by Sukanti Iyne-Husain


Tech 4 Change

“A game is hard to design. A good game is even harder. To design a game that causes social change is almost impossible”

- Panelist at “Games for Change” Conference, 2009

Despite this comment, a group of academics, game designers, educators and business people gathered together in New York City in May this year, to discuss precisely this: how can games be used for social change (http://www.gamesforchange.org/).

Given the recent events in Sri Lanka it seems that this would be an appropriate time for all those involved in the IT industry to seriously consider not just games but how technology could be used to move Sri Lanka forward.

This article explores the following key questions:

How technology is changing the way we behave
While there is much research being conducted right now about games and learning in the education space (http://www.gameslearningsociety.org/), conclusive research about how games and technology cause social change is a little harder to come by, partly due to how quickly technology is changing but also because of how difficult it is to measure the concept of ‘social change’.

However, we only have to look at how web applications likeTwitter and Facebook are changing the way people interact and learn new information, to see how one can use these tools to organize, connect with and even empower people.

I was recently at a conference where a prominent authority on SEO said if it was up to her she would “get rid of her cellphone and email and use Twitter exclusively”. Now that is social and behavioural change. For more information on media and behavioural change see these papers from the Media Effects Research Lab from Pennsylvania State University (http://is.gd/19PwR).

Social media for social good?
The Sahana project as highlighted in last month’s issue of Digit (http://is.gd/19OCT) is one example of how the IT community can come together and create a solution that can benefit not just Sri Lanka but the whole world. The e-Village Replication project, also featured in the April issue of Digit magazine (http://is.gd/19OAK), is another example of how a single individual despite many setbacks is bringing the idea of IT to rural villages. NewSriLanka (www.newsrilanka.com) is a website that popped up in my email last week that is trying to use the internet to highlight new projects and ideas for rebuilding and growth in Sri Lanka. Even Digit magazine itself and the student IT ambassador program with its free model, will continue to increase the level of IT knowledge in Sri Lanka.


In what other ways could software engineers, designers, system architects and usability professionals contribute to the growth and rebuilding of Sri Lanka?

Let us look at some recent examples from the US that have received much attention in the media that could perhaps be adapted to Sri Lanka.

• Netsquared (www.netsquared.org) is a website that features news and interviews about nonprofits and other charities that are using the social web for social change. It also includes competitions sponsored by companies like Microsoft that offer large prizes for web applications or mobile applications that address the needs of developing countries.
• Socialedge.org (www.socialedge.org) is a global online community by social entrepreneurs, for social entrepreneurs that features discussions, blogs, videos, jobs, and resources. Many of the personalities featured in this website are young people who had an idea that helped change hundreds of people’s lives.
• The popular social media website Mashable.com has also launched the ‘Summer of Social Good’ (http://summerofsocialgood.com/) initiative that is using social media to raise funds for popular causes.

IT education in Sri Lanka – a short-term, bottom-up approach

Helping the Sri Lankan IT community grow is a key factor in keeping Sri Lanka competitive in the global economy. There are many initiatives that both the private and public sector seem to be currently working on. For more information about future opportunities and needs you may want to see this article by Sanjeev Niles. (http://is.gd/19Nab)

I would like to also put forth the idea that sharing of skills and learning does not always have to be done using a top down approach. I belong to several ‘meetups’ in the US that have helped me learn about new tools, resources and skills that would have cost hundreds of dollars had I taken classes for these at the local university.

A meet up is basically an informal gathering of professionals who meet for one hour each month to share skills, problems and get feedback on their projects. These are not formal clubs but are basically run by one person who sets up the date, time and venue. While in the US this is facilitated by the website ‘meetup.com’ (www.meetup.com) I see no reason why a facebook group could not be used to organize this in Sri Lanka.

Another idea that is extremely popular in the tech industry is organizing of unstructured or partially unstructured conferences. "Unconferences" as they are known, are basically conferences where only the date, time and location is set and the agenda is decided on the spot by the participants when they arrive. There are no fees to attend and the speakers all volunteer their time. Presentations consist of 30 minutes on whatever topic the presenter feels would benefit the community and usually 2-3 rooms in one facility are utilized to run parallel sessions. Costs are usually covered by companies who make micro-sponsorships (small donations) and most times people receive a cool T-shirt with all the logos of the sponsors in small print at the back. The T-shirts help spread the idea and the sponsors feel as if their brand is being worn by hip, technology folks. Or at least that is the idea! One example I recently heard about regarding an unconference for social change via @engagejoe on Twitter is called “vanchangecamp.org”. To learn more you can search key terms like “Unconference” and “Barcamp” or contact me for more information.


Ideas from around the world
I recently spoke to Derek Lomas, a university student in California who was demonstrating his project “PlayPower” – a $12 8-bit computer that he hopes will help children in the developing world learn simple programming inexpensively (www.playpower.org). He said we often look at high tech solutions when it is possible that low tech solutions may work better in some instances. He asked me to think about what we might accomplish with a digital video recorder that can record 1000 hours of video and does not need high speed internet access to work.

Another interesting project that came to me via the UNESCO list serve on open educational resources (http://is.gd/19NYG) was the e-granary digital library project from the University of Iowa (http://is.gd/19O0P). The project involves placing a large amount of educational material (games, software, websites) on to the local area networks of participating universities in Africa.

My former boss used to always say “we don’t need to reinvent the wheel. We can be like the Japanese who saw how the Swiss made watches and then figured out how to make them faster, cheaper and better.” I believe there is much to be learned by reading about these projects, especially those in the developing world, learn from their successes and shortcomings and then adapt them to Sri Lanka’s needs.

Spotlight on Sri Lanka
A recent article in Inc magazine (www.inc.com) featured Paul Graham, the start-up guru responsible for helping fund small internet start ups like Reddit.com. He said whenever a new applicant is accepted into his start-up program he gives them a gray T-shirt that says “Make something that people want.”

At this crucial point in our history I think we all need to take it one step further. I believe there are visionaries in our communities - students, programmers, designers - who have the skills, the creativity, and the speed, to build tools quickly, deploy them inexpensively and then publicize them through all the social media tools that exist.

I think somewhere out there we have the next Sergey Brin and Larry Page of Google fame. These people are going to “make something that people NEED” and forever change the face of Sri Lanka.

Could that be you?