meltdown. See www.zctu.co.zw andhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zimbabwe_Congress_of_Trade_Unions

12 Kefaya (Egyptian Arabic for ‘Enough!’) is the unofficial moniker of the EgyptianMovement for Change, a grassroots coalition which draws it support from acrossEgypt’s political spectrum to oppose President Hosni Mubarak’s presidency. Seehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kefaya and http://kefaya.org/index.htm13 www.manalaa.net14 Twitter is a social networking and micro-blogging service. See p.108 for moreinformation.

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The ‘cute cat’ theory: repurposing Web 2.0 toolsThis is the main theoretical aspect of this article. I call it the‘cute cat theory’ of Web 2.0. Web 1.0 was about staticwebsites, home pages and online commerce and so on. Web2.0 has different origins. Web 2.0, the ‘I can share with you’web, was invented so that I can show you cute photographsof cats, and put captions on photos of cute cats, and showthem all over the world. These tools were crafted for themost boring, silly purposes. But they get repurposed. SoYouTube may be about showing you fun videos of cute cats– but it also lets us get videos out of Zimbabwe, and showsyou a trade union protest.15 Flickr allows me to put funnycaptions on photos of my cats to share with you, but it is alsoa great way to get around the Chinese firewall which blocks

certain sensitive texts.16

There are two serious points to this. For activists, there isa great benefit in using these tools. Because so many peoplewant to use them for boring purposes, authorities do notwant to prohibit access to them. So I think it is worth usingthese tools which have a social cost to ban rather than usinga tool you have created yourself. The second thing is some-thing we have learnt over years about ICT for development.Getting someone else to pay your development costs is areally good idea. Flickr has thousands of people working onmaking better and better photo-storing websites. Why createyour own for development? Use the tools that already existfor your own purposes. But the problem when using thesetools is that you put your data in the trust of someone else.

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Web 2.0 tools:'Cute cats'versus activism.

15 YouTube is a video sharing website where users can upload, view and sharevideo clips. See www.youtube.com.

16 Like YouTube, Flickr is a free to use image and video hosting website andonline community platform, where users can upload, view and share images andvideo clips. See www.flickr.com.

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It is a natural concern that we want to own our own infra-structure. But people are learning to use these collective toolsbecause in many ways they are a lot more powerful thananything you can build yourself. This is mainly because thereare thousands or hundreds of thousand of people workingon them.

Web 2.0 forces us to become more trusting. But we canbe careful about it, about how we license our data. Alwaysmake copies. There is also data that we never want to entrustto anybody else. It is important to be able to communicatevery securely and to encrypt your own information if neces-sary. But for a lot of these systems, there is literally no wayyou can build these from scratch.

Which tools for which purposes?To decide which tools are best for you, you need to thinkabout who you want to reach and how. A lot of people areusing virtual environments. But they are only useful to veryfew people with extremely high bandwidth – not the peoplewe want to reach. They also need to be effective. What areyou actually going to get out of it?

You also have to ask: what are your users putting into it?Something that has become very trendy in the non-profitsector is recruiting for causes on Facebook. E-petitions arealso very popular. If all you have to do is click a button saying‘join my cause’, people will join. But what does it mean? Weare looking for participation. We are looking for engage-ment. We are looking for people to put content out there. Ifsomeone simply says, ‘Oh, this is important to me’, it is notnearly as interesting as someone actually being able to sendyou a message, write a post, share their voice, and articulatethemselves.

Blogging: the ecosystem of links approachThis leads me to blogging. Blogs are as generic as a piece ofpaper, a press release, a newspaper, or a personal diary. Whatyou need to figure out is why you are writing and who youare writing for. For me, it was a way to express my half-formed ideas and getting feedback on them, ‘Hey, folks in

my community: help me think this through’. If you blog as away of sharing academic ideas with people working in yourfield, that can be very powerful. In my department atHarvard, you would have to blog for the simple reason thatthis is how we engage in academic conversation.

The other powerful thing about blogging is links. I was inZimbabwe last year and wrote some fairly harsh posts aboutZimbabwe. If you go online and search for ‘holiday’ and‘Harare’ you won’t find travel guides or a ministry of tourismwebsite, you will find my website. This is not because I’m themost knowledgeable person on Zimbabwe. It is because ofthe magic of links.17 Search engines like Google love links.Google looks for websites that are linked to lots of differentplaces. And blogs get linked to a degree that almost nothingelse gets linked.

Blogs exist in a digital ecosystem where links are ourcurrency. We link as a way of saying ‘I’m interested in this’ or‘I think this is really stupid’. We link all the time. And so onmy little blog there are thousands of people who are linkingto me, and Google sees this and says, ‘Wow, there’s a thou-sand of people pointed at him, he must be important, hemust be knowledgeable’.

This is the reason to blog. And this is the reason organi-sations should be blogging. Whether you are bloggingformally or informally, take the ecosystem approach. If youwant to be recognised by search engines like Google, youhave to look at who is searching for you. And the best wayto get linked to is to link to other people too. You have tofigure out how to participate. And participating so thatpeople link to you and you link to them is one of most effec-tive things you can do.

Linking to WikipediaHowever, the single biggest thing you can probably do as anon-governmental organisation is to use and understandWikipedia.18 If you search Google for ‘food security’, thenumber one match is going to be Wikipedia. Wikipedia isnow the ninth most popular website in the world. It is anenormous project with hundreds of thousands of peopleworking on it, but you can be one of them at a very, very lowcost of entry. People worry, ‘Can I edit Wikipedia?’ or ‘Can Iparticipate in it?’ The answer is yes. Wikipedia is a culture of

“For activists, there is a great benefit inusing these tools. Because so manypeople want to use them for boringpurposes, authorities do not want toprohibit access to them.”

17 In computing, a hyperlink is a reference, link, or navigation element in adocument or websites to another place or other websites. To insert a hyperlink toanother place is often simply called to ‘link’. See: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperlink18 Wikipedia is a free online encyclopaedia that anyone can edit. It is amultilingual, web-based, free-content encyclopaedia project. The name‘Wikipedia’ is a combination of the words wiki (a type of collaborative website)and encyclopaedia. See: en.wikipedia.org

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sharing information. But you have to be believable and shareinformation respectfully and respect the culture. Learn howthat culture works. Linking to Wikipedia is literally the mosteffective thing you can do.

Filtering: accessing relevant information onlineThe last thing I want to talk about is filtering. I was intro-duced to filtering in the context of Global Voices.19 Filteringis something important that we forget about. There are closeto 100 million people creating content online. When 100million people talk, it is really hard to listen. So how do youfilter those voices to a meaningful size? One way is by gettingtogether in groups and saying: ‘This is what is important tome’. One example is Muti, a South African project that justlooks at African voices.20 It votes and ranks what is the mostinteresting and important content online. For your work, thismay turn out to be very helpful. A World Bank project called

buzz monitoring looks at over a thousand development blogsand websites and then lets you put your own filter on top ofit.21 For example, you can use ‘malaria’ as a filter. BuzzMonitor then retrieves links to the most relevant content.

Filtering and translationThe most important thing about filtering is that it is not aboutthe tools, it is about the people. To really filter informationmeaningfully, people have to do it. If you hand 100 blogposts to a person and say ‘Which ones are about malaria?’you will get far better information than by relying on a searchengine. For example, Global Voices is a project which takescitizen media – e.g. blogs, videos, or Podcasts – from all overthe developing world and presents it to people in a way thatis useful for them.22 It is not high-tech – we use free tools,such as the free Google email service and other mailing lists.But it works because about 120 people work on it. Theyselect the most interesting content and translate it – an enor-mous task. Speaking English on the Internet is no longer19 Global Voices Online is an international network of bloggers and citizen

journalists that follow, report, and summarise what is going on in theblogosphere in every corner of the world. See: http://globalvoicesonline.org20 See www.muti.co.za

21 See: http://buzzm.worldbank.org22 For a definition of ‘Podcast’ see glossary, p.122 (this issue).

The single biggest thing you canprobably do as a non-governmental organisation is touse and understand Wikipedia.If you search Google for ‘foodsecurity’, the number one matchis going to be Wikipedia.

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enough. There are more non-English than English speakersonline. There are more people blogging in Japanese andChinese. You have to translate.

Filtering for meaningful contentMost importantly, you have to add context. And this is wherewe do the most work. For example, if you are interested inagriculture in the developing world, you have to think aboutthe issues and select stories that will make sense to a wideraudience, and translate so people can understand them. Thenyou have to contextualise the content. For us it takeshundreds of people to do this, and really thousands becausewe also rely on the bloggers who create that original content.If anything is important about Web 2.0, it is finding ways toline up dozens, hundreds, or thousands of people to solvethese tasks that are otherwise almost impossible for us tosolve alone.

Using Web 2.0 tools for development does present risksand challenges. Letting people speak freely is threatening. Andletting everybody speak to a potentially global online audienceis extremely threatening. What is so interesting about thesetools is that anybody who can get online can use them. It hasalways been possible for ill-informed, bigoted people to standup and speak to a large group of people. All Web 2.0 reallydoes is amplify people’s voices. You will often find that they arethe harshest or most outrageous voices. So you need filtering.Look for the most interesting, pertinent voices, the voicesspeaking to a particular topic or set of issues.

ConclusionThis new Web 2.0 movement means that eventually, every-one who is connected on the web is going to be producingsomething. This is just the start. Out of the hundred millionpeople creating content online, there are probably only a tinyfraction who would ever want to be speaking to you. Thevast majority of people use these tools to speak to their familyand friends, within private communities. But the questionabout information niches and wider niches is really impor-tant. Many of us get very deep in one particular corner of theblogosphere. I know a lot about development and Africanblogs, but occasionally I read other types. And I have to figureout who I want to listen to and who I want to believe. Whoare the experts in those spaces? What I think we will have toget very good at, is not so much listening to individual voices,but to the editors and aggregators.

It is about simple tools for smart people. I have a lot offaith in human beings. It is people who are emerging asonline subject experts – and those of us who are going to bereally well informed are simply going to have the best collec-tion of subject experts.

It’s not about the tools – it’s about the people the toolsbring together.

CONTACT DETAILSEthan Zuckerman. Email: [email protected]: http://ethanzuckerman.com

NOTESThis article is an edited transcription of EthanZuckerman’s keynote speech made at theWeb2forDev conference, 27th September 2007.

“It’s not about the tools – it’s about thepeople the tools bring together.”

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IntroductionCoined in 2004, the term Web 2.0 is often used to describethe emergence of free or low cost web tools and applicationsthat enhance the way we create and publish information orcollaborate and share resources online.1 However, theWeb2forDev 2007 conference was the first internationalevent focusing specifically on how Web 2.0 could be used tothe advantage of Southern development actors, operating inthe sectors of agriculture, rural development and naturalresource management.2

This article recounts the development of the Web2forDevcommunity, which led to the successful conference in 2007Web2forDev: Participatory Web for Development. Thecommunity coalesced from likeminded development organ-isations keen to harness the increased collaborative powerpromised by the new low cost technologies and applications.

Web2forDev 2007 went far beyond solely organising aconference. Many online collaborative spaces were createdand activated beforehand. Therefore the Web2forDev storyis more than just one event. It is the story of a steep learningcurve faced by collaborating organisations in dealing withinnovative technologies within diverse institutions.

by ANJA BARTH and GIACOMO RAMBALDI

13The Web2forDev story: towardsa community of practice

1 For a definition of Web 2.0, see glossary, p.123 (this issue).2 The acronym Web2forDev was only publicly introduced in March 2007.

A Community of Practice (CoP) is made out of people who • Bond on a voluntary basis by exposure to common problems• Share a common sense of purpose• Use common practices and language• Embody themselves a store of knowledge• Hold similar beliefs and value systems• Collaborate directly, share knowledge and learn from each other Source: Wenger (2002)

Box 1: What is a community of practice?

Here, we explore some of the Web 2.0 tools we used toorganise the conference, the challenges the organisers facedin supporting such a process – and ways forward towardsforming a more committed, interlinked and dedicatedcommunity of practice (see Box 1).

In April 2006 the Technical Centre for Agricultural andRural Cooperation (CTA) invited participants to join forces inorganising one of its yearly Information CommunicationTechnologies (ICT) Observatory meetings. CTA proposed toorganise a conference to focus on the use of Web 2.0 appli-cations in the context of development. The proposal was wellreceived, so in order to better define the topics to be coveredby the event which would later become the 2007Web2forDev conference, CTA designed and administered abilingual (English and French) online survey among peopleworking across the globe on ICT for development (ICT4D).

The 450 respondents prioritised which Web 2.0 tools they

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considered relevant for their work and wanted to learn moreabout. The three main topics of interest were later added tothe conference programme:• shared virtual spaces, remote collaboration and knowledge-

sharing;• appropriate technologies for online publishing; and• online information retrieval and access.

In October 2006 the initial group of organisers expandedto include the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).3

A steering committee (SC) was formed including representa-tives from the 12 participating organisations (for location seeFigure 2).4

The ‘participatory web’ at work The organisers used several information channels andexchange platforms to establish and involve a newWeb2forDev community ahead of the conference. The initialonline community consisted of interested respondents to thefirst survey using dedicated electronic discussion lists. Theselists were open and other interested individuals were free tojoin.

Involvement of the Web2forDev communityA number of Web 2.0 applications (see Figure 1) were put inplace to develop and nurture the growing Web2forDevcommunity. These supported and enabled effective remotecollaboration and communication among the organisers andamong the network members and the organisers. All onlinespaces were created to: • disseminate conference information in an efficient and

timely way; • enable the audience to share opinions and experiences;

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3 FAO later hosted the Web2forDev conference in Rome.4 The organisations involved were: CTA, International Institute for Communicationand Development (IICD), FAO, German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ),the Secretariat of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACPSecretariat), Association for Progressive Communications (APC), University ofBritish Columbia Okanagan, International Fund for Agricultural Development(IFAD), Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR),Université Cheikh Anta Diop, Euforic and Wageningen University and ResearchCentre (WUR).

Figure 1: Timeline of tools used to organise the Web2forDev conference

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• provide newcomers with examples of how Web 2.0 toolscan be used for development; and

• facilitate peer-to-peer exchanges and networking amongWeb2forDev community members.

To brand the Web2forDev ‘concept’, the organisersagreed to earmark online resources relevant to the topicwith the tag ‘Web2forDev’.5 At the time of writing, Deli-cious accounts for close to 1000 items tagged asWeb2forDev.6

Two electronic discussion groups (DGoups) in English andFrench began in February 2007.7 Members have increased

steadily since then. DGroups email lists were initially used todisseminate news about the conference. Afterwards, theybecame a platform for members to discuss and exchangeWeb2forDev-related information.

Other exchange platforms included the Web2forDev blogand the Web2forDev wiki. The conference blog was estab-lished to share Web2forDev stories prior to and during theconference.8 It provided a broad audience with current infor-mation and offered the opportunity for direct feedback. Thewiki was primarily used with participants to elaborate jointlythemes for the conference’s open space sessions.9 Through-out the conference the participants could also use the wiki toexperiment and get support if needed.

All these Web2forDev spaces featured on the conference

8 See http://blog.web2fordev.net. For a definition of ‘blog’, see glossary, p.121.See also Blogging p.106 (this issue).9 See http://wiki.web2fordev.net. For a definition of ‘wiki’, see glossary, p.124.See also Wikis p.110 (this issue).

5 For a definition of ‘tag’ see glossary, p.123. See also Tagging p.117 (this issue).6 Delicious is a social bookmarking web service for storing, sharing, and discoveringweb bookmarks. See: www.delicious.com. See also www.delicious.com/tag/web2fordev and p.119 (this issue) for a short guide to social bookmarking.7 DGroups is an online platform offering tools and services for groups andcommunities interested in international development. See: www.dgroups.org.English [web2fordev] www.dgroups.org/groups/web2fordev and French[web2pourdev] www.dgroups.org/groups/web2pourdev

Figure 2: Location of partner organisations

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website.10 This was the main gateway to access collaborativespaces and to apply for registration. The website includedother Web 2.0 tools (e.g. RSS feeds from the blog and Deli-cious).11 There were also featured videos from YouTube,images from Flickr and links to discussion groups.12 13

Remote collaboration among organisers

Collaborative technologies enable people to interact withother people located at different geographical locations

and within a group more efficiently and, in many cases,more effectively. (Source: Wikipedia).

The organising partners were located across three conti-nents. So the steering committee (SC) relied heavily on Web2.0 tools to overcome this constraint.

The steering committee regularly exchanged messagesvia dedicated electronic discussion groups. DGroups wereset up for the committee and its subcommittees. A collab-orative private work space was established using MicrosoftSharePoint, an online file-sharing service. Conference-related documents were made accessible to all SCmembers, who could then access, modify and re-uploadthese remotely.

For remote discussions most SC members used freevoice communications over the Internet (Voice over Inter-

10 See: http://2007.web2fordev.net11 For definitions of RSS and social bookmarking see glossary, p.121, and alsoRSS feeds p.115 and Social bookmarking, p.119 (this issue).12 See www.youtube.com.13 See www.flickr.com.

