Anna Bon

RadioMarché: distributed voice- and web-interfaced market information systems under rural conditions

Despite its tremendous success, the World Wide Web is still inaccessible to 4.5 billion people - mainly in developing countries - who lack a proper internet infrastructure, a reliable power supply, and often the ability to read and write. Hence, alternative or complementary technologies are needed to make the Web accessible to all, given the limiting conditions. These technologies must serve a large audience, who then may start contributing to the Web by creating content and services. In this paper we propose RadioMarche, a voice- and web-based market information system aimed at stimulating agricultural trade in Sahel countries. To overcome interfacing and infrastructural issues, RadioMarche has a mobile-voice interface and is easy to deploy. Furthermore, we will show how data from regionally distributed instances of RadioMarche, can be aggregated and exposed using Linked Data approaches, so that new opportunities for product and service innovation in agriculture and other domains can be unleashed.

Voice-based web access in rural Africa

Despite its tremendous success, the World Wide Web can still not used by large parts of the worlds population. Therefore, many people, especially in rural areas of developing countries, still do not have access to services and information that are available as a result of the World Wide Web. Given the potential of the Web in improving peoples lives, a question is how it can be expanded to serve those living in less privileged conditions. Information must then be reachable regardless of infrastructure, allowing access using also interfaces such as radio and mobile phone. There is widespread use and adoption of radio and mobile telephony in Africa and thus, innovative use of these technologies could help in expanding the reach of the Web. In this paper we present three systems, based on open Web standards, designed and built to fit conditions in remote rural regions in Africa namely, a voice-based (i) trading system, using phone and radio as its interfaces, (ii) a voice-web based interactive news and blogging system and (iii) messaging system. The systems have been developed and have been deployed in Mali. All three systems together showcase the importance that innovation plays in order to make Web technologies relevant in the lives of many rural dwellers in Africa. We show the current status and usage of the systems and discuss how these systems represent our steps into bringing the Web to these contexts.

A dialogue with linked data: Voice-based access to market data in the Sahel

The Linked Data movement has facilitated efficient data sharing in many domains. However, people in rural developing areas are mostly left out. Lack of relevant content and suitable interfaces prohibit potential users in rural communities to produce and consume Linked Data. In this paper, we present a case study exposing locally produced market data as Linked Data, which shows that Linked Data can be meaningful in a rural, development context. We present a way of enriching the market data with voice labels, allowing for the development of applications that (re-)use the data in voice-based applications. Finally, we present a prototype demonstrator that provides access to this linked market data through a voice interface, accessible to first generation mobile phones.

Developing ICT Services in a Low-Resource Development Context

Despite an urgent need for social and technological innovation to improve wellbeing of people and communities in poor regions of the world, information and communications technology (ICT) service delivery has not yet been very successful in regions with low levels of literacy, poor infrastructures, and limited purchasing power. High rates of failure, reported in various studies, point at a frequent mismatch between deployed technologies and local needs and contexts. Still, no practical field-validated methodologies for ICT service innovation in low-resource development contexts have been proposed that offer adequate ways to meet local needs and contexts and assess sustainability before deployment. This article outlines a framework for development of ICT services in low-resource development contexts, covering the full lifecycle of ICT service innovation. This framework is based on extensive field research, and shows how a collaborative, adaptive, and iterative methodology can address a set of key sociotechnical concerns and issues widely encountered in developing and emerging countries.

Use case and requirements analysis in a remote rural context in mali

[Context & motivation] Few studies have reported on a systematic use case and requirements analysis of low-tech, low-resource contexts such as rural Africa. This, despite the widespread agreement on the importance of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) for social and rural development, and despite the large number of ICT projects targeting underprivileged communities. [Question/problem] Unfamiliarity with the local context and differences in cultural and educational backgrounds between end-users and software engineers are the challenges for requirements engineering (RE) we encountered. [Principal ideas/results] We describe a systematic approach to RE in developing areas, based on the Living Lab methodology. Our approach is supported by extensive field research and based on co-creation within a multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural team of developers and users. This approach creates a shared understanding of the problem and its local context, and optimizes communication. [Contribution] We illustrate the approach using a case study of web- and voice-based communication services, that we developed for a rural context in Mali.

The Web of Radios - Introducing African Community Radio as an Interface to the Web of Data

The World Wide Web as it is currently deployed can only be accessed using modern client devices and graphical interfaces, within an infrastructure compassing datacenters and reliable, high-speed Internet connections. However, in many regions in developing countries these conditions are absent. Many people living in remote rural areas in developing countries will not be able to use the Web, unless they can produce and consume voice-based content using alternative interfaces such as (2G) mobile phone, and radio. In this paper we introduce a radio platform, based on a use case and requirements analysis of community radio stations in Mali. The voice-based content of this radio platform will be made publicly available, using Linked Data principles, and will be ready for unexpected re-use. It will help to bring the benefits of the Web to people who are out of reach of computers and the Internet.

Is (web) science ready for empowerment

The World Wide Web opens up many avenues for new research. Some of them (Web as observable phenomenon, Web as engineered technology) fall quite well within mainstream academic paradigms of research. However, this is much less so if we position the Web as a mechanism for empowerment related to social development. Informed by our W4RA field research experiences in West Africa, we review contextual as well as general issues of scientific research and scientific method if it is to be relevant to issues of empowerment.

Ney Yibeogo - Hello World: A Voice Service Development Platform to Bridge the Web's Digital Divide.

The World Wide Web is a crucial open public space for knowledge sharing, content creation and application service provisioning for billions on this planet. Although it has a global reach, still more than three billion people do not have access to the Web, the majority of whom live in the Global South, often in rural regions, under low-resource conditions and with poor infrastructure. However, the need for knowledge sharing, content creation and application service provisioning is no less on the other side of this Digital Divide. In this paper we describe the Kasadaka platform that supports easy creation of local-content and voice-based information services, targeted at currently ‘unconnected’ populations and matching the associated resource and infrastructural requirements. The Kasadaka platform and especially its Voice Service Development Kit supports the formation of an ecosystem of decentralized voice-based information services that serve local populations and communities. This is, in fact, very much analogous to the services and functionalities offered by the Web, but in regions where Internet and Web are absent and will continue to be for the foreseeable future.