11 May 2009

Ushahidi wins $200K MacArthur grant

Ushahidi -- a crisis-tracking tool with roots in TEDGlobal 2007 -- has been awarded a $200,000 grant for development from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

The Ushahidi mapping tool was developed by Erik Hersman, Ory Okolloh and Juliana Rotich, who'd met as TED Fellows at the 2007 TEDGlobal conference in Arusha, Tanzania, and the programmer David Kobia. A mashup of Google Maps and texting widgets, Ushahidi allowed citizens to do real-time reporting via text during the Kenyan post-election riots. It's since been developed into an engine for more widespread reporting -- most recently, to monitor the Indian elections and to track swine flu. In his 2009 TEDTalk, Erik Hersman, a co-founder, talked about the team's big plans for Ushahidi -- making it open-source and expandable. Watch his TEDTalk to hear this vision, which the grant will help come true >>

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05 May 2009

Q&A with TEDFellow Erik Hersman: When technology goes African

In his 2009 TEDTalk, techno-blogger Erik Hersman breaks down the framework of and uses for Ushahidi, a crisis reporting platform that emerged to help Kenyans avoid violence during riots after the 2008 elections. During this follow-up interview with the TEDBlog, he talks about his African ties, how the TEDFellows program has impacted him and the very beginnings of Ushahidi.

How did Ushahidi begin? We know it began during the aftermath of the 2008 Kenyan elections, but who were the key players and how did they come to contact each other and form this system?

It was very, very fast and loose. We quickly combined our thoughts around the basic idea via Skype and then got the whole thing going in a couple days. Ory, Juliana, Daudi and I knew each other from the Kenyan blogosphere, and as past TEDAfrica Fellows. I knew David Kobia, our lead developer from an interview I had done of him on my WhiteAfrican blog.

Could you give some examples, from your recollections, of the most successful moments of Ushahidi -- moments where you knew you were part of an important structure?

The first week was the first indicator. To us, the system was rudimentary, but it worked. To outsiders, especially those in the humanitarian field, it was the first time they had really seen a technology tool used to bypass the establishment and go directly to ordinary people on the ground to get information. It seemed like the only thing to do to us, but it was revolutionary to them.

The other big moments were when we started to get approached by people and organizations from the rest of the world asking us to create one for them. Needless to say, we couldn't due to our having our own full-time jobs, but it proved there was a need.

Finally, having Al Jazeera pick the tool up for use to collect and monitor the Gaza situation back in January was big. It was the first time an established media organization had used our tool.

What are the elements of the system that contribute most to its success? Anonymity of reports, ability of the population to vote credibility of reports -- which to you are the most important or essential?

Well, I think the biggest thing is that Ushahidi fills the gap. It makes it easy for the traditionally unconnected, those in developing world countries and in rural areas, to start sending information in and getting alerts of things that happen around them -- all from a simple SMS only enabled mobile phone.

Beyond that there are two very important issues. First, the need for anonymity in environments where you can't trust the governing bodies. Second, a way to verify information as it comes in.

Just to probe, it seems that Al Jazeera is the only non-grassroots media group using Ushahidi? Why do you think this is? What makes Al Jazeera and Ushahidi a good fit?

There are some other NGOs using Ushahidi, but Al Jazeera is the largest organization using it to date. I happened to be in Qatar last week and had the chance to visit Al Jazeera's new media team in person. We spent a good portion of the day talking about what they're trying to do and why Ushahidi makes sense for them. It turns out that they're really trying to stretch the traditional news in new ways. Ushahidi isn't the only tool in their repertoire as they get into ways to both gather and disseminate news via mobiles. Finally, because Al Jazeera is largely focused on the parts of the world that most other large media organizations are not, it's a good fit since that's where Ushahidi works best as well.

READ MORE: Erik talks about his connection to Africa, attending TED2009, the TEDFellows program and more.

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22 April 2009

How texting and GoogleMaps helped Kenyans survive crisis: Erik Hersman on TED.com

At TEDU 2009, Erik Hersman presents the remarkable story of Ushahidi, a GoogleMap mashup that allowed Kenyans to report and track violence via cell phone texts following the 2008 elections, and has evolved to continue saving lives in other countries during the crucial first three hours of any crisis. (Recorded at TEDU 2009, February 2009, in Long Beach, California. Duration: 3:57.)

Find out more about Ushahidi.com >>

Find out more about the TED Fellows program >>

Watch Erik Hersman's talk on TED.com, where you can download this TEDTalk, rate it, comment on it and find other talks and performances from our archive of 400+ TEDTalks.

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09 April 2009

George Ayittey on "Dead Aid"

Economist George Ayittey gave a blistering talk at TEDGlobal 2007, laying out his case that not only has Western aid not helped in most African countries -- it's actually hurting.

We asked Ayittey for his thoughts on the new book Dead Aid, which has lately been burning up the talk shows and opinion columns with a message similar to Ayittey's. Author Dambisa Moyo says that aid is killing the very countries it's supposed to help. She singles out for criticism the celebrity crusades to "save Africa," and the skewing view they present of African life. Here's a snippet of what Ayittey says about the issues Moyo raises; for the full interview, hit the jump:

If you want to help American farmers, you ask them what sort of help they need and whether such assistance is working. Why don’t Americans ask Africans what type of aid they need and whether the aid Americans have provided is working? So what is wrong with an African, Dambisa, telling Americans that the foreign aid they are providing isn’t working and it is “Dead Aid”?

Read the full interview, after the jump >>

Download the unedited notes for this interview, including reading list, sources and much more >>

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28 August 2008

The making of an activist: Ory Okolloh on TED.com

In a moving, personal talk, blogger and activist Ory Okolloh tells the story of her life and her family -- and how she came to do her heroic work reporting on the doings of Kenya's parliament. (Recorded June 2007 in Arucha, Tanzania. Duration: 16:37.)

Watch Ory Okolloh's talk on TED.com, where you can download this TEDTalk, rate it, comment on it and find other talks and performances from our archive of 280+ TEDTalks -- including many more talks on Africa's next chapter.

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04 March 2008

Andrew Mwenda's newspaper, the Independent, now online

You can now read journalist Andrew Mwenda's newspaper, The Independent, online. Based in Kampala, Uganda, the paper promises "uncensored news, views and analysis" -- a promise that has already led to government threats against the paper's printer. Mwenda spoke at TEDGlobal 2007 and was a panelist on the BBC debate hosted last week at TED in Monterey.

In today's Independent, a headline reads: "Andrew Mwenda summoned to CID" -- the Uganda police's Criminal Investigations Department. More on this story as it develops.

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