Figure 3: Outcome of the conference

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net Protocol or VoIP) like Skype.14 Remote conferencing wassupported by desktop-sharing software, which simultane-ously displays the desktop of the meeting convener oncomputer screens and/or projectors at the partner organisa-tions.15

Challenges in the processThe process of organising the conference and animating theWeb2forDev community was challenging. Those involvedhad to learn and adapt to fast-changing environments andbecome themselves adopters of innovation.

Different working styles and attitudes In 2006 when the organisers initiated the various activities,the concept of Web 2.0 was only two years old and there-fore relatively new – in its complex facets – to some of theparticipating organisations. We • made use of remote workspaces; • did PC2PC conferencing; • viewed, discussed and modified documents displayed

simultaneously on monitors in different countries; and• invited people to collaborate on developing sections of the

conference programme via an open wiki. Everyone involved had to be open to innovation, to

change their working habits – and have an eagerness toexplore and learn. However, several Web 2.0 applicationsposed a real challenge for the responsible Information Tech-nology (IT) departments, especially in larger organisations,who were sceptical and concerned about IT security ingeneral. So partners needed to be ready to negotiate permis-sions with their IT colleagues. For example, some steeringcommittee members’ organisations did not allow the use ofSkype.

As a result, adopting the tools was uneven and occurredat different times. Some SC members used only a selectionof the tools available while smaller groups coordinated the

use of specific applications (e.g. wiki, blog, desktop sharing,etc). The most commonly-used tools were DGroups, Share-Point and VoIP. Most people were familiar with DGroups.SharePoint was the main application used by (almost) all SCmembers to work on documents remotely. Skype was pivotalto participating in remote conferencing. Other applicationslike blogs and the wiki were considered as ‘optional’. Thesewere used by the few SC members who were more person-ally engaged in sharing information and opinions about Web2.0 for development.

Keeping up-to-date with the rapidly evolving Web 2.0landscape Prior to the conference, Web 2.0 tools were frequentlyupgraded and new ones proposed for use. The challenge wasto keep track of such a fast-changing environment. So weneeded to understand which tools could be useful before weproposed adopting them. Here, we were constrained by alack of time and some hesitancy to explore. All SC membershad to deal with an overload of ideas and proposals for inno-vative adoptions. People were apprehensive about adoptingunknown and (at that time) untested tools. This was felt inthe ‘body and spirit’ of email exchanges.

Additionally, some proprietary file formats could not runon open source applications and this caused concern andadditional work. One example was an innovative technologyused to show both a live video of a presenter and their pres-entation concurrently and render these as a streaming pres-entation online.16 At that time, the limitation encounteredconsisted in the fact that the technology required at leastInternet Explorer 5.5 and a Windows Media Player 9.0 to playthe full features.

“The Web2forDev story is more than justone event. It is the story of a steeplearning curve faced by collaboratingorganisations in dealing with innovativetechnologies within diverse institutions.”

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14 For a definition of ‘VoIP’, see glossary, p.123 (this issue). For more informationon Skype visit: www.skype.com 15 For more information visit the Lotus Sametime Unyte website: www.unyte.net 16See: www.presentations2go.eu

Media team members atthe conference writingfor the Web2forDev/Web2pourDevconference blog.

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The Web2forDev conferenceThe Web2forDev story reached a climax with theWeb2forDev conference on 25th–27th September 2007 atthe FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy. The conference itselfwas preceded by a one-day ‘Web 2.0 taster day’ whereparticipants less familiar Web 2.0 tools were given hands-ondemonstrations.

The participants The conference brought together a broad community inter-ested in Web 2.0 for development. Around 300 people fromover 40 countries from mainly Africa, Europe and LatinAmerica attended. Participants included ICT specialists, infor-mation and communication experts, researchers, trainers,application and system providers, software developers, policymakers and enablers.

The conference dynamicsThe conference aimed to create innovation, new partnershipsand collaborations. The programme combined presentations,plenary discussions, open spaces, incubator sessions and amarket place. We allocated plenty of time for the participantsto actively work and share ideas on how to apply Web 2.0 tothe advantage of Southern development actors.

Plenary sessions included several keynote speakers, suchas Anriette Esterhuysen of APC and Ethan Zuckermann ofGlobal Voices (see Esterhuysen and also Zuckerman, thisissue). These presentations reflected the varied understand-ing of the meaning of ‘participatory web for development’.They ranged from classic information communication tech-nologies (ICTs) such as radio, television, landline telephones,emails and mobile phones to highly interactive, innovativeand empowering online applications.

Interesting case studies included:• the BROSDI project in Uganda where farmers started exper-

imenting with web-based tools and mobile telephony to

improve knowledge sharing and planning (see also Kara-magi and Nakirya, this issue);17

• the GINKS experience in Ghana where video blogging isused to exchange information (see also Deh, this issue);18

• an overview on copyright issues when publishing onlinetogether with the presentation of the Creative Commonsproject;19 and

• how Google mash-ups were used to combine diverse infor-mation, e.g. how Google maps could be combined withdatasets available for climate modelling experiments andseasonal weather forecasts.20

During panel discussions experts examined issues such asopportunities and challenges for Web 2.0 in rural develop-ment and community empowerment. The two key chal-lenges were connectivity and bandwidth. But there were alsodiscussions about how we develop human relationships tobuild trust and confidence when working in cyberspacewithout face-to-face interactions.

All plenary and several parallel sessions were webcasted– videoed and uploaded onto the Internet for others to watchonline.21 Participants wrote and recorded their feedback onlarge boards called Democracy Walls which were thenanalysed during plenary sessions.22 Journalists and partici-pants conducted interviews and wrote reports on the eventusing different media, including the Web2forDev blog.23

Interviews were posted on YouTube, BlipTV and GoogleVideo. Blogging peaked during the event. Just ahead of theconference, running an Internet search using the Googlesearch engine for ‘Web2forDev’ would return close to102,000 hits.

Outcome and follow up activities The conference created a lot of interest in promoting andadopting Web 2.0 tools across institutions and particularly indeveloping countries. Nevertheless, participants generallyagreed that Web2forDev is not about the tools but about thepeople. Both participants and presenters emphasised that itis most important to listen to the needs of those whom thetools should serve and to discover how people can make bestuse of them.

“The process of organising theconference and animating theWeb2forDev community waschallenging. Those involved had to learnand adapt to fast-changingenvironments and become themselvesadopters of innovation.”

17 Busoga Rural Open Source and Development Initiative (BROSDI):www.brosdi.or.ug 18 Ghana Information and Knowledge Sharing Network (GINKS): www.ginks.org 19 See: http://creativecommons.org 20 ‘Climate Change Mashups,’ presented by Michael Saunby at the Web2forDevconference See: http://saunby.blogspot.com/2007_09_01_archive.html ShortURL: http://tinyurl.com/saunby21 By RAI TV and via the conference website using Presentations2Go technology.See: www.presentations2go.eu 22 See: PLA 58 Tips for Trainers article about Democracy Walls. 23 See: http://blog.web2fordev.net

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“Both participants and presentersemphasised that it is most important tolisten to the needs of those whom thetools should serve and to discover howpeople can make best use of them.”

The organisers administered an online end-of-conferencesurvey to get feedback on the event and related activities aswell as guidance on future directions. One year later (Septem-ber 2008) another survey was done to assess the impact ofthe event and to seek guidance on what future Web2forDevrelated initiatives we could invest in, promote and support.

A number of initiatives have followed the event. Amongothers, CTA has produced a special issue of ICT updatedealing with Web 2.0.24 CTA and GTZ both organised aware-ness-raising workshops within their organisations.Web2forDev-related trainings have addressed diverse audi-ences, including:• policy makers (ACP embassies in Brussels in partnership

with CTA, Euforic and ACP Secretariat); • Indigenous Peoples (in partnership with CTA and Indigenous

Peoples of Africa Co-ordinating Committee (IPACC); and• researchers and educators (in partnership with CTA,

Commonwealth of Learning (COL) and Regional Universi-ties Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM).

APC and FAO are working together to develop an IMARKself-instructional training materials package on Web 2.0 tobe released in 2009.25 FAO continues to facilitate discussionsaround e-agriculture as a follow-up action to the 2005 WorldSummit on the Information Society (WSIS).26

In addition, CTA has launched newsfordev.27 This is acustomisable news aggregator covering development issues.CTA also produced jointly with People TV an eight-minutedocumentary (English and French) on Web 2.0 applicationsused in the African context, called ‘Agriculture and NewTechnologies – Web 2.0 in Africa’.28 The documentary was

aired on 38 TV stations in Africa in June 2008 and iscurrently available online on Google Video and onDotsub.com (with multilingual subtitles) and syndicated ona number of websites.29 Members of the Web2forDevcommunity have volunteered their time and skills to trans-late the subtitles of the documentary in many languages,increasing the potential outreach of the message.

For APC, Web 2.0 technology is the focus of many proj-ects in policy advocacy, research, capacity building andcontent development. APC also uses some Web 2.0 appli-cations for internal communication and management.

The Information Communication Technologies Knowl-edge Management (ICT-KM) Programme of the CGIARreleased a Web2forDev brief (an article and a presentation)to encourage the staff who had attended the conference togive seminars in their centres.30 Web 2.0 tools are a consol-idated topic of the Knowledge Sharing Workshops co-organised by the programme.31 They are also covered in theKnowledge Sharing Toolkit.32

IICD has been supporting a series of seminars with prac-tical hands-on training for partner organisations in Zambia,Burkina Faso, Mali, Ghana, Ecuador, Bolivia (e.g. Radio LaLuna, Ecuador, CIDOB, Zambia Association for Research andDevelopment, and Bolivia).33 A recent workshop in Ugandafocused on how to integrate Web 2.0 applications and serv-ices in the work of ICT4D trainers.

The concept Web2forDev is under consolidation. TheUniversity of Colorado for instance is offering courses onWeb 2.0 for development.34 A definition of Web2forDev hasbeen jointly elaborated and has been entered onWikipedia.35 There is also the new Web2forDev DevelopmentGateway. This is a new initiative which aims to act as a start-

24 See: http://ictupdate.cta.int/en/(issue)/39 25 The Information Management Resource Kit (IMARK) is a partnership-based e-learning initiative to train individuals and support institutions and networks in theeffective management of agricultural information. See: www.imarkgroup.org 26 See: www.e-agriculture.org/ 27 See: www.newsfordev.org/ 28 See: http://tinyurl.com/56gumk and http://tinyurl.com/5nm9el

29 Web syndication is where material on one website is made available to multipleother websites via RSS feeds. See glossary, p.124 and also RSS feeds, p.115 (this issue)30 See: http://ictkm.cgiar.org/Web2forDev_Participatory.pdf31 See: www.kstoolkit.org/KS+Workshops32 See: www.kstoolkit.org33 See: http://ticbolivia.net 34 See: www.colostate.edu/Orgs/IISD35 See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web2fordev

Participants gather during aplenary question and answersession. The session is beingwebcasted – videoed anduploaded onto the Internetfor others to watch online.

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ing point for Web 2.0 learning and sharing experience in thecontext of development work.36

Impact of the conferenceOne year later, participants reported that the conference hashad a positive impact on their professional lives.37 Respon-dents underlined their interest for further discussion andfollow-up activities. They have been able to make successfuluse of knowledge and contacts gained in their daily work(see Figures 4, 5 and 6). Their comments include:

We are now able to reduce the cost of ICT with the intro-duction of Web 2.0 applications without compromisingproductivity and efficiency.

Attending the conference gave me the confidence andevidence to back up the recommendations I put forward[to my organisation] in investigating these new tools.

Respondents also provided concrete examples on howthey used Web 2.0 applications in the context of develop-ment. Examples include:• using wikis and blogs in distance training on information

management;• using e-learning platforms to allow colleagues to access

online educational materials;• creating a wiki to share ideas, minutes, documents within

teams; • conducting a joint evaluation exercise involving about 40

participants;• using tagging to help structure and share interesting infor-

mation; and• increased youth participation within adult-centred devel-

opment initiatives. However, respondents also identified several main chal-

lenges which remain:

At the moment we have a problem with bandwidth sousing Web 2.0 tools in our organisation may be difficult.

Figure 4: Improvement in the performance of work

36 See: www.web2fordev.net37 The results of the survey (119 respondents) are available here:http://tinyurl.com/656qyn

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The challenge was to find our way through the plethoraof available systems.The lack of applications in native languages is a big limi-tation, because not everybody speaks English.

We have too little time for the creation of useful andvaluable content and uptake has been low. These toolsare generally seen as 'add-on' activities, not core activi-ties that contribute to the main mission of the organisa-tion.

There have been several intellectual property right issuesand a real need for evaluation of what materials could beaccessed openly and which were not appropriate forcultural and intellectual property right issues.

The principle challenge for Web2forDev identified atthe conference remains to be the issue of sufficient band-width – especially in the developing world. For organisa-tions working in both the North and the South it is difficultto choose from the enormous number of applications and

to integrate the idea of Web2forDev into their daily work.

The way forwardAt present the Web2forDev community gathers mainlyaround the two electronic discussion DGroups and sharedspaces on LinkedIn and Facebook.38 39 Although there havebeen a variety of Web2forDev activities before, during andafter the event, among the respondents there was a generalfeeling that performance, outreach and impact ofWeb2forDev-related activities could benefit from increasedsharing and added coordination. Issues remain aroundlanguage, limited bandwidth and receiving guidance onchoosing appropriate tools for the South. Institutions remainhesitant about investing staff time to explore and invest inWeb 2.0 innovation. The September 2008 survey respon-dents identified several key issues to be addressed in thefuture. People involved in practicing and/or promotingWeb2forDev need to:

Figure 5: Fields to put acquired knowledge into practice

38 LinkedIn is a social networking site for professionals: www.linkedin.com39 See: Web2forDev pages: www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=4492058025

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• Substantially improve information- and experience-sharing.

• Further raise awareness and increase capacity to inte-grate Web 2.0 applications into existing informationportals.

• Carefully monitor Web2forDev initiatives, which shouldalso be followed by impact assessments. Resulting

outcomes should feed into the online debate and serveas guidance for future initiatives.

However, the greatest challenge that most practitionersidentified was encouraging organisations to adopt Web 2.0applications and implement a ‘Web2forDev’ culture acrossthe development arena – and more importantly, in theSouth. Those of us involved in practicing and/or promotingWeb2forDev need to develop and promote Web 2.0 toolsthat are appropriate for low bandwidths and mobile teleph-ony.40

Nonetheless, the building blocks for developing astronger and more cohesive Web2forDev community ofpractice are in place. They are within reach of those whoare interested in adopting and promoting the innovativeuse of appropriate Web 2.0 tools and practices in supportof international development.

CONTACT DETAILSAnja BarthJunior Professional Officer, ACP-EU (CTA)Email: [email protected] [email protected]

Giacomo RambaldiSenior Programme Coordinator, CTAEmail: [email protected] [email protected].

Technical Centre for Agricultural and RuralCooperation (CTA)WageningenThe Netherlands.Website: www.cta.int

REFERENCESRambaldi, G. (2008). ‘Tips for trainers:Democracy Walls.’ PLA 58, IIED, London, UKWenger, E., McDermott, R., Snyder, W. (2002).Cultivating Communities of Practice: a Guideto Managing Knowledge. Harvard BusinessSchool Press: USA

40 See also Samii, p.44, Karamagi and Nakirya, p.59, Okolloh, p.65 and Tips fortrainers, p.105 (this issue).

“Those of us involved in practicingand/or promoting Web2forDev need todevelop and promote Web 2.0 tools thatare appropriate for low bandwidths andmobile telephony.”

Tips for trainers

Web 2.0 tools: a series of shortintroductionsThere are vast numbers of Web 2.0 tools, applications, platforms, andservices available. Many of them are free or low-cost and easy-to-use. Inthis issue, we present a series of short introductory guides to a selection ofcommonly-used Web 2.0 tools:

• Blogging• Micro-blogging and Twitter• Wikis• Online social networking• RSS feeds• Tagging• Social bookmarking• Glossary of Web 2.0 terms

Each introductory guide provides a brief description of the tool and how itcan be used for development purposes, along with links to furtherinformation and where applications can be downloaded online.1 We hopethat you find these short introductions useful and welcome feedback fromour readers.

