FrontlineSMS has been featured in the latest UN Foundation report - mHealth for Development: The Opportunity of Mobile Technology for Healthcare in the Developing World. The document examines issues at the heart of the rapidly evolving intersection of mobile phones and healthcare and seeks to explain mHealth’s "scope and implementation across developing regions, the health needs to which mHealth can be applied, and the mHealth applications that promise the greatest impact on health care initiatives"

February 2009: FrontlineSMS featured in ICT Update magazine

The use of FrontlineSMS in the agriculture sector has been profiled in the current edition of ICT Update magazine, which focuses on market information systems. The article profiles a Gates Foundation-funded project in El Salvador using the software as part of a wider SMS-driven market trading system, and another in Aceh run by Mercy Corps providing market prices and other agricultural data to smallholder farmers. The full article can be read here, and a separate "Techtip" section on how to download and use FrontlineSMS here. A short video explaining the FIAGRO project in El Salvador is also available on the FrontlineSMS Community pages

January 2009: FrontlineSMS helps HIV/AIDS education in DRC

Based in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rien que la Vérité was born in 2006 when some of the finest musicians in the Congo united to produce a CD of songs speaking against the spread of HIV/AIDS. Since 2006, the platform has produced 14 music videos, a documentary, and an all-day stadium concert. In its present incarnation, Rien que la Vérité is touching the lives of the people of the Congo through their television screens as they follow the lives of a Kinois family on a locally-produced TV drama. Last December, producers began using kiwanja's FrontlineSMS system to connect Rien que la Vérité with their audiences, allowing them to engage with the programme on a range of issues raised in the programmes. Full details are available via a guest post on kiwanja's blog - see "Sitcoms+SMS: Tackling HIV/AIDS in the DRC"

January 2009: Work set to start on kiwanja's Clinton Commitment

This month sees the start of work on kiwanja's Clinton Global Initiative (CGi) 'Commitment', made last September at their annual gathering in New York. The Commitment - "The FrontlineSMS Ambassadors Programme" - centres around outreach efforts for FrontlineSMS. Initial stages will focus on the health work being carried out by Josh Nesbit in Malawi. Further details are available on the kiwanja.net Blog

December 2008: kiwanja's Pop!Cast now available online

A video of Ken Banks' presentation at this year's Pop!Tech gathering in Camden, Maine is now available online. Ken, who was selected as a Pop!Tech 2008 Social Innovation Fellow, talks about Dr. Who, Daleks, appropriate technology, mobile phones and FrontlineSMS in a five minute talk given to 700 delegates and attendees

The video is available via the kiwanja.net site (with some additional background information) or directly from the Pop!Tech site. Videos of the other Fellow's presentations are available on the Fellows page

December 2008: "Mobiles in Malawi" project featured on CNN.com

Josh Nesbit's Mobiles in Malawi project has been featured on the 'Technology' pages of the CNN.com website. Josh travelled to Namitete over the summer to install a text-based communications network using FrontlineSMS. Josh, who is about to return to Malawi, was interviewed along with kiwanja's Ken Banks for the article, which can be read here

December 2008: kiwanja.net and FrontlineSMS to featured on SHIFT Radio

The work of kiwanja.net, and specifically FrontlineSMS, has been featured on a special edition of SHIFT Radio. SHIFT Radio is an informal, lively internet radio channel hosted by Chris Melissinos. "Each week he talks about the latest in tech gadgets, interviews leaders in the video game and rich media industries and cuts up revolving guests, hosts and live callers". Ken Banks was contacted by the station after taking part in a Net Impact discussion on social mobile gaming, and the recent launch of kiwanja's Silverback gorilla game. The one-hour interview can be played via the SHIFT website here (look to the top right of the screen for the MP3 player)

December 2008: Video interview with Nokia Conversations website

Late last month Ken Banks was invited to meet up with the team behind Nokia Conversations, the handset giant's official blog. During a short six minute video interview, Ken gave his thoughts on mobile innovation in Africa, plans for FrontlineSMS (following the recent announcement of funding from the Hewlett Foundation), and the challenges of sustainability faced by social mobile projects. The interview is available here

    
     November 2008: Hewlett Foundation announces major kiwanja funding
 
    

     The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation have today announced a major
     grant in support of kiwanja's ongoing activities. The grant, worth a total of
     $400,000 over two years, will see the ongoing support and development of
     FrontlineSMS, the creation of an MMS (multimedia messaging) version of
     the platform, FrontlineSMS outreach, the creation of a non-profit online text
     messaging aggregator, and the scaling of the nGOmobile competition

