tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-98521152024-03-08T07:33:26.795+07:00Muli's CommuneCities that thrive, Communities that inspire, Institutions that work.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12558795845892731530noreply@blogger.comBlogger116125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9852115.post-54604206899191463802015-03-13T15:14:00.002+07:002015-03-13T15:18:26.037+07:00Three principles for planning great downtowns and waterfronts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Even though Singapore is already a great city by many standards, its planners and managers do not shy away from asking people to critique it, and to explore what could be improved.<br />
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At a <a href="http://www.clc.gov.sg/Events/events.htm">Centre for Liveable Cities event</a> today, <a href="http://www.urbanstrategies.com/people/joe-berridge/">Joe Berridge</a>, a partner at Urban Strategies, Inc. provided a lot of good insights, but three things stand out the most for me: 1) the importance of a vibrant street life, 2) the need to phase development, 3) the virtue of having a mix of big, medium, and small.<br />
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1. Berridge highlighted how in many places in Singapore, buildings are huge, roads are wide and traffic is not heavy (i.e., something like <a href="http://s221.photobucket.com/user/babysgp/media/MBR1-5.jpg.html">this</a>). Surely this is a virtue compared to the hellish traffic congestion that many other cities have to endure everyday. But Singapore can do better by <b>sacrificing some of that smooth automobile traffic in favor of a more vibrant street life</b>.<br />
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"Take a lane out from some major streets, you have too much asphalt. It's good to slow things down a bit."</blockquote>
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2. He showcased his firm's design for <a href="http://www.ura.gov.sg/uol/master-plan/View-Master-Plan/master-plan-2014/master-plan/Regional-highlights/central-area/central-area/greater%20southern%20waterfront">Singapore's Greater Southern Waterfront</a> (shown above). This is a project to transform the area that will be vacated by the Port of Singapore's City & Pasir Panjang Terminals into an expansion of the CBD. The consultants suggested building an additional island because with the exit of port activities, the waters were much too vast. What is the island for? Berridge doesn't know yet, but he said, "it would be great to have a large amount of space in the city that you don't know what for" (reserved for future development). He is also wary of large-size new town projects which are built in very short time-frame. Taking cue from Jane Jacobs, he suggested the city to <b>consider development phasing carefully</b>.<br />
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"Mix-up your buildings so when they get old, they won't all get old at the same time!"</blockquote>
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3. As a city becomes too successful, it becomes too expensive. And this is not good news for the innovative start-ups that Singapore wants to nurture in order to build a greater creative economy. Many of the country's innovation incubators (such as those in <a href="https://www.edb.gov.sg/content/edb/en/why-singapore/ready-to-invest/setting-up/business-location/one-north.html">One-North</a>) are very high-end. Singapore should <b>mix its real estate offering to include spaces which are big, medium, and small</b> - in the spatial as well as financial sense.<br />
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"Small innovative start-ups want to spend their money on developing ideas, not on paying rent. That's why they go back to the shed, the garage." </blockquote>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12558795845892731530noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9852115.post-13565213019184304292015-01-10T09:42:00.000+07:002015-01-10T09:44:47.352+07:00Review of "Smart Cities" by Anthony Townsend<div style="text-align: center;">
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When I picked up <a href="http://books.wwnorton.com/books/Smart-Cities/"><i>Smart Cities</i> </a>by Anthony Townsend, I was expecting to learn more about "best practices" on using ICT for urban management. Something to add on to my list of inspirational stories that I could share with city leaders in Southeast Asia. After all, the author works at Silicon Valley's <a href="http://www.iftf.org/smartcities/">Institute for the Future </a>and directs urban research at <a href="http://wagner.nyu.edu/rudincenter/">NYU</a>. <br />
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I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Smart City offers something much more fundamental than a collection of urban ICT best practices. In fact, <b>it is a call to view ICT for what it is: a tool which should be used consciously and critically to improve the lives of citizens. At the base of that call, is a reminder on the importance of good civic governance</b>.<br />
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If anyone did any counting, <i>Smart Cities</i> probably lists down more "bad practices" than "best practices". Many of us are well aware of the bus-rapid-transit and bike-sharing systems which have spread throughout the world. Fewer, however, are probably aware of the failed cases and much arrogance associated with these futile attempts. <b>Townsend explained why they failed: simplistic viewpoints, overly technocratic approach, narrow interests, and elitist ways</b>.<br />
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The latest ICT and smart apps are tools, just like the telegraph, the car, and the road. They can improve lives if we designed them to work for our benefit, but they could also worsen our lives if we do not curb the negative impacts. An ICT-based land management system could curb corruption at the village level, but it could also facilitate the centralization of corruption for those who have more money. Even cars: "In the 1920s the automobile plowed through city crowds like juggernauts. The vast majority of deaths in the early days of motorization were urban pedestrians". <br />
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I particularly liked this quote:<br />
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"If we don't think critically now about the technology we put in place for the next century of cities, we can only look forward to all the unpleasant surprises they hold in store for us... We need to question the confidence of tech industry giant, and organize the local innovation that's blossoming at the grass roots into a truly global movement. Most importantly, we need to take the wheel back from the engineers, and let people and communities decide where we should steer." (page 14)</blockquote>
