We present our twice-monthly snapshot of interesting tweets in the technology for global development space. For up-to-the-minute updates from E4C on Twitter, please follow us at @Engineer4Change.
Design matters. New injectable contraceptives can be a game changer for women in Africa: http://t.co/ViKbF3DcGZ pic.twitter.com/a3wdk5HOpV
— Melinda Gates (@melindagates) July 25, 2014
Another win for the Gates Foundation and PATH.
Appropriate tech w/o appropriate standards is a #fail! Call 2action 4 #standards setting orgs! http://t.co/lFV2IL1ZNX @d_rev_org #globaldev
— Noha El-Ghobashy (@ghobashy) July 26, 2014
Sam Hamner at D-Rev lays out the problem with international standards in medical device design: The standards boards often do not include experts from developing countries.
.@PatrickMeier‘s informative & scathing take down of misconceptions about #UAV in humanitarian missions http://t.co/GO3twBQWt5
— Engineering 4 Change (@engineer4change) July 24, 2014
Patrick Meier debunks common misconceptions about aerial drones – unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs – as tools for carrying out search-and-rescue and other humanitarian missions. And (spoiler alert)… He will lead an upcoming E4C Webinar on UAVs. We’re excited to have him.
The key to solar today is the service provided, not just the specs of the tech – Russell Sturm / IFC #E4CWebinars
— Engineering 4 Change (@engineer4change) July 24, 2014
Russell Sturm at the International Finance Corporation and the founder of Lighting Africa moderated our latest webinar on solar lighting and electrification in developing countries. He made this and other good points about the industry.
We’ve neglected the solar off-grid industry by focusing for too long on small mobile plug-and-play products – Schützeichel #E4CWebinars
— Engineering 4 Change (@engineer4change) July 24, 2014
Harald Schützeichel at Sun Transfer, a member of our expert panel on solar lighting, made the controversial statement that solar lanterns might be poor half-measures that slow the progression to more useful technologies such as solar home systems. His peers on the panel tended to disagree, saying that lanterns and other small devices can help families save money and start on a path toward ownership of larger systems.
Solar lighting has changed since 2005 – lights are smaller, cheaper, more efficient & they can charge phones – @onedegreesolar #E4CWebinars
— Engineering 4 Change (@engineer4change) July 24, 2014
An interesting snap overview of the solar light industry in developing countries.
The developing world is a blank slate. We’re not stuck with a legacy of outdated infrastructure – Tozun on #energy access #E4CWebinars
— Engineering 4 Change (@engineer4change) July 24, 2014
Another way of explaining an advantage to “leap-frog” technologies like off-grid solar systems…
Universal energy access is possible in the next 10-20 years, says Ned Tozun at @dlightdesign #E4CWebinars
— Engineering 4 Change (@engineer4change) July 24, 2014
We liked the hopefulness in this message.
Dismissing indigenous knowledge is a kind of #devsplaining… Like #mansplaining for dev workers: @meowtree http://t.co/9LI6qnFHwz #OKFest14
— Engineering 4 Change (@engineer4change) July 23, 2014
Linda Raftree, one of our contributing editors, writes about a phenomenon in global development that she calls “devsplaining,” in which development agencies act imperious and turn deaf ears toward the people who they are trying to help.
In a rising number of countries, #renewableenergy is a mainstreamed energy resource – @GlobalEnergyIni special report http://t.co/LytqgyHWzp
— Engineering 4 Change (@engineer4change) July 19, 2014
Clay fridges that keep food cool without electricity. http://t.co/xKaquEpRMj pic.twitter.com/jPYtlU099F
— Co.Exist (@FastCoExist) July 15, 2014
Classing up the flower-pot refrigerator.
One reason D-Prize funds road building – it’s a proven development solution. ‘Beat pirates with roads, not ships’ http://t.co/augdGdUB2D
— Nicko Fusso (@NickoFusso) July 11, 2014
.@tableaupublic‘s free interactive map-making software for visualizing the impact of projects, by @tools4dev http://t.co/frub23CM09
— Engineering 4 Change (@engineer4change) July 10, 2014