-  A Swedish post 2015 ICT4D agenda

Today it is quite impossible to attempt development and poverty reduction without ICT. The lack of ICT has become a barrier to full inclusion in the global network society. This is why Spider has put together a policy brief including nine recommendations for digital inclusion.
- We hope that Sweden will continue to play a leading role in the international development community by integrating ICT4D in the post-2015 agenda. Digital inclusion needs to be firmly embedded to ensure that all societies and all peoples stand to benefit from ICT, says Paula Uimonen, Director of Spider.
Sweden was among the first donor countries to grasp the value of ICT4D, supporting initiatives as early as 1995. The development impact of these initiatives is still paying off in many countries around the world. Spider was founded in 2004 and has become an internationally recognized ICT4D broker, serving as a node in a network of actors from academia, business, civil society and government.

• Broadband infrastructure and free and open source software (FOSS), powered by green technology

• Digital literacy to ensure equitable access and use, while building ICT capacity at all levels as needed

• Digital content that reflects and respects cultural diversity, while promoting creativity and innovation

• Education and lifelong learning to build the social basis of the global network society

• Multi-stakeholder collaboration to ensure suitability and sustainability of ICT-enhanced development

• Openness in development and use of ICT, including open access, open resources, and open standards

• Research and interdisciplinary knowledge sharing for evidence-based ICT4D interventions

• Women and girls as key drivers of social change, empowered to take the lead in the global ICT4D agenda

• Youth empowerment as a guiding principle for building an interconnected world for future generations

Full text:

http://www.spidercenter.org/newsroom/news/spider-policy-brief-swedish-post-2015-ict4d-agenda

Spider-supported TTA workshop by Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) attracted over 70 participants from leading universities in East Africa and Europe in Dar es Salaam. Spider represented by Paula Uimonen, Director.         

http://ttaportal.org/front-page/calendar/tta-workshop-in-dar-es-salaam/

The concept of the Technology Transfer Alliance (TTA) has existed for many years, gradually growing from a simple vision to something much more tangible. However in 2012 the idea became reality. It is based on a framework where student teams, with the guidance of faculty members, consulting experts and external stakeholders, work together using leading edge technologies to solve real world problems. Exchange students from all over the world populate a great part of these projects, thus creating an international network of universities in Europe, Africa and Asia among others.

Professor Björn Pehrson at KTH, Royal Institute of Technology, came up with the idea of TTA about 10 years ago, when he was working as a course coordinator of a project course called Communications Systems Design (CSD). As a result of a KTH student project, TTA became an official non-profit organization in May 2012.

With a great network and a lot of determination, TTA has every opportunity to become a worldwide, educational, establishment.
Spider is a proud sponsor of TTA.

Read more

http://ttaportal.org/menu/about/

My name is Ulf Larsson. I work full time at Spider since the beginning of this year. I am coordinating ICT4D projects within education as well as research related to projects: I am also the contact person for Spider's Swedish partner universities. I worked previously at the Informatics department of Jönköping International Business School at Jönköping University. I am happy to help you with any questions related to education projects or research on projects. Please email me at ulf@spidercenter.org

Listen to Spider Director Paula Uimonen being interviewed in Tekniksafari, Sveriges Radio.

http://www.spidercenter.org/newsroom/news/paula-uimonen-interviewed-sveriges-radio

International Workshop:    The Internet & New Social Media in Democracy Promotion,  Bonn, 8-9 April     

The German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE) is hosting an International Workshop on The Internet & New Social Media in Democracy Promotion April 8-9, 2013 in Bonn, Germany (Program in PDF). Spider Director Paula Uimonen is invited as a speaker on the topic “ICT4Democracy in East Africa: Lessons learned from Spider network of projects” in the panel Assessing the Impact of ICTs in Development Cooperation and Democracy Promotion: Theoretical Approaches and Lessons from the Field. The workshop intends to offer a platform for exchange between policy makers, researchers and practitioners engaged in the fields of new digital media and democracy promotion. The event will bring together about 100 participants from civil society, government, development co-operation organizations, academia and IT development.         

