Download - Technology for Community Empowerment
Technology to reconstruct Communities in Tension
(CiT)
Marlon ParkerWesley Nitsckie
“Passionate about reconstructing communities”
Reconstructing Communities
Community in Tension (CiT)
CiT is a Community where the wellbeing
of citizens is threatened
Technology to reconstruct Communities
Proposed solution
• Universities can play an important and leading role in addressing problems that negatively impact the wellbeing of communities.
• Often ICT solutions are developed based on perceived anticipated needs without sufficiently considering the continuing actual-use-in-practice – Is the solution usable and useful for the user? Is it sustainable?
• This can be best achieved if a collaborative approach is used involving reseachers, students, citizens and other stakeholders from the onset where citizens become co-developers of the ICT solution.
Project Focus
• ICT Solution to facilitate the:– care of citizens – dissemination of information, e.g., to inform
citizens about the problems, their consequences and preventative mechanisms;
– education of citizens, e.g., train citizens specific skills etc.
Care Inform Educate
Social Innovation
Empowerment
Living Lab
A Living Lab is a user-centric research methodology for sensing, prototyping,
validating and refining complex solutions in multiple and evolving real life contexts.
It is a human-centric Research and Development approach to ICT solutions
and innovations
Interaction Space
UniversityCommunity
Incubation SpaceCommunity
Development Space
Socio-Techno “Bridge”
Athlone Living Lab
Collaborative Network
Advice Support Network
Face to Face Counseling
Help Line Counseling
Advice Support Network
Drug Advice Support (DAS)
• Endorsed by National Government
• Trained Advisors• +- 5000 subscribers• Tuesday and Thursday,
3pm – 5pm• +- 300 conversations per
session• More than 16 000
conversations• 80 000+ messages
Positive Advice Support (PAS)
• Strong link between HIV and Substance Abuse
• HIV and AIDS advice using mobile phones
• Possibility of national service
• Collaboration with Cell-Life
Career Advice Support (CAS)
• Emerged through conversations with youth over DAS
• Currently very few places on the Cape Flats where youth can go for Career Advice and Support
• Professional Opportunities
Find Your Angel
• 24Hour service on MXit where information is available about Substance Abuse, HIV, Stress, Abuse
• Concept is to Find Your Angel who is the contact where you can acquire help with the social problem
Challenges
• Buy in from the communities
• Funding for projects
• Protecting the Collaboration Space
• Sustainability plan
Conclusion
• Technology allows opportunities for empowerment and social innovation when used appropriately in context
• If innovative solutions are successfully adopted and co-developed by the communities they could continue using it
• The impact of the project should result in an improvement in a community’s wellbeing
Thank Youwww.marlonparker.co.za / www.impactdirect.org.za
Marlon Parker
@marlonparker
marlonct
+2721 469 1138 +2721 637 4037 +2776 4034920