Guess the rain: Kenya gamifies climate change to help farmers
Nairobi, KenyaThomson Reuters Foundation Kenya is gamifying climate change – challenging farmers to guess the rain in a bid to reach a remote audience with agricultural advice and ensure yields stay steady as climates change. Created by The Mediae Company, the “Let it rain” challenge launches on 1st February, when farmers will be free to […]
Calls, texts…and forecasts? Mobile phone towers can predict rain too
Hyderabad, IndiaThomson Reuters Foundation Thought mobile phone towers were just for calls and messages? They can also help predict rainfall, telecoms experts said on Friday, a potential game-changer for farmers in developing countries such as India and Sri Lanka. Many emerging economies cannot afford sophisticated forecasting tools such as ground-based radar and rain-gauge networks, making […]
Mass texting and 50,000 volunteers – how India moved a million people to safety
New Delhi Thomson Reuters Foundation From mass texting to mobilising 50,000 volunteers, the Indian official who masterminded the evacuation of more than a million people revealed on Thursday how they were moved from the path of a deadly cyclone. The state of Odisha on India’s east coast has won global praise for the speed and […]
REPAIR, REFURBISH, REUSE: CALL TO ARMS FOR ELECTRONICS GIANTS
SARAH SHEARMAN reports for Thomson Reuters Foundation…
ESSAY: HOW’S YOUR CONFIG.SYS? OR, THE FUTURE OF SMARTPHONES
MAL FLETCHER, writing from London, looks at what a new report reveals about smartphone use in the UK…
Access to mobile phones and the internet as critical to many refugees as food, water and shelter, study finds
Access to a mobile phone and the internet is viewed by many refugees as being as critical to their safety as food, water and shelter, a study has found. A report by UNHCR and global professional services firm Accenture, based on research conducted in 44 countries, found that connectivity for community with friends and family […]
AFRICA: CHURCHES USING MOBILE PHONES TO RING UP GROWTH
FREDRICK NZWILI, of Ecumenical News International, reports…