International Conference on Crisis Mapping 2010
I just got back from the International Conference on Crisis Mapping (ICCM 2010) held at Tufts and Harvard Universities. The conference brought…
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Has the Anonymity of Haystack been Revealed?
The core project of the San Francisco based non-profit Censorship Research Center (CRC) — Haystack: Good Luck Finding That Needle — has recently been…
MOSES Giving Voice to Victims & Survivors in Liberian Truth & Reconciliation Commission
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Liberia was established in 2005 as part of the country’s transition of bloody civil war into an emerging de…
Digital Communication and Afghanistan’s 2010 Wolesi Jirga Elections
For nearly two thousand years, Silk Road land and sea routs — which created an “intercontinental think tank of human ingenuity” in terms of trade and…
Open Data Mapping and Storytelling
We live in the age of data. Open source software, content aggregation software, GPS and mobile technology have changed the way in which we collect, in…
Online Press Freedom in Jordan: New 2010 Cyber Crime Law
In a country where the Queen has her own YouTube Channel, you would think Internet is a free and open space for all, but not exactly. Because Jordani…
Bigger is Not Always Better: Technological Challenges in an Exploding Megacity
Bangladesh. Most people have rarely heard of this tiny country the size of the state of New York nestled in India’s “armpit” and even fewer will be ab…
A Picture Says A Thousand Words: Facebook Case of Eden Abergil
Look familiar? Another Abu Ghraib photo frenzy? Needless to say, not the first of its kind. Photos taken by former IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) soldie…
Peace and Social Entrepreneurship Through Mobile Phones in Afghanistan
On June 24th, TechChange co-hosted an event with the United States Institute for Peace (USIP) entitled: Can You Help Me Now? Mobile Phones and Peacebu…
World Bank Open Data and Applications for Development Challenge
Yesterday, the World Bank brought together leading technologists, data gurus and development practitioners for a whirlwind group brainstorming activit…
Paving the Way for a Cashless Society: Somaliland and Mobile Banking
There are no ATMs, the countries currency is unrecognized without an official exchange rate, and every American dollar translates into 17, 000 Somalil…
From the 1990s to 2010: Back To School in Technological Fashion
Back to the books, assignments and test — back to what students do best. In my neck of the Canadian woods, students went back to school yesterday.…
Innovative Open Source Wireless Network Undergoes Trial-by-Fire at Burning Man
Expanding wireless coverages to the more remote areas of the world is the obvious first step in enabling individuals to benefit from the myriad…
Knowledge Sharing for Effective Development
In international development, as with so many other fields, information is everything. OK, that’s kind of a broad statement, and a bit of a “no duh”…
Lighting Up Uganda
To the billion individuals who lack access to electricity, the promise of new technologies for development pales in comparison to the more immediate c…
Fasten Your Seatbelts: Facebook is Following You in India
In a city “famous for its snarled traffic and infamous for its unruly drivers,” Facebook is aiding the authorities in New Delhi—”5,000 traffic…
Lessons from a Decade of Online Social Networking, How to Build a High Impact Site
Earlier this month I sat down with Dr. Craig Zelizer, Associate Director of the Conflict Resolution MA Program at Georgetown University and…
Online Location: From Facebook’s ‘Places’ to Pakistan’s Floods
Before getting too carried away with Facbeook’s Places app, look into how smartphones are locating and coordinate relief efforts in Pakistan’s natural…
21st Century Statecraft: What does it really mean?
“In the twenty first century, the United States’ exceptional capacity for connection, rather than splendid isolation or hegemonic domination, will ren…
Are You There Social Media? It’s Me, Conflict
The SXSW Interactive conference, held in Austin Texas, is five days of undeniably awesome presentations from the brightest minds about up and coming t…