I presented this yesterday at the graduation of JKUAT’ Endeavor Program MIT-AITIx. It was great to see the good stuff happening there with mobile tech training and innovation. I was thoroughly impressed by the student’s efforts.

Update: Mikel on PamojaFM Community Radio in Kibera

From the Map Kibera team:

Kenyans collaborate with international mappers to complete first free and open map of Africa’s largest slum: Kibera in Nairobi, Kenya

Map Kibera to shed new light on details of troubled slum for public use

Nairobi, Kenya – October 24, 2009 – This November, motivated young Kenyans will create the first public digital map of Kibera, widely known as Africa’s largest slum. Map Kibera is a collaborative project lead by Mikel Maron of the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team and supported by JumpStart International. Partners include Jubal Harpster of WhereCampAfrica, the Social Development Network (Sodnet), Pamoja Trust, Hands on Kenya, Carolina for Kibera and others.

Kibera remains a blank spot on the Kenyan map, though it holds as many as one million inhabitants according to UN-HABITAT. Its limited health and water resources, traffic patterns, and housing layouts remain largely invisible to the outside world and to residents themselves. Though many organizations have collected data on Kibera, the information is not yet shared as a resource for all to use. Map Kibera will fill in this gap by producing free, open-source digital map data using the techniques of OpenStreetMap, a user-edited map of the world. The resulting information will be freely available to residents, NGOs, private companies, and others interested in working with and for Kibera.

Twelve young residents of Kibera will first be trained on current mapping techniques during a two-day workshop. Individuals from the growing Nairobi technology scene will help train and network with the larger community. The group will then map all of Kibera over a two-week period in mid-November and share the results through OpenStreetMap, joining a growing global community of tech-savvy grassroots mapmakers. “The project will provide open-source data that will help illustrate the living conditions in Kibera. Without basic knowledge of the geography of Kibera it is impossible to have an informed discussion on how to improve the lives of residents of Kibera,” said Mikel Maron.

Following the completion of the map, raw data will be made available at no charge to upload into collaborative mapping platforms. A workshop with local interested civic organizations will introduce them to the final map, and spark follow-up initiatives. The new group of mappers will share the information with their own communities by distributing paper maps, and will be able to keep information current as conditions change in Kibera.

For more information, please visit http://www.mapkibera.org.

OpenStreetMap, http://www.openstreetmap.org is a web project to create a free and open map of the entire world, built entirely by volunteer map-makers.

The Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team, http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Humanitarian_OSM_Team applies the principles and techniques of OpenStreetMap towards humanitarian response and economic development.

JumpStart International, http://www.jumpstartinternational.org promotes sustainable economic development and self-sufficiency through active projects that focus on building livelihoods and rebuilding communities to overcome effects of conflict, disaster, and systemic poverty.

Media Contact:
Erica Hagen
erica.hagen@gmail.com
+254 0711 232 011

Presented by Mary Meeker (et al) of Morgan Stanley at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Fransisco:

Wanna take photos of the Earth from the deep in the atmosphere… well, apparently with $150 you can! This story of Oliver & Lee from MIT who accomplished this feat, taking 4000 photos of the Earth from the Stratosphere definitely got me buzzing in my chair.

The story is used as an example of disruptive ideas, those kinds of innovation that just literally pull the rug right from under the feet of the current status quo in that industry. John Sviolka in this article on the Harvard Business site talks about disruptive innovation and goes on to identify some interesting ways that certain businesses or innovations have become disruptive from Craigslist to Southwest Airlines. Here’s a quick point summary:

1. Simultaneously simplify a number of advantages together to create a new cost base
2. Give away the other guy’s razor!
3. Look for new, radically cheaper ways to do the job
4. Think about leveraging a very few individuals with extraordinary talent

A quiet storm is brewing

I stand in the expansive plain
There it is,
The wisp of a slight breeze
Barely there
Yet, yes, it is there

I listen
A soft sound in the distance, calling
Barely there
Yet, yes, it is there

I look up into the sky
Blue, almost cloudless, almost
Barely there
Yet, yes, it is there

The sun burns relentlessly
And the sweat beads fall freely on my face

I reach out
Gather the dust in my hands
Let it sift through my fingers slowly
It is barely moist
Barely there
Yet, yes, it is there

A chill runs down my spine
A simple smile forms

I close my eyes
I stretch my hands out
I feel it
I know it
I believe it
The dark clouds gather
The thunder echoes
The flashes of lightning streak out from heaven
Igniting the earth
Bringing it to life
It breathes
It is alive
And the life flows through the ground
Through my feet
Into my body
Surging
Electrifying

I open my eyes
The sun still shines
The heat still burns
The earth still looks dry

I turn around and walk on
Smiling sheepishly but knowingly

A quiet storm is brewing

Read the full recount at Bankelele

The latest Skunkworks was held on September 29 2009 at Teleposta Towers Nairobi. The focus of the tech group this week was on Tech & Entrepreneurship and four speakers were chosen to provide their insight on the new business models they are developing in Kenya. This comes at a time when the fibre cable initially considered the greatest thing since sliced bread has become a corporate product with targets to break-even before cheap internet costs can be passed on. The fibre is just one arm, so it was good to hear techpreneurs talk not just about revolutionary business but grappling and scaling numerous challenges of running such businesses in this part of Africa – i.e. business registration, financing, staffing, patenting, winning contracts, succeeding and making money.

