ICT Volunteering and Human Development

1
ICT Volunteering and Human Development

• Evolution and Trends

Conference on Volunteering and ICTs World Summit
on the Information Society 7-8 December
2003 Manuel Acevedo
2
Contents of the presentation

• ICT Volunteering and Human Development
• Mainstreaming ICT into Development Organizations
• Volunteer Networking
• Volunteering in the Information Society WSIS

3
What is ICT Volunteering?

• Range of volunteer action whose common
  characteristic is the targeted use of ICTs
  (particularly digital technologies)
• Actions by volunteers resulting in the practical
  use by development actors of relevant ICTs
  supporting a community telecenter
• Use of ICT (particularly the Internet) to enable
  and facilitate volunteer collaboration eg.
  Online Volunteering
• Volunteerings niche in ICT4D capacity building
  on the uses (ie. applications) and opportunities
  (ie. outreach, awareness) of ICT across
  development areas

4
Why ICT Volunteering?

• Massive needs around the world
• Many people willing to contribute
• Mechanisms already exist
• UNITeS, NetCorps Canada, VITA, PeaceCorps, Red
  Cross, etc.
• Volunteer added-value
• they accompany a specific development process
• powered by solidarity
• youth as a under-utilized development asset
• Internets culture is (still) a culture of
  solidarity and volunteering
• Volunteering are essential to respond to
  capacity-building needs in the Information
  Society

5
Mainstreaming ICT into Development Organizations

• Development orgs. as catalyzers for wider
  absorption of ICT in overall developmental
  processes
• Need to lead by example !
• The main challenge is to achieve the proper
  levels of internal capacity in an agengy
• ICT Volunteers can be instrumental in
  mainstreaming ICT into development orgs.
• They can assist in both aspects of mainstreaming
• Internal integration of ICT into administrative
  and operational processes
• External widespread application of ICT in field
  projects and initiatives supported by an agency

6
Networking Development Cooperation

• Development cooperation practices need to adjust
  to the new context and dynamics of the Network
  Society
• Connected development nodes
• individuals, projects, organizations
• Knowledge generation from connection rather than
  rather than collection
• New project architecture
• establishing/managing networks to maximize
  generation and application of knowledge for
  development
• Enabling involvement of the global citizen to
  achieve the Millennium Development Goals

7
Types of Volunteer-based Networks

• Action networks connecting individual
  volunteers to development orgs. stakeholders
  (eg. NetAid/UNV Online Volunteering service)
• Knowledge network created within a
  Volunteer-involving org. (eg. UNV or the Red
  Cross)
• Institutional networks formed by volunteer
  organizations (eg. IAVE, NetCorps Canada
  Coalition)
• Volunteer-to-Volunteer networks (independent or
  institutional)
• The Open-Source approach to development (eg.
  Linux)
• Virtual Communities of Practice
• Human Metadata Networks

8
A project network, Powered-by-Volunteers
9
Ten key types of ICT Volunteering functions (I)

• Across development themes
• Provision of basic technological literacy
• Information brokering the human last miles of
  connectivity
• Creation of local digital content
• Inclusion of marginalized and disadvantaged
  groups into the Information Society
• Awareness raising of decision-makers on the
  possibilities of ICT4D

10
Ten key types of ICT Volunteering functions (II)

• In specific thematic areas of development
• Integration of ICT into the educational system
• Involvement in community telecenters
• Use of ICT and networking by local human civil
  rights organizations
• Incorporation of ICT into the battle against
  HIV-AIDS
• Application of ICT to disaster management and
  post-conflict situations

11
Volunteering and WSIS

• Basic message the role of Volunteering must be
  included in analysis and policies of the
  Information Society
• Volunteering has already shaped the Information
  Society
• The Information Society is impacting volunteer
  action
• WSIS Plan of Action ICT Volunteering needed for
  success
• From Geneva to Tunisia making ICT Volunteering a
  more visible actor

12
A Volunteer Plan of Action for WSIS (I)

• Development-wide proposals
• Support to national and international university
  volunteer networks in ICT for Develoment
• Creation, expansion and support of
  national/regional online volunteering services
• Coordination under UN of a Hackers Without
  Frontiers programme
• Support to ICT Volunteering programmes (UNITeS,
  NetCorps Canada, etc.
• Support to Diaspora volunteers networks in ICT4D
• Promotion of corporate volunteering initiatives
  on ICT4D
• An international Telecenter Volunteer Exchange
  facility
• Establishment of/support to of basic computer
  literacy training programmes.
• Support to volunteer-involving orgs, like NGOs,
  that are involved in the social appropriation of
  ICTs.

13
A Volunteer Plan of Action for WSIS (II)

• Thematic proposals
• Establishment of national "University
  ICT-for-education Volunteering" schemes
• to build teacher capacity (secondary schools) for
  ICT integration
• ICT Volunteering initiatives for digital
  inclusion of people with disabilities
• ICT Volunteering support to HIV/AIDS initiatives,
  like the programme underway in Southern Africa
• Promotion of networks to assist people affected
• Creation of telework and e-learning opportunities
• Teacher-to-teacher, doctor-to-doctor mentoring
• Volunteer initiatives in telemedicine
• Facilities for ICT volunteers in disaster
  situations
• ICT Volunteer programmes in refugee camps

14
United Nations Information Technology Service
UNITeS

• Special UNV initiative aimed at reducing digital
  divides
• One of the Digital Bridge programmes of Kofi
  Annan (Millennium Report)
• Volunteers building human and institutional
  capacity on uses/opportunities of ICT for human
  development

• Global programme (65 of vols from South, intl.
  and natl. volunteers)
• Close to 200 volunteers onsite, about 100 online,
  in over 50 countries.
• Involves volunteers from other organizations (not
  only UNV), also online
• UNITeS Community Network, Knowledge Base

15
Online Volunteering

• Innovative modality of volunteering for
  development cooperation
• Translations, content editing, proposal writing,
  web-site programming, online research, graphics
  design, technical assistance mentoring,
  e-moderating...
• The Net is the medium
• Flexibility, adaptability
• Interesting possibilities of online/on-site
  collaboration among volunteers
• Facilitates continued engagement by former
  on-site vols
• Online Volunteer service through NetAid
  (www.netaid.org/OV)
• Partnership between NetAid Foundation and UNV
• Largest listing of OV opportunities for
  development cooperation
• In 3 yrs., 14,000 OV applicants, 5,000 OV
  assignments, 270 host institutions

16
Conclusions

• ICT Volunteering is a powerful new resource for
  Human Development
• Started with basic ICT skills training
• Moved on to capacity building and awareness
  raising
• ICT Volunteering to enable ICT mainstreaming in
  development
• Harnessing power of networking to generate
  increased added value network capital
• Make ICT Volunteering an important element for
  WSIS Plan of Action
• Raise visibility of ICT Volunteering in the
  process to Tunisia 2005