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Mobile technology is being used by citizens all over the world as the most affordable and massively adopted piece of technology. How can we harness this technology for advancing human rights and civil society participation? This dialogue is a space to share and discuss many ideas for "Using Mobile Phones for Action."
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[Photo: from the Private Sector Development blog]
Using Mobiles | SMS (Short Message Service)
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Intro
Mobile technology is being used by citizens all over the world as the most affordable and massively adopted piece of technology. How can we harness this technology for advancing human rights and civil society participation?
Our outstanding resource practitioners for the November-December tactical discussion shared and discussed many ideas for "Using Mobile Phones for Action". You can still contribute your ideas, questions and experiences!
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Philippe Duhamel - in his interTactica blog - Harnessing new technology for new tactics provides some great examples to get our creative ideas flowing.
- Sending out an SMS -- Supporting human rights work and activism with text messaging, or SMS - Short Messaging Service - functionality
- Organizing demonstrations -- Such as the Orange Revolution in Ukraine
- Coup de text -- Like ousting a president, it happened in the Philippines
- Protest Ringtones -- Highlighting corruption, it's being used in the Philippines
Links from the dicussion:
Connecting people and needs
This looks like an interesting way to connect people who have a need with those who have a surplus. All too often, people with a surplus simply throw away these goods. Recently, here in Minnesota, the well known "Mall of America" -- where a visitor from Latin America once told me, "I've never seen so many things you don't need" -- held an electronics recycling drive. The drive was planned for three days but 50 truck loads were filled with throw away electronics in just one day. They had to announce that they couldn't take anymore.
This reminded me that electonic repair stores for TVs and other electronic goods used to be plentiful but not anymore. Instead, people just throw away a product that doesn't work quite right and buy a new one.
I did see cell phone repair signs in West Africa in February of this year. With the explosion of cell phone users around the world and the rapid improvements and constant upgrades with better and more quality features - will others adopt this "throw away" mentality?
I had the great opportunity to visit Robben Island in South Africa, the guide - himself a former political prisoner held on Robben Island - said they survived with the philosophy of "learn from one, teach one". Each had skills to share and needs to learn. That's really at the heart of the New Tactics project - share your tactics and learn new tactic ideas from others.
Nancy Pearson, New Tactics Program Manager
Nancy Pearson, New Tactics in Human Rights Program Manager