Between 2003 and 2010, kiwanja.net tracked hundreds of early experiments in mobile technology for international development – many before ICT4D was a familiar term – and years before most NGOs had given mobile phones a second thought. Despite its popularity the Mobile Database was ‘lost’ after a website migration, but thanks to advances in AI … Continue reading Welcoming back the Mobile Database
Category: Technology
Ken Banks on technology: mobile phones, software and gadgets, and how they shape (and sometimes fail) social change and development.
Technology. Spirituality. Change.
I’ve spent much of my life working at the intersection of technology and social good, something many of us used to call ICT4D. Over the years I’ve been involved in projects that use mobile phones to improve healthcare, increase access to education and give a voice to people often left unheard. But behind the code … Continue reading Technology. Spirituality. Change.
Welcome to ‘One Beautiful Road’
Most people want to make a difference. Almost everyone, if you ask them directly, will say they’d like to think the world might be a little better off as a result of their philanthropic efforts. And yet so much of that willingness rarely turns into anything real. It’s not because people don’t care, but because … Continue reading Welcome to ‘One Beautiful Road’
Why frontier organisations need an Explorer
We’re entering an era where our greatest challenges are no longer purely technical. Think artificial intelligence, climate change, space exploration, biodiversity loss, human rights and global health, among countless others. Every one of them demands extraordinary innovation, but innovation alone is not enough. We also need perspective. The most successful organisations of the future won’t … Continue reading Why frontier organisations need an Explorer
Did I do things the wrong way round?
Many moons ago, during two happy years as a Visiting Fellow at Stanford University, I had the pleasure of meeting more than my fair share of Valley multi-millionaires (and the odd billionaire). Back in those days there were plenty of them about and many – after years of playing nasty as they built their businesses … Continue reading Did I do things the wrong way round?
Looking for a visionary partner
For the past few months I’ve been working on apathy to action, a project that aims to help people move from feeling overwhelmed by global crises to taking meaningful, emotionally grounded action. The idea is simple but powerful – combine behavioural science, mindfulness and modern technology to help people reconnect, re-engage and rediscover their agency in … Continue reading Looking for a visionary partner
Time to get my feet dirty?
I’m old enough to remember the euphoric tech-optimism of the mid-2000’s, a time when the Internet and mobile technology were blazing a trail across much of the developing (read: offline) world. Soon, the argument went, everyone would have a voice and that could only be a good thing for human rights, democracy and economic empowerment, … Continue reading Time to get my feet dirty?
AI with purpose
One of the most ‘fun’ things about AI is asking it to draw on its knowledge of your work and give an opinion or ideas. It’s easy to sense-check (we all know our own stories) and when you’ve got 20+ years of history online, there’s plenty of material for your AI of choice to be … Continue reading AI with purpose
Mindful action. Meaningful change.
Whenever we set out to make the world a better place, our instinct is often to jump straight in and get ‘doing’. Driven by a sense of urgency that pushes us to act without delay, we find ourselves desperate to fix, or to build, or to solve. Perhaps it’s because we’re drawn to the visible … Continue reading Mindful action. Meaningful change.
Why we need more anthropologists
Today I’m back at the University of Edinburgh talking to anthropology students about how I’ve used my degree in my global technology/development career. I can’t overstate how refreshing it is to speak to a room not obsessed with technology, or scaling projects, or measuring impact. For me, it’s always started with the people and, for … Continue reading Why we need more anthropologists
The end of a golden age of discovery?
Exactly six years ago this week I was in Washington DC to collect the Pizzigati Prize for Software in the Public Interest, an award given each year to an individual who has created or led an effort to create an open source software product of significant value to the non-profit sector and movements for social … Continue reading The end of a golden age of discovery?
Introducing our first ever free book offer!
As part of our ongoing efforts to inspire innovators-to-be the world over, and in celebration of the impending arrival of Spring (!) we’re offering the Amazon Kindle version of The Rise of the Reluctant Innovator free of charge until the end of March, or with a whopping 40% discount on the paperback edition when ordered through the UK publisher’s website.Despite the tens … Continue reading Introducing our first ever free book offer!
Announcing our Four-Part Manifesto for Change
For almost fifteen years kiwanja.net has been home for our hopes, dreams and frustrations on all things technology, social innovation, and international conservation and development. During that time we’ve widely travelled, spoken, published, built, consulted, mentored and despaired. It’s been an incredible journey that started in early 2003 on the fringes of Kruger National Park, and we’ve had plenty of … Continue reading Announcing our Four-Part Manifesto for Change
An app. For my children.
It’s no secret to readers of this blog that for a while now I’ve been attempting to get back into coding. This, combined with a growing interest in building sustainability into many of my projects, has fuelled my interest in the potential of mobile apps to build out some of my ideas. Today sees the launch of my … Continue reading An app. For my children.
Time for a ‘slow innovation’ movement?
Dear fellas. I can’t believe how fast things move on the outside. I saw an automobile once when I was a kid, but now they’re everywhere. The world went and got itself in a big damn hurry Brooks – quoted in the Shawshank Redemption Today everyone seems to be in such a rush. From the … Continue reading Time for a ‘slow innovation’ movement?