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Mobile-enabled social change. One SMS at a time...
Since 2003, kiwanja.net has been
helping empower local, national and international non-profit organisations to make better use
of information and communications technology in their work.
Specialising in the application of mobile technology, it provides a wide range of ICT-related
services drawing on over 22 years experience of its
founder, Ken Banks.
Non-profits in over forty countries have so far benefited from a range of
kiwanja initiatives, including
FrontlineSMS and
nGOmobile
kiwanja.net believes that all non-profits, whatever their size and
wherever they operate, should be given the opportunity to implement the latest
mobile technologies in their work, and actively seeks to provide the tools and
the environment to enable them to do so. In pursuit of this, kiwanja.net provides
free consultancy, workshops and advice - and access to technology through its FrontlineSMS and nGOmobile initiatives -
to all grassroots non-profits interested in exploring the social and
environmental potential of mobile in their work
 With a key focus on developing countries, and a particular
emphasis on
low-cost, grassroots, sustainable solutions,
kiwanja.net is unique in that it
combines a strong business
and technology background with a degree in
anthropology
and
over 14 years conservation and development experience
in countries including Nigeria, Zambia, South Africa,
Uganda,
Zimbabwe, Kenya, Mozambique and more recently,
India
The work of kiwanja.net centres around three distinct, complementary areas:
Inform: Firstly, providing mobile-related news and information to
those who need it
Advise: Secondly, once they have it, helping them make sense of it
Act: Finally, once they understand it, providing the tools necessary to
help them act on it
 kiwanja has
also given numerous talks on the
grassroots mobile innovation, the role of mobile
phones in international
conservation and development efforts - and the
role anthropology can play - at a number of
international workshops, conferences and events
including Net
Tuesday (San Francisco), IDEO
(Palo Alto), Stanford University (California), Nokia Research (London, Palo Alto
and Los Angeles), the University of Arizona, Amnesty International
(London and New Delhi),
W3C
(Bangalore and Sao Paulo), Microsoft Research (Cambridge),
a
t4cd Conference (Johannesburg), the University of Surrey 'Digital World Research Centre' (United
Kingdom), the 16th
International World Wide Web Conference
(Canada) and
Mobile World
Congress (Barcelona)
But anyone can talk. A few practical career highlights include:
-
Named a
National Geographic Emerging Explorer for
FrontlineSMS, and
efforts to help advance the spread of mobile technology in the developing
world (summer 2010)
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Winner of a Silicon Valley "Tech
Award" for
FrontlineSMS (autumn 2009)
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Named one of sixteen
Pop!Tech Social
Innovation Fellows (autumn 2008)
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Launch of the
Silverbackers
mobile phone game to raise awareness around the plight of the mountain
gorilla/DRC conflict (spring 2008)
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The use of
FrontlineSMS in
Nigeria, Zimbabwe and Pakistan, reported by the
BBC and
The Economist (spring and autumn 2007, spring 2008)
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Launch of
nGOmobile, a
competition aimed at empowering non-profit grassroots organisations looking to
use mobile technology in their work (autumn 2007)
-
Uganda-based field research in
support of The Grameen Technology Centre 'AppLab'
mobile initiative - see the
News page for details (summer 2007)
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Awarded significant funding from a
range of high-profile US donors for
the on-going development of
FrontlineSMS (summer
2007 to present)
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Awarded a Fellowship at
the Reuters Digital Vision Programme hosted at Stanford University (from September 2006
until July 2007)
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Development of
FrontlineSMS, the first text messaging hub designed
specifically for the non-profit sector and conservation/development
fieldworkers, in 2005
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Carried out field-based research into the potential for ICTs in
conservation and development which received substantial funding as
t4cd
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Co-authored a Vodafone-funded
report
into the use of mobile phones and other ICTs in global conservation and
development work, published in 2004
-
Project-management of
wildlive! - the first ever conservation-based WAP
service - rolled out across Vodafone's European networks during 2003 and 2004
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Development of some of the earliest Computer-Aided Learning (CAL) software
using a
Commodore PET in the early 1980's
| The kiwanja approach
 For
conservation and development projects to be truly effective it is essential we
address a wide range of issues, particularly human needs. The same is true when
designing and implementing information and communications technology projects in developing countries. kiwanja.net firmly believes in:
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appropriate technologies
- which are primarily needs- or people-driven
- rather than technology-driven.
- That we constantly challenge
ourselves
- ask why we're doing what we're doing
- and who we're doing it for.
- Not just ask
whether or not a particular technology is appropriate
- but whether
technology itself is appropriate.
- To work together, stop re-inventing wheels
- and stop competing against each other
We must not forget
where conservation and development work takes place - usually in the
field and often under difficult and challenging conditions - and ensure that the
needs of our foot soldiers are not forgotten in the clamour to develop high-end,
bandwidth-intensive, hardware-hungry devices and services. And we must stop
re-inventing wheels, communicate more, realise that our work is not a race to
get 'there' first, go back to basics, face up to our failures and ensure that our
projects are sustainable - financially, yes - but also through the sharing of
skills, knowledge and experiences with the people in the countries where we work...
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