CONTACT DETAILS

Holly AshleyParticipatory Learning and Action seriesInternational Institute for Environmentand Development (IIED)Email: [email protected]

Luigi AssomTechnical Centre for Agricultural andRural Cooperation (CTA)Email: [email protected]

Jon CorbettUniversity of British Columbia OkanaganEmail: [email protected]

Ben GarsideInternational Institute for Environmentand Development (IIED)Email: [email protected]

Dave JonesIndependent media consultantEmail: [email protected]

Christian KreutzCrissCrossed ConsultingEmail: [email protected]

Duncan MacqueenInternational Institute for Environmentand Development (IIED)Email: [email protected]

Kevin PaintingTechnical Centre for Agricultural andRural Cooperation (CTA)Email: [email protected]

Giacomo RambaldiTechnical Centre for Agricultural andRural Cooperation (CTA)Email: [email protected]

ACKNOWLEDGMENTSThe introduction to wikis includes sometips from the Kabissa Space for Changein Africa Web 2.0 in African Civil Societywiki. The content of the Kabissa wiki islicensed under a Creative CommonsAttribution-Share Alike 3.0 UnportedLicense. See: http://wiki.kabissa.org/web_2.0/start

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1 For more information about the examples of development websites listed in the guides, see e-participation,p.130 (this issue).

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What are blogs? • A blog (short for ‘web’ and ‘log’) isa website like an online journal. It isan easy way to publish content,administered via a simple web-basedinterface.• Blogging means to maintain or addcontent to a blog. • Providing you have Internet access,you can easily and freely create a blogon any topic.• Blogs radically changed the way inwhich the Internet was used, byallowing people to publish their owncontent on a webpage, without thetechnical expertise needed to set up awebsite – or the funds to rent webspace. • A blog is usually maintained by anindividual, but can also be done bygroups or organisations. • Blogs contain entries called ‘posts’of written commentary, news, events,and other resources. Blogs can includemultiple media such as text, photos,video clips and audio files.• Blogs start with the newest notoldest posts – this gives them a sensecurrent relevance. • Users can set up a blog on anexisting blog platform, or downloadblog software to run on their ownweb space. Most blogging platformsare free-to-use.• Blog authors can allow others tocomment on their posts and engagein discussion.

• Many blogs platforms allow authorsto tag posts with multiple keywords.1

• If a blog is popular, it will be linkedto by a lot of other blogs. Searchengines like Google prioritise websiteswith more links. • The blogosphere is a collective termencompassing all blogs and theirinterconnections. It is the perceptionthat blogs exist together as aconnected community (or as acollection of connected communities).• Using blog search engines, you cantrack the interconnections betweenbloggers and topical trends and findother blogs by topic.• Micro-blogging tools allow you tosend and receive short posts via theInternet or a mobile phone. They maybe more appropriate for lowbandwidth bloggers.2

Why blog for development? Blogs…• can regularly disseminate information• encourage others to participate• can be used for raising awareness • help to inform, trigger and fosterdebate and/or mobilise action• allow us to participate in ongoingconversations online• link to other related blogs to formnew online networks and informationpathways

• can be an expression of personalopinion, a good process of selfreflection and can help to digestlearning• are an easy and cheap way to getyour voice heard or publicise an issue

Some tips on how to start a blog• Choose a topic and have anaudience in mind. • Check similar blogs. Start bycommenting on them if you do notwant to start your own blog rightaway. • Develop your own style of blogging(writing), which suits you. • Stay focused. Write consistent,interesting and useful content. Try notto over-generalise.• Stay well informed and up-to-date.You will need to lead discussions (andeventually moderate comments).• Add content regularly and answerany comments and feedback.• Become part of a network by linkingto your favourite blogs.• Use your blog to highlight and addto existing discussions.• Provide links in your blogs posts towhere readers can find moreinformation. If you refer to otherblogs, make sure you link to them. • When you reference or link toanother blog, use the 'linkback','trackback' or 'ping' function toautomatically notify them that youhave referred to them on your blog. Ithelps build community and oftenother blogs will list all the trackbacks aparticular post has had underneaththe original post. • There are specialised search enginesfor blogs. Just as with normal searchengines and websites, you shouldregister your blog with engines likeTechnorati. Also use their 'ping'features to notify them when youhave updated your blog so that the

BloggingTips on how to create and maintain a dynamic and populardevelopment blog

Tips for trainers

1 See also Tagging, p.117 (this issue).2 See also Micro-blogging, p.108 (this issue).

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blog search engine will index thecontent of your new post.• Allow your blog to be syndicated viaRSS feeds.3 4 This means that otherscan easily feature headlines from yourblog on their own websites and yourreaders can automatically receiveupdates when new material ispublished on your blog.• You may also wish to automaticallyfeature content from other blogs andwebsites (e.g. headlines) on your ownblog by importing relevant RSS feeds.

Keep in mind…• Writing takes time and patience. Donot underestimate the effort ofblogging.• Writing regular posts keeps yourblog dynamic and interesting.• Always quote your informationsources.• Clearly distinguish between opinionsand facts.• Low bandwidth limits access toblogs with photos, audio and video.• Blogs can be used as references

providing they are properly cited –always remember to check first.• Explore which blogs are popular ortrusted by others. Get to know who isusing them. • Always tag your posts. Use popularand relevant keywords so that otherscan search for them and find yourcontent more easily.

Where to get startedThere are several free or low-cost,easy-to-use blogging websites. Hereare some examples.

Blogging websites• www.blogger.com• www.livejournal.com• www.typepad.com• www.wordpress.com• www.xanga.com

Blogging softwareTo download and host on your ownweb space:• www.wordpress.org• www.moveabletype.org

Blog search enginesFind other blogs by keyword, topic ortrend and track the interconnections

between bloggers:• http://technorati.com • http://blogs.google.com • www.blogscope.net• www.blogpulse.com• www.icerocket.com

Tips on blogging• http://blogsessive.com• http://tinyurl.com/globalvoicesblog5

Video: Blogs in Plain English Also in French, German, Portugueseand Spanish. Also with multiplelanguage subtitles on Dotsub.com:• www.commoncraft.com/blogs• http://tinyurl.com/dotsubblogs6

Examples of development blogs• Afrigator: http://afrigator.com• Alive in Baghdad:http://aliveinbaghdad.org• Crisscrossed: www.crisscrossed.net• Ghana GINKS blogspotters:www.ginks.blogspot.com• Global Voices:http://globalvoicesonline.org • iCollaborate:www.icollaborate.blogspot.com• Indian Kisan blog:http://kisan.wordpress.com• Kabissa: www.kabissa.org/blog• Roxanna Samii:www.rsamii.blogspot.com• Reporters Without Borders:www.rsfblog.org• Voices of Africa:http://voicesofafrica.africanews.com• Web2forDev conference blog:http://blog.web2fordev.netSee e-participation for moreinformation about the websites listed(p. x, this issue).

3 See also RSS feeds, p.115 (this issue).4 Syndication is where material on one website ismade available to multiple other websites. See alsoglossary, p.124 (this issue).

5 Full URL: http://advocacy.globalvoicesonline.org/projects/guide-blog-for-a-cause6 Full URL: http://dotsub.com/view/dc75c2e2-ef81-4851-8353-a877aac9fe3c

Global Voices is a community of more than200 bloggers who work together to bringyou translations and reports from blogs andcitizen media everywhere, with emphasis onvoices that are not ordinarily heard ininternational mainstream media.

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What is micro-blogging?• Micro-blogging is a form ofblogging where users mostly publishvery short text updates. • Twitter.com is one of the bestknown services. Users can send short140 character text updates (known as‘tweets’) via SMS on their mobilephone or a computer connected tothe Internet. • Updates will appear on their Twitterpage and be visible to any otherTwitter member who is ‘following’them (i.e. subscribed to them). • Since Twitter allows people tosubmit updates via SMS it can also bea very powerful tool for on-the-ground citizen journalism, protestcoordination and campaigning,situation monitoring and for keepingin touch over distances.• Users can search everyone else’supdates in real time for keywords, aswell as subscribe to other user’supdates, meaning that it can also bevery useful for sharing and monitoringbreaking news or particular topics ofinterest. • Since updates can only be 140characters long, people use URL-shortening services like Tinyurl.com toenable them to send webpage links intheir updates. • Putting a hash symbol # in front ofa word is used to denote that it is akeyword tag, to make searching forrelevant messages easier.

• Users can also maintain aconversation or direct their messagesto a particular user by using‘@username’ within their messages. • Using the letters ‘RT’ in a messageencourages others to ‘re-tweet’ or re-send the message so potentiallyreaching thousands of people inminutes.

• Twitter also provides RSS feeds ofuser’s updates, or of the results ofsearches for keywords, enabling thestream of messages to be displayedon other websites. • Users can also feed Twitter itselfwith an RSS feed by using servicessuch as Twitterfeed.com orRsstotwitter.com.• Many other Web 2.0 websites andother services are integrating withTwitter. People can use services likeTwitpic.com to send a photograph theyhave taken on their mobile phonewhich will appear on their Twitpic page.Twitpic will also automatically send anupdate to their Twitter accountshowing the URL of the photograph.• There are a growing number ofthird party applications designed tomake managing multiple Twitteraccounts easier and enable users tomanage multiple blogging, micro-

Micro-bloggingand Twitter

The Web2forDev web portal now uses Twitter.Updates will appear on the Web2forDevTwitter page and are visible to any otherTwitter member who is ‘following’ them.

Tips on using micro-blogging tool Twitter for development

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blogging and messaging platforms.• Many of the ways in which Twittercan be used can be implementedthrough phone-based SMS andthrough bulk messaging software likeFrontlineSMS.com andimplementations like Ushahidi.com.1

Where to get started

Examples of developmentorganisations using Twitter• Web2forDev on Twitter:http://twitter.com/web2fordev

• Global Voices:http://twitter.com/globalvoices• Kabissa:http://twitter.com/kabissa• MobileActive:http://twitter.com/mobileactive

Video: Twitter in Plain English Also in French, German,Portuguese and Spanish. Also withmultiple language subtitles atDotsub.com:• www.commoncraft.com/twitter• http://tinyurl.com/dotsubtwitter2

Other similar micro-blogging tools• Identi.ca: http://identi.ca• Yammer: www.yammer.com

ResourcesWeb2fordev.net article‘Micro-blogging: 140 characters ofgossip or added value fordevelopment organisations?’• http://tinyurl.com/twitterfordev3

DigiActive Guide to Twitter forActivism (PDF) • http://tinyurl.com/digiactive-twitter4

1 For more information about Ushahidi andFrontlineSMS see Okolloh, p.65 (this issue).

2 Full URL: http://dotsub.com/view/665bd0d5-a9f4-4a07-9d9e-b31ba926ca78

3 Full URL: www.web2fordev.net/component/content/article/1-latest-news/68-micro-blogging4 Full URL: www.digiactive.org/wp-content/uploads/digiactive_twitter_guide_v1-0.pdf

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What are wikis?• Wikis are online collaborativeworkspaces.1

• A wiki is a simple, text-based webpage or collection of web pageswhere teams of people can worktogether online from different physicallocations. • Wikis are like very basic websites instyle and structure. They are designedto be read and edited using a webbrowser.• Unlike conventional websites, wikisenable anyone who has access towrite, edit, discuss and comment onthe wiki content, including eachother's contributions. Users canconstantly modify and organise thecontent.• Wikis can be made public or private.Administrators can choose who canaccess a wiki and specific sectionswithin it and define users’ rights. • All wiki page versions are kept, fromwhen a wiki page is first created.Collaborators can monitor andcompare recent and past changes andrevert to older versions if needed.• Wikis will also show which user hasedited the content.• Wikis separate formatting fromcontent, so people can work onimproving content without concernfor layout. Most wikis offer aWYSIWYG editor, which makes it

easier to edit content online.2

• Most wikis also enable users toupload e.g. documents and photos.• Wikis are also particularly good fordeveloping complex documentation.• Many individuals also use wikis muchlike an online personal notebook, tostore and develop ideas.

Why use a wiki for development? Wikis can be used to…• quickly and informally share, developand organise ideas and informationtogether online• foster participatory and collaborativeworking online from individuals,project teams, community groups andorganisations to international networksand the general public• collate resources from projectinformation and meeting minutes totrip reports and photos • create and edit content from sharingideas, developing projects, and writingdocuments to developing onlinetraining manuals• enable project partners to contributeand provide a workspace for them toadapt content to local conditions• find agreement and/or consensusamong users• easily create simple community orproject websites and jointly developcontent on them

Some tips on creating a wiki• Visit other wikis to get a feel for howthey work and what they do. • You can either sign up to a free-to-usewiki platform via one of the many wikiproviders – or download the software torun on your own web space. • List your known requirements andpreferences in detail before selecting awiki platform. Can it expand to meetfuture needs? Can you migrate fromone wiki platform to another later on? • Try to choose an open source wikiplatform so that if your partners wishto start their own wiki, it will be freelyavailable for them to use.3 4

• Plan and organise how you want tostructure your content. A well-devisedstructure will be important as your wikigrows. Remember you can also modifythe structure as the project expands.• Include a table of contents on eachpage for ease of navigation. • Regularly check internal wiki links andexternal web links to ensure they arestill active.• One useful feature about working ona wiki is the ability to create pages thatshould exist, even if you do not havethe content or the information to fillthem yet. This encourages others toadd the missing content and createrelevant pages.• When creating a new wiki page,think about where you want this pageto be linked from. Then edit thosepages to include a link to your newpage. • Give new pages sensible names. Donot use abbreviations but ensure the

Wikis

Tips on online collaboration using wikis

1 Wiki is Hawaiian for ‘very quick’.

2 WYSIWYG or ‘What You See is What You Get’ isa computing term to describe a system in whichcontent displayed during editing appears verysimilar to the final output.

3 Open source software (OSS) is usually computersoftware where the source code and certain otherrights are in the public domain. See glossary, p.122(this issue).4 Choose one that is distributed e.g. under a GNUGeneral Public or Creative Commons License (whichenhances free use and development) and issupported by an active wiki community (who will beable to provide advice and support). See e.g.www.creativecommons.org

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name is short and descriptive.• For larger or more formal projects,wikis require constant maintenance.With multiple people contributing to awiki there will be many works inprogress. Budget for and appoint acoordinator to maintain the wiki,ensure consistency and keep things ingood order (style and formatting,navigation etc.). • Set aside time to agree on sharededitorial guidelines on how to use thewiki – and then follow themconsistently.• Make sure the guidelines are easy-to-follow and provide training if necessary.Users need to know how your wikiworks before editing and contributingto it.• Include a practice page (known as a‘sandbox’), which allows people toexperiment. It helps encourage peopleto familiarise themselves with how thewiki works.• Before opening up your wiki to alarger group of participants ask a fewpeople for comments and feedback.Making universal changes to anextensive, existing wiki is harder thandoing so at the start. • Decide who will have access andcontribute to what (and when). Youmay want to open up access to othersgradually as your wiki develops.

• Usually for best results, a disciplinedworkflow is needed with goodcommunication among allcollaborators.

Keep in mind…• Choosing whether or not to createand use a wiki should be acollaborative process. Who is theintended community of users? Whocan participate and who cannot? Is awiki the most appropriate platform?• While wikis can be very informal, youstill need to write clearly. Avoid the useof slang terms which others may notbe familiar with. • As with all online publishing tools,always quote your information sourcesand provide links where available.Clearly distinguish between opinionsand facts.• If converting existing materials to awiki format you may need to revisesome materials to best suit the changein publishing medium e.g. a trainingmanual. • Wikis are based on collaboration andcan be used to encourage debate.However, they are not necessarily thebest place for finding consensusamongst dissenting voices. A mailinglist or face-to-face meetings may bemore appropriate for these types ofdiscussions.

Where to get startedThere are many free, easy-to-use wikiplatforms. Here are some examples.

Free or very low-cost wiki platforms• http://pbworks.com (formerly PBwiki)• www.wikispaces.com• www.wikidot.com

Downloadable wiki platforms To run on your web space:• www.dokuwiki.org• www.mediawiki.org• www.tikiwiki.org• www.atlassian.com/software/confluence

For more tips on using wikis• http://tinyurl.com/wiki-tips5

Compare available wiki platforms • www.wikimatrix.org

Video: Wikis in Plain English Also in French, German, Portugueseand Spanish. Also with multiplelanguage subtitles at Dotsub.com:• www.commoncraft.com/video-wikis-plain-english• http://tinyurl.com/dotsub-wiki

Examples of wikis used in development• Agropedia: http://agropedia.iitk.ac.in • Appropedia:http://www.appropedia.org• Kabissa Space for change in Africawiki: http://wiki.kabissa.org• Web2forDev wiki:http://wiki.web2fordev.net• Wiki Advocacy:http://wikiadvocacy.org• Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org

See e-participation for moreinformation about the websites listed(p.130, this issue).

Wikipedia is a freeonline encyclopaediathat anyone can edit.Wikipedia ismultilingual and isnow the ninth mostpopular website inthe world.

5 Full URL: www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/network/2006/07/07/what-is-a-wiki.html

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What are online social networks?• Online social networks are a newgeneration of online communityplatforms which are similar towebsites but offer specific interactivefeatures and tools.• An online social network bringspeople together and enables them tofind others who share commoninterests or activities and who areinterested in learning more abouteach other and what they do. • They enable users to establish andmake visible relationships, discusstopics of interest, access material, findcontacts and encourage the growth ofnetworks of people.• Membership can be restricted oropen.• You can start a new ‘group’ ofpeople with similar interests on anexisting social networking website orcreate your own using free-to-useplatforms.• Social networks can range fromfriends and family, small dedicatedcommunities of practice or interest,professional networks, to networkswith global membership.• Most online social network servicesprovide a variety of ways for users tointeract, such as messaging andinstant messaging, membershipprofiles (sometimes includingcurriculum vitae), online discussionforums, blogs, photo- and video-sharing, and other digital resources.

