The syllabus says: Describe the role of information and communications technology (ICT) in civil society
What is ICT?
ICT stands for Information and Communications Technology. It can be anything that involves information and communication at the same time. It would be hard to communicate nothing – everything is information! But if technology is used, it becomes ICT.
In the picture shown here, it is possible to identify that even telephone lines are a major source of information for people in Hanoi in Vietnam. The level of access to ICT can vary wildly. The Digital Access Index (DAI) from the International Telecommunications Union gives information about the level of adoption of the internet. I haven't put data here because it is so fast moving and will be out of date before long, but the Google Public Data Explorer aggregates data from a wide variety of sources. Search for 'internet' to find recent data. The map below shows the level of internet adoption in Egypt and other selected countries. |
What is civil society?
According to the UN, civil society is described as the associational activity of citizens (outside their families, friends and workplaces) that is entered into voluntarily to advance their interests, ideas, ideals and ideologies. It does not include associational activities of people for profit-making purposes (the private sector) or for governing (the state or public sector).
IB syllabus: Any organization or movement that works in the area between the household, the private sector and the state to negotiate matters of public concern. Civil societies include non‑governmental organizations (NGOs), community groups, trade unions, academic institutions and faith‑based organizations.
Therefore, the following are features of civil society:
According to the UN, civil society is described as the associational activity of citizens (outside their families, friends and workplaces) that is entered into voluntarily to advance their interests, ideas, ideals and ideologies. It does not include associational activities of people for profit-making purposes (the private sector) or for governing (the state or public sector).
IB syllabus: Any organization or movement that works in the area between the household, the private sector and the state to negotiate matters of public concern. Civil societies include non‑governmental organizations (NGOs), community groups, trade unions, academic institutions and faith‑based organizations.
Therefore, the following are features of civil society:
- mass organisations such as those representing women
- trade related organisations such as Trades Unions
- faith based organisations, including organised religion (e.g. Catholic Church)
- academic organisations such as universities
- public benefit organisations suchas NGOs (non-governmental organisations) and charities
- social movements such as Occupy, the anti-globalization movement
The role of the internet in civil socity
Director General of UNESCO: Koichiro Matsuura states:
"The Internet can facilitate the ability of citizens to gather information about campaign issues, to mobilise community networks, to create diverse coalitions around the policy problems and to lobby elected representatives. It has also the potential to foster dialogue and consultation between citizens and government, between citizens and political parties and between groups of citizens, by which government and social representatives seek to understand people’s needs and in which citizens seek to contribute actively with their knowledge." Source: http://www.opendemocracy.net/media-edemocracy/article_915.jsp. January 2003.
Director General of UNESCO: Koichiro Matsuura states:
"The Internet can facilitate the ability of citizens to gather information about campaign issues, to mobilise community networks, to create diverse coalitions around the policy problems and to lobby elected representatives. It has also the potential to foster dialogue and consultation between citizens and government, between citizens and political parties and between groups of citizens, by which government and social representatives seek to understand people’s needs and in which citizens seek to contribute actively with their knowledge." Source: http://www.opendemocracy.net/media-edemocracy/article_915.jsp. January 2003.
Case study 1: The Role of ICT in the Arab Spring
The video below is the BBC's 'How Facebook Changed the World'. Over 60 minutes it describes how the internet assisted the sharing of images and other information during the revolutions that affected many North African and Middle Eastern countries from December 2010 onwards. The 'Arab Spring' is the term used to name these revolutions collectively.
Timeline of the Arab Spring
The following resources are helpful for a greater understanding of the events as they occurred:
http://www.theguardian.com/world/interactive/2011/mar/22/middle-east-protest-interactive-timeline
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424127887324853704578584031255006250?tesla=y
The following resources are helpful for a greater understanding of the events as they occurred:
http://www.theguardian.com/world/interactive/2011/mar/22/middle-east-protest-interactive-timeline
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424127887324853704578584031255006250?tesla=y
Is ICT so influential?
Of course, there is debate about whether these events were unleashed through the ease of communication. The following article outlines the argument against the significance of the role of ICT:
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/10/04/101004fa_fact_gladwell?currentPage=all
It is responded to here:
http://m.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2010/10/exclusive-biz-stone-on-twitter-and-activism/64772/
Of course, there is debate about whether these events were unleashed through the ease of communication. The following article outlines the argument against the significance of the role of ICT:
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/10/04/101004fa_fact_gladwell?currentPage=all
It is responded to here:
http://m.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2010/10/exclusive-biz-stone-on-twitter-and-activism/64772/
Case study 2: Crisis mapping in disaster zones
There are several other ways in which civil society has been affected by ICT, in addition to revolution and civil disobedience. One of these is crisis mapping - that is, ensuring that the population is aware of the locaiton and extent of areas under threat, especially during crises caused by natural hazards.
