This paper will examine the Mukurtu content management system (CMS) developed by researchers at Washington State University to address specific needs of Indigenous individuals and Indigenous communities worldwide. Mukurtu is based on the open-source DRUPAL platform and utilizes many aspects unique to that platform, such as role-based permission systems, which […]
2014 • content management system • Drupal • indigenous / traditional knowledge • indigenous communities • knowledge management • MukurtuExploring Culture in a Digital World
This is a technical paper describing the pedagogical and technological requirements for the Wondervision Project. It examines how digital technologies can be used to connect cultures in a way that is respectful and results in deeper understanding of culture. The Indigenous culture of Australia is the learning context, with the […]
2014 • Australia • cross-cultural • design • digital • indigenous aesthetics • research • technologyAustralian Aboriginal Virtual Heritage
Cultural knowledge is a central tenant of identity for Aboriginal people and it is vitally important that the preservation of heritage values happens. Digital Songlines is a project that seeks to achieve this and was initiated as a way to develop the tools for recording cultural heritage knowledge in a […]
2014 • aboriginal • Australia • cultural heritage • digital heritage • digital humanities • indigenous / traditional knowledge • knowledge management • songline • virtual realitySocial Media in Remote First Nation Communities
Community resilience in First Nations includes ties to people both inside and outside the community, intergenerational communication, the sharing of stories, and family and community connectedness. This study, based on a survey of Internet users in the Sioux Lookout region of Northwestern Ontario, explores the link between social networking sites […]
2014 • communication • culture | preservation • First Nations • indigenous communities • Internet use • social networkingStory Guided Virtual Cultural Heritage Applications
Virtual cultural heritage applications, particularly virtual museums, nowadays include various forms of storytelling. Every object, site or artifact is better perceived and understood through the adjoining story. Interactive applications naturally request the storytelling to become interactive as well. This paper describes the concepts of interactive digital storytelling in our virtual […]
2014 • cultural heritage • digital storytelling • interactive • storytelling • user experience • virtual museumBuilding Digital Capacities: Enabling the Drivers of Social Change through ICTs
Welcome to IICD’s Annual Report 2013. Our report will take you through the countries we work in and a selection of projects that demonstrate how our ICT-led social innovation process has helped foster behavioural and social change in these communities. IICD uses ICT to help build the capacity of people […]
2014 • Africa • capacity building • ICTs • IICD • innovation • Latin America • social changeExploring the Link Between ICT and Development in the Context of Developing Countries: a Literature Review
The article contributes to the ongoing discussion on relating information and communication technology (ICT) to development (D). The quest to relate ICT to D is a topic of open deliberation and critical scrutiny in ICT4D research communities. To enhance the understanding in this regard, we conducted a literature review. The […]
2014 • capability approach • development • ICT4D • ICTs • literature review • researchLoving and Leaving Mother: The Passing of Chester Nez
Earlier this month, a significant chapter in indigenous history came to a close with the death of 93-year-old Chester Nez in Albuquerque, New Mexico (Jan. 23, 1921 – June 4, 2014). Chester was not the name given to him as an infant by his Navajo parents. He no longer remembered […]
2014 • Chester Nez • code talkers • indigenous language • NavajoITID Special Issue on Themes, Insights, and Agendas for ICTs for Development
Information Technologies & International Development has published its Vol. 10(2) Summer 2014 IFIP 9.4 Special Issue, Into the Future: Themes, Insights, and Agendas for Information and Communication Technologies for Development This Special Issue of ITID contains a selection of articles from the IFIP 9.4 2013 12th International Conference on the […]
2014 • ICT4D • ICTs • IFIP • ITID • researchInteractive Community Mapping: Between Empowerment and Effectiveness
The area of Kibera—located in Nairobi, Kenya—is one of the largest slums in Africa. Although multiple civil society and development organizations have been present and active in Kibera for many years, this poor community has often remained a blank spot on public maps. On some, it has even been marked […]
2014 • community mapping • development • geospatial • Kibera • Nairobi | Kenya • participatoryMaking Information Technologies Work at the End of the Road
Remote and rural areas face many challenges, including the provision of telecommunications services. Regardless of universal service policies or other political promises, rural communities can be deemed unprofitable by service providers while government assistance is managed by faraway regulators who lack understanding of the affected communities and citizens. The authors […]
2014 • Canada • First Mile • First Nations • rural • telecommunicationsOpen-domain Interaction and Online Content in the Sami Language
This paper presents data collection and collaborative community events organised within the DigiSami project concerning the North Sami language. The DigiSami project is one of the collaboration initiatives on endangered Finno-Ugric languages, supported by the larger framework between the Academy of Finland and the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. The goal […]
2014 • collaboration • community • endangered language • minority language • Sámi • technologyIndigenous Knowledge Communication in the 21st Century
Indigenous knowledge — the knowledge developed by local people and passed down over generations — is a major, untapped resource for development. In the 21st century indigenous information is transmitted mainly through indigenous communication channels: indigenous organizations, folk media, traditional education, and so forth. Emerging information and communication technology (ICT) […]
