William Kamkwamba: How I harnessed the wind

William and the Windmill, directed by Ben Nabors and starring TED’s own Tom Rielly, who became Kamkwamba’s mentor, follows Kamkwamba’s journey from his home in Malawi to Dartmouth College, reflecting on the highs and lows of living between two very different cultures. As IndieWire writes in its rave review of the film, “Kamkwamba’s scientific achievement speaks for itself, but the attention he received in its wake is a thornier issue that Ben Nabors turns into a fascinating look at the tricky balancing act of third-world activism.”

William and the Windmill received recognition last night at SXSW alongside Short Term 12, winner of the Grand Jury Award for Narrative Feature. Below, check out stills from William and the Windmill, courtesy of Nabors. And stay tuned to the TED Blog for a Q&A with Kamkwamba.

Director Ben Nabors accepts the Grand Jury Award on Tuesday night at SXSW.

A still from the film: William hard at work on his windmill.

A still from the film: A windmill from afar.

A still from the film: William, deep in contemplation.

Here, watch the film’s trailer:

And head to the Tribeca Film Institute website to read about 5 films that influenced Nabors as he made this doc »

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 >>

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. Can you touch on your connection to Africa and the changes you have observed or want to see on the continent, or at least in the countries you have lived in, Kenya and Sudan?

I grew up in Sudan and Kenya, and lived in both the rural and urban centers of both countries throughout my life. Technology, since the mid-’90s, has had an inordinate impact on the culture. I’m excited about this, as I believe that technology allows us to bypass inefficiencies — be they government corruption, economics or business-related. It’s why I write about it on my personal blog (WhiteAfrican) and why I started AfriGadget, the group blog that showcases Africans solving everyday problems with their own ingenuity.

Would you also speak to the intersection of your African identity, technology and blogging, and your interest in TED? Is there a connection between these three?

There is an intersection point, and it all started when TED decided that the focus for TEDGlobal 2007 was going to be Africa. That was a pivotal moment, bringing together some of the greatest minds across the continent along with some of their counterparts in the Western world. On top of this, and maybe the most important, was that 100 TEDAfrica fellows were brought together. Because of the energy and creativity put in motion by that event, we are starting to see in initiatives like Ushahidi. Like I stated then, I think we still haven’t seen the full repercussions of that event.

How was your experience at TED and that of giving a TEDTalk?

TED has an aura about it that is both intimidating and exhilarating at the same time. It’s big, with 1200 people this year. It’s glamorous and somewhat surreal as you sit behind someone like Ben Affleck and then walk out the door to see Al Gore speaking on his iPhone. All of that bleeds over into the Fellows program as well.

Having only 4 minutes meant that I really needed to get to the point, and that was difficult, as I felt there were a lot of areas I had to carve out that were really good stories.

Also, what’s your insider perspective on the TEDFellows program?

The TEDFellows program. It’s full of an eclectic mix of polymaths, who are incredibly intelligent, open and the relationships created from that are amazing.

There was a distinct focus on communication at TED this year, as the main show for the afternoon session was Eric Albertson of Duarte Design and Slide:ology. They are the masters of the stage, presentation geniuses who are famous for putting together some of the best talks you have ever seen.

Since this happens the day before the TED conference begins, the anticipation continues to build throughout the day. You strike new friendships and make connections that hadn’t existed before. And, because they draw from such an eclectic mix of “doers”, your new best friend might be a mangaka artist, teacher or a scientist. That’s good though, because the next day you are thrust into the maelstrom and you now have small islands of friendship to keep you grounded over the next four days.

The TEDFellows staff are also there to support you through the conference. More importantly, they are connectors, making sure that you are being introduced to the right people and having the right conversations to make your time as a Fellow a success. As one Fellow famously said, “Tom Rielly knew all 40 of our elevator pitches better than we did, and he gave them flawlessly to each person he introduced us to.”

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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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 >>Dambisa Moyo’s new book is drawing new attention to the question of aid in Africa, and her thesis is quite like yours, but aimed at a mass-market audience (as she said on Charlie Rose). Do you think it is risky to sensationalize the issue?

I don’t think Dambisa is sensationalizing the issue strong enough. Americans were justifiably outraged when AIG, which received billions in U.S. taxpayer money in bailouts, paid out hefty bonuses to its executives. So where is the outrage when African leaders, who receive U.S. taxpayers’ money in foreign aid, build palaces for themselves while their people wallow in abject poverty?

More important, the presumption that Africans don’t know what is good for them and that Americans or other foreigners know what is best for Africans is extremely offensive. 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”?

It’s clear that Moyo’s thesis draws from your work. How would you respond to those who assert that her views and yours are idealistic and ideological?

Our critics have not been paying attention to the literature on foreign aid. Our views are neither idealistic nor ideological but rather factual. There are three types of foreign aid: humanitarian relief aid, given to victims of natural disasters such as earthquakes, cyclones and floods; military aid; and economic development assistance. We have no qualms with humanitarian aid, and I am sure our critics would agree that military aid to tyrannical regimes in Africa is the least desirable. Much confusion, however, surrounds the third, also known as official development assistance or ODA. Contrary to popular misconceptions, ODA is not “free.” It is essentially a “soft loan,” or loan granted on extremely generous or “concessionary” terms.