     The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation makes grants to address the
     most serious social and environmental problems facing society, where risk
     capital, responsibly invested, may make a difference over time. The
     Foundation places a high value on sustaining and improving institutions
     that make positive contributions to society

     The grant also represents the official launch of The kiwanja Foundation, a
     US non-profit organisation founded last year with the support of
     Perkins Coie. The kiwanja Foundation will act as a wider fundraising
     mechanism for kiwanja's work and, in the future, aims to become a source
     of seed funding for innovative "social mobile" projects

     The Hewlett grant announced today follows previous grants from the
     MacArthur Foundation and the Open Society Institute
 

November 2008: Radio France programme tackles social mobile

A series of special reports currently being aired on Radio France International is exploring the impact of mobile technology around the world. The second programme, broadcast earlier this month, looks at the many uses of mobile technology in the non-profit (or "social mobile") space. Researchers interviewed executives from both industry and the NGO sector, including Manobi and kiwanja.net, and discuss a range of mobile-based projects including Ushahidi and FrontlineSMS. Excerpts from the interviews are available, along with the article, on the RFI website (both in French)

November 2008: W3C announce latest Mobile Web Initiative workshop

Following successful workshops in Bangalore, India (2006) and Sao Paulo, Brazil (2007), the W3C Mobile Web Initiative have announced an Africa-based workshop scheduled for Maputo, Mozambique next April. "Africa Perspective on the Role of Mobile Technologies in Fostering Social Development" aims to understand specific challenges of using mobile phones and Web technologies to deliver services to underprivileged populations of developing countries, and to capture the specificities of the African context. kiwanja.net's Ken Banks is a member of the Program Committee, which will shortly be putting out a Call for Participation

November 2008: "Silverback" featured at Net Impact 2008

kiwanja's "Silverback" mobile phone game was recently discussed at Net Impact, where Ken Banks took part in a panel discussion on the use of video games as a tool to promote the work of non-profit organisations. The panel introduced the audience to the concept and impact of social games and explored the challenges of creating, funding and marketing them. "Silverback", a gorilla conservation game, has previously been featured on the National Geographic and BBC websites, and has its own Facebook Group

November 2008: kiwanja to speak at National Endowment for Democracy

Ken Banks has been invited to speak in Washington DC at an event organised by The Centre for International Media Assistance at the National Endowment for Democracy. The half-day workshop - "The Role of Cell Phones in Carrying News and Information" - seeks to answer a range of questions including how cell phones are being used as a medium of communication for news and information, who is using them to receive information, how journalists and NGOs are integrating them into their work, and which approaches have been unsuccessful and why. The ultimate goal of the workshop is to formulate recommendations for funders, policymakers and implementers on strategies for using mobile technology in conveying news and information

November 2008: Danish Radio features kiwanja.net and FrontlineSMS

An interview given by Ken Banks earlier this year at the Supernova conference in San Francisco has just been aired on Danish Radio's 'Harddisken' technology show. During the interview, Ken talks with Henrik Fohns about FrontlineSMS and the wider impact of mobile technology in the developing world

November 2008: kiwanja.net lined up to appear at Rhode Island conference

Ken Banks has been invited as one of only twenty speakers to present at a conference at Brown University in Rhode Island this month. The conference, A Better World By Design, "asks the question today’s designers, engineers, and economists should be asking. How can we use technology to improve the world? Hear answers from world-class professionals and academics in this milestone conference that will change the way you think about global crises and push the limits of user-centric, affordable design"

Erik Hersman, a friend and supporter of kiwanja's work and the man behind the highly regarded White African and AfriGadget websites, is also lined up to speak, as is Paul Polak, author of "Out of Poverty" and founder of International Development Enterprises (IDE)

October 2008: kiwanja.net joins the ICT4D Collective

Professor Tim Unwin from the ICT4D Collective has appointed kiwanja's Ken Banks its latest member. The Collective, based at Royal Holloway at the University of London, is a group of people committed to undertaking the highest possible quality of research in the field of ICT4D, and making the results of this available freely to the global community. They do this primarily in the interests of poor people and marginalised communities. In 2007, the Collective was awarded the Status of a UNESCO Chair in ICT4D

As well as research, the Collective undertakes teaching at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and contributes to the delivery of focused short courses on all aspects of ICT4D. Members of the Collective also provide consultancy services in the field of ICT4D

October 2008: SoCap08 panel discussion on ICTs in developing countries

kiwanja.net will be taking part in a panel discussion at Social Capital Markets 2008 in San Francisco on 14th October. SoCap08 brings together hundreds of leading social entrepreneurs and investors from around the world. Panel members include David Edelstein (Grameen Technology Centre), Ken Banks (kiwanja.net), Marnie Webb (Techsoup) and Dwight Wilson (One Roof). The discussion - "ICT in the Developing World" - will be moderated by Gary Bolles from Xigi Media, and will discuss innovative approaches and key challenges in developing and rolling out ICT solutions - including mobile applications - in developing countries

