Happy Friday!
I hope your week has gone well! This email is late because my team at Glean has been extremely busy this week as we are developing a new digital dashboard and portal system for a local NGO in Cambodia. I find that developing new technology solutions is exciting and I am happy we are able to support the work of a local community movement. Even if that means I’m a bit late on my email…
Over the last week I’ve been able to find a few interesting reads on technology for good as well as a few funding opportunities!
If you have anything you’d like me to share with this community, please let me know!
Have a great weekend!
Jesse
DAI takes an interesting look at digital inclusion for children in this article. They highlight some of the barriers challenges they found in their work with Sesame Workshops. From the article: “Throughout this past summer, DAI’s Center for Digital Acceleration has been working with the Sesame Workshop on its Play to Learn program to explore the possibilities for using digital tools to provide education services among children, ages 3 to 8, living in crisis-affected communities.”
Following up on their recent report on building digital ecosystems, GSMA highlights one of the most critical aspects in ecosystem development, partnerships. Ecosystem development involves many players and requires complex solutions. From GSMA: “Digital solutions do not exist in vacuums. They require a system of end-users, service providers, regulators and, in the humanitarian context, both local and international humanitarian actors. A well-established ecosystem ensures provision of mobile and digital services in an efficient, effective, scalable, and sustainable manner.”
B the Change looks at the impact crowdfunding is having on the Green Tech space. There seems to be a large market opportunity for someone in this space, especially now that Cambodians are more comfortable using mobile payments. Interesting highlight: “crowdfunding is another sector that’s contributing to this massive green tech boom. For instance, crowdfinding platform Indiegogo has raised more than $78 million for sustainable products and sustainable tech as a whole.”
Incubating Feminist AI aims to catalyze the creation of Feminist AI by redefining algorithmic allocation and justifications, or re-engineering system thinking and algorithmic solving for proxy problems buried in the data and emerging in the tech in current social policy. Incubating Feminist AI seeks social science and algorithmic models that intersect with core public policy agendas in the Global South in areas such as Health, Education, Justice, Social Protection/Benefits, new algorithmic applications for Indigenous, Decolonial, Feminist Data collection or community-driven data stewardship models including Accountable Local, National, or Regional AI Policy or Governance.
The Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) Seeds for the Future Program is a small grants competition to support innovative initiatives in Southeast Asia. It provides funding for the region’s most promising young leaders to carry out projects that improve their communities, countries, and the region across the program themes of Civic Engagement, Economic Empowerment and Social Entrepreneurship, Education, and Environmental Issues. The program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and is funded through a grant from the U.S. Mission to ASEAN. Cultural Vistas began administering the program in 2017.