• These services are designed to bestraightforward to use, from signingup and logging on, creating a profileand inviting people to access it,through to interacting with friends,colleagues, partners, and even peopleyou have never met.

Why use online social networksfor development?Online social networks can be usedto…• target, create or enhance networksor communities of practice• foster and enhance participationand collaboration and promote asense of membership and solidaritywithin these networks• interact with particular audiencese.g. civil society groups, policy makers,private sector• facilitate better linkages betweengroups, for example partners, serviceproviders and decision makers • easily share and access information –from event announcements, workopportunities and reports to practicalmanuals, photos and videos• enable greater information-sharingand support dialogue on key issueswithin the network• build capacity by providinginformation and resources onparticular topics• learn about the professionalbackground of people sharing yourinterests and establish professional

relationships with them (e.g. viaLinkedIn)• keep up-to-date about work carriedout by your peers

Comparing different types ofsocial networking platforms andwebsites• For most people who are interestedin using online social networks, joiningand contributing to an existingnetwork is sufficient. However, if youare thinking of creating an onlinesocial network, you may want to starta new group on an existing website orcreate an independent one.• Existing social networking websitesoften allow users to create newgroups within them. They are oftenmore appropriate for less sophisticatedforms of networking, which focusmore on promoting topics, issues orevents within a more public sphere. • Such websites work well for basicnetworking tasks but often theinfrastructure is not available for morecollaborative working. Exampleswould be Facebook or LinkedIn (whichhas a more professional focuscompared to Facebook).• Social networking platforms like Ningallow you to create your owncustomisable online social network.They contain a package of usefulfeatures, such as online forums, groups,blogs, and video and photo libraries. Asyou have control over the appearanceof your website it allows for a moreprofessional online presence.• The third option is to downloadsoftware to run on your own webserver, but this requires more technicalexpertise and resources. • Running your own social networkingplatform on your own web serverprovides far more security for yourdata and your users since you are incontrol of every part of the service.

Online socialnetworkingTips on using online social networks for development

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• Free open source contentmanagement systems (CMS) such asDrupal or Joomla can be used tocreate more customisable online socialnetworks. They offer a wider range oftools and applications, enabling you tocustomise your social networkingwebsite even further. • Elgg is another free open sourceplatform which is designed specificallyfor social networking websites. It ismostly used in the educational sphere,where it has been used to power socialnetworks for various institutions andcommunities, such as Eduspaces.netwith over 20,000 members. It is alsothe platform that the newUnionbook.org website has used.1

• Buddypress is a newly-updated suiteof plug-ins which turns Wordpress MU(a popular multi-user blog platform)into a fully-featured social networkingplatform.

Some tips on joining an onlinesocial network• Typical examples of social networkingsites are LinkedIn and Facebook as wellas photo- and video-sharing websiteslike Flickr and YouTube. • Look for relevant communities.Subscribe to a social network whosemembers share your interests. • Popular social networking websitesvary from country to country. Forexample Orkut.com is popular in Indiaand Brazil, Hi5.com in South America,and Friendster.com in the Philippines.

Keep in mind…

When joining an online socialnetwork• Stay safe: never upload personalinformation that may compromise

your safety and security – or that ofother people. • Consider who you will benetworking with – and who will seeyour profile. Social networks can beused for ‘professional’ or ‘social’purposes. Some are a combination ofthe two – however, some people usedifferent profiles to separate theirprofessional and personal identities.• If in doubt, keep your profileinformation private or restricted. Thinkabout whether to use your real nameor a pseudonym when you sign up.• Always consider others whenuploading content. Get permissionbefore uploading e.g. someone else’swork, culturally sensitive informationor photos of other people. • Consider the tradeoff betweenmaking information publicly availableand who may use it and for whatpurposes.2

• Is the material you want to addappropriate? Remember to check andadhere to any editorial policies beforeadding content. • Be clear about who owns theinformation that you enter on yourprofile or that you upload. Alwayscheck the terms of service beforejoining an online network – someservice providers retain the right to useyour material without yourpermission.3 Find out what rights theservice provider has in terms of usingyour data and what rights you have torecall/delete your data.

Some tips on creating an onlinesocial network• Be clear about the purpose for yoursocial network and ensure you have a

clearly defined audience. This helps tocreate a genuinely interested andactive membership with usefulexperience to share. • Decide whether to create anindependent online social networkingwebsite or a new group within anexisting one. • If creating one, determine whatfeatures your website should contain.• Develop a framework. Begin byuploading a few useful reports,example blog posts, discussion topics,photos and videos to stimulateinterest.• Once you have set up your group orwebsite, invite potential members tojoin. • All new members should receive awelcome message. Encourage themto invite others who might find thewebsite useful. • Send members regular, short emaildigests to inform them of recentupdates.• Encourage repeat visits and newmembers. Keep the content fresh withlinks to new information e.g. reports,manuals, announcements, resources,discussions, blog posts, photos andvideos. • If you are creating an online socialnetworking website for an existingnetwork, ensure that importantcontent from the network ispublished, e.g. interesting newsfeatures, workshop reports, countrydevelopments etc. • Keep content relevant, informedand up-to-date, especially if you wantto lead discussions.• If your website includes forums orblogs, help start interestingdiscussions and encourage activedebate. Use thoughtful discussiontopics and summaries to whichparticipants can respond.• Encourage members to take a

2 For further discussion, see Overview, p.8 (this issue).3 For example, Facebook and YouTube retain the rightsto use any information uploaded by members. Inaddition, some websites such as Facebook may retain apermanent archive of all material uploaded – even afterdeleted by the member from their own profile page.

1 See www.ericlee.info/2009/02/unionbook_launched.html

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proactive role in contributing to thenetwork – uploading material,notifying people of forthcomingevents, writing event reports ormessaging other members – thisparticipation will provide widerexposure to member’s ideas andmaterials, as well as generate newcontent for the website. • You may want to stipulate that keymembers share materials –participation is critical to broadeningfuture contributions.• Remember to offer guidance in theform of a help page and a FrequentlyAsked Questions (FAQ) page on howto use and contribute to the website.• Consider running a blog covering thedevelopment of your social networkwebsite, describing new features andgathering feedback from users.

Keep in mind…

When creating an online socialnetwork…• Social networking websites may notbe appropriate for your targetaudience. Other, more accessiblecommunication platforms (such asemail discussion lists, DGroups.org orregular face-to-face meetings) may bemore appropriate.• Remember that managing onlinesocial networking websites takes energyand time. Allow at least one hour perday. Larger, more active networks mayrequire longer daily maintenance.Remember to budget for the time.• Avoid members adding inappropriatematerial to your website with cleareditorial guidelines or moderation. Usepolite, private messages explainingwhy such material is inappropriate.

Deleting or rejecting unwantedcontent should, wherever possible,always be mutually agreed betweenthe moderator and the contributor.• Keep an email contact list for themembers of your social networkingwebsite in a different location to theserver that is hosting the website. Shouldanything go wrong with your socialnetworking website (e.g. if your accountis closed or a company goes out ofbusiness and ceases service etc.) you willstill be able to contact your members.

Where to get startedThere are several free or low-costplatforms to choose from – either as anew member of an existing networkor to create your own. Here are someexamples.

Social networking platforms• www.linkedin.com • www.facebook.com• www.meetup.com• www.ning.com • www.buddypress.org• www.elgg.org• http://drupal.org• www.joomla.org

Review of various popular socialnetworking platforms similar to Ning:• http://tinyurl.com/tcrunchsn4

Privacy and security issuesFor further discussions on issuesrelated to social networks, terms ofservice, privacy and intellectualproperty rights see Ashley et al., p.x(this issue) and also e.g.:• http://tinyurl.com/bbcfbook• http://tinyurl.com/ericlee-faceb • http://tinyurl.com/wikipfbook• http://tinyurl.com/wikipmsp• http://tinyurl.com/digiactivefb5

Examples of social networkingwebsites for development • Africa ICT Network:http://ictafrica.ning.com• Forest Connect:http://forestconnect.ning.com• i-genius: http://i-genius.org/home• OneWorld TV:http://tv.oneworld.net• Research and Media Network:http://researchandmedia.ning.com• Web 2.0 Mapping and SocialNetworks Group:www.meetup.com/webmapsocial

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Research and MediaNetwork is an onlinesocial network builtusing Ning that bringspeople together toimprove communicationof research findings.

4 Full URL: www.techcrunch.com/2007/07/24/9-ways-to-build-your-own-social-network5 To see the full URLs for these websites, see e-participation, p.130 (this issue).

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What are RSS feeds?• RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is adata format used for syndicating webcontent in the form of RSS or web‘feeds’.1 2 They have become verypopular with publishers and usersalike owing to the ease and simplicityof their production and use. • Each RSS feed is comprised of oneor more feed ‘items’. Each itemconsists of a URL, text and (optionally)multimedia content. An RSS feedcould contain the latest news stories,weather reports, the latestpublications, press releases, or evenradio or television programmes. • Individuals can subscribe to RSSfeeds to read them, or RSS feeds canbe incorporated into other websites.• RSS feeds are popular with users forkeeping track of news and newcontent from any number of websitesbecause updates are delivered directlyto them without the need to visit eachof the websites in turn. Feeds couldcome from RSS enabled websites,news websites, blogs, social networksand social bookmarking websites.• Users can use a feed ‘reader’ (or‘aggregator’) to subscribe to and viewdifferent RSS feeds. A feed reader caneither be an online website/service ora software application installed onyour computer.

• Some feed reader applications willdownload the content onto yourcomputer and enable offline viewing.• RSS feeds are popular withpublishers as they are a powerfulmarketing and outreach tool and canbe produced automatically by manywebsite platforms and blogs etc. • RSS feeds are popular too with webdevelopers as they can incorporateand display external RSS feeds on theirwebsite and share their own RSSfeeds with other websites. • The RSS icon on a web pageshows visitors they can subscribe to anRSS feed by clicking on it or bycopying and pasting the link from theRSS icon into their feed reader.3

• Content from multiple RSS feedscan be aggregated into one place i.e.a new RSS feed, a web page or a feedreader. They can also be manipulatedeither using filters – to increaserelevance – or through mash-ups – tocombine sources of information,adding value to the original content.

Why use RSS feeds fordevelopment?With RSS feeds you can … • improve the visibility and accessibilityof development content online• promote your organisation, news,campaign, project or ideas by allowingother websites to automatically

incorporate content from your website• add value to websites byautomatically incorporating relevantinformation from other websites• keep the level of content receivedmanageable, targeted and relevantusing filters – don’t forget thatinformation overload is a real problemfor many web users4

• improve information-sharing,especially with the combined use oftags, social bookmarks and RSS feeds5

Some tips on using RSS feeds • When subscribing to RSS feeds,spend time searching websites, blogs,social networks and socialbookmarking websites to find relevantand trusted sources of information.• Some online feed readers such asBloglines allow you to see other users’RSS subscriptions – it is useful to seewhat others in your field are alsoreading online.• If bandwidth is an issue in yourcommunity, download a feed readerapplication and install it on yourcomputer, which will enable you toread your RSS feeds offline.• Users can choose the frequency withwhich their feed reader checks RSSfeeds for new information. Decidehow often you want to receiveupdates.• Personal start-pages such asPageflakes, iGoogle and Netvibesallow you to create and customiseyour own web page, integratingmultiple RSS feeds and other socialnetworking applications and widgets.6

• There are various websites that allow

RSS feedsTips on using RSS feeds to access and share development onlinecontent – and how to filter it for relevance

1 Syndication is where material on one website ismade available to multiple other websites. See alsoglossary, p.124 (this issue).2 Atom is another data format used in syndication.

3 Other syndication icons include Atom or XML.

4 For further discussion and critical reflection on theuse of filtering see Ethan Zuckerman, p.87, (thisissue).5 See Social bookmarking, p.119; also Tagging,p.117 (this issue)6 Widgets are mini portable applications which canbe easily added to a website to provide additionalfunctionality and dynamic content. Widgets can alsobe combined to create new functionalities.

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you to manipulate, combine(aggregate) and/or filter the contentof RSS feeds – improving therelevance of the content andproducing a new RSS feed which canthen be subscribed to using a feedreader or displayed on other websites. • Some websites allow you to createan RSS feed of content from anywebsite either automatically or bymanually bookmarking specific webpages. This could then be used tocreate your own RSS feed of newcontent on your website if yourwebsite is not RSS enabled. Socialbookmarking website Delicious canbe used in this way. Another simpletool to create RSS feeds isFeedmarklet.• If your mobile phone can access theInternet, you can access your RSSfeeds on your phone.

• You can send micro-bloggingservice Twitter.com an RSS feed viaTwitterfeed.com orRsstotwitter.com.7

Keep in mind…• RSS feeds from trusted websitesand well-filtered multiple sources areincredibly useful. However, webportals that put news intomeaningful contexts, which haveexpert commentary and translateinto other languages add additionalvalue. For example, Global VoicesOnline is project where people alsofilter new content online (see belowfor details).


There are many feed readersavailable. Here are some examples.

NewsforDev.org uses RSSfeeds and email to sharenews with agriculturaldevelopment practitionersin African, Caribbean, andPacific countries.

7 Content received via Twitter is only up to 140characters in length. See also Micro-blogging, p.108(this issue).

Web-based feed readers• www.bloglines.com• www.google.com/reader• www.newsgator.com/individuals/newsGatoronline• http://feedshow.com

Downloadable feed readers• www.newsgator.com/Individuals/FeedDemon (Win)• www.newsfirerss.com (for Mac)• www.newsgator.com/Individuals/NetNewsWire (for Mac)

Note: several web browsers e.g.Firefox or Opera also include basicfeed reader functionality.

RSS feed filters, mashers and editors• www.feedrinse.com• www.feedsifter.com• www.filtermyrss.com• http://pipes.yahoo.com/pipes• www.zaptxt.com• www.feedmarklet.com

Very basic guide to RSS from BBC• http://tinyurl.com/rssbbc8

Video: RSS in Plain English Also in French, German, Portugueseand Spanish. Also with multiplelanguage subtitles on Dotsub.com:• www.commoncraft.com/rss_plain_english• http://tinyurl.com/dotsubrss9

Examples of development websitesusing RSS• Afrigator:http://blog.afrigator.com/about• Global Voices Online:http://globalvoicesonline.org/feeds• IIED: www.iied.org/rss-feeds• NewsForDev: www.newsfordev.org

8 Full URL: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/help/3223484.stm9 Full URL: http://dotsub.com/view/69aa48a4-a95f-4bc8-a511-bb0a1ee95e12

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TaggingTips on using tags and tagging for development

What is tagging?• Tagging is the process of assigningonline content with keywords or tags.• A tag is a form of metadata.1 It is aone-word descriptor or keyword thata user can assign to online content,such as documents, blogs, photos andvideos. • Tags describe and categorise contentand allow it to be found again bysearching the Internet using thatkeyword. • Tags are also usually hyperlinks,which if clicked, will show all contenttagged with that keyword.• Tagging makes it easier to organiseand describe information in a mannerthat is personally meaningful. • Tags are chosen according to thepersonal preferences of the user.While some websites provide existingcategories of tags for users to choosefrom, users can also create their owntags or keywords.• A ‘tag cloud’ or ‘word cloud’ is avisual list of tags that have been usedon a website or blog etc. The tagsthat are used most often are shown inlarger font sizes and/or differentcolours.• Most blogs and social networkingwebsites allow users the option to tagtheir content e.g. Flickr, Ning andTechnorati.

• Tagging is particularly important formedia such as photo, video andaudio, which unlike text does nothave word-searchable content otherthan a title or short description. • The practice of ‘social tagging’ toshare resources with others is quicklybecoming a staple of Web 2.0. Acollection of online user-generatedtags is often referred to as a‘folksonomy’.2

• Social bookmarking websites likeDelicious allow users to add their owntags to Internet bookmarks to helporganise and remember them.3 This isalso especially useful for contentwhich cannot be tagged where it hasbeen uploaded. • Websites that support tagging willoften allow an RSS feed to begenerated for a particular tag or set oftags. This RSS feed enables taggedcontent to be syndicated to otherwebsites or read via a feed reader.4

• Geotags are tags that give ageographic location for a piece ofcontent (e.g. a photograph) oftenusing longitude and latitudeinformation. Flickr allows photographsto be geotagged and geotagging isbecoming increasingly importantespecially for use in mash-ups.5

Why use tags for development?Tags can be used to…• organise, structure, find and sharedevelopment content• open up more possibilities forsharing and collaboration, making iteasier to share interesting onlinecontent on particular themes withothers• improve information-sharing,especially with the combined use oftags, social bookmarks and RSS feeds• create collections of populardevelopment tags used by others(e.g. a development folksonomy).

