2001-2002 Fellows

Massive rural to urban migration is inevitable unless an alternative is created which can provide the rural population with all the advantages associated with an urban setting. Digital technology is strategically important in a proposed model of rural development which is innovative, technically feasible, socially cohesive, economically efficient, sustainable and equitable. The basic concept is that of a Rural Information Service Center (RISC) which will form the core which will catalyze rural development. Each RISC will serve as the nerve center for about 100 villages and will be within half a day's commute from any village. The RISC will serve as a global information access point for the local population, where the downstream flow of information and material to the villages is complemented by an upstream flow of goods and services from the local village economy to markets that are global.

Enhancing the flow of information and communication in under-served areas of developing countries is the goal of Melanie Edwards' Digital Vision Fellowship. In particular, her project addresses two key areas of information and communication flow: Access and Usage.

With regards to Access, Edwards is implementing low-cost, wireless connectivity in telecommunication and community centers in remote areas. Once connectivity is established, low-cost Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) are then integrated. Using PDAs, local entrepreneurs extend information and communication beyond the 'hub' and into the community.

As for Usage, Edwards is analyzing how the technology and Internet are being used. What content is in greatest demand in these locales? Health, Entertainment, Government services, Business, Agriculture? Who are the primary users? The 'digital inclusion' of illiterate and geographically remote individuals is central to her Fellowship project.

Media Mobile is being piloted in Brazil. Partners include local Computer-Based Training schools and telecommunication centers with regional networks. The long-term objective is to roll-out the project's template design into other countries where access to the Internet is limited yet need for information and communication is high.

Global warming is arguably the biggest problem facing the world community today. It presents particularly significant challenges and opportunities to developing countries. Protecting the climate while raising standards of living will require utilization of a variety of new energy technologies. A growing community of development professionals are designing and implementing sustainable energy systems to meet this challenge.

Ken's project has two aims:

• To develop higher-level collaboration and knowledge management networks to promote the effectiveness of the sustainable energy community. This initially takes the form of an information collection and distribution tool using e-mail and the web, built with modern web services technology.
• To understand the relationship between new energy systems and new telecommunications systems, to find how progress in each field can support the other. For example, rural needs are increasingly being met by combinations of solar energy and wireless telecommunications, which can be implemented at the same time with many mutually reinforcing benefits.

As globalization integrates the world's economy, and knowledge becomes an increasingly important factor of production, one question is being increasingly asked: should public policy and investments focus on bridging the 'digital divide' or should developmental needs - reducing poverty, providing safe water, sanitation and improved health services to millions - receive higher priority? Raj's project takes the view that this question represents a false choice and that ICTs can indeed accelerate development in positive ways. The project seeks to enhance Internet connectivity in Indian villages to provide timely, relevant, information that responds to the needs of residents. The objective is to provide remote connectivity so that knowledge and information gaps can be bridged, keeping in view local, cultural, economic, and social realities.

Humanitarian emergency response initiatives and development activities have come to rely heavily on efficient and effective mobile networks that offer access to information. Looking beyond the immediate needs related to an emergency situation and considering the potential post-emergency benefit to local communities, it is becoming apparent that the information and communications infrastructures put in place during an emergency are dramatically under utilized. Building on efforts that have already been made, the benefit of these emergency response infrastructures can continue to serve as instruments for development post disaster.

The project seeks to address the two complementary challenges that humanitarian and relief organizations face: identify the appropriate technology best suited to meet the various situations in which they are called on to intervene and design a strategy to optimize the longer term use for this technology.

AlertNet provides a source of information for its member agencies but not all of the news will be relevant to all members and some may prefer to have stories relating to certain topics delivered as a matter of urgency. The AlertNet stories could be processed using NLP techniques to identify the stories relevant to each agency. This approach is particularly relevant to aid agencies requiring information for rapid reaction. Other agencies will be more interested in gathering information that is not so time dependent. To serve these alternative requirements, a possible extension to Mark's project would be to apply the technology developed to identify documents of interest to particular aid agencies to web search engines.