Day 0 - MobileActive08 Conference

MobileActive08, "Unlocking the Potential of Mobile Technology for Social Impact” (http://www.mobileactive08.org/) is a conference bursting at the seams. Or as the organizer Katrin Verclas would say, it is a field in its own right, one that did not even exist three years ago. As a sign of the level of activity associated with this emerging field, registration numbers, which were intentionally capped at 300, could have easily swelled to more than 450 according to Katrin. Apparently people have been Twittering each other trying to find people willing to scalp their passes to the event.

Why the popularity? If the informal gathering I joined Sunday evening at the Wish Cafe in the heart of Melville is any indication I would say it has to do with the optimism people feel regarding the potential for mobile technology to be a successful tool for achieving social impact. With the ITU projecting global mobile subscriptions to surpass 4 billion by the end of this year it is clear that mobiles are being adopted in developing regions, including those inhabited by the majority of the world’s poor, at unprecedented rates.

With this access technology already in the hands of many of the intended beneficiaries of NGO led social development initiatives, some of the energy spent in the past to overcome the challenges of technology adoption can be increasingly directed towards the development of innovative applications for achieving social impact that builds on uses of this access technology already evolving in these settings. The participants that I have met so far are keen to share and exchange their experiences working on leading edge applications in this field which is sure to further add to the energy of this event.

One person I talked with characterized the participants set to convene at MobileActive08 as “geeks on a mission.” Given the range of exciting and innovative applications people shared with me at the informal gathering their missions seem very well thought out embodying many well learnt lessons from ICT4D initiatives of the past. I look forward to reporting on more details as the conference unfolds.