http://www.die-gdi.de/CMS-Homepage/openwebcms3_e.nsf/(ynDK_contentByKey)/home?open&nav=expand%3AHome%3Bactive%3AHome

IST Africa 2013, Nairobi, 29-31 May                                                                                           

Part of the IST-Africa Initiative, which is supported by the European Commission under the ICT Theme of Framework Programme 7 (FP7), IST-Africa 2013 is the eighth in an annual services of Ministerial Level Technology Research Conferences that brings together senior representatives from leading commercial, government & research organisations across Africa and from Europe, to bridge the Digital Divide by sharing knowledge, experience, lessons learnt and good practice related to Information Society and ICT Adoption, Policy and Research. Spider board member David Isaksson will organize a workshop on ICT and openness.  iMentors, a Spider coordinated EU project will be discussed by in a panel with Spider and Executive Board member Vasilis Koulolias and members of the project’s Stakeholder Advisory Board.                                                              

http://www.ist-africa.org/conference2013/

WSIS Forum,  Geneva, 13-17  May                    

The World Summit on the Information Society Forum 2013 represents the world´s largest annual gathering of the ´ICT for development´ community. This forum will provide structured opportunities to network, learn and participate in multi-stakeholder discussions and consultations on WSIS implementation. This event builds upon the tradition of annual WSIS May meetings, and its format is the result of open consultations with all WSIS Stakeholders. The agenda and program of the WSIS Forum is built on the basis of official submissions received during the Open Consultation Process. Spider will organize a panel on Academic Insights in WSIS Review. Spider will have a stand in the exhibition.  

(http://www.itu.int/wsis/implementation/2013/forum/)13

 e-Learning Africa 2013, Windhoek, 29-31 May
The key networking event for developing eLearning capacities in Africa, eLearning Africa 2013 will be hosted by Namibia's Ministry of Education in conjunction with the Ministry of ICT. Spider will be one of the sponsors of this event and will have an exhibition space for Spider and partners. Spider and participating partners will also present papers on different tracks in the program.

http://www.elearning-africa.com/May
 

Do you want to become a Change Agent within ICT for development? We have a special programme for you! Our vision for the new master’s programme, Information and communication technology for development (ICT4D), is to prepare individuals who are ready and able to initiate and implement sustainable change with rigor in developing regions. Our goal is to train graduates who will be aware of the many challenges of development work and able to face them creatively and innovatively. As a student in this program, you will play an active role and we expect you to grow into a bold, knowledgeable and motivated Change Agent contributing to environmental, economic, and social sustainability.                                                                                                      The Programme is sponsored by The Swedish Program for ICT in Developing Regions (Spider), a resource center for ICT4D based at DSV, Stockholm University. The programme is suitable for students aiming for professional fields where ICT is used as a tool for development, in both public and private sectors. Graduates may also enter PhD. programmes in order to pursue a research career.
Programme Requirements                                                                                                     To qualify for this programme, you need to have a Bachelor’s degree or a degree equal to 180 ECTS. A minimum of 90 ECTS of that degree should be in computer science, systems science, informatics, or information systems.  Application                                                                                                                         Note! For applicants without an EU/EEA residence permit the last application date will be January 15. For applicants within the EU/EEA the last application date is April 15. The application procedure for the programme for EU/EEA/Switzerland citizens will open on March 15 at antagning.se (swe) or universityadmissions.se (en).

Read more                                                                                                    

http://dsv.su.se/en/education/courses-and-programmes/masters/ictd

The Swedish Program for ICT in Developing Regions (Spider) is a resource center for ICT for Development (ICT4D). Spider was established in 2004 and is primarily financed by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), with complementary funding from Stockholm University. Spider is part of the Department of Computer and Systems Sciences (DSV) at Stockholm University.