Some tips on using tags• Where possible, always taginformation or data that you uploadonline e.g. online presentations, blogposts, photos, videos and reports. • See what tags other people in yourfield are using for similar content. Forexample, social bookmarkingwebsites list popular tags chosen byother Internet users to describeonline resources they havebookmarked. • Assign multiple tags to a piece ofcontent. Include the most importantkeywords: Is it a report? What yearwas it published? Is it about anevent? Which organisations? Whichcountries? Which topics?• Creating unique tags is animportant way of differentiatingcontent. This can be particularlyuseful for events/conferences whereorganisers encourage participants touse a pre-specified unique tag toidentify material from that event(such as reports, write-ups, photos orblog posts).6

1 Metadata is a form of data assigned to any pieceof data, which allows it to be retrieved. See glossary,p.122 (this issue).

2 See glossary on p.121 for a definition of folksonomies.3 Internet bookmarks (or ‘Favourites’) are stored webpage locations (URLs) that can be retrieved. See Socialbookmarking, p.119 (this issue).4 See also RSS feeds, p.115, this issue.5 A mash-up is combining data from two or moreexternal online sources. See glossary, p.122 (this issue).

6 For example, during the Web2forDev conference,participants were encouraged to use the tag‘Web2forDev’ to describe any uploaded contentrelated to the event, e.g. blog posts and photos.

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• Some keywords can have severalmeanings. For example, ‘orange’ canrefer to the colour, the fruit or thetelecommunication brand. • Be consistent in the way you usetags to identify content related to aparticular topic. This enables yourselfand others to find information moreeasily.• If you want a community of usersto use tags e.g. members of an onlinesocial network, provide easy-to-followguidelines on how to create and usetags as well as a list of popular orspecific tags that are used in thespecific area of interest.• If you are creating tags for a specifictopic, event, website or online groupto use, decide on your unique tags inadvance – and make sure peopleknow what they are. This will preventthe need to retag numerousdocuments later on and ensure thatrelated content can be found moreeasily by others.


Some common examples of websitesusing tags • www.flickr.com (for photos)• www.delicious.com (for bookmarks)

• http://technorati.com (for blogs)• www.youtube.com (for videos)• www.slideshare.net (for presentations)

To see an example of how contenttagged with a particular keyword(web2fordev) is displayed in Delicious,see e.g.:• http://delicious.com/tag/web2fordev

To see how content tagged with‘web2fordev’ is syndicated on a

website see e.g.: • www.web2fordev.net• https://twitter.com/web2fordev

Create graphical tag (or ‘word’)clouds for any text, feed or Delicioususer’s tags:• www.wordle.net

Video: Introductions to tagging andfolksonomies• http://k12onlineconference.org/?p=273

The cover image of thisspecial issue representssome of the morewidely-used keywordsor ‘tags’ associated withWeb2forDev.

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Social bookmarkingTips on using social bookmarks for development

What is social bookmarking?• Social bookmarking allows users totag and save links to web pages andonline documents in the form ofbookmarks that they want toremember and/or share. • Social bookmarking websites haveevolved from free online bookmarkwebsites, which simply allowed you tostore your web page bookmarks (or‘favourites’) online so you could accessthem from any computer connected tothe Internet. • Social bookmarking websites nowallow users to tag, organise, searchand share their own and other people’sbookmarks, often producing RSS feedsand sometimes allowing commentsand discussion of particularbookmarks.• People increasingly use socialbookmarking to organise, share andpromote content.• Social bookmarks are saved on aremote web server, not on yourcomputer, so can be accessed fromanywhere with an Internet connection.• Most commonly, bookmarks can beeither public or private, but it is theability to share with others that buildscollaborative value. • Users can view other users’bookmarks chronologically and alsosee how popular different bookmarksare i.e. how many times particular webpages or documents have beenbookmarked by others, as well as the

most common tags that have beenused to classify a particular web page. • Tagging is a key element of socialbookmarking. Users can search forbookmarks using one or more tags.1

• Many social bookmarking websitesprovide RSS feeds for lists ofbookmarks created by users or taggedwith particular keywords. This allowssubscribers to see new bookmarks asthey are tagged, saved and shared byother users and for RSS feeds to beincorporated on other websites.2

• Some social bookmarking websitesallow features such as adding notes orcommenting on bookmarks, ratingbookmarks, and saving copies of thecontent being bookmarked.

Why use social bookmarks fordevelopment?Social bookmarks can be used to…• organise, structure and sharedevelopment content with others • follow what websites anddocuments other people in your fieldare reading• enable others to find information onparticular themes more easily• create collections of popularbookmarks related to developmentand share these lists with other users • share information in a morepowerful way by combining the use ofsocial bookmarks, tags and RSS feeds

Some tips on using socialbookmarks• Social bookmarking websites oftenhave downloadable add-ons (or‘extensions’) available for your webbrowser to make it easier tobookmark web pages and contentwith one mouse click.• If your website is not able toproduce RSS feeds, you can createyour own by bookmarking andtagging your new content inDelicious. This allows you to manuallycreate and add new items to a newRSS feed of the content tagged with aspecific keyword. The RSS feed couldthen be displayed on your websiteand would also be available for othersto use. • In the same way, you can useDelicious to create and manually additems to new RSS feeds highlightingcontent from any website. Usedstrategically, this is a way of classifyingand then promoting content bymaking it available for syndication toother websites and viewing in feedreaders.3

Keep in mind…• When tagging bookmarks, somekeywords can have several meanings.For example, ‘orange’ can refer to thecolour, the fruit or thetelecommunications brand. • Just because you create a bookmarkfor a web page or online document, itdoes not mean that page ordocument will always be there.Content on the Internet can bemoved or removed without warning.It is a good idea to save a copy of anyimportant information you want tokeep.

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1 See also Tagging, p.117 (this issue).2 See also RSS feeds, p.115 (this issue).

3 For example, http://forestconnect.ning.com usesDelicious to create a list of documents alreadyavailable online as well as website links, and thenuses the RSS feed from Delicious to display the listof documents and links on their Ning website.

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Where to get startedThere are several social bookmarkingwebsites that you can join. Here aresome examples.

Social bookmarking websites• Delicious: www.delicious.com• Technorati: http://technorati.com• Google Bookmarks:

www.google.com/bookmarks

• Digg: http://digg.com• Diigo: www.diigo.com• Muti: www.muti.co.za• Stumbleupon:www.stumbleupon.com

Review of top ten socialbookmarking websites:http://tinyurl.com/bookmarks-review4

An example of how content taggedwith a particular keyword (e.g.web2fordev) is displayed in Delicious:• http://delicious.com/tag/web2fordev

An example of how this content canbe syndicated on a website:• www.web2fordev.net • https://twitter.com/web2fordev

An example ofhow bookmarkedcontent taggedwith ‘web2fordev’is displayed inDelicious.

4 Full URL: http://websearch.about.com/od/bestwebsites/tp/freebookmarks.htm

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Glossary of Web 2.0 terms

Aggregator (see also RSS feeds)An aggregator (or ‘news aggregator’or ‘feed reader’) is a piece ofsoftware or online service thatreceives and displays multiple webfeeds of syndicated web contentsuch as news headlines or blogposts. An aggregator could be awebsite displaying the latestheadlines from multiple other newswebsites or a feed reader applicationthat a user downloads to run ontheir computer to enable them tosubscribe to, and view, RSS feeds ofthe latest content from multiplewebsites without having to visit eachwebsite in turn.

Audio blog (see Blog and Podcast)

Blog A blog (short for ‘web’ and ‘log’) is awebsite, usually maintained by anindividual. Blogs contain regularcommentary, descriptions of events,or other material such as photos,audio files or videos. Blogs oftenprovide commentary or news on aparticular subject, such as food,politics, or local news. Some functionas more personal online diaries. Atypical blog combines text, images,and links to other blogs, web pages,and other media related to its topic.The ability for readers to leavecomments in an interactive format is

an important part of blogging. Mostblogs are primarily textual althoughsome focus on photographs(photoblogs), videos (vlogs), or audiofiles (audio blogs or Podcasts) and arepart of a wider network of socialmedia. To ‘blog’ or to be a ‘blogger’means to maintain or add content toa blog.

BlogosphereBlogosphere is a collective termencompassing all blogs and theirinterconnections. It is the perceptionthat blogs exist together as aconnected community (or as acollection of connected communities)or as a social network.2

Bookmarks (see also Socialbookmarks)Internet bookmarks are stored webpage locations (URLs) that can beretrieved. As a feature of all modernInternet web browsers, their primarypurpose is to easily catalogue andaccess web pages that a user hasvisited and chosen to save. Savedlinks are also sometimes called‘favourites’. Bookmarks are normallyvisible in a browser menu and stored

on the user's computer. Manyexternal applications exist formanaging bookmarks online (seeSocial bookmarks).

Content Management System(CMS)A server-based software used topublish, edit and control theworkflow of content in a website. Itintegrates many functions thatenhance web services and theirinterfaces can be freely customised.For example, web portals arestructured using CMS.

CrowdsourcingCrowdsourcing means to outsource atask to a crowd of undefined,generally large group of people.Commonly used in Web 2.0 projectssuch as citizen journalism where theinput of individuals is solicited. Forexample, Okolloh (this issue) describesthe use of crowdsourcing to gatherand distribute citizen reports.

Feeds (see RSS feeds)

Feed reader (see Aggregator)

Folksonomy (see also Tags)The term ‘folksonomy’ (combining thewords ‘folk’ and ‘taxonomy’) refers toa collection of online user-generatedtags. Folksonomies are createdcollaboratively when people createand use tags to annotate andcategorise content such as blog posts,photographs, web links and otherweb content. This bottom-upclassification system has emergedfrom social tagging, also known ascollaborative tagging, socialclassification, and social indexing.3

1 Throughout this special issue, we make referenceto Web 2.0 ‘tools’, which includes applications,platforms and services. See our definition of Web 2.0tools in this glossary.2 Source: Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blogosphere 3 Adapted from: Wikipedia.

This glossary lists most of the commonly-used terms describing Web 2.0tools that are found in this special issue of PLA.1 Please note that theglossary is not an exhaustive list and does not include more technicalcomputing terms.

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Free Open Source Software(FOSS) (see Open SourceSoftware)

GeotaggingGeotagging is the process of addinggeographical identification metadatato various media such asphotographs, video, websites, blogposts or RSS feeds. It is increasinglyused to create visual maps of datathrough mash-ups.

Mash-upA mash-up is aggregating orcombining data from one or moreexternal online sources together. Atits simplest, a mash-up could be justcreating a webpage that pulls indifferent content from multiple RSSfeeds, such as text, pictures or videos.A more advanced mash-up is onethat actually combines online datasources to produce a new set of dataor service that was not provided (ornecessarily intended) by the originalpublishers of the content sources.

MetadataMetadata is data about other data,from keywords in the html of awebpage describing the content, toinformation about the size of apicture or file. Tags are a form ofmetadata.

Micro-bloggingA form of blogging where userspublish very short posts, commonlysubmitted via a variety of meansincluding SMS text messaging, emailor instant messaging as well as via theInternet. Micro-blogging updates canbe text, photos or very short videoclips.

News aggregator (seeAggregator)

Online social networking (seeSocial networking)

Open source software (OSS)Open source software (OSS) can bedefined as computer software forwhich the human-readable sourcecode is made available under acopyright license (or arrangementsuch as the public domain) that meetsthe Open Source Definition. Thispermits users to use, change, andimprove the software, and toredistribute it in modified orunmodified form. It is very oftendeveloped in a public, collaborativemanner. OSS are typically free-to-use(for this reason, they are often referredto as FOSS).4

PC2PC (see VoIP)

Personalised start-pagePersonal start-pages are web pagesthat allow users to create their owncustomised web page, integratingmultiple RSS feeds and other socialnetworking applications and widgets.

PodcastA Podcast is a series of audio or videodigital media files automaticallydistributed via the Internet. A Podcastis distinguished from most otherdigital media formats by its ability tobe syndicated, subscribed to anddownloaded automatically when newcontent is added via a feed. Like theterm broadcast, Podcast can refereither to the series of content itself orto the method by which it issyndicated.5

PostA post (or posting) refers to content

that is uploaded to the Internet.Typically, commentary written onblogs is referred to as a post.

RSS feed (see also Web feed)RSS is a web feed data format usedfor web syndication to make contentavailable to other websites or forindividuals to subscribe to via a feedreader. Each RSS feed is comprised ofone or more feed ‘items’. Each itemconsists of a URL, text and (optionally)multimedia content. An RSS feedcould contain the latest news stories,weather reports, the latestpublications, press releases, or evenradio or television programmes. RSS isdefined as Rich Site Summary orReally Simple Syndication. ‘Atom’ is asimilar content syndication format.

Short Messaging Service (SMS)Mobile phone text messaging service.Sending a text message via mobiletelephone is known as ShortMessaging Service, or SMS.

Social bookmarksSocial bookmarking is a web-basedservice to share Internet bookmarks.Social bookmarking websites are apopular way to store, classify, shareand search links through the practiceof folksonomy techniques. Since theclassification and ranking of resourcesis a continuously evolving process,many social bookmarking servicesallow users to subscribe to web feedsbased on tags, or a particular user.This allows subscribers to becomeaware of new resources for a giventopic, as they are noted, tagged andclassified by other users.

Social softwareSocial software is a type of softwareor web service that allows people tocommunicate and collaborate while

4 Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_and_open_source_software5 Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podcasting

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using the application. Email, blogs,and even instant messaging are allexamples of social software. Manyadvocates of using these tools believethat these create actual community,and have adopted the term ‘onlinecommunities’ to describe the socialstructures that they claim result.

Social networkingOnline social networking tools focuson building online communities ofpeople who share interests and/oractivities. Social networks are a newgeneration of online community toolsdevoted to Internet-basednetworking, which are similar towebsites but offer specific interactivefeatures and processes. A socialnetwork service brings togetherpeople who share common interests,such as photography or a social issueand who are interested in exploringthe interests of others and learningmore about their peers. Socialnetworking websites make therelationships between people visible.

Start-page (see Personalised Start-page)

Syndication (see Web syndication)

TagsA tag is a (relevant) keyword or termassociated with a piece of onlinecontent (like a picture, article,website, or video clip) to describe theitem. Typically, a piece of content willhave more than one tag associatedwith it. Tags are mostly choseninformally and personally by theauthor/creator or the consumer of theitem – i.e. not as part of someformally-defined classification scheme(taxonomy). A collection of onlineuser-generated tags is often referredto as a folksonomy. Tagging is the

association of keywords (metadata) tothe file or document that makes iteasier to locate during an Internet-based search for related content.

Tag cloud (see also Tag)A ‘tag cloud’ or ‘word cloud’ is avisual list of tags or keywords showinggroups of user-generated tags orwebsite content. A tag cloud linkstogether a collection of otherassociated tags. More popular tagsare shown using larger font sizesand/or different colours.

Tagging (see Tag)

TrackbackA trackback (or linkback) function ona blog is to notify another blog thatyou are referencing them on yourown blog.

User-generated contentThe concept of enabling a communityof users – not just individual authors –to create the content on a website,contribute to what is already there,govern it by determining its accuracy,usefulness, and relevance and ensurethat the resource is updated asneeded. User-generated content istypified by information resources suchas Wikipedia or YouTube.com. Onthese websites, user-generatedcontent is everything: without theusers there is no content.

Vlogs (see also Blogs)A form of blog that contains videocontent.

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) VoIP services are free or low-costonline platforms which enable you tomake individual or conference ‘phonecalls’ from one computer to another(referred to as PC2PC). Skype is one

example of a VoIP service. See:www.skype.com

Web 2.0The term Web 2.0 refers to aperceived second generation of webdevelopment and design thatfacilitates communication, secureinformation-sharing, cooperation andcollaboration on the World WideWeb. Sometimes referred to as the‘read and write’ web, Web 2.0concepts have led to the developmentand evolution of web-basedcommunities, hosted services, andapplications. These includeapplications such as social networkingwebsites, video- and photo-sharingwebsites, wikis and blogs.

The term Web 2.0 was first usedby Eric Knorr in December 2003 andbecame notable after the first O'ReillyMedia Web 2.0 conference in 2004.Although the term suggests a newversion of the World Wide Web, itdoes not refer to an update to anytechnical specifications, but to changesin the ways software developers andend-users utilise the web.

With the first phase of the web,most people could only readinformation online. New Web 2.0technologies now make it possible formost Internet users e.g. to edit andcreate their own content on websitesthat incorporate these technologies.They allow non-web designers to puttheir own content (writing, audio,video, etc.) online easier than everbefore. They make content moreportable than ever and easier to remix,mash together or reuse in a differentcontext. Web 2.0 tools utilise this user-generated content and the economyof scale/network multiplier effectcreated to draw valuable connectionsbetween related users and content.

