Paulo Saldiva at TEDx Sao Paulo: Exclusion and Environmental Racism

November 26, 2009

Paulo Saldiva at TEDx Sao Paulo: Exclusion and Environmental Racism

Posted by Juliana Ferreira

Morse code on your mobile handsets!

November 26, 2009

I was invited to speak at Mobile VAS Asia 2009 conference at Singapore a month ago. This conference is one of the platforms where the hottest issues in Mobile VAS(Value added services) space were presented, debated and deliberated by the most interesting experts in the industry. I had an opportunity to share my2cents on the state of mobile value added services in Rural India.

As many of us know, India has the second highest mobile subscribers in the world. By 2012, 60 per cent or close to 400 million of India’s projected 650 million total mobile subscriber base, will be rural subscribers. Interestingly MVAS revenue is projected to contribute 12% operator’s revenue in 2012.

Now the question is how far do Value added services reach Rural India subscriber? Looking into the usage statistics, we see hardly 30% have learned the art of SMS. Considering the low adult lieteracy, it is hard to introduce SMS/WAP based servies in hinterlands. Since most of the handsets support nothing but english, messaging services are still unused by the users who even know how to read/write in their mother tongue. India has 22 such official languages!

I advocated intelligent speech applications/IVR (Interactive voice response) that work in local languages could increase the usage of such services and deliver good user experience and value. Rural call centers could be one more option to offer services with human touch. Further I discussed some of the interesting tele usage pattern in the bottom of the pyramid. I am sure still you guys must be wondering what could be the connection between morse code and mobile services. Well, take a look at my slide.

Value Added Services in Rural India - Mobile VAS Asia 2009

View more presentations from Raja Manohar.

Conveying messages through missed calls, truly a jugaad usage of mobile to communicate without spending a penny :) While the operators are looking for increased ARPU (Average revenue per user), Users are finding new way to cut cost. I am quite interested to explore more such usage patterns, let me know if you spot such things!

Filed under // hexolabs mobile communication india mobile value added services rajamanohar speech recognition teleugage in rural india

Posted by Raja Manohar

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Duch’s Case Could Hold Valuable Lessons

November 24, 2009

Men Kimseng and I used to work for the United Nations Development Programme together back in the Summer of 2002, in Cambodia. A really nice guy who now reports for Voice of America in Washington, DC. The Tribunal's first case, that of Comrade Duch, Pol Pot's willing executioner, has just heard closing arguments... we are at the homestretch of Case 1. There are at least four other defendants to go, and it has taken a couple of years already. I never entirely understood the saying "Justice delayed is justice denied". With my mom's passing at age 73, before she ever saw a single defendant serve a prison sentence, I now understand. Too bad there is no Shoah Education Project for the Cambodian Genocide. In the mid-1990s, with a friend in Long Beach, CA (which has the largest population of Cambodians outside of Cambodia, and home to TED2009 and TED2010), I started collecting survivor stories: http://www.cybercambodia.com/dachs/survivors.html so that someday, a Cambodian Steven Spielberg might take interest... that day has yet to come.

http://www.voanews.com/khmer/2009-11-11-voa1.cfm

Duch’s Case Could Hold Valuable Lessons

By Men Kimseng, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
11 November 2009

Cambodia’s laboring justice system may be able to learn from the recent trial of Kaing Kek Iev under the Khmer Rouge tribunal, an added benefit to the UN-backed court, experts say.

Kaing Kek Iev, the former Khmer Rouge prison chief better known as Duch, has undergone trial on charges of crimes against humanity, war crimes, torture and murder. He is awaiting final statements from the Trial Chamber, following six months of questioning and witness testimony.

Cambodian media have faithfully covered the proceedings, and decisions from the three chambers of the court have been posted on the court’s Web site. All of that could have a positive effect on Cambodia’s regular courts, as well as helping the country overcome its collective trauma.

“This court has given equal rights to both victims and the accused to have Khmer and foreign lawyers, and they have been given enough time for questions and answers,” Kek Galabru, founder of the prominent rights group Lichado, told VOA Khmer recently. “I see that their procedure is up to international standards, and I hope that from today onward Cambodia’s courts can follow the examples set by the Khmer Rouge tribunal.”

Long Panhavuth, a tribunal monitor for the Open Society Justice Initiative, said, “Duch’s trial will be a victory.”

The trial demonstrated a “criminal case procedure that does not exist in our national legal system, and it will be a success because many victims and people show much interest and follow it every day,” he said.

The tribunal is tasked with more than just trying former leaders of the regime.

“What we have done is not only seek justice, but national reconciliation,” said Neou Kassie, an outreach officer of the court’s Victims Unit. “Because we believe that there is reconciliation, no hatred, and no anger, we can make our country and our economy prosperous.”

Duch, who has been in detention for more than a decade, first in a military prison and then under the tribunal, faces atrocity crimes charges for his role as head of several Khmer Rouge prison facilities, including Tuol Sleng, where he is accused of overseeing the deaths of more than 12,000 people.

But while it may have had something to teach the courts, the trial was held under the shadow of lingering corruption allegations within the tribunal, engendering skepticism in some.

“I have seen that in the past few years since its inception, the court has been accused of corruption and other issues related to its transparency, and I wonder whether such a problem it is not a good example for our Cambodian court,” said Sophal Ear, a Cambodian-US professor who recently filed a victim complaint with the court.

“We didn’t learn much that we didn’t already know,” said Peter Maguire, author of “Facing Death in Cambodia.”

