At a recent service design event in London, I was in a discussion about service design and local authorities, where I heard about the great work that Waltham Forest Council is doing in that area. And I've been thinking about it ever since, specifically about what was so different about the approach the service design … Continue reading Reframing the local authority as a local facilitator of change
Category: Development
How can we be better at data for development?
Last week I attended a data for development event with the ICT4D community here in London. It was a very thought-provoking evening with some great examples of how data is collected and used in a development or humanitarian context. Data - one of development's toughest challenges When I hear about data for development, my first thought … Continue reading How can we be better at data for development?
Why NGOs never fail
Ask any NGO workers about failures in their organisation, it’s likely they are going to struggle to come up with an answer. Especially if they are business development people, they probably won’t tell you about a failure. However, many NGOs fail, and often. But the way the system is constructed doesn’t allow for the concept … Continue reading Why NGOs never fail
Why UX design matters in ICT4D interventions
Joe Dollar-Smirnov, UX Trainer at General Assembly, defines user experience (UX) design as the act of designing an intuitive and rewarding product or service around the needs of the end user. When working on products at OneWorld, I keep two objectives in mind: When interacting with the technology, the user needs have a successful and … Continue reading Why UX design matters in ICT4D interventions
What about the men?
ICT interventions to prevent violence against women more often than not work with... women In the last decade Information and Communication Technology (ICT) went from being a buzzword to representing an essential tick-box in the development community as more and more donors and NGO professionals see opportunities in ICT to add value to their existing … Continue reading What about the men?
How can mobile technology improve health in LMIC? (UCL conference)
Today I attended the first day of the mhealth conference at University College London on ‘How can mobile technology improve health in low and middle income countries?’. Here are just a few thoughts based on the presentations and discussions I heard today! Some key points from the day - Account for disabilities in mhealth interventions: … Continue reading How can mobile technology improve health in LMIC? (UCL conference)
Mapping the World
Last week I attended a Mapathon with Missing Maps at King’s College. A map-athon is a group of people getting together to create maps. While we already have all sorts of maps online, this mapathon was to create maps for OpenStreetMap – an opensource map of the world. It is often described as the Wikipedia of maps; … Continue reading Mapping the World
HIV stigma is not over
On September 2nd I attended the launch of the report ‘HIV and Stigma: The Media Challenge’ by Sophie Chalk, Director of Campaigns at the International Broadcasting Trust. Beyond the findings of the report, the launch also included a prominent panel, including Garth Japhet (Founder of Heartlines and the Soul City Institutes, South Africa), Winnie Ssanyu … Continue reading HIV stigma is not over
Tell me about the slums
I like to watch what I call ‘popular documentaries’ about life in other countries. In my eyes, these are different from ‘regular documentaries’, because they appeal less to an intellectual elite, but to people who enjoy entertainment shows. Often they include a British reporter who goes on to explore a new culture and give us … Continue reading Tell me about the slums
Stigma and HIV reporting – a lesson from the BBC
Zainab Deen wrote an article in BBC Magazine on ‘Sex workers using anti-HIV drugs instead of condoms’. However, her reporting is everything else but neutral. Her first paragraph reeks with stigmatizing rhetoric: “In Kenya 1.5 million people are living with HIV, and there are about 100,000 new infections every year. Despite this, some sex workers … Continue reading Stigma and HIV reporting – a lesson from the BBC