Google has an entire staff (called the 'Google Crisis Response' team) devoted to crisis mapping. Their map can be seen here: http://google.org/crisismap/weather_and_events. Their website states:
"We created the Google Crisis Map to help people find and use critical emergency information when they need it most. Using Google's technology, speed, and user-friendly design, Crisis Map was designed to make disaster information easy to find, use, and share...The online maps include the latest satellite imagery and available information like storm paths, flood zones, evacuation routes, shelter locations, and power outages."
Such maps have been extremely effective, such as during the earthquake that affected Haiti in January 2010. The videos below describe how these uses of ICT can support communities at times of significant risk.
Google has an entire staff (called the 'Google Crisis Response' team) devoted to crisis mapping. Their map can be seen here: http://google.org/crisismap/weather_and_events. Their website states:
"We created the Google Crisis Map to help people find and use critical emergency information when they need it most. Using Google's technology, speed, and user-friendly design, Crisis Map was designed to make disaster information easy to find, use, and share...The online maps include the latest satellite imagery and available information like storm paths, flood zones, evacuation routes, shelter locations, and power outages."
Such maps have been extremely effective, such as during the earthquake that affected Haiti in January 2010. The videos below describe how these uses of ICT can support communities at times of significant risk.
Crisis mapping in Haiti, 2010
Further detail about the crisis mapping in Haiti
The following information is sourced from the National Geographic website.
The earthquake occurred on January 12, 2010. Thousands were feared dead immediately. Patrick Meier was part of the team that opened a crisis map that showed where tweets were being sent from around the country.
Within 24 hours, it was possible to identify patterns of where problems were and where people could go for help. For example, within a day, a tweet was sent announcing that a drug store had been reopened, providing people with the knowledge that they could access help and resources from there.
Within a week, he had reached out to graduate students at Tufts University in the USA. Over 100 students now monitored social meda for mappable content. During the project, 2000 reports were sent in by the project. However, these were not able to marshall the help effectively because the main city of Port au Prince was not properly mapped - streets and buildings were missing from maps. So, the OpenStreetMap community used satellite imagery to trace the road network and create a workable map of the city.
Meanwhile, the Haitian diaspora (Haitian community in other countries) was provided with a SMS number to send important reports, allowing those who were in other countries to help too. The language barrier was overcome by creating a website where Creole speakers could volunteer to translate text messages into English (or French). This was effectively crowdsourcing.
The data was used by volunteer helpers as well as government agencies including the US Marine Corps (who were giving assitance) who stated: "Your site saved people's lives....[we] are using your project every second of the day to get aid and assistance to those who need it most".
The following information is sourced from the National Geographic website.
The earthquake occurred on January 12, 2010. Thousands were feared dead immediately. Patrick Meier was part of the team that opened a crisis map that showed where tweets were being sent from around the country.
Within 24 hours, it was possible to identify patterns of where problems were and where people could go for help. For example, within a day, a tweet was sent announcing that a drug store had been reopened, providing people with the knowledge that they could access help and resources from there.
Within a week, he had reached out to graduate students at Tufts University in the USA. Over 100 students now monitored social meda for mappable content. During the project, 2000 reports were sent in by the project. However, these were not able to marshall the help effectively because the main city of Port au Prince was not properly mapped - streets and buildings were missing from maps. So, the OpenStreetMap community used satellite imagery to trace the road network and create a workable map of the city.
Meanwhile, the Haitian diaspora (Haitian community in other countries) was provided with a SMS number to send important reports, allowing those who were in other countries to help too. The language barrier was overcome by creating a website where Creole speakers could volunteer to translate text messages into English (or French). This was effectively crowdsourcing.
The data was used by volunteer helpers as well as government agencies including the US Marine Corps (who were giving assitance) who stated: "Your site saved people's lives....[we] are using your project every second of the day to get aid and assistance to those who need it most".
Crisis mapping in Nepal, 2015
There was even more work done in Nepal in the earthquake that affected the country in 2015. By this point the crisis map had become much larger and more people were able to help out. The National Geographic website contains huge amounts more information.
Help out yourself! |
Source: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/05/150501-nepal-crisis-mapping-disaster-relief-earthquake/
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And finally....
The role of ICT in popular culture has finally arrived! The poem below deserves a listen...
The role of ICT in popular culture has finally arrived! The poem below deserves a listen...