2014 • communication • development • ICTs • indigenous / traditional knowledge • knowledge sharing / exchangeSubversion, Conversion, Development: Cross-Cultural Knowledge Exchange and the Politics of Design
This book explores alternative cultural encounters with and around information technologies. These encounters are alternative because they counter dominant, Western-oriented notions of media consumption; they include media practices as forms of cultural resistance and subversion, “DIY cultures,” and other nonmainstream models of technology production. The contributors — leading thinkers in […]
2014 • community resistance • cross-cultural • design • DIY • ICTs • subversionEthnocomputing: Using ICT to Preserve the Culture of the People of North-Rift Region of Kenya
The impact and interaction of ICT and African culture is a critical issue as African nations position themselves to reap the benefits of ICT for development. African nations have different attitudes towards cultural regeneration and dissemination as the continent struggles to address the ambiguous role and position of culture as […]
2014 • Africa • challenges • cultural heritage • culture • culture | preservation • ICT4D • ICTsThe Challenges and Opportunities of Using Mobile Devices to Attain Māori Language Proficiency
What are the effects of using mobile devices as part of teacher professional development focused on teaching and learning the Māori language for Māori immersion educational settings? Answers to this question are explored by researching the extent to which electronic devices could be an effective strategy to address the crisis […]
2014 • education • Hei Korowai • indigenous language • language | preservation • Māori • mobile • researchTowards effective management & preservation of digital cultural heritage resources
Abstract In today’s world of digital technologies, cultural heritage institutions, particularly in developed countries, are seeking ways to create national digital memories for the future of the citizenry. However, rapidly developing technologies and their concomitant technological obsolescence put future memories at risk. The challenge is enormous in developing countries that, […]
2014 • cultural heritage • culture | preservation • digital heritage • digital preservation • GhanaAppropriate Technologies in the Globalized World: FAQs
Technological innovation over the past century has revolutionized our society’s ability to solve problems. A byproduct of this movement is the advent of appropriate technology, an approach to address challenges in the developing world through creative and people focused product development. Appropriate technology (AT) recognizes that social, environmental, cultural, political, […]
2014 • appropriate technology • design • development • engineering • human-centeredUsing Technology for Social Good: An Exploration of Best Practice in the Use of ICTs for Development
How has technology influenced the path of international development, and how can information and communications technologies (ICTs) be used to strengthen and improve development projects undertaken by the United Methodist community? To answer these questions, this discussion paper draws from conversations with eight experts whose interviews are featured as part […]
2014 • best practice • ICT4D • ICTs • interview • social change • UMComThoughts on African Content and Implementation Strategies involved in ICT Access in (rural) Africa
This is the text of the presentation of the author at the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) Seminar Series in Pretoria, South Africa, 25 March 2014. The author proposes the African components ‘ubuntu, orality, relatio, dominatio and animatio’ as drivers of content, and ‘community engagement, skill development and thought leadership’ […]
2014 • Africa • content creation • development • ICTs • orality • rural • ubuntuParticipatory Cultural Heritage: A Tale of Two Institutions’ Use of Social Media
The purpose of this study is to examine how and to what extent cultural heritage institutions (CHIs) are currently using social media to create a culture of participation around their digital collections and services. An environmental scan of New Zealand CHIs with a social media initiative was conducted and four […]
2014 • cultural heritage • digital collections • New Zealand • participatory • social mediaCreating a Social Serious Game: an interdisciplinary experience among computer scientists and artists from UNLP faculties
This article describes the interdisciplinary work carried out by teachers and students of the Faculties of Fine Arts and Informatics in La Plata city, to develop a serious game for social networks related with Argentine native peoples. The game presented is a serious video game, innovative for social sciences, which […]
2014 • Argentina • cultural heritage • education • gaming • indigenous issues • serious games • youthFuture Priorities for Development Informatics Research from the Post-2015 Development Agenda
At the end of 2015, the Millennium Development Goals will be replaced by the post-2015 development agenda (PTDA). The foundational content is in place for this new agenda, which will be the single most-important force shaping the future of international development. In planning our priorities for development informatics research – […]
2014 • ICT4D • informatics • millennium development goals • policy • researchDigital Memory Toolkit
The Digital Memory Toolkit aims to address a lack of digital literacy in community memory projects by giving project teams the insight and tools necessary to undertake digital memory projects. Projects of this nature commonly have twofold relevance – helping to preserve local knowledge and also empowering community members through […]
2014 • digital tools • open source • oral history • resources management • software • toolkitNetwork of Indigenous Knowledge
From the PBS website… How can the modern study of global change benefit from ancient knowledge? Special correspondent John Larson reports on the new ways indigenous communities around the world are connecting with one another to share observations and sustain their native cultures. Excerpt from the transcript JOHN LARSON: When […]
2014 • indigenous / traditional knowledge • knowledge sharing / exchange • National Geographic Society • western knowledge