They make the discovery of new

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content more automated and relevantthan ever before.

They have the potential toexponentially increase the amount ofinformation that any of us are able toaccess, store and recall.

Web 2.0 toolsTool is used here as shorthand for acomputer software application andalso for applications that are web-based. There are dozens of emergingfree or low cost interactive webapplications and services (oftenreferred to as the participatory web orWeb 2.0). These can enhance theways we create, share, and publishinformation. Examples of Web 2.0tools include social networkingwebsites, video-sharing websites,wikis, and blogs.

Wherever web tools arementioned in this special issue, theterms web application, method,technology or approach might havebeen more appropriate to usedepending on the actual use of thetool. We generally use the term ‘tools’to cover all the different applications,tools, methods and technologies thatwe are referring to as Web 2.0 tools.

Web2forDevParticipatory Web 2.0 fordevelopment – or Web2forDev forshort – is a way of employing webservices to intentionally improveinformation-sharing and collaborativeproduction of content fordevelopment. The distinctionbetween Web 2.0 tools andWeb2forDev is that Web2forDev isabout the active use of these tools indevelopment. It is about howdevelopment actors can relate andconnect to other stakeholders,produce and publish their ownmaterial, decide on levels of access toinformation and redistribute pieces ofcontent released by others.Web2forDev is about integrating,combining, aggregating, generating,moderating and mediatingdevelopment information, ideas andperspectives.

Web feed (see RSS feed)

Web log (see Blog)

Web syndicationWeb syndication is where material onone website is made available to

multiple other websites or individualsubscribers (using RSS or web feeds).

WidgetsWidgets are mini portableapplications which can be easilyadded to a website to provideadditional functionality and dynamiccontent. Widgets can also becombined to create newfunctionalities. Many blog platforms,social networking websites andpersonalised start pages providelibraries of widgets for their users topick and choose from.

WikiA wiki is an online collaborativeworkspace. A wiki is a website thatallows users to add, remove, edit andchange content. It also allows forlinking among any number of pages.This ease of interaction andoperation makes a wiki an effectivetool for mass collaborative authoring.The term wiki also can refer to thecollaborative software itself (wikiengine) that facilitates the operationof such a website, or to certainspecific wiki sites, e.g. encyclopaediassuch as Wikipedia.

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Book reviewsFrom Poverty toPowerHow active citizensand effective statescan change theworld� Duncan GreenForeword by AmartyaSen

Oxfam International, 2008ISBN 978-0-85598-593-6

This book explores efforts to grapplewith inequality and poverty in threekey areas: politics, markets, andvulnerability. In each case it finds thatefforts to tackle inequality are bestachieved through a combination ofactive citizens and effective states.

Active citizenship is a combinationof rights and obligations that linkindividuals to the state, includingpaying taxes, obeying laws, andexercising the full range of political,civil, and social rights. Active citizensuse these rights to improve the qualityof political or civic life, throughinvolvement in the formal economy orformal politics, or through the sort ofcollective action that historically hasallowed poor and excluded groups tomake their voices heard. For thosewho do not enjoy full rights ofcitizenship, such as migrants or (insome cultures) women, the first stepis often to organise to assert thoserights.

Effective states can guaranteesecurity and the rule of law, and candesign and implement an effectivestrategy to ensure inclusive economicgrowth. Effective states, often knownas ‘developmental states’, must beaccountable to citizens and able toguarantee their rights.

Why effective states? History has

Welcome to the In Touch section ofParticipatory Learning and Action.Through these pages we hope tocreate a more participatory resourcefor the Participatory Learning andAction audience, to put you, as areader, in touch with other readers.We want this section to be a keysource of up-to-date information ontraining, publications, and networks.Your help is vital in keeping us all intouch about:• Networks. Do you have links with

recognised local, national orinternational networks forpractitioners of participatorylearning? If so, what does thisnetwork provide – training?newsletters? resourcematerial/library? a forum for sharingexperiences? Please tell us about thenetwork and provide contact detailsfor other readers.

• Training. Do you know of anyforthcoming training events orcourses in participatory

methodologies? Are you a traineryourself? Are you aware of any keytraining materials that you wouldlike to share with other trainers?

• Publications. Do you know of anykey publications on participatorymethodologies and their use? Haveyou (or has your organisation)produced any books, reports, orvideos that you would like otherreaders to know about?

• Electronic information. Do youknow of any electronic conferencesor pages on the Internet whichexchange or provide information onparticipatory methodologies?

• Other information. Perhaps you haveideas about other types ofinformation that would be useful forthis section. If so, please let us know.

Please send your responses to: Participatory Learning and Action,IIED, 3 Endsleigh Street, LondonWC1H ODD, UK. Fax: + 44 20 7388 2826; Email: [email protected]

in touch

shown that no country hasprospered without a state than canactively manage the developmentprocess. The transformations ofcountries such as South Korea,Taiwan, Botswana, or Mauritius havebeen led by states that ensure healthand education for all, and whichactively promote and manage theprocess of economic growth. Theroad to development lies throughthe state.

Why active citizenship? Peopleworking together to determine thecourse of their own lives, fighting forrights and justice in their ownsocieties, are critical in holdingstates, private companies, and othersto account. Active citizenship hasinherent merits: people living inpoverty must have a voice indeciding their own destiny, ratherthan be treated as passive recipientsof welfare or government action.

This book argues that activecitizenship and effective states arecompatible, as well as desirable. Thechallenge is to combine them asearly as possible in a country’sdevelopment. However, therelationship between the two iscomplex. They march to differentrhythms, the steady grind of statemachineries contrasting with theebb and flow of civil societyactivism. In many cases, long-termdevelopment requires an element ofdeferred gratification, requiringbusinesses to reinvest rather thanskim off profits, rich people toaccept redistribution of wealth andincome for the sake of nationalstability and growth, and poorpeople to limit demands for theimproved wages and social spendingthat they so desperately need.� Available from Oxfam Publications.www.oxfam.org.uk/publications

ParticipatoryDevelopment: AnIntroduction � Azmal HussainSantap Sanhari Mishra ISBN: 81-314-0799-3 The Icfai UniversityPress, 2008

A participatory approach todevelopment has emerged mainlybecause of the recognition of thelimitations of the conventionalapproach. The major limitation ofthe conventional approach is that itdoes not necessarily hold all thestakeholders accountable.Participatory approach involves localpeople, development agencies, andpolicy makers, deciding togetherhow progress should be measured,and how results are acted upon. Itcan reveal valuable lessons andimprove accountability. Theincorporation of “local knowledge”in development projects is nowcommonplace and this has beenmade possible only through theintroduction of participatorydevelopment modules.

This book focuses on howparticipatory development isattracting interest from manyquarters by offering new ways ofassessing and learning from changesthat are more inclusive, and more intune with the views and aspirationsof those directly affected. It providesan opportunity for developmentorganisations to focus better ontheir ultimate goal of improvingpeople’s lives.� Price: US$ 17 (PB) (Overseas Orders) INR 425 (Special Indian price) Available from The Icfai University Press.www.icfaipress.org [email protected]

LivestockEmergencyGuidelines andStandards (LEGS)� Practical ActionPublishing, 2009ISBN 978-1-85539-679-3

The Livestock Emergency Guidelinesand Standards (LEGS) are a set ofinternational guidelines and standardsfor the design, implementation andassessment of livestock interventionsto assist people affected byhumanitarian crises. They provideguidance on the identification ofappropriate livestock responses,followed by detailed information on anumber of interventions, namely:destocking, veterinary services, theprovision of feed, the provision ofwater, livestock shelter andsettlement, and restocking. LEGS is amulti-agency initiative supported by anumber of donors and based onconsultation and contributions from abroad range of individuals andagencies from around the world.

The post-publication activities areas follows:• Development of training materialsbased on LEGS;• Recruitment of a team of ‘consultanttrainers’ to carry out Training ofTrainers courses based on LEGS;• Implementation of the training in 12regions across the world;• Translation of LEGS into French andother languages (to be made availableas soft copies for download from thewebsite)• Application to the Sphere Project for‘companion module’ status (see:www.sphere.org);• Maintenance of a technical supportcapacity.

If you are interested in hosting a

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training in your country, pleasecontact the LEGS Coordinator:[email protected]. � Available to purchase in hard copy fromPractical Action at http://developmentbookshop.com/product_info.php?products_id=1534and available to download for free in pdfformat from the newly updated LEGSwebsite: www.livestock-emergency.net

Partnerships forEmpowerment.ParticipatoryResearch forCommunity-basedNatural ResourceManagement� Edited by Carl

Wilmsen, William Elmendorf, Larry Fisher,Jacquelyn Ross, Brinda Sarathy and Gail WellsEarthscan, 2008ISBN 9781844075638

Participatory research has emerged asan approach to producing knowledgethat is sufficiently grounded in localneeds and realities to supportcommunity-based natural resourcemanagement (CBNRM), and it istouted as crucial to the sustainablemanagement of forests and othernatural resources.

This book analyses the currentstate of the art of participatoryresearch in CBNRM. Its chapters andcase studies examine recentexperiences in collaborative forestmanagement, harvesting impacts onforest shrubs, watershed restoration inNative American communities, civicenvironmentalism in an urbanneighbourhood and other topics.Although the main geographic focusof the book is the United States, theissues raised are synthesised anddiscussed in the context of recentcritiques of participatory research andCBNRM worldwide. The book's

purpose is to provide insights andlessons for academics and practitionersinvolved in CBNRM in many contexts. � Available from Earthscan:www.earthscan.co.uk

Village voice:towards inclusiveinformationtechnologies� IIED Briefing PaperBen GarsideIIED, 2009

A decade ago it was dubbed the‘digital divide’. Now, the gap ininformation and communicationstechnologies (ICTs) between North andSouth is slowly shrinking. Thedeveloping world accounts for two-thirds of total mobile phonesubscriptions, and Africa has theworld’s fastest growing mobile phonemarket. By gaining a toehold inaffordable ICTs, the poor can accessthe knowledge and services they needto boost their livelihoods. But to besustainable, technologies need tofactor in social realities. These includehow people already share knowledge,and adapt to introduced technologies.Participatory approaches that keepdevelopment concerns at their coreand people as their central focus arekey.� Downloadable at www.iied.org/pubs/display.php?o=17051IIED

Public Participationand Oil Exploitationin Uganda� Gatekeeper 138Christoph SchwarteIIED, 2008ISSN 1357-9258

In 2006 oil was discovered in Uganda.With the country’s economy highly

dependent on fuel imports, nationaloil production could make a long-termcontribution to poverty alleviation. Butfor sustainable development to occur,participatory governance must ensurethat people are involved in thedecision-making processes affectingtheir lives. This paper first analyses theadequacy of the existing legalframework on access to informationand participation. On the basis ofinterviews and focus group studies itfurther examines the main practicalbarriers to better public participation.The author finds that in practice,public participation is subject toseveral financial, technical and politicalconstraints. The culture of secrecywithin government bodies, weak civilsociety structures as well as the politicsof patronage remain substantivechallenges for the fair and equitablemanagement of natural resources inUganda.� Downloadable at www.iied.org/pubs/display.php?o=14574IIED

Legal tools for citizenempowerment:Increasing localparticipation andbenefit in Mali’smining sector� Amadou Keita,

Moussa Djire, with Kadari Traoré, KaderTraoré, Djibonding Dembelé, ArounaDembelé, Mamadou Samassekou, andMoussa DoumboIIED, 2008ISBN 978-1-84369-713-8

Mali’s mining sector has grown greatlysince the early 1990s, and is now thesecond largest source of exportincome. But while the state receivessignificant revenues, at the local levelmining operations have beenassociated with loss of land rights and

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environmental pollution. This studyidentifies legal tools that can be usedby local people to better secure theirland rights and to participate moreeffectively in investment decisions andbenefits. � Also available in French. Downloadable atwww.iied.org/pubs/display.php?o=12554IIED

Legal empowermentin practice. Usinglegal tools to secureland rights in Africa� edited by LorenzoCotula, and Paul MathieuFAO and IIED, 2008

ISBN 978-1-84369-703-9

In recent years, many legalservices organisations havedeveloped innovative ways for usinglegal processses to helpdisadvantaged groups have moresecure rights over their land. Theapproaches, tools and methods usedvary widely across contexts – fromlegal literacy training to paralegalsprogrammes; from participatorymethodologies to helping localgroups register their lands ornegotiate with government or theprivate sector, through to legalrepresentation and strategic use ofpublic interest litigation. In 2008,the Food and Agriculture

Organization of the UN, theInternational Institute forEnvironment and Development, andthe Faculty of Law of the Universityof Ghana jointly organised aninternational workshop to promotean exchange of experience amongpractitioners. This report capturesthe highlights of workshopdiscussions.� www.iied.org/pubs/display.php?o=12552IIED

To subscribe to IIED e-newsletters(e-news and new publications),please email [email protected] visit www.iied.org

Events andtrainingThe Workshop 09 - 13thInternational Commune onParticipatory Development� 30 September-9 October 2009Kerala Institute of Local Administration(KILA) Campus, Thrissur, Kerala, India

The Workshop is an annual eventwhere development workers, policymakers and proactive individualscome together from across the worldto share information, experiences andkeep themselves abreast of the latestin the field of participatorydevelopment.

This is the 13th Workshoporganised by Praxis – Institute forParticipatory Practices as part of itsefforts to promote participation in allforms of human development.

Workshop 09 is a residential 10-day workshop and provides both a

theoretical understanding ofparticipatory approaches and tools aswell as the opportunity to apply themin the field. The ten days includegeneral and specific module basedtheory, three days in various rural,peri-urban and urban field settings, asappropriate to the module content,and finally a sharing, reflection andfeedback session.

The following training moduleswill be included:• Child Participation: Methodologyand Good Practice• Community-led Local Level Planning• Community-led Monitoring andEvaluation• Community-led PovertyAssessments • Participatory Methods andApproaches• Participatory Theatre• Public Accountability: Approachesand Challenges• Training of TrainersFees: INR 25, 000 for Indian participants Euro 1,400 for International participants � For more details and/or to apply: Email: [email protected]

Website: www.theworkshop.inPraxis website: www.praxisindia.org

Participatory Appraisal Workshop� 7-11 September 2009, the University ofEdinburgh, School of GeoSciences, Institute ofAtmospheric and Environmental Science

An intensive five day workshoporganised by the Office of LifelongLearning, concentrating on the practicalapplications of PA and including aplacement at the end of the week to putthe skills learned into practice. Previousplacements have taken place with theBilston Wood Community Project andthe Woodland Trust Scotland.

The cost of the workshop is £575(volunteer rate £375 by specialapplication) which includes all tuitioncosts, in-course transportation,documentation, refreshments and asandwich lunch on four days.Registration deadline: 10 August 2009� Full information can be found on thewebsite at www.lifelong.ed.ac.uk/cpd/courses/geosciences where you can download the registration form and courseflier and also book online.

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Environmental Consensus & ConflictResolution � 1-3 September 2009, the University ofEdinburgh, School of GeoSciences, Instituteof Atmospheric and Environmental Science

This is an intensive 3-day workshopwhich applies theory and consensusbuilding skills in a practical way andencourages participants to work indepth on their own case studymaterial. The scope and format of theworkshop has been developed inresponse to positive feedback fromprevious participants, who have beenattracted from government agencies,business and NGOs.

The cost for this workshop is£450. A special discount rate of £350is available for a limited number ofvolunteers (a special applicationshould be made for the volunteerrate). The fee includes all tuition costs,in-course transportation,documentation, refreshments and a

sandwich lunch on four days duringthe course. Registration deadline: 4August 2009.� Full information can be found on thewebsite at www.lifelong.ed.ac.uk/cpd/courses/geosciences where you candownload the registration form and courseflier and also book online.

Community-based Mapping (on-linecourse)� 28 August-2 October 2009, InternationalInstitute for Sustainable Development (IISD)at Colorado State University

Mapping can be a powerful tool forcommunities to use to better managetheir resources, plan for the future,record and utilise local knowledge,raise awareness about areas ofconcern in their environmental andsocial landscape, and communicatetheir priorities and concerns toexternal agencies or governmentofficials. This course will explore

theories, ethics, applications, andmethods of community-basedmapping and its role in participatorylearning and action as well as largerprocesses of integrated community-based development. This course,while drawing on many of the recentcase studies, academic writings, andreports from the field, will be highlyinteractive and will emphasize thesharing of experiences, ideas, andinsights from course participants.

This is an online course, organisedin a seminar format with weeklyreadings, presentations andassignments along with discussionamong participants. While participantsare not required to access the coursesat specific times it will be necessary toaccess the course at least two or moretimes each week to downloadassignments, post reactions, and givefeedback to other course participants. � For more information visit www.colostate.edu/Orgs/IISD/courses/Mapping.html

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Agriculture and New Technologies:Web 2.0 in Africahttp://tinyurl.com/ctaweb2inafrica

Educational video on how farmershave been using Web 2.0 applicationsin Africa by People TV and theTechnical Centre for Agricultural andRural Cooperation EU-ACP (CTA).