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Townsend argued that, "smart cities" are prone to be "buggy" (often having errors), "brittle" (fragile to disasters), and "bugged" (used to monitor citizens without their knowledge or against their will). <br />
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But coming from Silicon Valley himself, Townsend is no luddite. <b>He argued that we sould embrace the idea of smart cities, but asks, "are we too eager to ask engineers to solve every urban problem?"</b> He identified narrow private interests and argued that we should "build a web" instead of an operating system, and that city governments and communities should "roll out (their) own network", and think long term.<br />
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In his concluding chapter, he called for "a new civics for a smart century", where "putting the needs of citizens first isn't only a more just way to build cities. It is also a way to craft better technology, and do so faster and more frugally."Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12558795845892731530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9852115.post-43905199783391925012014-10-30T16:40:00.001+07:002015-01-10T09:47:13.353+07:00On public leaders using public transport<div dir="ltr">
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<b>The shape of a city depends on how it is planned. And how a city is planned depends on the transport assumptions of the planner</b>. In many cities of the developing world, planners tend to assume that people will travel on private vehicles, be it cars or motorbikes. This paradigm inherently leads to sprawling, unwalkable, and inefficient cities.</div>
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Compare this to the assumptions of Sir Edward Lister, Deputy Mayor of London. At a public talk on 30 October, 2014, in Singapore, he said something like this:</div>
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"<b>I don't drive a car to work, I take the public transport, just like most other Londoners. I don't even think about it (driving a car into the city)</b>. The public transport is the fastest and most convenient way to get around. I have a car parked in my home, which I keep just for the fun of it. It's a type of car that I'm trying to ban, because it has a big engine. But it doesn't really matter. I can't really use it to go anywhere."</blockquote>
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Good for you, London. They say that a developed city is one where the rich take public transport. As for cities in the developing world, how can we hope to have a good public transportation system if our public leaders don't even think about using it to work?</div>
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A few notes from the 3rd International Conference on Decentralization (ICODEC) at <a href="http://www.ipdn.ac.id/">IPDN</a> yesterday:</div>
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1. From Kevin I learned about <b>the importance of distinguishing a leader's role as "head of state" & "head of government"</b>. A head of government is accountable for results and should not be allowed to "hide" behind symbols of state when s/he is criticized.</div>
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2. From Philips I learned about <b>the high cost of a political system without trust</b>. For example, for the province of West Java, each candidate/contender feels the need to place a witness at each voting station. Considering there are 70,000 voting stations throughout the province and Rp 100,000. for each witness' lunch on election day & training day, then we are looking at Rp 7 billion just for witnesses. Because there is no trust, politics becomes a very expensive affair.</div>
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3. I argued that <b>the performance of local leaders can be enhanced</b> by 3 things: a) a system of asymmetrical decentralization based on performance, b) some distance between local politicians (councillors) and their political parties, and c) political education for the people to become more informed voters.</div>
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Overall, I was impressed by the organizers' and participants' passion
for learning & sharing. Debates were lively and involved multiple
IPDN campuses throughout Indonesia connected through smooth
teleconferencing.
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FYI, last year the VP declared a national programme to build 1,000 low-income residential highrises in 10 big cities by 2009 (yeah, right..).<br /><br />The Indonesian Real Estate Association answered as such: <span style="font-weight: bold;">(local) governments are not providing land, and this makes it practically impossible for the private sector to supply flats in cities for the low income.</span> Ciputra, the real estate mogul, said that any land priced over Rp 3 million (~USD 300) per square meter is not feasible to be procured by the private sector to be sold as low income flats. Furthermore, "even if the local government wants to provide land, there are many regulations that discourage it," someone from DPR said.<br /><br />I guess we won't be seeing 1,000 low-income flats in the near future..Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12558795845892731530noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9852115.post-25054260363038869152007-12-13T21:27:00.000+07:002007-12-13T21:30:22.975+07:00Privatizing what's not yoursI generally don't care much about Malaysia's recent claims over cultural products (i.e. batik, angklung, the song 'Rasa Sayange') native to peoples who now live in Indonesian territories. That is, as long as such products are left in the public domain.<br /><br />However, this time some Malaysian academics <a href="http://www.kompas.com/kompas-cetak/0712/12/humaniora/4077295.htm">have gone too far</a>. As Kompas reported, they are now roaming over Indonesian villages, 'hunting' for classic Malay manuscripts, and place them on a site which people have to pay to use.<br /><br />Really, I don't care if they claim it as part of their culture. But putting proprietary rights to something that they did not invent? Please...Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12558795845892731530noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9852115.post-57268613509239300272007-12-11T19:12:00.000+07:002007-12-11T19:30:16.662+07:00Community Radio Social Impact Assessment<a href="http://africa.amarc.org/index.php?p=home&l=EN">AMARC</a> has recently finished its global assessment of the <a href="http://africa.amarc.org/index.php?p=CRSIA_toc&l=EN">social impacts of community radios</a>. The conclusion is clear: <span style="font-weight: bold;">The main social Impact of Community Radio is Voice for the poor and marginalized</span>. In further detail, community radios are effective in supporting poverty reduction, ensuring proper governance, ensuring inclusion of the marginalized, and are effective in conflict resolution and disaster prevention and relief.