Technology to reconstruct Communities in Tension

(CiT)

Marlon ParkerWesley Nitsckie

“Passionate about reconstructing communities”

Reconstructing Communities

Community in Tension (CiT)

CiT is a Community where the wellbeing

of citizens is threatened

Technology to reconstruct Communities

Proposed solution

• Universities can play an important and leading role in addressing problems that negatively impact the wellbeing of communities.

• Often ICT solutions are developed based on perceived anticipated needs without sufficiently considering the continuing actual-use-in-practice – Is the solution usable and useful for the user? Is it sustainable?

• This can be best achieved if a collaborative approach is used involving reseachers, students, citizens and other stakeholders from the onset where citizens become co-developers of the ICT solution.

Project Focus

• ICT Solution to facilitate the:– care of citizens – dissemination of information, e.g., to inform

citizens about the problems, their consequences and preventative mechanisms;

– education of citizens, e.g., train citizens specific skills etc.

Care Inform Educate

Social Innovation

Empowerment

Living Lab

A Living Lab is a user-centric research methodology for sensing, prototyping,

validating and refining complex solutions in multiple and evolving real life contexts.

It is a human-centric Research and Development approach to ICT solutions

and innovations

Interaction Space

UniversityCommunity

Incubation SpaceCommunity

Development Space

Socio-Techno “Bridge”

Athlone Living Lab

Collaborative Network

Advice Support Network

Face to Face Counseling

Help Line Counseling

Advice Support Network

Drug Advice Support (DAS)

• Endorsed by National Government

• Trained Advisors• +- 5000 subscribers• Tuesday and Thursday,

3pm – 5pm• +- 300 conversations per

session• More than 16 000

conversations• 80 000+ messages

Positive Advice Support (PAS)

• Strong link between HIV and Substance Abuse

• HIV and AIDS advice using mobile phones

• Possibility of national service

• Collaboration with Cell-Life

Career Advice Support (CAS)

• Emerged through conversations with youth over DAS

• Currently very few places on the Cape Flats where youth can go for Career Advice and Support

• Professional Opportunities

Find Your Angel

• 24Hour service on MXit where information is available about Substance Abuse, HIV, Stress, Abuse

• Concept is to Find Your Angel who is the contact where you can acquire help with the social problem

Challenges

• Buy in from the communities

• Funding for projects

• Protecting the Collaboration Space

• Sustainability plan

Conclusion

• Technology allows opportunities for empowerment and social innovation when used appropriately in context

• If innovative solutions are successfully adopted and co-developed by the communities they could continue using it

• The impact of the project should result in an improvement in a community’s wellbeing

Thank Youwww.marlonparker.co.za / www.impactdirect.org.za

parkerm@cput.ac.za

Marlon Parker

@marlonparker

marlonct

+2721 469 1138 +2721 637 4037 +2776 4034920