Amnesty International CampaigningManualwww.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ACT10/002/2001/en

A campaigning manual which coversstarting a campaign and engagingwith the media.

Association for ProgressiveCommunications www.apc.org

A global network of civil societyorganisations that aims to empowerand support organisations, socialmovements and individuals in andthrough the use of information andcommunication technologies (ICTs).

Common Craft: Social Media Packwww.commoncraft.com/social-media-pack

A series of short video introductionsto a wide selection of social mediatools and ideas. Presented in PlainEnglish with the option to watch inFrench, Spanish, German orPortuguese. Free to watch online –can be downloaded for a fee. Alsoavailable on Dotsub.com withmultiple language subtitles (searchDotsub for ‘Commoncraft’).

Communication Initiative Networkwww.comminit.com

An online space for sharing theexperiences of, and building bridgesbetween, people and organisations

engaged in or supportingcommunication for economic andsocial development and change.

DGroups: Web2ForDev DiscussionGrouphttp://tinyurl.com/dgroupsweb2fordev

Electronic discussion group dealingwith topics related to Web 2.0 forDevelopment.2

Euforicwww.euforic.org

Uses Internet applications to produceweb-based information services,including alerts, country profiles,thematic dossiers, organisationdirectories, an email digest, an onlinerepository, event listings, and searchtools to share, access and assessinformation on development.

The Fiankoma Project www.fiankoma.org

A development education project thatused video and other digital media astools to promote developmentawareness, working with teachers,students and communities in Ghanaand the UK.

ICT Update: a current awarenessbulletinhttp://ictupdate.cta.int

ICT Update is a bimonthly bulletinabout information communicationtechnologies for development. Eachissue focuses on a specific themerelevant to ICTs for agricultural andrural development in African,Caribbean and Pacific (ACP)countries.

Impact Assessment of ICT forDevelopment Projects: acompendium of approacheshttp://tinyurl.com/ICT-SED

Presents a set of frameworks that canbe used by ICT4D practitioners,policy-makers and consultants tounderstand the impact of informaticsinitiatives in developing countries.3

The International Institute forCommunication and Development(IICD)www.iicd.org

IICD is a non-profit foundation thatspecialises in ICT as a tool fordevelopment.

The Machine is Us/ing Ushttp://tinyurl.com/machine-us

Educational video on Web 2.0 byProfessor Michael Wesch, KansasState University.4

Mutiwww.muti.co.za

A social bookmarking websitededicated to content of interest toAfricans or those interested in Africa.Users bookmark and vote on URLsand can add tags to bookmarks.

NewsForDev: News for developmentprofessionals http://NewsForDev.org

NewsforDev is a CTA project that usesRSS and email to share informationwith agricultural developmentpractitioners in ACP countries.

e-participation

1 Full URL: http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-2469769595078354835

2 Full URL: http://dgroups.org/Community.aspx?c=d84f51bb-0442-4f21-bd84-1a03e0d68cef

3 Full URL: www.sed.manchester.ac.uk/idpm/research/publications/wp/di/di_wp36.htm4 Full URL: www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLlGopyXT_g

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Open Forum on ParticipatoryGeographic Information Systemsand Technology www.ppgis.net

Supports community mapping forconservation, development, naturalresource management and customaryproperty rights.

Personal Media Learning Center www.ourmedia.org/learning-center

A rich educational resource foreverything you wanted to knowabout user-created video, audio, andother forms of citizens' media.

Social Bookmarking Siteshttp://tinyurl.com/bookmarks-review

Review of the top ten socialbookmarking websites.5

The 59 smartest non-profitorganisations onlinewww.squidoo.com/org20

These charities were chosen for theirexcellence in online storytelling andcollaboration with their donors andbecause of their use of Web 2.0 toolsto engage their constituents farbeyond asking them for donations.

Video for Agricultural and RuralDevelopment http://video.cta.int

This video portal initiated by CTA in2004 is a collection of video clips andfilms about ARD issues in ACPcountries. This portal sharesexperience/knowledge about usingvideo for agricultural and ruraldevelopment.

Web2forDev 2007 InternationalConference websitehttp://2007.web2fordev.net

This website offers a collection ofresources including recordedpresentations by keynote speakers atthe Web2forDev conference.

Web2forDev Gatewaywww.web2fordev.net

A virtual meeting point for innovatorsdealing with the use of Web 2.0applications in development. Providesaccess to a number of related socialnetworking spaces. Recommendswebsites dealing with Web 2.0 forDevelopment.

Web2forDev WebRinghttp://tinyurl.com/web2fordev-ring

This is the hub of the ring of websites,blogs and wikis sharing commoninterests in collaborative onlineapplications used in the context ofdevelopment work. This WebRingaims to facilitate access to relevantWeb2forDev information and peer-to-peer knowledge exchange.6

ARTICLES ON PRIVACY CONCERNSOVER WEB 2.O TOOLS

For further discussions on issuesrelated to Web 2.0 and privacy,censorship, terms of service andintellectual property rights see e.g.:

BBC Newshttp://tinyurl.com/bbcfbook

News article: ‘Websites “keepingdeleted photos”.’7

Digiactivehttp://tinyurl.com/digiactivefb

Blog post by Gaurav Mishra: ‘ThePerils of Facebook Activism: walledgardens, serial activists and hackers.’8

Eric Lee bloghttp://tinyurl.com/ericlee-faceb

Blog post by Eric Lee: ‘Bandwagonsand Buzzwords: Facebook and theUnions.’9

Global Voices Advocacyhttp://tinyurl.com/gvbloganon

Article by Ethan Zuckerman:‘Anonymous Blogging withWordpress & Tor.’10

Wikipediahttp://tinyurl.com/wikipfbook

http://tinyurl.com/wikipmsp

Discussions related to socialnetworking websites Facebook andMySpace.11 12

EXAMPLES OF ONLINE SOCIALNETWORKS FOR DEVELOPMENT

Africa ICT Networkhttp://ictafrica.ning.com

A networking community for peoplewho are professionally involved in theAfrican ICT Industry.

Development CAFE www.thedevelopmentcafe.org

Development CAFE is an interactiveonline social network fordevelopment professionals for people

5 Full URL: http://websearch.about.com/od/bestwebsites/tp/freebookmarks.htm

6 Full URL: http://h.webring.com/hub?ring=web20fordevelop17 Full URL: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8060407.stm

8 Full URL: www.digiactive.org/2009/04/17/the-perils-of-facebook-activism-walled-gardens-serial-activists-and-hackers9 Full URL: www.ericlee.info/2007/11/bandwagons_and_buzzwords_faceb.html10 Full URL: http://advocacy.globalvoicesonline.org/projects/guide11 Full URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Facebook12 Full URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Myspace

from all over the world to meet andinteract and share information andresources based on the developmentsector.

The Environment Sitewww.theenvironmentsite.org/forum

A social network for people interestedin environmental issues.

Forest Connecthttp://forestconnect.ning.com

A social network dedicated to Smalland Medium Forest Enterprises (SMFEs).

i-geniushttp://i-genius.org/home

Supports social change and helpsmembers develop partnerships withestablished organisations.

OneWorldTVhttp://tv.oneworld.net

Non-profit video-sharing networkaimed at people interested indevelopment, environment, etc.

Research and Media Networkhttp://researchandmedia.ning.com

A social network for people whocommunicate about sustainabledevelopment research.

Social Source Commonshttp://socialsourcecommons.org

A useful website to find newcommunications tools. Lists groups ofweb-based tools from differentpeople working in the non-profitsector, grouped into ‘toolboxes’ andranked by popularity.

EXAMPLES OF DEVELOPMENT WIKIS

Appropediawww.appropedia.org

This wiki explores collaborativesolutions in sustainability, poverty

reduction and internationaldevelopment through the use ofappropriate technology and thesharing of project information.

Kabissa: Space for change in Africahttp://wiki.kabissa.org

An online wiki manual for African civilsociety organisations who want tolearn more about integrating Web 2.0technology into their work.

Telecentres-Africa www.share4dev.info/telecentres

A platform for sharing experiencesabout telecentre activities in Africa.Includes a wiki which provides acollaborative space for sharing relatedexperiences.

Web2forDev on Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web2fordev

Editable description and definition ofthe Web2forDev concept on Wikipedia.

WikiAdvocacyhttp://wikiadvocacy.org

WikiAdvocacy is a free, reader-builtguide, as well as an online communityfor advocacy.

WikiEducatorwww.wikieducator.org

An online collaborative communityproject that focuses on the learningfor development agenda. Search forCommunity Empowerment, a newand evolving section on the newWikiEducator website.

Wikipediahttp://en.wikipedia.org

Wikipedia is a free onlineencyclopaedia that anyone can edit.Wikipedia is multilingual and is nowthe ninth most popular website in theworld. Includes useful developmentcontent.

EXAMPLES OF DEVELOPMENT BLOGS

Afrigatorhttp://afrigator.com

Afrigator is a social media aggregatorand directory built especially forAfrican digital citizens who publishand consume content on the Web.

Alive in Baghdadhttp://aliveinbaghdad.org

A website and blog dedicated toshowing the conflict through the voicesof Iraqis, with testimonies from individualIraqis, footage of daily life in Iraq, andshort news segments from Iraq.

Blogsessivehttp://blogsessive.com

A website which includes bloggingtips, Wordpress tools and plug-ins,themes and answers to your bloggingrelated questions.

BROSDI audio bloghttp://audioblog.podbean.com

The Busoga Rural Open Source andDevelopment Initiative audio blog abouteffective local agricultural practice.

Brussels Development Briefings http://brusselsbriefings.net

This blog includes all the relevantdocuments about the regulardevelopment briefing sessions inBrussels on key issues and challengesfor rural development in the contextof EU/ACP cooperation.

CEDICT: Communication, Educationand Development using ICT http://cedict.blogspot.com

A blog about individual and communitydevelopment using new informationand communication technologies,especially e-learning, open educationalresources, open source, Web 2.0,blogs, wikis, social networking, social

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bookmarking, semantic web and othersocial software.

CrissCrossedwww.crisscrossed.net

CrissCrossed focuses on how socialchanges occur via communication,online tools, their impact, potentialand challenges in the context ofcultural diversity. Includes topics relatedto network learning and knowledgemanagement for development.

CTA Brusselshttp://brussels.cta.int

This blog shares information on keyACP-EU programmes and events fromBrussels relevant to agriculture andrural development in ACP countries.Users can subscribe online to theweekly e-newsletter.

Ghana GINKS storytelling blogswww.ginks.blogspot.com

GINKS is a network of individuals andorganisations that seeks to promoteICT4D in Ghana. Includes a video blog(vlog).

Global Voiceshttp://globalvoicesonline.org

An international advocacy network.Collates, translates and reports onblogs and citizen media everywhere,with an emphasis on voices that arenot ordinarily heard in internationalmainstream media.

Global Voices Advocacy: Blog for aCause!http://tinyurl.com/globalvoicesblog

A series of manuals focused on the

topics of circumventing Internet filtering,anonymous blogging and effective useof Internet-based tools in campaigns forsocial and political change.13

I collaborate, e-collaborate, wecollaborate www.icollaborate.blogspot.com

This blog is run by the members ofthe E-collaboration learningcommunity who work indevelopment organisations based inthe Netherlands.

ICT-KM Programme http://ictkm.wordpress.com

The ICT-KM blog focuses on thepromotion and support of the use ofinformation and communicationstechnology (ICT) and knowledgemanagement (KM).

Indian Kisan Bloghttp://kisan.wordpress.com

Discussions, data, figures and articleson issues related to food security inIndia.

Mashable http://mashable.com

Mashable is the world's largest blogfocused exclusively on Web 2.0 andSocial Media news.

Reporters Without Borderswww.rsfblog.org

Brings together free speech activistsand other Internet users who areconcerned about what is happeningin the world and provides a way topublish information that is censoredin their own countries.

Roxanna Samii blog http://rsamii.blogspot.com

This blog talks about development,knowledge management, changemanagement, organisationalbehaviour, ICTs, rural livelihoods,leadership, management and otherrelated subject matters.

Web2fordev Bloghttp://blog.web2fordev.net

Developed during the Web2fordev 2007conference, this blog is an archive ofinteresting debates and resources relatedto Web 2.0 methods, approaches andapplications for development.

Voices of Africahttp://voicesofafrica.africanews.com

An African blog, which aims to helptalented Africans build a career inmedia, using currently availabletechnologies that are not yetfinancially affordable in Africa.

EXAMPLES OF ONLINE PLATFORMSUSING MOBILE PHONES

Mobileactivismhttp://mobileactive.org

A community of people andorganisations using mobile phones forsocial impact.

Ushahidiwww.ushahidi.com

Crowdsourcing citizen reporting toolthat uses FrontLine.com SMS servicesto enable citizens to upload andreceive reports, breaking news etc.Developed for humanitarian crisissituations.

13 Full URL: http://advocacy.globalvoicesonline.org/projects/guide-blog-for-a-cause

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In this section, we update readers on activities of theResource Centres for Participatory Learning and ActionNetwork (RCPLA) Network (www.rcpla.org) and itsmembers. RCPLA is a diverse, international network ofnational-level organisations, which brings togetherdevelopment practitioners from around the globe. It wasformally established in 1997 to promote the use ofparticipatory approaches to development. The network isdedicated to capturing and disseminating developmentperspectives from the South. For more information pleasecontact the RCPLA Network Steering Group:RCPLA Coordination and North Africa & Middle East Region:Ali Mokhtar, Near East Foundation – Middle East Region,Center for Development Services (CDS), 4 Ahmed PashaStreet, 10th Floor, Garden City, Cairo, Egypt. Tel: +20 2 7957558; Fax: +20 2 794 7278; Email: [email protected];[email protected]; Website:www.neareast.org/main/cds/default.aspxAsia Region: Tom Thomas, Director, Institute forParticipatory Practices (Praxis), S-75 South Extension, Part II,New Delhi, India 110 049. Tel/Fax: +91 11 5164 2348 to 51; Email: [email protected]; www.praxisindia.orgJayatissa Samaranayake, Institute for ParticipatoryInteraction in Development (IPID), 591 Havelock Road,Colombo 06, Sri Lanka. Tel: +94 1 555521;

Tel/Fax: +94 1 587361; Email: [email protected] Africa Region: Awa Faly Ba Mbow, IED-Afrique, BP5579 Dakar Fann, Senegal. Tel: +221 33 867 10 58; Fax: +221 33 867 10 59; Email: [email protected]: www.iedafrique.orgEuropean Region: Jane Stevens, Participation, Power andSocial Change Group, Institute of Development Studies(IDS), University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9RE, UK. Tel: + 44 1273 678690; Fax: + 44 1273 21202; Email: [email protected]; Website:www.ids.ac.uk/ids/participParticipatory Learning and Action Editorial Team,International Institute for Environment and Development(IIED), 3 Endsleigh Street, London WC1H 0DD, UK. Tel: +44207 388 2117; Fax: +44 207 388 2826; Email:[email protected]; Website: www.planotes.orgLatin America Region: Jordi Surkin, Grupo Nacional deTrabajo para la Participación, PO Box 3371, Santa Cruz,Bolivia. Tel/Fax: +591 3 3376076; Email: [email protected];Website: www.gntp.orgEastern Africa Region: Eliud Wakwabubi, ParticipatoryMethodologies Forum of Kenya (PAMFORK), Jabavu Road,PCEA Jitegemea Flats, Flat No. D3, PO Box 2645, KNH PostOffice, Nairobi, Kenya. Tel/Fax: +254 2 716609; Email:[email protected]

to know that PLA 57 entitled:Immersions: learning about povertyface-to-face is now available onlinein Arabic. Guest edited by Izzy Birchand Raffaella Catani (Praxis), withRobert Chambers, the theme for thisspecial issue centres on experiencesof face-to-face learning, orimmersions – opportunities fordevelopment professionals to spenda period of time living with andlearning from a poor family. Seewww.rcpla.org/page.php?pg=publications#arabic

The RCPLA website has beenupdated; new publications andresources are now available atwww.rcpla.org

To join the network, pleasecontact Ms Passinte Isaak, email:[email protected]

participation as an active processthroughout the project cycle andidentify the challenges faced indeepening the use of participatoryapproaches. The case of the YoungWomen Leadership Program (YWLP)implemented in Egypt will serve as asuccessful model for deepening theparticipatory approach for socialchange. The publication will alsoinclude tips on how to monitor andevaluate the process ofimplementing the participatoryapproach and will be followed by atraining manual on adopting andstrategising this approach.

Participatory Learning and Action 57now available in ArabicReaders in the Middle East and NorthAfrica will be particularly interested

News from the RCPLA NetworkCoordinator

Deepening Participation for SocialChangeAlthough the concept ofparticipation has become a popularone in development activities, thereis often a remarkable lack of anactively participatory process in theimplementation of projects.Deepening Participation for SocialChange was identified by the RCPLAmembers as the theme for the year2008-09. In this context the networkis planning a publication that aims topromote the effective adoption ofthe participatory approach.