<br /><br />The single principal barrier to CR social impact is absence of a friendly legislation; the existence of media oppression and military threats are a generalized barrier to the development of community radio.<br /><br />Case studies from Indonesia are included in this report, as contributed by Ade Tanesia from Combine under the heading <a href="http://africa.amarc.org/index.php?p=CRSIA_Chapter_13">Women as Producers of Information</a>. Nice work!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12558795845892731530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9852115.post-52802217376620674552007-12-11T18:58:00.000+07:002007-12-11T19:05:06.923+07:00Third Global Knowledge Conference<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.globalknowledge.org/gkps_portal/index.cfm"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCnsD34Wv0a90EezXvRvNR_T7sc1mIkUSvJOCcgtlYo2_tpVvc8XBdPVh57_moL3e-heXP24VN-nrpyljrYSJeTUHiYvioxmijUI7z6BPWkr4DarloReb7TRP9rR_G9i3Le_eTGw/s320/GK3-blue-header(2).jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5142684408600998530" border="0" /></a><blockquote>The <a href="http://www.globalknowledge.org/gkps_portal/index.cfm">3rd Global Knowledge Conference</a> (GK3) – one of the most important knowledge sharing and creative development conferences in the world – will be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from 11 -13 December 2007. Themed "Emerging People, Emerging Markets, Emerging Technologies," GK3 promises to be a dynamic event focused on the future. GK3 will explore concrete solutions and possibilities within the inter-play, interface and interweaving of issues related to the Knowledge for Development (K4D) and Information and Communication Technologies for Development (ICT4D) in the context of our globally evolving societies, economies and technologies worldwide.<br /><br />For <a href="http://www.amarc.org/index.php?p=home&l=EN">AMARC</a>, <a href="http://www.amarc.org/index.php?p=Global_Knowledge_Conference_GK3&l=EN">network activities</a> in Kuala Lumpur will focus on how women can use knowledge sharing in their community radio programming activities to empower other women so they can play a stronger role in good governance and democracy. This is one of AMARC’s most important theme areas for development in 2007. </blockquote>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12558795845892731530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9852115.post-91994666091888452662007-12-06T19:47:00.000+07:002007-12-06T20:10:44.102+07:00Pro-poor planning and budgetingA new buzzword is floating around in the development world. <a href="http://p3b.bappenas.go.id/">Pro-poor planning and budgeting</a>. What is it?<br /><br />On the one hand it's an <a href="http://www.adb.org/">ADB</a>-<a href="http://www.bappenas.go.id/">Bappenas</a> technical assistance project that will "contribute to improvement of access of the poor to quality social services and infrastructure." But more than that, pro-poor planning & budgeting seems like an operational answer to questions like "how can we make sure that the government is taking <a href="http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/">MDGs</a> seriously?" Especially given that planning documents are usually very general/thematic with no specifically measurable targets and not linked to budgeting process, etc. etc.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">So what makes a plan and budget "pro-poor"?</span> The project team said there are four indicators:<br /><ol><li>it answers the root causes of poverty </li><li>it will have impact on improvement of poor people's lives (as stated in MDGs or government mid-term development plans)</li><li>its targets are majority poor</li><li>the poor are included in the planning & budgeting process</li></ol>Hopefully this will not be merely hype.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12558795845892731530noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9852115.post-12347784851187902982007-12-06T19:24:00.000+07:002007-12-06T19:45:29.926+07:00More on rural-urban migrationI still can't get enough of supporting people to move to cities. It's good that Kompas has got another FOKUS on this topic, under the heading "<a href="//http://www.kompas.com/kompas-cetak/0711/17/Fokus/">Fencing Jakarta from the Poor</a>." Of course, this is quite a late post, and the features are still related to post Idul-Fitri movement of people into (back) into big cities. <br /><br />Let me just take this opportunity to highlight other articles I've recently found. The first is something from the Guardian, UK, that says "<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2007/oct/17/immigrationandasylum.business">migrants are a boon to UK economy</a>."<br /><blockquote>Migrants are more skilled and often more reliable and hardworking than British workers, and are fuelling the country's economic growth to the tune of £6bn a year...<br /></blockquote>To put things into perspective is this excerpt on <a href="http://topics.developmentgateway.org/urban/highlights/viewHighlight.do%7EactiveHighlightId=114637">urbanization and migration</a>, taken from the Address given at Commonwealth Youth Forum Opening ceremony by Dr. Anna Tibaijuka, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations.<br /><blockquote>Migration to urban areas takes place not because of real opportunities for better wages and livelihood but due to the expectations of such opportunities... In other words, people move or migrate not because they will be better off, but because they expect to be better off.<br /><br />Unchecked flows of rural poor seeking better lives have exerted an unbearable strain on Africa's capitals...<br /><br />But then we know that migration has historically improved the well-being of individuals and humanity as a whole. Just think how many countries and cities around the world were founded by migrants. Or today, how many economies are driven by the energy and initiative of new-comers. Let us not forget that what we call the “New World”, namely the Americas and Australasia was populated by immigrants from Europe. </blockquote>Let us not forget that without migrants, Jakarta would not be Jakarta as it is.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12558795845892731530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9852115.post-13639046218281019902007-11-12T16:37:00.000+07:002007-11-12T16:55:54.258+07:00Piracy good for fashion industry<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_source">Open source</a> software proponents have long argued that "relaxed or non-existent intellectual property restrictions" is good for the development of the software industry in general. Ideas get shared and exchanged quickly, and as a result we (consumers) get more frequent improvements in existing softwares as well as new software innovations in whole. Of course, on the other hand proprietary software proponents have claimed this all to be "piracy" and that it harms the software industry.<br /><br />James Surowiecki recently pointed out that <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/talk/financial/2007/09/24/070924ta_talk_surowiecki">piracy is actually good for the fashion industry</a>.<br /><blockquote>"There’s little evidence that knockoffs (cheap fakes - muli) are damaging the business. Fashion sales have remained more than healthy... and the high-end firms that so often see their designs copied have become stronger. More striking, a recent paper by the law professors Kal Raustiala and Christopher Sprigman suggests that weak intellectual-property rules, far from hurting the fashion industry, have instead been integral to its success. The professors call this effect “the piracy paradox.”<br />...<br />Copying enables designs and styles to move quickly from early adopters to the masses. And since no one cool wants to keep wearing something after everybody else is wearing it, the copying of designs helps fuel the incessant demand for something new.<br /><br />The situation is not necessarily easy on designers, who have to keep coming up with new ideas rather than being able to milk a trend for years. But it means that in the industry as a whole there is more innovation, more competition, and probably more sales than there otherwise would be." </blockquote>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12558795845892731530noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9852115.post-302256483308081232007-10-25T14:01:00.000+07:002007-10-25T14:09:49.995+07:00Is anti-urban-migration growing?Jakarta's <a href="http://www.kompas.com/kompas-cetak/0710/18/metro/3929188.htm">hate for new incoming migrants</a> from rural areas seems to be spreading.<br /><br />Now the government of <a href="http://www.cilegon.go.id/">Cilegon</a>, an industrial city in Banten, <a href="http://www.kompas.com/kompas-cetak/0710/25/metro/3940191.htm">expects</a> new migrants to provide cash collateral to the municipality. Meanwhile, in <a href="http://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kabupaten_Serang">Serang</a>, people who don't have local ID cards are facing a fine of Rp 50 million (~USD 5,000) or six months of jail.<br /><br /><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;"></span>Can't the national government (i.e. the <a href="http://www.depkumham.go.id/">ministry of law and human rights</a>) do something about this?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12558795845892731530noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9852115.post-61449031735130608512007-10-25T10:54:00.000+07:002007-10-25T13:44:52.483+07:00From wheat to web<a href="http://www.nature.com/news/2007/071022/full/449964a.html">Nature News</a> has a good profile on M.S. Swaminathan and portrays a balanced view of the current state of India's "ICT for rural development" initiatives.<br /><br />Still, what we have are anecdotes. After more than a decade of ICT for development initiatives, shouldn't we have hard data already?<br /><blockquote><p>Ashok Jhunjhunwala, head of the Telecom and Networks Group (TeNeT) at the Indian Institute of Technology in Chennai, [...] says that the dozens of ICT projects across the country are a series of ongoing experiments, “some of which have worked”, he says, but “most of which haven't”. </p><p>“You'll hear about a village where ICTs have helped farmers get a better price for grain, or a village where someone has got better access to health care, but these are all anecdotal cases and don't represent the majority of ICT projects,” says Jhunjhunwala.<br /></p></blockquote>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12558795845892731530noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9852115.post-11945625467614892402007-10-23T17:16:00.000+07:002007-10-23T17:34:29.122+07:00Papua Governor: environment hero<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjebVUkK4qbKPAFBTp4ficJv48cBrSKIp6Tmpz5Y_MT-V0453_KAtizTzRL_KfkJj3tiqn98X20X7wNQXyCJAWQHIpardcdyEs48XpiYKFsB0vzrC271NNVjK7viK_pL2DOdA8EEw/s1600-h/suebu_1029.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjebVUkK4qbKPAFBTp4ficJv48cBrSKIp6Tmpz5Y_MT-V0453_KAtizTzRL_KfkJj3tiqn98X20X7wNQXyCJAWQHIpardcdyEs48XpiYKFsB0vzrC271NNVjK7viK_pL2DOdA8EEw/s320/suebu_1029.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5124478258058794898" border="0" /></a>In this <a href="http://communed.blogspot.com/2007/10/on-ecology-and-economy.html">recent post</a>, I applauded Papua Governor Barnabas Suebu for his commitment to preserve Papua's forests through <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_credit">carbon credit</a>.<br /><br />Now Mr. <a href="http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1663317_1663319_1669895,00.html">Suebu has been named</a> by TIME as one of the 43 <a href="http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/0,28757,1663317,00.html">Heroes of the Environment 2007</a>. Other heroes include Mikhail Gorbachev, Al Gore, Prince Charles (huh?), and the Toyota Design Team. Guardian's <a href="http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/climatechange/2007/10/heroes_of_the_environment.html">Climate Change</a> has a quick and short recap of this year's heroes, who come from 4 categories:<br /><ol><li>Leaders and visionaries, </li><li>Activists, </li><li>Scientists and innovators, </li><li>Moguls and entrepreneurs.</li></ol>However, as Climate Change pointed out: there are only 7 females among the 43 names.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12558795845892731530noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9852115.post-45003415277612008802007-10-22T18:36:00.000+07:002007-10-25T14:12:03.837+07:00Would you prefer rice or cement?<a href="http://www.kompas.com/kompas-cetak/0710/22/metro/3934964.htm">Another rice producing region will be gone</a> soon. This time we're talking about Kecamatan <span style="font-weight: bold;">Bayah,</span> Kabupaten <span style="font-weight: bold;">Lebak, Banten </span>- an area dubbed "rice deposit" by Kompas. Next year, Bayah may be replaced by a complex of Boral cement factories.<br /><br />It's interesting that the most urbanized and urbanizing area in Indonesia is Java - which is also the most fertile and productive area for rice-growing. My colleague and I once tried to find data on how much productive rice fields (<span style="font-style: italic;">sawah</span>, not just any agriculture areas) in Java have been converted into urban areas. We didn't succeed.<br /><br />On the one hand, it's ironic that we have all this fuss about the pros and cons of rice import, but we're quite calm about another productive rice field being converted into urban/industrial functions. When it comes to this, it seems that we only care about the amount of money being paid to farmers/landowners to purchase the land, not about the loss of fertile land. [My personal take is that landowners shouldn't be paid 100% in cash - but some of the payment should be in the form of stocks or bonds.]<br /><br />On the other hand, should we let this happen - considering/assuming that cement has more value than rice?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Update: </span><br />Bayah seems to be growing economically. <a href="http://www.kompas.com/kompas-cetak/0710/25/metro/3940629.htm">Kompas reports</a> the increase in gold shops, electronic stores, franchise minimarkets, and hotels over the past few years. They wonder whether these may be related to Bayah's readiness to welcome PT. Boral Indonesia, the envisaged economic locomotive of South Banten.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12558795845892731530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9852115.post-39140225728389464632007-10-22T17:46:00.000+07:002007-10-22T18:31:13.595+07:00Stop stopping them from coming to Jakarta!Every year after the Idul Fitri holidays, the Jakarta government conducts <span style="font-style: italic;">Operasi Yustisi</span>. That's the hunt down of "illegal" migrants coming into Jakarta from Indonesia's rural areas. This year is no different. The sad legacy, unfortunately, is kept by Jakarta's <span style="font-style: italic;">new</span> Governor, Fauzi Bowo.<br /><br />Mr. Bowo cites <a href="http://www.kependudukancapil.go.id/index.php?content:read&o=376">Jakarta Bylaw no. 4/2004</a> as the legal basis of this ironically named operation. <a href="http://www.kompas.com/kompas-cetak/0710/18/metro/3929188.htm">He said</a>, "Jakarta is dense enough already. Those who don't have a job and place to live will only burden the city." Illegal migrants (those who are caught without Jakarta ID card) will be fined Rp 5 million (~USD 500) or jailed for 3 months.<br /><br />Of course, the policy is useless, as <a href="http://www.kompas.com/kompas-cetak/0710/19/metro/3931262.htm">Supriatna argues</a>. The poor (which is the reason they came to Jakarta in the first place) don't have that kind of money. And if they are "returned" to their original village, they are sure to come back as there is <a href="http://www.kompas.com/kompas-cetak/0710/16/utama/3918287.htm">very few economic opportunity in rural areas</a>. As bad the condition they face in the city, it is almost always <a href="http://www.kompas.com/kompas-cetak/0710/15/utama/3916897.htm">much better</a> than if they stayed back. That's called <a href="http://www.kompas.com/kompas-cetak/0710/18/utama/3929168.htm">hope</a>. And surely the hope is quite high, at least as high as the <a href="http://www.kompas.com/kompas-cetak/0710/22/metro/3934907.htm">demand for low-skilled labor</a> in big cities.<br /><br />So it makes all sense to let the rural poor come into cities. So why oppose? Is it because we get sore eyes from seeing poor people in the streets? Is it because we don't want Jakarta to be more crowded and messy? Let's not forget: Most of us in Jakarta (at least our parents/ancestors) were once migrants, maybe as poor and as "kampungan" as the villagers are now. Who are we to now deny other people the opportunity that we've received in the past?<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">PS: </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://communed.blogspot.com/2006/11/in-defense-of-rural-urban-migration.html">This</a><span style="font-style: italic;"> is what I wrote about this issue last year. Do I have to do this every year? Bring it on!</span><br /></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12558795845892731530noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9852115.post-18641038367158276902007-10-11T10:41:00.000+07:002007-10-11T11:52:42.185+07:00Pedestrians as Anarchy<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbj_ZFQLtkjf6Y9AKRY-wNDmBSOLPa5L8mbJB3vAL8GvSR7Ht-YJTedh2kxKoAvb0HccqUn8V4vVbX5a3KCdBGkHZRIj5JI0Sd-W3X46XN7NG_BRzVaoXlpkXGICFX7AqqHsao9g/s1600-h/japan2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbj_ZFQLtkjf6Y9AKRY-wNDmBSOLPa5L8mbJB3vAL8GvSR7Ht-YJTedh2kxKoAvb0HccqUn8V4vVbX5a3KCdBGkHZRIj5JI0Sd-W3X46XN7NG_BRzVaoXlpkXGICFX7AqqHsao9g/s320/japan2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5119931661513824130" border="0" /></a><br />My friend and I talked at length the other day on anarchy. Initially were talking about squatters, and then he said, "You can't do whatever you want. That's chaos, that's anarchy!" Putting the discussion on squatting aside, I said anarchy does not necessarily mean chaos.<br /><br />In case you haven't noticed, there is a lot of (created?) misunderstanding of big words here, just like <a href="http://rumahkiri.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1327&Itemid=354">communism is misunderstood</a> as atheism. After arguing what anarchy really means (see some links on the right), I realized that I should have just quoted what James Surowiecki wrote about <a href="http://writing.upenn.edu/%7Eafilreis/50s/whyte-obit.html">William Whyte</a> in <a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wisdom_of_Crowds">The Wisdom of Crowds</a>. That should be easier. An example of simple anarchy in action, no chaos included.<br /><blockquote>No one has ever paid more attention to the streets and sidewalks of New York City than William H. Whyte... Whyte's work, which was eventually published in his book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/City-Rediscovering-William-H-Whyte/dp/0385262094"><span style="font-style: italic;">City</span></a>, was full of fascinating ideas about architecture, urban design, and the importance to a city of keeping street life vibrant. It was also a paean to the urban pedestrian.<br /><br />"The pedestrian is a social being," White wrote. "He is also a transportation unit, and a marvelously complex and efficient one." Pedestrians, Whyte showed, were able, even on crowded sidewalks, to move surprisingly fast without colliding with their neighbors. In fact, they were often at best when the crowds were at their biggest...<br /><br />New Yorkers mastered arts like "the simple pass," which involved slowing ever so slightly in order to avoid a collision with an oncoming pedestrian. They platooned at crosswalks as a protection against traffic. In general, Whyte wrote, "They walk fast and they walk adroitly. They give and they take, at once aggressive and accommodating. With the subtlest of motions they signal their intentions to one another." The result was that "At eye level, the scene comes alive with movement and color - people walking quickly, walking slowly, skipping up steps, weaving in and out in crossing patterns, accelerating and retarding to match the moves of others. There is a beauty that is beguiling to watch."<br /><br />What Whyte saw - and made us see - was the beauty of a well-coordinated crowd...</blockquote><br />Anarchy is simple the absence of a ruler. And as the streets of New York shows, the absence of a ruler does not have to mean chaos. People - in many cases - <span style="font-style: italic;">can</span> coordinate themselves beautifully.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >PS: The picture above, is actually not of New York's pedestrians, but of Tokyo's. It's from <a href="http://www.unfpa.org/swp/2007/presskit/">UNFPA</a> site.<br /></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12558795845892731530noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9852115.post-43076018629234391182007-10-06T23:40:00.000+07:002007-10-07T00:16:08.132+07:00The upper and lower ends of migrant workingSeveral articles on migrant working caught my eyes recently. Two op-eds in Kompas discussed the <em>upper end </em>of the issue: <a href="http://www.kompas.com/kompas-cetak/0710/04/opini/3886728.htm">one in positive tone</a>, arguing that professional and business migrants create international networks needed by the home country, <a href="http://www.kompas.com/kompas-cetak/0710/04/opini/3870275.htm">the other in negative tone</a>, arguing that 'brain drain' increases the gap between advanced and backward countries.<br /><br />Interesting that Kompas presents both sides of the debate in relatively equal manner. Maybe the daily has yet to decide its own stand? Certainly migration is a sensitive topic. And <strong>the idea to let workers roam free across national borders is 'equally offensive to the left and the right' </strong>(as DeParle argues in <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/10/magazine/10global-t.html?ref=asia">Should We Globalize Labor Too?</a>)<br /><br />The latter statement was taken from the context of international development debate from the eyes of Lant Pritchett. He was talking about the <em>lower end </em>of migrant working, taking poor villagers in Nepal, like Gure Sarki, as case study:<br /><blockquote>Pritchett, a development economist and practiced iconoclast, has just left the World Bank to teach at Harvard and to help <a title="More information about Google Inc." href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/google_inc/index.html?inline=nyt-org">Google</a> plan its philanthropic efforts on global poverty. In a recent trip through Chaurmuni [in Nepal], he praised the goats as community-driven development at its best: a fast, flexible way of delivering tangible aid to the poor. “But Nepal isn’t going to goat its way out of poverty,” he said. Nor does he think that as a small, landlocked country Nepal can soon prosper through trade.<br /><br />To those standard solutions, trade and aid, Pritchett would add a third: a big upset-the-applecart idea, equally offensive to the left and the right. He wants a giant guest-worker program that would put millions of the world’s poorest people to work in its richest economies. <strong>Never mind the goats; if you really want to help Gure Sarki, he says, let him cut your lawn. </strong>Pritchett’s nearly religious passion is reflected in the title of his migration manifesto: “Let Their People Come.” It was published last year to little acclaim — none at all, in fact — but that is Pritchett’s point. In a world in which rock stars fight for debt relief and students shun sweatshop apparel, he is vexed to find no placards raised for the cause of labor migration. If goods and money can travel, why can’t workers follow? What’s so special about borders?</blockquote><p>Yes, unfortunately the idea is still not popular. So how can I help, Lant?</p><p><span style="font-size:85%;">PS: here are other articles by DeParle on border crossing: </span><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/07/world/asia/07migrate.html?_r=1&oref=slogin"><span style="font-size:85%;">Jobs Abroad Support ‘Model’ State in India</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;"> (Kerala), and </span><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/22/magazine/22Workers.t.html?ref=asia"><span style="font-size:85%;">A Good Provider Is One Who Leaves</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;"> (Philippines).</span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;"></span> </p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12558795845892731530noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9852115.post-91904336557131874112007-10-06T22:56:00.000+07:002007-10-06T23:38:34.873+07:00Jakarta's blunt declaration against the poor<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHEi-mLbLgOPFoDEFW-hiaLqw-ugU46DZP_ixw1R2W_Q8HkVSy7PzMUuFBby7vTE2aTQbslJykNemOs07OGj5wGpO77DUeOsxuzXxW5VzrvF_M6z3sterepLDFnq6DtGtcijc_kQ/s1600-h/sedekah2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5118263247107954546" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHEi-mLbLgOPFoDEFW-hiaLqw-ugU46DZP_ixw1R2W_Q8HkVSy7PzMUuFBby7vTE2aTQbslJykNemOs07OGj5wGpO77DUeOsxuzXxW5VzrvF_M6z3sterepLDFnq6DtGtcijc_kQ/s200/sedekah2.jpg" border="0" /></a> A new Jakarta bylaw on 'public order' <a href="http://supermilan.wordpress.com/2007/09/26/mengemis-dan-memberi-pengemis-didenda-rp-20-juta/">will fine you</a> up to Rp 20 million (~$ 2,000) if you give to beggars, street vendors, street performers, etc. Also, motorcycle taxis and bajajs are illegal, and bicycles and transvestites are put at a disadvantage. The reason for the Perda no.8/2007 is <a href="http://www.detiknews.com/index.php/detik.read/tahun/2007/bulan/09/tgl/11/time/092902/idnews/828249/idkanal/10">to 'safeguard Jakarta's image </a>as the nation's capital'.<br /><div> </div><div>What crap.<br /></div><div>The Poor People's Alliance has produced an <a href="http://rakyatmiskin.wordpress.com/2007/10/01/catatan-kritis-atas-perda-82007/">article-by-article critique</a> on the bylaw. UPC has issued a <a href="http://www.urbanpoor.or.id/id/press-release/press-release-atas-perda-tibum-no.8-2007-2.html">press release</a> to reject it. </div><br /><div></div><div>Fortunately, the Ministry of Home Affairs has <a href="http://www.bantuanhukum.org/index-6.php?title=BERITA&fileid=1&beritaid=235">agreed to review</a> the bylaw, to check whether it violates public interest and any other law above it. And <a href="http://www.okezone.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=51960&Itemid=67">so has </a>the Ministry of Law and Human Rights. We'll see what happens.</div><div></div><div><em><span style="font-size:85%;"></span></em> </div><div><em><span style="font-size:85%;">Picture from </span></em><a href="http://supermilan.wordpress.com/2007/09/26/mengemis-dan-memberi-pengemis-didenda-rp-20-juta/"><em><span style="font-size:85%;">supermilan.wordpress.com</span></em></a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12558795845892731530noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9852115.post-20543359798091678122007-10-01T11:03:00.000+07:002007-10-01T11:42:23.168+07:00On Ecology and Economy<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdJxyQukNA31GWZzhYmrvrQSe2KMmhUM5VSlCac-YMxCsRh61LYDOD-MV_vSYF1H9mztvHxCAaWSYumvvBCM-vUEPFv9ib1O22Um5zajYSrX2CbnHkiG4L7bT8bFdPCMce8X4mNA/s1600-h/20070427_logswestpapua.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5116218447538067298" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdJxyQukNA31GWZzhYmrvrQSe2KMmhUM5VSlCac-YMxCsRh61LYDOD-MV_vSYF1H9mztvHxCAaWSYumvvBCM-vUEPFv9ib1O22Um5zajYSrX2CbnHkiG4L7bT8bFdPCMce8X4mNA/s320/20070427_logswestpapua.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Feeling a bit hot lately? Well, blame it (correctly) on global warming. For me, the best thing about the global warming concept is that we're finally accepting how interconnected the world really is. You can't stop global warming only by, i.e. reducing greenhouse gases in one place. You gotta do it everywhere!<br /><br /><em><span style="font-size:85%;">Photo source: </span></em><a href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_j_Z4t8A3tj0/RwB0_TbOl1I/AAAAAAAAACE/kLNK2FSvoFs/s1600-h/20070427_logswestpapua.jpg"></a><em><span style="font-size:85%;">Environmental Investigation Agency, "</span></em><a href="http://www.eia-international.org/cgi/reports/reports.cgi?t=template&a=93"><em><span style="font-size:85%;">The Last Frontier</span></em></a><em><span style="font-size:85%;">: Illegal Logging in Papua and China's Massive Timber Theft. Quoted in </span></em><a href="http://earthhopenetwork.net/Indonesian_Govs_Curb_Logging_Reduce_Climate_Change.htm"><em><span style="font-size:85%;">EarthHopeNetwork.net</span></em></a><em><span style="font-size:85%;">. </span></em><br /><br />Economically unfortunate for developing countries, all this concern about global warming has only surfaced <em>nowadays</em>, just when they're on a roll of development/ industrialization. How could developing countries ever compete/catch-up with their developed counterparts if all this development has to be curbed <em>now</em>? How is it fair that developed countries could go so far ahead inter-alia through colonialism, slavery, environmental destruction (all these were 'acceptable' at the time) and now they ask third world nations to compete with them without all those evils shortcuts?<br /><br /><a href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_j_Z4t8A3tj0/RwB0_TbOl1I/AAAAAAAAACE/kLNK2FSvoFs/s1600-h/20070427_logswestpapua.jpg"></a><a href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_j_Z4t8A3tj0/RwB0_TbOl1I/AAAAAAAAACE/kLNK2FSvoFs/s1600-h/20070427_logswestpapua.jpg"></a>And how did the governments of Aceh, Papua, and West Papua (all forest-rich provinces in Indonesia), react to the call to protect their forests and possibly forego 'development' (read: profits from palm oil plantations)? <em>Economically</em>, of course! And rightly so. Learning from Costa Rica, Papua Governor Barnabas Suebu plans to preserve its forests with "carbon credits" (<a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118668871988593367.html">WSJ</a>, subscription required):<br /><blockquote><p>His proposal: Have papua become an active player in the word's emerging carbon markets - a system of exchanges that let investors and companies buy and sell the right to pollute.</p><p>Mr. Suebu's plans for Papua are on a large scale. He has proposed to reserve more than half of the land targeted for development for protection. In the meantime, he has applied heavy brakes to the (palm oil) plantation companies' expansion aims, so far refusing to grant them permission to proceed with their planned developments.<br /><br />"In my mind, <strong>we have to save the forests of Papua and make money from that</strong>," said Mr. Suebu, 61 years old. "I know that Indonesia doesn't care about the forest."</p></blockquote>So suppose ecology and economy are no longer a dichotomy, and that the money actually does come in: is the problem solved? Marianne Klute of Watch Indonesia <a href="http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/biofuelwatch/message/1074">poses a good question</a>: Who should benefit from the money?<br /><blockquote><p>Should it be the plantation companies, which need to forgo palm oil profits? Should it be the government budget which, under Indonesian law, owns the forest? Or the special autonomous provinces? Or should the money go to the indigenous peoples so that they can continue to live in harmony with nature and, through their way of living, sustain the forest?<br /></p></blockquote>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12558795845892731530noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9852115.post-56020616705415636882007-08-02T18:38:00.000+07:002007-08-02T18:56:28.355+07:00On the privatization of educationThe Indonesian Government has been drafting a new law on a new legal format for state-owned universities (RUU BHP - <span style="font-style: italic;">Rencana Undang-Undang Badan Hukum Pendidikan</span>). The new law will significantly decrease state funding for these universities, potentially driving fees upwards to be more private-like.<br /><br />A group of people recently held <a href="http://www.kompas.com/kompas-cetak/0708/02/humaniora/3734462.htm">an event to protest</a> the draft.<br /><br />I couldn't agree with them more. Education should be the last thing to be handed over completely to the private sector. Don't see it simply as public service; education should be a country/nation's most important investment. Even in the most capitalist nations education is subsidized. Even Robert Kiyosaki, the uber-capitalist "rich dad", demands that the government <span style="font-style: italic;">provide </span>financial education/literacy to America's school children.<br /><br />We've got priorities all mixed up.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12558795845892731530noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9852115.post-5307454177043606272007-07-12T21:33:00.000+07:002007-07-12T22:04:06.599+07:00(Indonesian) TV Turnoff Day: Sunday 22 July<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.kidia.org/"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 190px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbu1IHa9uemU5kF0w2E5Kbn3B64A-JDCGcdVwO1gEDr8QGuY7_LX7S8p0UCWV8JGgnB_V3tkdqVHK-ZzEVLDVrvmewqfPS_xVeLSB8Lcgyu2Nw6q09YVT6wmHNr0SdU2wJNuH1SA/s200/kiddiatv.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5086325973146606994" border="0" /></a>I just found out about this from my friend <a href="http://ambar76.wordpress.com/">Ambar</a>. Apparently we also have a TV turnoff time in Indonesia. And it's been going on at least since 2006.<br /><br />Okay, so the turnoff time is not exactly <a href="http://adbusters.org/metas/psycho/tvturnoff/">a week</a> like that promoted by Adbusters, but a day is good enough for starters. And while the message is not exactly anti corporate capitalism /consumerism, ensuring quality time (and building media awareness) for the family - especially children - is a very good cause indeed.<br /><br />Indonesia's <span style="font-weight: bold;">Gerakan Hari Tanpa TV </span>(Day Without TV Movement) will be held on Sunday 22 July 2007, just one day before the National Children's Day (23 Juli 2007). Organizers are<br />Yayasan Pengembangan Media Anak (YPMA - Foundation for Development of Children's Media), Yayasan Kita dan Buah Hati (YKBH), and others.<br /><br />Here's <a href="http://www.kidia.org/news/tahun/2007/bulan/07/tanggal/12/id/20/">the webpage </a>containing background information, contact details, and how you can participate.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12558795845892731530noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9852115.post-28682990567402176702007-07-12T21:21:00.000+07:002007-07-12T21:29:49.271+07:00ShareIdeas.org: Mobile Knowledge for Social ChangeCellphones are changing the world in more ways than one. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ICT_for_Development">ICT for Development</a> initiatives are now increasingly highlighting the use of cellular, wireless technology rather than standard personal computers (i.e. 'telecenters'). But then again, with technological convergence going on at fast pace, who could tell the difference between a cellular phone and a personal computer anymore? As a cellphone ad says: "[cellphones] are what computers have become."<br /><br />So if computers with internet connection could play a role in addressing development issues, then cellphones with GPRS/3G/4G connection should potentially play bigger roles. Cellphones are predominantly personal, so instead of fostering 'community development' (which is prone to elite capture), they do a great job in fostering something more essential: 'individual/personal development.' They're cheap(er than computers), handy, easy to use, and very contextual to the user. The rate of cellphone ownership is increasing at an exponential rate in many developing countries. In Indonesia, the number of cellphone subscribers have reached 30% of the population, and 90% of the population are covered by cellphone coverage/signal.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.shareideas.org/">ShareIdeas.org </a>is an online community and a wiki for sharing ideas on <span style="font-weight: bold;">how to use mobile communications for social and environmental benefits</span>. Here you can learn (and contribute) stories of how to use the cellphone for:<br /><ul><li>civic engagement (i.e. monitoring a presidential election and reporting child rights violations)</li><li>economic empowerment (i.e. mobile-banking and rural microfinance)</li><li>education (i.e. using mobile games to build HIV/AIDS awareness)</li><li>environment (i.e. mobilizing volunteers to respond to disasters)</li><li>health (i.e. collecting vital health data), and </li><li>humanitarian relief (i.e. sending donations through text message)</li></ul>The idea for ShareIdeas.org came from Ndidi Nwuneli, founder and CEO of LEAP Africa, a Nigerian NGO dedicated to nurturing a new generation of African leaders.<br /><br />"Groups like ours would really benefit from a resource that shows us how to use mobile technology to carry out our work more effectively," said Ndidi at a Nokia stakeholder event of NGO and corporate leaders.<br /><br />ShareIdeas.org was created in response to Ndidi’s request, with support from Nokia and Vodafone. And since a large part of its intention is to help groups like Ndidi's, ShareIdeas.org also has information and practical examples for NGOs on “how to” use mobile technology in their daily work, including<br /> * Collect field data<br /> * Distribute information<br /> * Manage finances<br /> * Manage your organization<br /> * Respond to emergencies<br /> * Track people/products<br /><br />Check it out.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12558795845892731530noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9852115.post-82662778956369032782007-06-12T10:22:00.001+07:002007-06-12T10:25:12.142+07:00Busway, oh busway<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuMk_QRwMFWeOxWIGMlzDuaODGVeEfm5YejQtJfReM3DNOEGAIt5oOzdMeRJIcNQ1SgKaBVky2FTwy2Y0A-KSZTCSYWXPstbWTzHF1u1VeEBBrQFqUA8c-SjpnXNhgdnje3CBqDQ/s1600-h/DSC00325.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuMk_QRwMFWeOxWIGMlzDuaODGVeEfm5YejQtJfReM3DNOEGAIt5oOzdMeRJIcNQ1SgKaBVky2FTwy2Y0A-KSZTCSYWXPstbWTzHF1u1VeEBBrQFqUA8c-SjpnXNhgdnje3CBqDQ/s320/DSC00325.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5075013215152654594" border="0" /></a>With this level of service quality, how can we expect the middle class to start using public transportation? This photo was taken at the Polda Metro pedestrian bridge, some time last month.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12558795845892731530noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9852115.post-24458587618314272552007-05-30T15:08:00.000+07:002007-05-30T15:50:48.064+07:00Environment degradation in Merapi<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://merapi.combine.or.id/feature/images/2007516124212.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://merapi.combine.or.id/feature/images/2007516124212.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>One year after the slow and painful eruption of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Merapi,_Central_Java">Mount Merapi</a> in Central Java, surrounding communities must continue to face danger. This time, the danger is not high-profile and does not attract media interest. However, it is no less severe in the long run.<br /><br />While Merapi eruption is commonly seen as disaster by city folks, it is actually seen in a more balanced light by villagers. For one, an eruption leaves fertile soil which will is really good for the surrounding farmers later. And the business people love the top quality sand that eruptions leave, especially along rivers.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://merapi.combine.or.id/feature/images/2007516124647.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://merapi.combine.or.id/feature/images/2007516124647.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>So sand mining is now hot. <a href="http://merapi.combine.or.id/default.asp?content=feature&id=878">Jalin Merapi reports</a>: nowadays, on a given day, loads of trucks and day laborers work to mine and transport sand. However, as day laborers may get a good deal of Rp. 50,000 ($5) per day, and the mining companies make a huge profit, the local residents are suffering.<br /><br />Let's listen to the Selo people in Cepogo, Boyolali, Central Java. Where they live has now become <a href="http://merapi.combine.or.id/default.asp?content=feature&id=881">prone to land-slides</a>. Agricultural activities disturbed. Sources of <a href="http://merapi.combine.or.id/default.asp?content=feature&id=882">fresh water in jeopardy</a>.<br /><br />What is to be done?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12558795845892731530noreply@blogger.com0