Read the full recount at Bankelele

Presented at the September 09 Science Cafe on Fiber Optics and what it means for Kenya and Kenyans.

I presented this at the 10th Annual Strathmore University ICT Conference: Opportunities and Challenges Towards an Entrpreneurial Economy

UPDATE: Emmanuel Jal beat the odds of growing up as a child soldier, watching his friends die of starvation in the Sudan. But today he sings the song of a war child on the TED stage

UPDATE: TED Blog post about TEDx Kibera!

This past Saturday (yesterday) I was invited to speak at what I call the most unique TED stage ever! Suraj, an Acumen Fund Fellow put together a TEDx event in Kibera, the largest slum in Africa! And what an event it was.

The TEDx Kibera Stage

Suraj has this theory that there is an ‘idea gap’. Basically, the idea gap is the fact that mostly the discussions and ideas around Kibera both from within the slum and from NGOs and other organizations that work in the slum, are primarily and almost only about poverty, HIV/AIDS. There is very little else that is associated with this places, nothing inspiring, nothing out of what the environment presents. So Suraj started showing some of the youths in Kibera TED videos, and you could tell the impact that this had had on them. Just showing them the possibility of a different world, of something outside what the slum offers them, which is mostly despair, and mental imprisonment.

Suraj then got together some volunteers from the slum and organized a small 2-hour TEDx, where anyone from the slum was invited. He got three speakers, Tonee Ngungu of Wazimba, Otieno Gomba a founder of an Ghetto Art an art studio in Kibera who is from Kibera himself and myself.

It is quite hard to put into words the experience. I attended TEDx Nairobi a week earlier which was a much much bigger event at a bigger venue. But the interesting thing is, even being in this smaller event being held in the middle of a slum, in a shanty church building, surrounding by the dirt and grime of Kibera… there was still great inspiration (if not greater) and great ideas! And I think that’s the beauty of  TED, the fact that despite where you are, in whatever circumstances, people (if motivated enough) will always come up with great ‘ideas worth sharing’! And that says something very deep about the human spirit and the dignity of human beings. That whether rich or poor we all have that capacity for creativity. Otieno Gomba said it perfectly, we are all created with the innate ability to create!

The even more interesting thing is, I think I who was meant to be a speaker coming to share something with this crowd from Kibera was actually probably way more inspired, and challenged and astounded by the audience. Particularly by the young volunteers. I literally had to take the rest of the day just to recover!

You can find my photos from TEDx Kibera on Flickr.

Hans Rosling:
http://www.ted.com/talks/hans_rosling_shows_the_best_stats_you_ve_ever_seen.html
http://www.ted.com/talks/hans_rosling_reveals_new_insights_on_poverty.html
http://www.ted.com/talks/hans_rosling_the_truth_about_hiv.html

Brian Cox
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/brian_cox_on_cern_s_supercollider.html
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/brian_cox_what_went_wrong_at_the_lhc.html

Elizabeth Gilbert (Blew me away!)
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/elizabeth_gilbert_on_genius.html

John Wooden
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/john_wooden_on_the_difference_between_winning_and_success.html

Jill Bolte (Blew me away!)
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/jill_bolte_taylor_s_powerful_stroke_of_insight.html

Jeff hawkins
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/jeff_hawkins_on_how_brain_science_will_change_computing.html

Kwabena Boahen
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/kwabena_boahen_on_a_computer_that_works_like_the_brain.html

V S Ramachandran
http://www.ted.com/talks/vilayanur_ramachandran_on_your_mind.html

Christopher deCharms
http://www.ted.com/talks/christopher_decharms_scans_the_brain_in_real_time.html

Ron Eglash
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/ron_eglash_on_african_fractals.html

Jacqueline Novogratz
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/jacqueline_novogratz_invests_in_ending_poverty.html
http://www.ted.com/talks/jacqueline_novogratz_on_an_escape_from_poverty.html
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/jacqueline_novogratz_on_patient_capitalism.html

Benjamin Zander
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/benjamin_zander_on_music_and_passion.html

Gregory Petso
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/gregory_petsko_on_the_coming_neurological_epidemic.html

Joseph Lekuton (A Kenyan MP, Can u believe it! and very good too)
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/joseph_lekuton_tells_a_parable_for_kenya.html

Nick Sears
http://www.ted.com/talks/nick_sears_demos_the_orb.html

James Burchfield
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/james_burchfield_plays_invisible_turntables.html

In my last post I indicated that I had joined Microsoft as an Academic Developer Evangelist. I have started a blog called ‘Evangelizing Passion’ where I am sharing experiences in my current role, as well as a stuff concerning what I am/will be doing and also generally about technology (Micrsoft or not).

I have also started the ‘Evangelizing Passion’ facebook group which anyone is welcome to join. Here we can share more and learn from each other:

[Evangelizing Passion is]A group for those passionate about technology and about microsoft developer tools and platfoms. Especially students. Innovation, problem solving, that’s what we’re all about!

For those of us on MySpace I will also be starting a MySpace edition of Evangelizing Passion soon!

Cherio!