This publication will presentconceptual reflections onparticipation in development, analyse

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News from the Asia Region:Praxis India – Institute forParticipatory Practices

Workshop 09Praxis is preparing for Workshop 09 –the Annual Praxis Commune onParticipatory Development, to be heldin Kerala from 30th September to 9thOctober. For more details see Eventsand Training in the In Touch section.

Voices of the Kosi – A pre-electionpeople’s campaign aroundf the KosiBasinDuring April 2009, Praxis coordinateda campaign in Purnia district, Biharstate to connect with inhabitants ofthe Kosi basin along part of thestretch of the Kosi river. The campaignwas undertaken by a number ofprominent civil society organisationsof Bihar and media representatives.The overall aim was to give excluded,marginalised and vulnerable groupsalong the Kosi river an active voice intheir own equitable and sustainabledevelopment.

The area between theembankments of Kosi river comprisesover 380 villages and houses nearly12 lakh people, and it exemplifies themost glaring form of exclusion frombasic services and developmentopportunities. Since the constructionof the Kosi barrage in the early 1950sand subsequent submergence of thevillages, inhabitants of the area havenever been provided with anyrecourse, in blatant violation ofpromises of compensation made tothem by the then Prime Minister Mr.Jawahar Lal Nehru, which includedprovision of land, employment andhouses.

Praxis initiated a boat journeyacross the stretch of the Kosi riverbetween embankments to connect

with the affected people for whomthe river has been flooding for the lastfive decades. The people of the Kosibasin expressed their anger and spokeof their demands. A people’smanifesto was generated in theprocess and each community visitedby the team came up with a plan toconfront candidates of the 15th LokSabha elections with their manifesto.Issues and vulnerabilities were profiledusing participatory video, GPS andsatellite imageries, and participatoryresearch processes.

This campaign will bedocumented more fully in a futureissue of PLA. For more informationvisit www.praxisindia.org/kosi

News from the Latin AmericaRegion: Grupo Nacional deTrabajo para la Partipación(GNTP)GNTP’s environment and sustainablelandscapes programme is working ontwo key projects. With ConservationInternational it is running aconservation and knowledgemanagement project that focuses onlandscape conservation, sustainableeconomic development,comanagement and other areas. Theyare also starting a project to analyseHuman Vulnerability and Adaptationto Climate Change in the Madidilandscape (Bolivia). In this project PRAmethods will be used to examine howcommunities are feeling the impactsof climate, the adaptationmechanisms they have developed,and how climate change will affecttheir well-being. This participatoryresearch will be combined with ascientific analysis of climate changemodels, predictions and historicalweather data, to produce morerigorous project results.

GNTP is part of a new consortium

with Cooperation HousingFoundation (CHF) International andthe Bolivian Federation of MunicipalAssociations that is implementing afive year project to strengthen themanagement and investment capacityof municipalities in Bolivia. For moreinformation visit www.gntp.org

News from the European Region:PPSC Group at the Institute ofDevelopment Studies (IDS)The Participation, Power and SocialChange (PPSC) Group at IDS has beenworking on a range of issues overrecent months. Amongst manyactivities, colleagues have beenfacilitating a workshop in Malifocusing on rights-based approaches;convening the third and final sessionof the BINGO (Big InternationalNGOs) group who have beenexploring their role as agents of socialchange; and researching the impactsof the food, fuel and financial crisison the world’s poorest people.

Last autumn saw the publicationof Robert Chambers’ new book,Revolutions in Development Inquiry,published by Earthscan, which waslaunched at the Edinburgh RadicalBook Fair. Also published by the teamwere the IDS Bulletins ReclaimingFeminism: Gender and Neoliberalism(Cornwall, A.) and IntergeneartionalTransmissions: Cultivating Agency?(Moncrieffe, J.). The CitizenshipDevelopment Research Centrepublished the IDS Focus Policy Briefing05, Building Responsive States: CitizenAction and National Policy Changeand the Pathways of Women’sEmpowerment programme publishedConceptualising Women’sEmpowerment in InternationalDevelopment Agencies (Eyben, R. andNapier-Moore, R.).

Applications are now open for the

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2009 Masters Programme inParticipation, Power and SocialChange which will commence inOctober this year. This action learningcourse offers experienceddevelopment workers and socialchange activists the opportunity tocritically reflect on their practice whiledeepening their knowledge and skills.For more information on the MA orany of the activities please [email protected]

News from the European Region:International Institute forEnvironment and Development(IIED)

Democratising the governance offood and agricultural researchThe latest chapter of an onlinemultimedia book in the makingTowards Food Sovereignty. Reclaimingautonomous food systems focuses onthe need to transform agricultural

research. It also addresses the politicsof knowledge associated withconservation and natural resource useas well as notions of cognitive justiceand equivalency between indigenousknowledge systems and westernscience. Authored by Michel Pimbert,the chapter is called “Transformingknowledge and ways of knowing.”

Pimbert proposes a new way ofworking in which policy makers,scientists and local people set strategicresearch priorities together, and inwhich research serves local interestsahead of those of private companiesand technocratic elites. He proposes atwo pronged approach. The first givesa more central place to farmers andother citizens in the actual governanceand running of a strengthened publicresearch system. The second seeks toexpand horizontal networks ofknowledge producers and users toenhance learning and action by, withand for people.

Download the chapter at www.iied.org/pubs/display.php?o=G02493

Promoting practical, just andsustainable forest use using filmsAs part of the Forest GovernanceLearning Group, IIED’s partners areworking with a filmmaker to prepareshort videos to show that many keyforest problems are related to socialjustice, and that such problems can beworked on, and how this can beachieved. These films will include anoverview plus case studies fromMalawi, Ghana, Vietnam and Uganda,as well as material contributed byForest Governance Learning Groupmembers in several other African andAsian countries. The films are due to becompleted by autumn 2009. Furtherinformation on the Forest GovernanceLearning Group is available on the IIEDwebsite: www.iied.org/natural-resources/key-issues/forestry/forest-governance-learning-group

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Issue 59: Jun 2009 US$32.00 14563 IIED Change at hand: Web 2.0 for development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .�Issue 58: Jun 2008 US$32.00 14562 IIED Towards empowered participation: stories and reflections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .�Issue 57: Dec 2007 US$32.00 14558 IIED Immersions: learning about poverty face-to-face . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .�Issue 55: Dec 2006 US$32.00 14523 IIED Practical tools for community conservation in southern Africa . . . . . . . . . . . . .�Issue 54: Apr 2006 US$32.00 14507 IIED Mapping for change: practice, technologies and communications . . . . . . . . . .�Issue 53: Dec 2005 US$32.00 14505 IIED Tools for influencing power and policy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .�Issue 51: Apr 2005 US$32.00 9526 IIED Civil society and poverty reduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .�Issue 50: Oct 2004 US$32.00 9440 IIED Critical reflections, future directions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .�Issue 49: Apr 2004 US$32.00 9312 IIED Decentralisation and community-based planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .�Issue 48: Dec 2003 US$32.00 9284 IIED Learning and teaching participation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .�Issue 47: Aug 2003 US$32.00 9260 IIED General issue (Mini-theme: parti-numbers) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .�Issue 46: Feb 2003 US$32.00 9224 IIED Participatory processes for policy change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .�Issue 45: Oct 2002 US$32.00 9218 IIED Community-based animal health care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .�Issue 44: June 2002 US$32.00 9216 IIED Local government and participation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .�Issue 43: Feb 2002 US$32.00 9133 IIED Advocacy and citizen participation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .�Issue 42: Oct 2001 US$32.00 9113 IIED Children’s participation – evaluating effectiveness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .�Issue 40: Feb 2001 US$32.00 6345 IIED Deliberative democracy and citizen empowerment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .�Issue 39: Oct 2000 US$25.00 6344 IIED Popular communications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .�Issue 38: June 2000 US$25.00 6341 IIED Participatory processes in the North . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .�Issue 37: Feb 2000 US$25.00 6335 IIED Sexual and reproductive health . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .�Issue 35: June 1999 US$25.00 6154 IIED Community water management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .�Issue 34: Feb 1999 US$25.00 6150 IIED Learning from analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .�Issue 33: Oct 1998 US$25.00 6143 IIED Understanding market opportunities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .�Issue 32: June 1998 US$25.00 6137 IIED Participation, literacy and empowerment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .�Issue 31: Feb 1998 US$25.00 6131 IIED Participatory monitoring and evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .�Issue 30: Oct 1997 US$25.00 6129 IIED Participation and fishing communities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .�Issue 29: June 1997 US$25.00 6123 IIED Performance and participation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .�Issue 28: Feb 1997 US$25.00 6115 IIED Methodological complementarity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .�Issue 27: Oct 1996 US$25.00 6114 IIED Participation, policy and institutionalisation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .�Issue 25: Feb 1996 US$25.00 6099 IIED Children’s participation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .�Issue 24: Oct 1995 US$25.00 6093 IIED Critical reflections from practice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .�Please also visit our website www.planotes.org or contact Earthprint Ltd

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General issue

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Immersions: learning about poverty face-to-face

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Deliberative

what?

Couldn'tyou stop

our cropsbeing

washed away again?

Come on board,

good citizens!

We're hereto give

you a voicein a

deliberative

democratic

process!Look!some newpeople toengage

with!

Towardsempowered

participation:stories

andreflections

© Kate Charlesworth

Return to: Participatory Learning and Action, Research Information Ltd, Grenville Court, Britwell Road, Burnham,Buckinghamshire, SL1 8DF. Tel: +44 1628 600499; Fax: +1628 600488. Email: [email protected]

Alternatively, subscribe securely online: www.researchinformation.co.ukISSN: 1357 938X. Shipping included in price.

Subscriptions are free of charge to individuals and organisations from the South and to community/voluntary groups from the North with limited or nofunding for resources. We ask that individuals and institutions from countries in the North – including northern organisations based in the South – pay fora subscription.† Please ask if you need clarification about your free subscription entitlement. Individual paid subscriptions are those paid from an individual'sown pockets and not reimbursed by an institution.

Published 2-3 times a year, Participatory Learning and Action (formerly PLA Notes) is the world's leading informal journal on participatoryapproaches and methods.

NEW! Online subscriptionsThe Participatory Learning and Action series has teamed up with IngentaConnect, a leading international online publisher. All subscribers can now access their PLA subscription on the Internet, whether you are a free or paying subscriber. You can also choose to take out an online only subscription if you prefer not to receive paper copies as well. See below for more details.

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Guidelines for contributorsFor a full set of guidelines, visit ourwebsite www.planotes.org or contact usat the address below.

Types of material accepted • Articles: max. 2500 words plus

illustrations – see below for guidelines.• Feedback: letters to the editor, or

longer pieces (max. 1500 words) whichrespond in more detail to articles.

• Tips for trainers: training exercises, tipson running workshops, reflections onbehaviour and attitudes in training,etc., max. 1000 words.

• In Touch: short pieces on forthcomingworkshops and events, publications,and online resources. We welcome accounts of recent

experiences in the field (or in workshops)and current thinking aroundparticipation, and particularly encouragecontributions from practitioners in theSouth. Articles should be co-authored byall those engaged in the research,project, or programme.

In an era in which participatoryapproaches have often been viewed as apanacea to development problems orwhere acquiring funds for projects hasdepended on the use of suchmethodologies, it is vital to payattention to the quality of the methodsand process of participation. Whilst wewill continue to publish experiences ofinnovation in the field, we would like toemphasise the need to analyse thelimitations as well as the successes ofparticipation. Participatory Learning andAction is still a series whose focus ismethodological, but it is important togive more importance to issues of powerin the process and to the impact ofparticipation, asking ourselves who setsthe agenda for participatory practice. Itis only with critical analysis that we canfurther develop our thinking aroundparticipatory learning and action.

We particularly favour articles whichcontain one or more of the following elements: • an innovative angle to the concepts of

participatory approaches or theirapplication;

• critical reflections on the lessons learntfrom the author’s experiences;

• an attempt to develop new methods,or innovative adaptations of existingones;

• consideration of the processes

now housed by the Institute ofDevelopment Studies, UK. Practicalinformation and support on participationin development is also available from thevarious members of the RCPLA Network.

This initiative is a global network ofresource centres for participatorylearning and action, which bringstogether 15 organisations from Africa,Asia, South America, and Europe. TheRCPLA Network is committed toinformation sharing and networking onparticipatory approaches.

Each member is itself at the centre ofa regional or national network. Membersshare information about activities in theirrespective countries, such as trainingprogrammes, workshops and key events,as well as providing PLA informationfocused on the particular fields in whichthey operate.

More information, including regularupdates on RCPLA activities, can be foundin the In Touch section of ParticipatoryLearning and Action, or by visitingwww.rcpla.org, or contacting the networkcoordinator: Ali Mokhtar, CDS, Near EastFoundation, 4 Ahmed Pasha Street, 10thFloor, Garden City, Cairo, Egypt. Tel: +20 2795 7558; Fax: +2 2 794 7278; Email:[email protected]

Participation at IDSParticipatory approaches andmethodologies are also a focus for theParticipation, Power and Social ChangeGroup at the Institute of DevelopmentStudies, University of Sussex, UK. Thisgroup of researchers and practitioners isinvolved in sharing knowledge, instrengthening capacity to support qualityparticipatory approaches, and indeepening understanding ofparticipatory methods, principles, andethics. It focuses on South-South sharing,exchange visits, information exchange,action research projects, writing, andtraining. Services include a ParticipationResource Centre (open weekdays) withan online database detailing materialsheld. The Group also produces anewsletter and operates an emaildistribution list.

For further information pleasecontact: Jane Stevens, IDS, University ofSussex, Brighton BN1 9RE, UK. Tel: +44 1273 678690Fax: +44 1273 621202Email: [email protected]: www.ids.ac.uk

involved in participatory approaches;• an assessment of the impacts of a

participatory process;• potentials and limitations of scaling up

and institutionalising participatoryapproaches; and,

• potentials and limitations ofparticipatory policy-making processes.

Language and style Please try to keep contributions clear andaccessible. Sentences should be short andsimple. Avoid jargon, theoreticalterminology, and overly academiclanguage. Explain any specialist termsthat you do use and spell out acronyms infull.

AbstractsPlease include a brief abstract with yourarticle (circa. 150-200 words).

ReferencesIf references are mentioned, pleaseinclude details. Participatory Learningand Action is intended to be informal,rather than academic, so referencesshould be kept to a minimum.

Photographs and drawingsThese should have captions and thename(s) of the author(s)/photographerclearly written on the back. If you aresending electronic files, please make surethat the photos/drawings are scanned at ahigh enough resolution for print (300 dpi)and include a short caption and credit(s).

FormatWe accept handwritten articles butplease write legibly. Typed articles shouldbe double-spaced. Please keepformatting as simple as possible. Avoidembedded codes (e.g. footnotes/endnotes, page justification, pagenumbering).

Submitting your contributionContributions can be sent on paper or byemail to: The Editors, ParticipatoryLearning and Action , IIED, 3 EndsleighStreet, London WC1 0DD, UK.Fax: +44 20 7388 2826 Email: [email protected] Website: www.planotes.org

Resource Centres for Participatory Learningand Action (RCPLA) NetworkSince June 2002, the IIED Resource Centrefor Participatory Learning and Action has


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ISBN: 978-1-84369-716-9ISSN: 1357-938XOrder no: 14563IIED

International Institute for Environment and Development3 Endsleigh StreetLondon WC1H 0DD, UK

Tel: +44 20 7388 2117Fax: +44 20 7388 2826Email: [email protected]: www.planotes.orgIIED website: www.iied.org

Technical Centre for Agriculturaland Rural Cooperation ACP-EU (CTA) Postbus 3806700 AJ WageningenThe Netherlands

Tel: +31 317 467100Fax: +31 317 460067Email: [email protected]: www.cta.int

Web 2.0 tools and approaches are radically changing the ways we create,share, collaborate and publish digital information through the Internet.Participatory Web 2.0 for development – or Web2forDev for short – is a wayof employing web services to intentionally improve information-sharing andonline collaboration for development. Web 2.0 presents us with newopportunities for change – as well as challenges – that we need to betterunderstand and grasp. This special issue shares learning and reflections frompractice and considers the ways forward for using Web 2.0 for development.

Participatory Learning and Action is the world’s leading informal journal onparticipatory approaches and methods. It draws on the expertise of guesteditors to provide up-to-the minute accounts of the development and use ofparticipatory methods in specific fields. Since its first issue in 1987,Participatory Learning and Action has provided a forum for those engaged inparticipatory work – community workers, activists, and researchers – toshare their experiences, conceptual reflections and methodologicalinnovations with others, providing a genuine ‘voice from the field’. It is avital resource for those working to enhance the participation of ordinarypeople in local, regional, national, and international decision-making, inboth South and North.

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