NEWS RELEASE
Jointly released by:
Bridge of Signs, Commonwealth of Learning, Ideaccess, mindyourmind.ca, and Road Watch in the Pass
For Immediate Release, July 2006
Canadian Projects Featured Strongly in International Competition in Stockholm for ICT projects for development
In May 2006, the annual Stockholm Challenge was held in Stockholm, Sweden bringing together over 100 delegates from around the world. The Stockholm Challenge (
www.stockholmchallenge.se) is an international competition for projects using information communication technologies (ICTs) in innovative ways for development and change. The judges chose 150 finalists out of over 1,100 nominations. Approximately 100 of those finalists made it to Stockholm to participate in a three-day conference and to see which five projects would be selected by the jury for the grand prize in each category. Five diverse and unique Canadian projects made it as finalists, and two projects (mindyourmind.ca and Ideaccess) were selected as one of the five runners-up in their categories.
In the Education Category, Canadian projects included Bridge of Signs, which looks at the use of sign language as a communication tool for non-Deaf children diagnosed with various mental health disorders. Also in Education, there was Ideaccess, a Canadian-Syrian partnership project which aims to make information accessible in the Middle East and Central Asia through translations and supporting libraries in the region; and the Vancouver-based Commonwealth of Learning, which had two projects come in as finalists: Grassroots Socio-economic Underpinnings: Poverty-reduction, Food Security & Nutrition, Open & Distance Learning (ODL) for Women and "Answering Farmers' Needs in Nigeria".
In the Health category, mindyourmind.ca is an innovative web resource providing info, resources & coping tools for youth going through tough times. In the Environment Category, Road Watch in the Pass is a community-based monitoring project that uses web-based geographic information systems (GIS) to identify wildlife crossing locations along Highway 3 in the Crowsnest Pass of Southwestern Alberta to help protect wildlife movement in the area. Also in the environment category was the West Coast Vancouver Island Aquatic Management Board, an on-line forum for aquatic resource users to understand and participate in resource management issues which affect their environment and local economy.
The large representation of Canadian projects at the Stockholm Challenge speaks to Canadian organizations not only being on the cutting edge in the emerging field of ICT, but also of the creative use of technologies to make much-needed sustainable change in Canada and abroad. The Canadian projects inspired other participants in the Challenge, and the Canadians in turn were inspired by the impressive use of new information technologies around the world, and salute the Challenge's grand prize winners from Tanzania, Chile, Pan Africa, India, Pakistan and Cambodia/USA. Please visit the Challenge website for details on the winning projects, each of which received 10,000 Euros.
THE FINALISTS FROM CANADA:
Bridge of Signs
(
www.cad.ca)
This research project examined the use of sign language as a communication tool for non-Deaf children diagnosed with such cognitive disorders as Autism, Down Syndrome, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), and learning disabilities. With the assistance of professionals in the field, Bridge of Signs served to develop a model program that taught children, as well as those who work with them, sign language-both American Sign Language (ASL) and Langue des Signes Québécoise (LSQ).
In addition, DVD kits were developed that encouraged and assisted caregivers, professionals, organizations and parents in utilizing the lessons learned in this project. In the absence of research that speaks specifically to the use of sign language as a communication bridge for children with such disorders, what was learned from this project was ground-breaking. Awareness of how disability had interfered with communication was brought into focus as the model engaged children and those who teach and parent them in building a bridge of signs to meaningful communication.
Contact: Dr. Anne Toth, R.S.W., Tel: (519) 344-3357 E-mail:
atoth@xcelco.on.ca
Commonwealth of Learning
(
www.col.org)
The Commonwealth of Learning (COL) is the only international intergovernmental agency that focuses exclusively on using technology, placing special emphasis on open and distance learning (ODL), to expand the scope and scale of human learning. COL operates on the premise that knowledge is the key to individual freedom and to cultural, social and economic development. To achieve high impact, COL works in partnership with other international and bilateral organisations as well as with grassroots non-governmental organizations working on the Millennium Development Goals.
GRASSUP-Now: COL supported four NGOs in Western Kenya involved in agriculture and environment, health education, with a focus on HIV/AIDS, micro-financing and small business skills and use of technology to implement "Grassroots Socio-economic Underpinnings: Poverty-reduction, Food Security & Nutrition, Open & Distance Learning (ODL) for Women (GRASSUP Now)" project. The aim is to empower women in three rural poor communities in the Lake-Victoria basin to ODL, strengthening their capacities to participate fully in society. The project is managed by the community members and participants learn about food security, nutrition, and receive special training on HIV/AIDS and child abuse to enable them to care for people living with HIV/AIDS, orphaned, providing training on the use of ICT especially radio for social change to communities' informal learning groups.
