Web2forDev: Web 2.0 for Development Gateway

From local to global - social networks address world challenges

rambaldi@cta.int (Giacomo Rambaldi) — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 16:13:51 +0000

Whether the environment, poverty or peace, almost all of today's challenges are also dealt with in one or in another way through the Internet. Online social networks play an increasingly important role in connecting people and offering spaces where groups of individuals can work on solutions and push for change. There are fascinating examples from local to global engagement.

The world becomes a village – implications of social networks

rambaldi@cta.int (Giacomo Rambaldi) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 09:53:57 +0000

What happens when millions of people engage in social networks? Online communities are not a new phenomenon, but the creation of large online meeting spaces marks a new era and new dimensions. In this post, I will look into the different cultures of social networks. In a later post I will be looking at their potential.

Changing the Emperor: ICT-enabled collaboration transforming agricultural science, research and technology into an effective participatory and innovations system approach

rambaldi@cta.int (Giacomo Rambaldi) — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 13:00:50 +0000

The CGIAR Centres and Programs with their many partners are together creating a wealth of knowledge to help increase agricultural productivity and improve livelihoods of poor communities, primarily in developing countries. The knowledge the CGIAR produces is vital to addressing and finding solutions for food (in)security around the world. However, despite the creation of this wealth of knowledge, certain obstacles to uptake and impact of agricultural research remain. Many of these obstacles are related to the way in which knowledge and innovation are treated within the research process.

The Next Billion – The Rise of Social Network Sites in Developing Countries

rambaldi@cta.int (Giacomo Rambaldi) — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 13:42:58 +0000

Social network websites are becoming a global phenomenon. Millions now go online to engage in social networks. According to Wikipedia, there are some 1.5 billion members worldwide. Where is this growth taking place? What does this mean for web2fordev? And what role do mobile phones play?

This first article is part of a series of three. It looks at the growth of social network websites worldwide, its implications and differences from former online network exchanges, and looks into the web2fordev potentials for mass engagement.

Micro-blogging: 140 characters of gossip or added value for development organizations?

rambaldi@cta.int (Giacomo Rambaldi) — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 07:31:28 +0000

First blogging, then social networks and now micro-blogging! The web 2.0 innovation rollercoaster is moving faster and faster. The latest hype is around Twitter: A short, message exchange platform connecting people worldwide in real-time in an unprecedented way. Is it just another frenzy information stream to cope with, or can development organizations benefit from it?

Online Mapping for Development: Opportunities and Challenges

rambaldi@cta.int (Giacomo Rambaldi) — Sun, 31 May 2009 15:08:14 +0000

Maps are an effective medium which can be used for development projects. They help visualise the spatial distribution of complex problems their inter-relationships and promote awareness. In recent years the availability of free or low-cost digital maps and remote sensed images has unleashed unprecedented ways to make use of spatial information for a variety of purposes. Last week we analysed the potential of open data sources for development. Open maps are an excellent example illustrating the many ways to use and link information in creative ways. In almost any development project, maps can assist in the interpretation of spatial issues, foster awareness and support transparency.

APIs: Open data for development

rambaldi@cta.int (Giacomo Rambaldi) — Tue, 19 May 2009 14:54:44 +0000

The most familiar Web 2.0 applications are associated with social media (blogs, wikis, videos), and social networks such as Facebook, Delicious and Digg. For the Web2forDev community, an interesting trend in applications development is for using open data, defined in Wikipedia as data which are “freely available to everyone, without restrictions from copyright, patents or other mechanisms of control’. Open data are commonly made available using so-called Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). But with the web already overflowing with information, why should open data through APIs receive so much attention? Let’s look a little more closely.

Participatory Video Translation (a collaborative Web 2.0 Initiative)

rambaldi@cta.int (Giacomo Rambaldi) — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 14:09:12 +0000

In 2008 the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation EU-ACP (CTA) launched a participatory Web 2.0 initiative aiming at broadening the outreach of selected multimedia products. The initiative consists in translating the subtitles of videos into different languages calling on voluntary contributions from development practitioners around the Globe. In the process the project has been using the Web 2.0 platform offered by dotsub.com. So far the 8-min video documentary "Web 2.0 in Africa - Agriculture and New Technologies" co-produced by CTA and People TV has been translated in four languages and can be embedded in blogs and websites.

Participatory Learning & Action Issue 59

rambaldi@cta.int (Giacomo Rambaldi) — Sun, 10 May 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Issue 59 of Participatory Learning and Action will be co-published by IIED and CTA in June 2009 in printed format. A CD-based multilingual and multimedia (English and French) version will follow. Most articles in this special issue are based on presentations made at the Web2ForDev conference 2007: Participatory Web for Development, held in Rome, 24^th–27^th September 2007 and related follow-up events which took place in 2008.

About this special issue

There are dozens of emerging interactive web applications and services (often referred to as the participatory web, or Web 2.0). These can enhance the ways we create, share, and publish information. But these technical opportunities also bring challenges that we need to understand and grasp. This special issue will seek to address issues such as:

The Web gets mobile

rambaldi@cta.int (Giacomo Rambaldi) — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 15:06:40 +0000

One gets used to the idea that web content can be dished up from a web server located just about anywhere in the world. Even that web servers can be hosted together in gigantic server farms. But it does come as a bit of a surprise that a tiny mobile phone can function as a web server and be visible on the Internet, just like any other web server (see for instance the applications for the iPhone and Nokia S60 phones). It breathes life into the notion of personal blogging: one could compose the article, take the photographs (or even video), publish the lot and host the website, all on the same “humble” device – a mobile phone.