The ITC is looking to become more mobile in every sense, however 3 specific opportunities have been idenitified for my project direction:
1// Re-design the Lifelong E-Learning course (http://lifelongelearning.itcilo.org). This is a blended course (partially taught at the ITC campus in Turin, partially taught at a distance) targeted at training professionals in developing countries, teaching them how they can integrate ICT into their practices for technology-enhanced learning. The 6th edition of the course is due to be held in June 2011.
2// Design the new MATCOM course. This is a large-scale international project currently underway, led by the ILO headquarters in Geneva. MATCOM (Material and Techniques for Cooperative Managament Training) was originally a large project undertaken by the ILO in the 1970s, with the goal of teaching farmer organisations how to set up and manage agricultural cooperatives. The project came to a close after 10 years, however in 2009 the ILO made the decision to re-launch the MATCOM proejct with new training material written to reflect a changed world context. The raw content is almost complete, which the ITC will transform into training material and deliver through new courses (blended and on the field) from late 2011 - 2012.
3// Re-design a Delnet course (www.delnetitcilo.net) These are distance learning courses offered by the department of Enterprise, Microfinance and Local Development (EMLD). At the moment the courses are run completely online, however they often focus on post-conflict recovery and development (such as a recent course in Haiti), a context highly prone to limited internet access.Therefore the mobile phone could become an essential tool in communication and disseminating knowledge in this critical context.
Now I'm gathering more info on these 3 options so that I can weigh up the pros and cons, then I'll post the final decision on here next week!
Finally all my hard work searching for collaborators paid off, and I am pleased to make a big announcement:
My thesis will be a real project developed for the UNITED NATIONS!
I got an internship position at the International Training Centre of the International Labour Organization (ITC-ILO), and I already started last week.
So, what is the ITC-ILO? The ILO is the oldest UN agency, working towards the goal of decent work for all. The unique tripartite structure of the ILO gives an equal voice to workers, employers and governments to ensure that the views of the social partners are closely reflected in labour standards and in shaping policies and programmes. In 1965 the ILO realised there was a need to train people on how to put its values into practice in a real world context, and so it created the International Training Centre in Turin, Italy as its vocational training institute, the only one of its kind in the world. With 14,000 participants each year from 192 countries, around half of the Centre's work takes place at its large Turin campus, while courses are also held in developing regions.
What's next?
The Centre is looking to offer more distance learning opportunities, for example for geographically isolated participants. And that's where I come in! My internship project is to develop a mobile learning programme with the DELTA (Distance Education and Learning Technology Applications) department. As part of this, mobile phone technology will be utilised to reach more people and improve participant experience. This supports my original goal of using mobile phones in new ways for social progress in developing contexts.
20 Jan 2011 // Families in the Philippines uprooted by disaster have begun receiving text messages which they can cash like checks to buy food. The pilot project makes use of the widespread availability of mobile phones in the Philippines, which is known as the “texting capital of the world”.
The Philippines is one of the most phone-savvy countries in the world, but it’s also prone to violent storms and conflict, which force people from their homes and threaten them with hunger.
In emergencies like these, WFP often helps by setting up “Cash for Work” projects that help uprooted communities get back on their feet. With the cash people earn as they work on rebuilding homes and communities, they can buy the food they need.
Now, in the texting capital of the world, WFP is testing mobile phones as a way of distributing the cash.
“It’s like a digital wallet—almost like a bank account,” said WFP Country Director Stephen Anderson, who explained that giving participants cash in the place of food rations allows them to buy a wider variety of food in a way that favours the local economy.“Our survey shows that they are spending up to 70–80 per cent of the cash on food,” he added. “We think that’s a good thing.”
Fri 19 Nov 2010 // Danish brothers Christopher and David Mikkelsen founded Refugees United, an NGO that uses secure web and mobile technology to enable refugees to find loved ones throughout the world.
It started with a web-based system allowing refugees to create and search profiles in order to find loved ones by name or identifying characteristics. By expanding the program from web-based to mobile phones, the organisers hope to reach people in areas with poor computer access and training. Now, people can utilise the Refugees United system over simple SMS or WAP-enabled phones.“Even the most remote refugee settlements, you still find mobile phones everywhere,” David Mikkelsen says. There's a series of keywords, so if you send 'REG' to the number, it assumes you're registering and it sends you back a request that starts off by asking your name. Then it asks your age and your gender and so forth. You can search for people on the system, and if you find someone you think might be family you can send a message as well.The site urges people contacted by other users to ask a series of personal questions to establish that the contactee is in fact who they claim to be.The expansion of the platform to mobile phones will be implemented in collaboration with Ericsson, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Ugandan mobile operator MTN, and Delta Partners.