Still, “people are beginning to talk and beginning to think about the Khmer Rouge era,” he said. “That’s a useful thing. But I think it is a difficult thing to predict what these trials can do. In the case of Duch, I think they took too long and spent far too much money on a very simple war-crime case.”

Posted by Sophal Ear

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TEDxKampala: Tim Berners-Lee Q&A Session

November 24, 2009

On November 23rd, 2009, Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the world wide web dropped in to Kampala, Uganda for our first ever TEDx. The event was facilitated by UNICEF who graciously provided catering, snacks and the venue; and co-organized by the Uganda Linux Users Group. Simply put, the event was incredible! Stephen Boyera of the World Wide Web Foundation offered the keynote talk, while Ron Nixon from the New York Times dropped with arguably one of the most interesting talks of the day where he presented his app Ujima which tracks spending too and from African countries. Solomon King of Node Six gave a moving talk on how he became a 'famous citizen journalist' for simply blogging about his experiences during the Kampala riots. Paul Bagyenda of Digital Solutions offered advice for young tech entrepreneurs, while Paul Asiimwe of Sipi Law Uganda talked about the importance of IP law and digital rights to protect content and content producers. While all the talks were recorded, it's going to take some time to edit them down and get them uploaded. In the meantime here are some clips from the Q&A Session with Mr. Berners-Lee. The discussion here is largely focused on Localization and Local Content.

TEDxKampala: Tim Berners-Lee Q&A Session from Jon Gos on Vimeo.

Special thanks to all the organizers: myself, Renier Battenberg, Kyle Spencer, Simon Vass, Daniel Stern and UNICEF Uganda!

Posted by Jon Gosier

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Gutti Fraga at TEDx Sao Paulo with subtitles in English! Hope you enjoy!

November 23, 2009

One more try to post this video! Now with subtitles in English!!

Link: http://dotsub.com/view/b725b42f-cd51-46fd-a5a8-c2e1424586c8

Posted by Juliana Ferreira

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10 Comfy Blogging Tips

November 23, 2009

Thought the blogging tips here may be useful for some of the TED Fellows and anyone else who follows our blog.

I came across this post via a tweet from @gemmawent Director of Red Cube Marketing.

Taghi Amirani

@tagz23

Posted by Taghi Amirani

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Cycling for Autism - Adam Biel, 23

November 20, 2009

I thought my journey across the country was hardcore, but when I met Adam Biel a couple of days ago, what he is trying to accomplish completely dwarfs my cross-country trip. Adam is fresh out of college and he wanted to give back to the world by challenging himself to tackle one of the fastest growing problems in the world, Autism. I got introduce to Adam through a friend on my cross-country trip Suzanne Willis, who went to school together. I got a chance to hang out with him in while he was in Providence yesterday and was learning about what he was doing, and why this trip is so important for all of us.

The number of children who are affected by autism is growing rapidly, and if action is not taken, and taken quickly, it would become the legacy of our generation. For the next two and a half years, he is riding his bicycle, with all his gear, 25,000 miles from Anchorage, Alaska to Ushuaia, Argentina to raise awareness and money for Autism. He is currently in his in his 5th month of his 2 and half year journey, having ridden 6,000 of his 25,000 miles. While he was in Providence, he took the time to speak to a local elementary school and high school about his journey, Autism and to inspire young people to challenge themselves. To learn more about his journey, Autism and support him on his website "Adventure for Autism".

Posted by Tin Ho Chow

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More!!!

November 16, 2009

PICS by Colmeia http://www.colmeia.tv/blog/

Click here to download:

More.zip (8028 KB)

Posted by Juliana Ferreira

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TEDxSP pics

November 16, 2009

PICS by Rafael Designer: http://www.rafaeldesigner.com.br/blog/eventos/eu-fui-no-tedx-sao-paulo

Click here to download:

TEDxSP_pics.zip (118 KB)

Posted by Juliana Ferreira

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TEDx Sao Paulo Nov 14 2009

November 16, 2009

On Saturday, Nov 14th, TEDxSP (www.tedxsaopaulo.com.br) took place after 9 months of preparation and organization.

It did feel like delivering a child, because we put so much work, energy, love and time, that watching the 750 guests discuss, talk about, love, hate - react to the 30 speakers, in a flawless production, was the best we could ask for.

Our proposal was to have an event with TED's concept of an acting community and TED's quality, but we didn't want just to mimic TED. We wanted to bring our views. That is why the theme of TEDx Sao Paulo was "What Brazil has to offer to the world". And this theme was discussed during the 12 hours of TEDxSP between an amazing audience, carefully selected among over 2000 people, and speakers that ranged from a young chemist, to a geneticist, to a bank owner, to a TV star interested in Anthropology, to a psychologist who says we need to love, to designers, to journalists, to non-profit people, to a 92 year old educator, to beautiful singers and two young pianists, and so on and so on.

When TEDxSP finally came to its end (as an event, not as the community we are building), we felt that our mission was accomplished that day as we watched both the audience and the speakers leaving, all talking to each other about projects and ideas, and all had that lovely glow in their eyes, characteristic of people who are moved from their comfort zones and suddenly feel a boost of energy and an urge to do something, to stop complaining and act - TED's Glow! People came to us thanking us for that day of discussions that "opened their heads" to so much going on around them. We did feel we planted a little seed that will assume a life of its on and grow beautifully if carefully cared for.

It was an honor to bring a little of TED to Brazil and to help the development and discussion of our ideas that deserve to be spread.

Thank you TED for this opportunity!

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Posted by Juliana Ferreira

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