The consensus that emerged decades ago was that foreign aid had not been effective in reversing Africa’s economic decline. Dambisa and I are simply restating a fact. And it is not just Africa. That foreign aid has failed to accelerate economic development in the Third World generally was also accepted. In 1999, the United Nations declared that 70 countries — aid recipients all — are now poorer than they were in 1980. An incredible 43 were worse off than in 1970. “Chaos, slaughter, poverty and ruin stalked Third World states, irrespective of how much foreign assistance they received,” wrote the Washington Post, on Nov. 25, 1999. Except for Haiti, all of the 13 foreign aid failures cited — Somalia, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Angola, Chad, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, Zaire, Mozambique, Ethiopia and Sudan — were in Sub-Saharan Africa. The African countries that received the most aid — Somalia, Liberia and Zaire — slid into virtual anarchy.

Is there a fundamental place where you diverge from Moyo?

Though we are both on point regarding the failure of aid programs in Africa, we diverge in two respects.

First, Dambisa wants all aid to Africa stopped in five years, which won’t happen. Over the decades, various African civic groups and persons, including myself, have called for a cutoff of aid to Africa. In a report drafted during a five-day forum hosted by UNESCO in Paris in 1995, more than 500 African political and civic leaders urged donor nations to cut off funds to African dictatorships and called for free elections in such nations within two years. If the West could impose sanctions against Libya and South Africa, then Africans could also call for sanctions against their own illegal regimes.

Second, I believe that the foreign aid resources Africa desperately needs to launch into self-sustaining growth and prosperity can be found in Africa itself, not in China as Dambisa believes.

Moyo’s work speaks to that deep urge among Westerners to “do something” — even something that may be deeply unproductive. What’s a more productive way to “do something”?

I think Westerners should resist that urge to “do something,” because the worst type of help one can receive is that which doesn’t solve your problem but compounds it. If Westerners want to help, they must carefully scrutinize and reform current aid policies to make them more effective. Both the Clinton and Bush administrations tried to but failed. Business as usual is no longer an option, which is what both Dambisa and I are against.

Foreign aid should be tied not on promises of African leaders but to the establishment of a few critical institutions:

+ An independent central bank: to assure monetary and economic stability, as well as stanch capital flight out of Africa. If possible, governors of central banks in a region, say West Africa, may be rotated to achieve such independence. The importance of this institution resides in the fact that the ruling bandits not only plunder the central bank but also use its facilities to transfer the loot abroad.

+ An independent judiciary — essential for the rule of law. Supreme Court judges may also be rotated within a region.

+ A free and independent media to ensure free flow of information. The first step is solving a social problem is to expose it, which is the business of news practitioners. The state-controlled or state-owned media would not expose corruption, repression, human rights violations and other crimes against humanity. In fact, it is far easier to plunder and repress people when they are kept in the dark. The media needs to be taken out of the hands of government.

+ An independent Electoral Commission to avoid situations where African despots write electoral rules, appoint a fawning coterie of sycophants as electoral commissioners, throw opposition leaders in jail and hold coconut elections to return themselves to power.

+ An efficient and professional civil service, which will deliver essential social services to the people on the basis of need and not on the basis of ethnicity or political affiliation.

+ The establishment of a neutral and professional armed and security forces.

The establishment of these institutions would empower Africans to instigate change from within. For example, the two great antidotes against corruption are an independent media and an independent judiciary. But only 8 African countries have a free media in 2003, according Freedom House. These institutions cannot be established by the leaders or the ruling elites (conflict of interest); they must be established by civil society. Each professional body has a “code of ethics,” which should be re-written by the members themselves to eschew politics and uphold professionalism. Start with the “military code,” and then the “bar code,” the “civil service code” and so on. These reforms, in turn, will help establish in Africa an environment conductive to investment and economic activity. But the leadership is not interested. Period.

Effective foreign aid programs are those that are “institution-based.” Give Africa the above 6 critical institutions and the people will do the rest of the job.

Africa is poor because it is not free.

George Ayittey responded to emailed questions from TEDAfrica Director Emeka Okafor and TED.com editor Emily McManus. Download the unedited notes from this interview, an 11-page PDF with reading lists, noted sources, and much more. TED intern Mischa Nachtigal prepared this edited blog post.

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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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.

AMD CEO Héctor Ruiz explained his company’s 50×15 initiative, which was established to enable affordable, accessible Internet connectivity and computing capabilities for 50 percent of the world’s population by the year 2015 …

Herman Chinery-Hesse, founder of the software firm SOFTtribe …

Nik Nesbitt founded KenCall, a call center in Kenya …

Serial entrepreneur Ali Mufuruki …

For more extensive descriptions of each talk, see Ethan Zuckerman‘s real-time posts on Héctor Ruiz, Herman Chinery-Hesse, Nik Nesbitt and Ali Mufuruki.

Watch for these talks on TED.com beginning midsummer 2007.