Innovations awarded for positive
impact on tomorrow’s society
3 April 2012
Imagine being able to track the behaviour in a beehive daily, as an alert system for
drastic environmental changes. Imagine if farmers in Kenya had the correct market
information, hour to hour, so as to buy and sell their products at prices that justly
benefit them. Or imagine reading a book with an accompanying soundtrack that
follows the page and the pace at which you read, adding to your experience of the
story.
These were some of the winning ideas seen recently at the Netexplo Forum,
supported by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation
(UNESCO). Every year, the French Senate and Ministry of Industry, Energy and
Digital Economy, invite over 1000 political, business and media executives to
discover the most promising digital innovations and inventions that are expected to
change the world. The forum also allows sociologists and other experts to reveal
trends that are shaping society.
The technologies presented at the forum were selected by students at four
universities around the world, including Executive MBA students from UCT Graduate
School of Business.
Dave Duarte, who represented UCT Graduate School of Business at UNESCO,
noted the high visibility of African technology projects, as well as a strong focus on
emerging markets for technology opportunities: “The greater the challenges the
greater the opportunity for a technological solution”.
In addition to attending the forum at UNESCO, Duarte had the opportunity to
experience some of these projects first hand - a phone app called WordLens that
translates text in real time through the phone’s camera was particularly useful during
his stay in a country whose main language is not English.
A South African project featuring in the Top 10 at Netexplo, Afroes Transformational
Games, develops digital games rooted in the African experience designed to create
awareness in young citizens through content containing powerful educational and
social messages. Afroes is currently in development with a series of mobile phone
games and an SMS reporting platform that will form the interactive component of the
Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund Champion for Children campaign.
"Afroes is a social enterprise that seeks to inspire millions of young Africans to
become the custodians of Africa’s destiny. Digital technology is the tool for leading
young people to take action for change," Anne Githuku-Shongwe, CEO & Founder of
Afroes Transformational Games, is reported to have said.
According to Duarte one of the big insights to emerge was the growing trend of social
entrepreneurship. Blindspot, for example, one of the top ten projects coming from
Singapore, is a smart white cane for the visually impaired. The cane transmits
information via blue-tooth to an earpiece. It has ultrasonic sensors to warn against
any obstacles ahead and it is connected to social network apps like Foursquare,
alerting the person that a friend is nearby. Now, the visually handicapped can
navigate more confidently their environments while also being more aware of people
they know being on the same street, the mall, or anywhere else, as them.
“Where there’s a strong need, there’s a greater opportunity for technology and social
innovation,” he says. “And, the world is looking to the emerging economies for ideas
and for the interesting ways in which these economies repurpose technology – use it
in ways not necessarily intended by its producers.”
With the needs for innovative solutions to problems in Africa already leading to
inventive projects that are making a difference, Duarte believes, a more aggressive
approach should be taken by government to make it possible for further innovation
and the implementation of revolutionary ideas.
“The more government invests in enabling faster, cheaper internet for more people,
the more possibilities there will be for improved business, entrepreneurship, service
delivery and social development” he says.
Ends
Media can contact Gareth Coetzee on 021 448 5941 or gareth@rothko.co.za for
more information.