Con: Digital Activism and the Digital Divide in Kenya

Written by Mary on January 18, 2008 – 12:27 am -

Although this site is about how technology empowers activists on a global scale, we must not be blind optimists or think of digital activism as a panacea. For this reason we include thoughtful criticism of digital activism. If we want to make truly meaningful change we must address the Pros & Cons of digital activism.

Today’s note of digital skepticism comes from the Kenyan blogger White African in a post entitled “It’s Not About Us, it’s About Them” he writes:

While blogging, emails, Twitter and the internet are doing a great deal of good getting the news out of what’s going on in Kenya to the rest of the world, I find myself troubled. You see, the communication that needs to be happening is at the grassroots level. Everyday Kenyans do not have access to any of these services.
Let’s put our minds and capabilities towards solving real problems for people beyond the technologically elite.

Let’s put our minds and capabilities towards solving real problems for people beyond the technologically elite.


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Posted in Pros & Cons, Sub-Saharan Africa | No Comments »

Action Alert: Avaaz Calls for Mediation in Kenya

Written by Mary on January 18, 2008 – 12:10 am -

What? Kenya Crisis: Support Kofi Annan Campaign
When? now!
Where? on the Avaaz website
How? Send a message to your government to show Kenya’s leaders that the world supports mediation (the total number of messages sent will be published in a full-page ad in the East Africa Standard in Kenya.)
Why? To stop the violence in Kenya.
Who is organizing the action? international digital advocacy organization Avaaz.org

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Tool: Wikis

Written by Mary on January 17, 2008 – 4:28 am -

Tool Description: A wiki is a web page which users can easily edit and add content to by clicking an “edit” tab on the page.
Activist Application: Following the tumultuous elections in Kenya, a Lithuanian activist, Andrius Kulikauskas, is using his community wiki to offer help and provide information about the situation.
Ease of Use: Fairly easy. You can create a wiki for free at sites like Wikispaces.com. This page explains the basics of wiki syntax (the codes for italics, bold, links, etc.). Here is a video which explains the basics of using a wiki:


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Posted in Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa, Tools, Wikis | No Comments »

Tool: Twitter

Written by Mary on January 17, 2008 – 4:03 am -

Tool Description: Twitter is social network where people update their friends about their actions in real-time via SMS. People can read your SMS posts online.
Activist Application: Kenyan blogger AfroMusing used her Twitter channel to send news updates on the unstable situation in the country following the recent elections. The Twitter channel KenyaNews has been set up specifically to update people on the latest news out of Kenya.
Ease of Use: Easy. Just sign up for a Twitter account here and inform your friends of your Twitter channel.

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Posted in Mobile Phones, Sub-Saharan Africa, Tools | 2 Comments »

Tactic: SMS/Map Mashup Protects Human Rights in Kenya

Written by Mary on January 10, 2008 – 11:03 pm -

Description: Ushahidi.com is a Kenyan web site that records reports of violence sent by SMS and e-mail on a Google Earth map. It provides living testimony to the atrocities committed following the recent presidential elections in that country. (”Ushahidi” means “testimony” in Kiswahili.)

Organizer: The idea for the Ushahidi web site was created by the bloggers behind KenyanPundit.com, WhiteAfrican.com, MentalAcrobatics.com, AfroMusing.com, and Skunkworks and was built by developer David Kobia.

Purpose of Action: To create a visual map of human rights abuses.

Organizing Tools: SMS, Google Earth, web site

Outcome: A political resolution to the election crisis has not yet been reached.

Ease of Replication: Replicating the Ushahidi map is rather difficult, as it is actually a mash-up of SMS messages and a Google map. You will need a developer friend to make it. However, other digital map applications, like Frappr, are quite easy to use.

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