Mobile activism
Following on from the Pan African Mobile Phone Activists workshop in Nairobi last month – Ken Banks who developed Frontline SMS – has started a SOCIAL MOBILE GROUP on Facebook
Mobile phones are revolutionising communications across the globe, more so in developing countries where landline infrastructure is lacking in many rural (and some urban) areas. Mobile phones represent the only means of communication for hundreds of millions of people.
At the same time, mobiles have opened up huge economic opportunities for their owners. They can now be more easily contacted when work is available, they can use them to advertise their services, receive market prices, job information, and so on. Others now make a living ’sharing’ their phones and charging non-owners to make calls. Some make a living charging phone batteries, selling top-up vouchers, or covers and chargers.
Frontline is a brilliant multi-purpose sms/text messaging open source tool for activists that can just about do anything from organising campaigns, monitoring elections or any other activity, run surveys, competitions, manage phone-ins using sms, receive information, send information multiple recipients. Ken also created a searchable database on mobile applications with
details of projects from around the world which make social and environmental use of mobile technology in fields such as human health, economic empowerment, conservation, education, human rights and poverty alleviation.”
Tags: SMS; Mobile Phones; Activism;
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nice. There is also a good group of folks working on producing guides, best practices and campaign tricks using mobilephones over at Mobileactive (http://www.mobileactive.org)
This is, of course, wonderful. At the same time, however, I’m reminded of something I read some years ago related to how some of the metals needed for mobile phones are only available from nations where controversy and even war over their acquisition are the result. Kind of like “blood diamonds,” only “blood metals”. Sigh. It seems everything comes with a cost.
Hi Changeseeker – the mineral used in the manufacturing of some mobile components is called coltan, and there has been a huge drive in the industry lately to be accountable in its supply. There’s a good report on the story behind coltan, how it shocked the industry and what is being done about it. It was written by a couple of good friends and colleagues of mine, and you can download it via this link:
http://www.kiwanja.net/database/kiwanja_searchdetails.php?id=98
Ken
Thanks for this Sokari!
My head is already spinning with ideas…;-)