The group of organizers of the Web2ForDev Conference which took place last September 2007, held a review meeting on November 20th. The event was evaluated, also based on the input from those who filled in the end-of-conference survey, and considered follow-up actions. In general all organizations present expressed a commitment, also fed by the survey […]

Post by Olivier Berthoud:
Some brief comments to the conference:
Here are the 3 most relevant case studies for me. Potential scaling up and mainstreaming are my major concern about these new technologies.

Oxfam is using any new Web2.0 technology to mobilize mid-class professional and youth in wealthy countries (Myspace, Facebook, what ever) and it seams to works […]

Dear friends,
Recently aware of your iniciative and eager to contribute to a better understanding of the challenges and posibilities of the so called Knowledge Society, I would like to let you know of two projects who conceive the use of blogin to generate networks of participative conscience on different issues of social participation in which […]

Crossposted from crisscrossed.net
Thanks to Tom L. and Peter Ballantayne for their very interesting remarks on my post “an overview of blogging for development.” Peter argued that there are a lot different blogs in development aid or international cooperation out there and “must be loads more, just not very visible.” And Tom had a great point:
What’s […]

Crossposted: Euforic Blog
3 October. OneWorld, the international network for global justice, is launching a social networking space for climate change that will act as a ‘Climate Facebook’ to inspire people to take action to protect the planet.
“OneClimate.net is a mass collaboration space dedicated to global citizens gathering and distributing solutions […]

Interview de Pete Cranston, Consultant en TIC et Développement
« Le Web2 et les communautés de pêche » fait partie de nombreux sujets débattus lors des « Open space » de la conférence Web2fordev. Pete Cranston, l’initiateur de cette discussion se prononce dans cet entretien sur l’impact que les outils du Web participatif pourraient avoir sur […]

Interview with Dr. Hansjörg Neun, Director CTA.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-dkP_vSUDk

I asked people what is the way forward and what they were going to take back home.
Wycliffe Ochieng Arua- Agriculture Commodity Exchange Kenya
It has been a great conference and the way forward especially if there is a way we could work together to blend the existing web 2 tools that are used in
Africa putting […]

Interview with Kuami Ahiabenu (Ghana) about Empowering journalists with online tools: Making a case for online training
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlQfGOe-PY4

Ethan Zuckerman gave the keynote speech on the final day of the Web2forDev conference, held at FAO in Rome, 24th-27th September 2007. Ethan is the co-founder of Global Voices, the world’s largest aggregator of media in the South. The Global Voices Forum brings together bloggers from around the globe.
Here are some quotes from that […]

Rural communities in Africa can have their stories shared with the larger audience using video blogging which is a Web 2.0 application to amplify the voices of the grassroots in the future.
Sharing his experience as a Vlogger, Prince Deh said he had been creating videos and posting them on a blog and hence received feed […]

Online learning is here to stay and the increasingly availability of Web 2.0 tools will making e-learning experience more rewarding though some challenges exist.
Making a case for online training of Journalists in Africa, Kwami Ahiabenu II from the International Institute for ICT Journalism (PenPlusBytes) observed that online training was going to become dominant means of […]

It’s going to rain in Dakar on Tuesday 20 May 2070. How do I know? Michael Saunby told me, at his presentation of Climate Change Mashups this afternoon in the Lebanon Room. But why do we need to know today whether or not it’s going to rain in Dakar on 20 May 2070? “It might […]

“We need to come up with a description of what is understood by Web2forDev.” This comment was placed on the Democracy Board – an area outside the main Red Room where conference goers can write suggestions, make comments, share feelings and contribute ideas. The person who posted this particular suggestion was only putting on paper […]

At the Web2forDev conference, everyone has been saying that it’s not about the technology – it’s about the people. It’s about what people can do with the technology – and what ‘mash-ups’ of tools and approaches are appropriate and really working.
I came to this conference to find people who are really doing participatory web […]

Scholar literature is underrepresented on Internet and Southern researchers’ content remains invisible. There is a critical mass of “grey” knowledge which could highly benefit from the web2 opportunities. Ismael Peña-López from the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) expressed the importance of facilitating access to researchers’ work in a provocative manner “If you exist on Internet, […]

Focuss.eu provides a high quality search engine for practitioners, researchers and students in the area of global development studies. Other than generic search engines, like Google and Yahoo, focuss.eu indexes a specific choice of electronic resources, selected by librarians, researchers and practitioners working in participating institutions. The current focuss.eu initiative is based on the personal […]

Despite challenges that are currently in Zimbabwe, Youth organizations still see web 20 as a mechanism that would promote free flow of information in spite of stringent laws that prevents people to enjoy freedom of press and freedom of association. Head of Zimbabwe Youth Movement, Mr Innocent Ncube spoke lengthily about their challenges and aspirations […]

Ismail Fourokwas one of this year Highway Africa award winner for Innovative Use of New Media. Ismail has used web 2.0 techniques on his project www.sowetouprisings.com  to map the historical 1976 Soweto uprisings activities in South Africa that led to the killing young students such as Hector Paterson. The project uses Google map and blogs […]

A Voices of Africa is a Web 2.0 news and information website that encourages ordinary people and professionals to use mobile phones to share video footages about news that are taking place in their own communities. They are currently piloting the project in Mozambique, Ghana and South Africa. Voices of Africa Director in South Africa […]

Bob Sankofa is a Swahili photo blogger and Khaya Dlanga is a South African video –blogger. The two gentlemen share with us their experiences on blogging to foster social communication among individuals and communities. They also tell us how important is web2.0 techniques in providing people whose voices are not normally heard on the mainstream […]

Breeze FM has been instrumental in supporting agriculture programming that seeks to empower local farmers who do not have other alternative access to relevant information for their needs. Though the station broadcast to the majority of the rural population in the eastern province of Zambia and some parts of neighboring Malawi, they did not give […]

Interview with Dr Anton Mangstl
Director of Knowledge Exchange and Capacity building Division
Knowledge and Communication Departement - FAO
Dr Anton Mangstl presents how FAO has hosted the Web2forDev Conference and how to forward
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5lnZeObXVg

Dans un monde rural dominé par l’oralité, «les populations très souvent analphabètes ont besoin de voir et d’entendre pour une meilleure interactivité  et la vidéo ne serait pas pour gêner cela. On peut donc passer plus facilement des messages vidéos pour faire de la sensibilisation et de la formation.» soutient Sylvestre Ouédraogo responsable de l’Association […]

Mark Davies of www.tradenet.biz talk about this website
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhCtRUAHFNA