A report from the United Nations Foundation and The Vodafone Group Foundation Technology Partnership published in April describes the many different ways mobile phones are used for social change around the world. It's called “Wireless Technology for Social Change: Trends in Mobile Use by NGOs” [PDF].

Below, I have listed the environmental initiatives highlighted by its writers, Sheila Kinkade (ShareIdea.org) and Katrin Verclas (MobileActive.org). I have also listed some new projects that have appeared since then.

Argentina

Using mobile phones, Greenpeace in Argentina were able to rally supporters and effectively pass Argentina's first federal forest protection law. The MobileActive blog wrote of their tree saving efforts earlier this month:

Mobile phones are nothing new for Greenpeace Argentina. The organization has used mobile phones multiple times to mobilize its now 350,000 person-strong mobile list to successfully lobby for important environmental legislation. One of Greenpeace's significant accomplishments was the passage of the Ley de Bosques, or Forest Law.

According to the Wireless Technology for Social Change report, GreenPeace accomplished this by building a large database containing both email addresses and mobile phone numbers of the people who signed a petition supporting the Forest Law. In addition, they sent out text message alerts during critical hearings, and before city council votes. They also coordinated demonstrations and meetings using text messages.

Ghana

In Ghana, one project has shown that mobile phones can be transformed from typical pervasive tool for communication, to a 'super sensing' tool for environmental data collection. This is achieved by attaching a special sensor to a mobile phone. The sensor collects scientific information on air quality or even urban traffic patterns, which can be studied later and even layered over a google map.

Corinne Ramey wrote about this initiative on the MobileActive blog in April:

In the Accra study, seven taxi drivers were provided with a dash-mounted global positioning system (GPS) device and a tube to hang from their passenger window. The tube contained a carbon monoxide sensor. Similarly, three students were each given a mobile clip sensor pack containing a GPS device, and a carbon monoxide sensor. The taxi drivers and students were asked to carry their sensors as much as possible during their normal everyday activities. Throughout the day, the sensing system automatically logged sensor data. At the end of each day, the pilot participants dropped off their sensor packs at a central location where the data was then extracted and the sensors recharged. resulted from the participatory data collection A heat-map visualization of carbon monoxide readings across Accra, Ghana rendered atop Google Earth. Colors represent individual intensity reading of carbon monoxide during a single 24-hour period across the city. Red circles are locations where actual readings were taken.

Kenya

The Wirelesss Technology for Social Change report describes the tension in Laikipia district, Kenya, between landowners and wildlife. Farmers have been killed by wildlife, and their crops being destroyed. Elephants and other animals are being killed. A conflict prevention program that utilizes mobile phone technology, enables communication between the local community, wildlife service personnel, and land owners.

The pilot utilized ‘Push to Talk on Cellular (Phones)’ (PoC) technology, which combines the functionality of a walkie-talkie or two-way radio with a mobile phone. PoC enables communication between two individuals, or a group of people, and is particularly useful in connecting a user
group intermittently over a period of time (e.g., a working day).

South Africa

FishMS is an SMS-based service from The Southern African Sustainable Seafood Initiative that provides the status of global fish stocks to consumers. Users text the name of a fish they are considering buying to +27 79 499 8795, and are immediately advised as to whether the fish was sustainably harvested, or whether they should think twice before buying it. The following video shows the tool in action (the short film was shot on a mobile phone - Nokia N93).

United Kingdom, United States

AirText is a system that sends an SMS message, voicemail or email containing information about pollution levels in a specific borough of London. The service is aimed at people who suffer from heart and breathing problems. Similar services exist for specific locations in the United States, including Ergo (various zip codes) and ADEQ (in Arizona).

People who would like to know how much their personal greenhouse gas emissions amount to, can download an application mobGas to their phone, that allows them to report on their daily activities, like cooking, watching television or driving.

From the Wirelesss Technology for Social Change report report:

By helping users make connections between their daily activities and greenhouse gas emissions, mobGAS hopes to encourage individuals to make lifestyle changes. The application also offers tips on how to modify activities to decrease emissions.

A similar project, highlighted by Josh Catone on Read Write Web blog is called FuelFrog. It's an application that uses Twitter to help track fuel consumption by users:

FuelFrog is exceedingly simple, and immensely useful. After each fill up, users enter their miles traveled since the last fill, the price paid, and the amount of gasoline in gallons. Over time, FuelFrog will track and graph your fuel consumption data so you can do things like identify trends in gas prices in your area, see how fuel efficient your car is (is it time to put air in the tires, perhaps?), how much you're driving, and how much you're spending.

Global Voices Environment thank MobileActive and Shareideas for the report, and would be interested in reader's input on other examples of mobile phones being used for environmental activism.

Also see our recent post on Global Voices highlighting the use of web2.0 technologies for environmental activism

Life means the hustle and bustle of everyday activities, the exhilaration of new experiences, and the growth pains that make us want to remain stagnant, but instead teach us that we have got to move forward, no matter what is going on around us. When we get around to sharing all we have learned, we see that experiences and emotions transcend borders and cultures. Not only can we learn from each other, but we can also relate to each other.

“Life is so constructed that an event does not, will not, match the expectation,” Charlotte Bronte said, and, judging by what Christian African women have been posting on their blogs, this is a credible statement.

Take Favored Girl, for example. After a three-month hiatus, she surprised her fans, and pleasantly so, with an update. She continues to chronicle A Girl’s Journey Down the Aisle. Her blog has slowly evolved, it seems, into A Young Woman’s Journey Beyond the Aisle.

Favored Girl tells us about the “inconveniences” she has had to embrace, thanks to marriage:

My friend and I shopped to our heart’s content and when we got tired; we went to a café and sat down to have a bite and a chat. As we sat down, she turned to me and asked, “So, FG I’ve been meaning to ask you. How is married life?”

I wanted to answer the question honestly, so I told her that married life is a lot of fun, but there are many adjustments to make. She asked me what kind of adjustments, and I told her that they were stuff you would never think of if you were a single girl living on your own and accountable to no one but yourself. I told her, “For example, when we were shopping just now, I had to be mindful about the clothes and und****ar I was buying, because someone cares about them”. She found that really funny and said that she couldn’t imagine having to put someone else in the picture when making the smallest decisions such as the clothes she bought or what she wore underneath. I laughed and told her that it does take a long time to get used to…

That's not all. Among other things:

I got a shock one day when, as usual, I was enjoying myself one afternoon when Mr came into the living room and said I was making noise and he wanted some peace and quiet. I stared at him as if he wasn’t making sense. How could he call my music “noise” and ask me to turn it off? Did he not know that listening to music was one of my favourite things to do? We argued for ages but we still didn’t come to a resolution. I just couldn’t imagine giving up listening to music because of him. He suggested that I should use headphones. I grudgingly obliged but it was just not the same. Now though, I have learnt to leave the room he is in when I’ve got my music playing. And I make the most of it when he is not at home and I can turn it up as loud as I want to!

What an inconvenience! But which is worse: Inconveniences, or Disappointments?

mystoriesmytestimonies talks about the guilt people feel about what she calls “chronic disappointment”:

Everyone else seems to be getting on with things. What’s wrong with me? We feel guilty about our chronic disappointment. Why can’t I just learn to be happier in my job, in my marriage, in my church, in my group of friends? You see, even while we are doing other things, “getting on with life,” we still have an eye out for the life we secretly want.

Well, what about Shame and Ridicule - could these perhaps be the worst experiences on the face of the earth? The Girl With A Fro, speaking about these two issues, seems to say that it does not matter – the common denominator is these things cause pain.

I am currently finding myself going back to a place of pain. A situation in my past where someone really hurt me and the feelings surrounding that incident…that time made me feel quite low – and very unloved because of the actions of this person…

I am not ignoring the fact that God was there for me and still is and He alone got me through. What I can’t seem to deal with right now is how to move on. I feel almost as if this incident if not addressed once and for all might carry on forever…and it’s been years already. Ignoring it doesn’t change the fact that it happened and yet that is what the other person is trying to do…I can’t live like that.

Believer has some wisdom to share. She points out that we should not dwell too much on what we are going through - headphones, comparisons and heartache - but rather on the definite HOPE that springs forth from knowing the One that we have believed to be Faithful:

I wonder what would have happened if….

Noah did not build the ark because people were laughing at him (Hebrews 11:7)
Sarah had considered her age (Genesis 21:1-3)
Job decided he'd had enough (Job 14:14)
Joeseph had chosen not to interpret the butler's dream (Genesis 40:6-14)
Ruth had linked arms with Orpah and gone back to Moab (Ruth 1:16-17)
Esther did not take her petition before the king (Esther 4:15-16)…

“Do not be afraid for surely there will be an end to the issues that we face and our expectations shall never be cut off,” she advises wisely. “All that we need is to hold on to God. His Word is true and if He has given you a word concerning something, He can never, never, never fail.”

I could never, never, never have put it better myself.

While the U.S. military presently houses about 1,500 soldiers in Camp Lemonier in Djibouti, the Pentagon has spent much of the past year searching various locales in Africa for a second base.