Answering Farmer's Needs in Nigeria: COL supported the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Nigeria which implemented this project in Ago-Are in South Western Nigeria. It is a public-private-people run community demand-driven information system for life-long learning and linkages leading to improved food and livelihood security. The project supports rural farmers to access relevant and timely information for food production, processing, marketing and enterprise development and raise their income. The Ago-Are multi-purpose community information access point (resource center), with basic ICT infrastructure, provides links to the Community Help Desk and other sources of information on the internet; provides training to farmers; links them directly with inputs and output markets and provides an array of equipments that farmers lacked on rental basis. Learning materials on agricultural production, marketing agricultural products and new agricultural enterprises were produced. Profitable enterprises for higher incomes from which farmers made voluntary contributions towards center management and money making ventures such as soccer shows and entertainment film shows contributed to financial sustainability. Capacity building among community members in computer repairs, financial management and managerial skills would lead to greater community ownership.
Contact: Dr. Krishna Alluri, Tel: 604-775-8224, E-mail:
kalluri@col.org
Ideaccess
(
www.ideaccess.org)
Ideaccess is concerned with civil societies' access to information and knowledge in the Middle East and Central Asia where an "information dessert" exists for both print and electronic information. Ideaccess works in nine languages spoken in the region and translates social justice resources at the request of organizations or individuals in the regions and distributes free copies of all its publications. Ideaccess also supports the establishment of "Community-Based Libraries", maintains a large "E-Library" on-line, and works closely with dozens of organizations in the region to identify and meet information needs. The project is rooted in a human rights framework and has an emphasis on women's access to and use of information. A programme tying together translation, printing, distribution and accessibility makes Ideaccess a unique network linking activists, students and social movements across communities and borders in the Middle East and Central Asia.
Contact: Lauryn Oates, Tel: 604-781-3151, E-mail:
loates@ideaccess.org
MindyourMind
(
www.mindyourmind.ca)
mindyourmind.ca is an innovative mental health web site for youth, by youth, designed to inspire them to reach out, get help and give help during tough times. mindyourmind.ca provides a doorway and a destination for Youth seeking
a) Information, resources & coping tools to enhance resiliency when dealing with tough times (stress, mental health disorders, suicide & self-harming behaviours);
b) Information & contacts for getting help for themselves or friends when professional help is required
c) Resources & coping tools to bridge waiting times for service.
d) tools for service providers working with at risk youth
What youth have said about mindyourmind.ca: "This web site is the reason I can get to bed at night...."
What professionals have to say: "It's not just a web site... its an intervention"
Contact: Sharron Zweig, Tel: 519-433-0183, E-mail:
info@mindyourmind.ca
Road Watch in the Pass
(
www.rockies.ca/roadwatch)
Road Watch in the Pass: Using a Web-based GIS to identify wildlife crossing locations along Highway 3 in the Crowsnest Pass of Southwestern Alberta. Road Watch in the Pass is a community based monitoring project that engages local citizenry in reporting wildlife observations along a 44 km stretch of Highway 3 through the Crowsnest Pass in southwestern Alberta, Canada. The current wildlife mortality rate and a proposal to upgrade the highway to four lanes raised concerns about the potential barrier effects to regional wildlife movement.
Through the use of Web-based GIS, interested citizens can participate in data collection that will be instrumental in making final decisions concerning measures to mitigate the effects of highway expansion.
Citizens contribute their wildlife observations to the project through an interactive mapping tool located on the project website. Results are instantaneously displayed on the mapping interface tied to the participant's username. Additionally, results are collated and regularly sent out through the project website or through email to decision makers and participants. In addition to provide value information on wildlife movement to decision makers, Road Watch also fosters a learning environment where participants gain knowledge on wildlife movement and issues through project participation.
Contact: Tracy Lee, Miistakis Institute, Tel: (403) 220-8968, E-mail:
tracy@rockies.ca
West Coast Vancouver Island Aquatic Management Board (
www.westcoastaquatic.ca)
The Aquatic Management Board (AMB) website is a forum for aquatic resource users to understand and participate in resource management issues which affect their environment and local economy. The management area is divided into six Regions, which correspond to natural aquatic ecosystem boundaries. Each Region has information in six Sectors: Habitat. Fisheries, Water, Aquaculture, Energy, Recreation. This information is updated daily with news stories, current fisheries data, aquaculture projects, habitat restoration activities and initiatives related to aquatic resource use. A dynamic online Map Atlas has been developed which presents detailed aquatic use information in dozens of usage areas. A Regional Information System database has been developed to serve as an archive of all relevant data for aquatic users, managers and developers. The website also hosts the coast's only live webcam for recreational users and visitors. The site also hosts local stewardship projects as 'sub-sites' to help inform the public and all resource users of local stewardship initiatives. Currently in development is an ecommerce section to enable small producers of aquatic-related products such as kelp, barnacles and foreshore edibles to sell to online markets.
Contact: Tel: (250) 724-6244, E-mail:
info@westcoastaquatic.ca