October 2008: kiwanja talk lined up at School of Oriental and African Studies

Ken Banks has been invited to speak to students studying at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) at the University of London. SOAS is the world's leading centre for the study of a highly diverse range of subjects concerned with Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Ken's talk will focus on mobile-enabled grassroots business and technological innovation, and address some of the challenges in developing appropriate mobile solutions for the grassroots non-profit community

September 2008: kiwanja.net and FrontlineSMS at the Clinton Global Initiative

kiwanja.net has been awarded a complimentary membership and invitation to the 2008 Clinton Global Initiative (CGi) annual meeting, due to take place in New York from 23rd to 26th September. CGi is an invitation-only event which aims to move “beyond discussion, fostering a sense of shared responsibility to address major global problems". This year CGi - which is attended by global leaders, heads of state, CEOs, non-profit leaders, philanthropists, directors of foundations, scholars, high-profile media and religious leaders - is focussing on education, energy and climate change, global health and poverty alleviation. New members are required to make a 'commitment' to address some of the more pressing problems in the world today. kiwanja's commitment has been selected for a special on-stage announcement during the "Poverty Alleviation Working Session". Further details to follow...

September 2008: kiwanja.net contributes article to Berkman "Publius Project"

kiwanja.net has contributed an essay on mobile technology for "Publius", a Berkman Centre publication which seeks to bring together a "distinguished collection of Internet observers, scholars, innovators, entrepreneurs, activists, technologists and other experts, to write short essays, to foster an on-going public dialogue". kiwanja's article - "One Missed Call? Refocusing our attention on the social mobile long tail" - sets out some of the challenges in developing appropriate, usable mobile applications for the grassroots NGO community, and discusses what the ICT4D community needs to do to take full advantage of today's mobile opportunity

September 2008: Open Source in Mobile (OSiM) conference appearance

kiwanja.net has been lined up to speak at the Informa Telecoms and Media-organised Open Source in Mobile (OSiM) World conference in Berlin. kiwanja was invited to present following a well-received keynote address at this years' Mobile Messaging Congress in Cannes, another Informa event. OSiM, the only mobile-specific open source conference and exhibition in the world, boasts a line-up of over a hundred speakers. kiwanja's Ken Banks will talk about the social impact of mobile technology in the developing world, and the challenges - and increasing opportunities - for mobile applications development in the social mobile space

September 2008: "Microfinance Insights" guest article published

A guest article written by kiwanja.net has been published in the latest edition of Microfinance Insights magazine. The article - "Mobile Telephony and the Entrepreneur: An African Perspective" examines grassroots economic activity triggered by the arrival of mobile technology, and is based on earlier articles for PC World and the Boston Review. Microfinance Insights offers in-depth analyses and commentary on the microfinance sector, updates on the latest trends, and profiles of global sector players

September 2008: kiwanja.net interviewed by the Economist

kiwanja.net was recently interviewed by the Economist for a Technology Quarterly article examining the role of - and potential for - the mobile web in developing countries. This is the second time kiwanja has appeared in the Economist. The first - last November - covered the use of FrontlineSMS in Nigeria and Pakistan. This latest Economist article is available here

There has been increasing interest in the mobile web in recent months, which has also seen the creation of a new W3C Mobile Web for Social Development Group, co-chaired by kiwanja's Ken Banks and W3C's Stephane Boyera. Ken's recent PC World article - Mobile Phones and the Digital Divide - also discusses the issues and challenges facing the mobile web in developing countries. This widely read article has been picked up by a number of sites, including ICT4Peace, appropriate it and Many Possibilities

September 2008: World Economic Forum invitation

Following an appearance earlier this year at GSM Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Ken Banks has been invited to an invitation-only World Economic Forum meeting in New York this month which will focus on collaborative opportunities between the telecommunications, financial services, healthcare and media & entertainment industries. Addressing the critical issues needed to catalyze innovative solutions, this meeting will bring together senior level executives and top strategists as well as leaders from the areas of public policy, civil society and academia

Outcomes from the meeting, which will focus on mobile health, banking and entertainment, will serve to guide the World Economic Forum’s ongoing workstream around the mobile Internet as well as frame discussion for its upcoming Annual Meeting in Davos 2009. Invitees from the telecommunications community include the top strategists and executives from Alcatel-Lucent, AT&T, Avaya, BT, Cisco, France Telecom, Google, HTC, Intel, Microsoft, Motorola, Nokia, Telstra, Vimpelcom, Vodafone and many others