This story begins one year ago when the United States military announced the creation of AFRICOM, a separate command structure to oversee all U.S. military operations in Africa (except Egypt). AFRICOM was meant to provide the military with a more efficient approach to Africa because previous responsibility for the continent had fallen under three separate command structures.

People soon realized that AFRICOM stood for more than streamlining responsibilities. Enmeshed in AFRICOM’s DNA from day one is what the Pentagon refers to as “capacity building”: The idea that if the U.S. military can assist African nations build democratic institutions and establish good governance, some of the pockets of poverty and disorder that remain fertile grounds for terrorist groups would disappear. Also, if U.S. soldiers could work with local populations and show their softer side, it may reduce the appeal of extremism and curb Africans’ mistrust of American intentions.

U.S. soldiers training African armies is one thing. So is digging wells and vaccinating cattle for villagers. But rumors persisted that the U.S. also wanted to place a second military base on the continent. Eventually the Pentagon admitted it was searching for real estate that would allow it to better serve local soldiers, provide development work and respond quicker to crisis and contingencies. That’s when the AFRICOM program began running into problems.

For many African bloggers, a second proposed U.S. military base on the continent raised many red flags. Questions from the blogshpere flew: What exactly are U.S. interests in Africa?

For Tristen at Contrary to Authority the answer was simple: The U.S. wanted to extract Africa’s vast oil reserves.

Africa is under a new wave of exploitation, this time, instead of people, rubber and gold, it is Chinese and American interests competing for oil.

This older post from Sokari Ekine at the blog Black Looks raises many concerns Africans had about an AFRICOM base:

The question should not be whether Africa NEEDS Africom but why the US believes it NEEDS to have a military presence in Africa. We should be asking ourselves the following questions. Why does the US feels it needs a military presence in Africa? What will the US military presence consist of in terms of military hardware and numbers of personnel? How does the US intend to operate and in what circumstances will it’s forces be mobilized? In what way will the US military presence dictate or determine the price of Africa’s natural resources and who gets access to them? In what way will the US military presence infringe on the internal affairs of independent African countries and determine their foreign policy towards other AU members? How will the US military presence influence the foreign policy of independent African states towards non AU countries such as China? How will the US enhanced military presence infringe of the rights of African citizens? How will Africom impact on continental migration and the rights of the millions of Africans without citizenship and the rights of refugees?

The blog Katch Up outlines how President George Bush first moved U.S. policy towards Africa from dealing with mostly military matters and began addressing the daily concerns of many Africans, like providing functional schools and hospitals. However, when AFRICOM was proposed, Bush supplanted the interests of regular people for the welfare of his military.

Regrettably, over emphasis on militarisation has often had a boomerang effect which has begat the US more enemies that it would wish to have. Amusingly the greatest modern threat to America, terrorism, has its most effective launching pads in former US allies.

This distrust of the US has not whirled past Africa but indeed has acquired roots here, especially if you throw in the humus that is religion, and uniquely Islam. The new policy, whose worth Bush has now come to evaluate, is the latest Yankee detergent for its PR.

…

China won the heart of Africa with its emphasis on partnership rather than handouts. Well, handouts do feature still but partnership in trade and investment has given Beijing inroads in record time.

Between January and October 2007, Beijing made an incredible 30% jump to trail EU and US as the biggest trading partner with Africa. The time that these three have taken to position themselves as such tells you why the US is repackaging itself.

After Bush’s announcement in Accra, Ghana, the international media made it sound like he backed down from his plan in the face of criticism from African governments. In the end, only Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia invited the Americans to set up a base in her country. (During the Cold War, the U.S. military and the CIA ran a large communications station in Liberia.)

For African bloggers, however, it wasn’t just the governments who stood up for African rights, but Africans themselves. AfricanLoft, which sponsored more than a few debates on AFRICOM, asked its readers to weigh in on Bush’s statement.

It is a triumph for Africa that African countries held fast, writes Xcroc, who blogs at Crossed Crocodiles, but he warns:

However, AFRICOM can still do most all of what Bush has in mind without an HQ on the continent. Still, it shows they did not plan, and they did not take their target into account, and at least this far, they failed.

The Bush intention with AFRICOM has been to use mercenaries, to train African militaries to act as surrogate. And by “partnering” and training, get to know their strengths and weaknesses, in case of fighting with, or against them in the future. They don’t need an HQ on the continent to do this.

Ayo, the Care Taker at African Loft has this to say:

As much as I like the US, I feel their timing was off. The war on Iraq is an eye-sore and no amount of PR can erase the fact that there isn’t any basis for the war. Also, there wasn’t enough “back-room” consultation before the idea was make public, and this is somewhat strange given how the US is perceived worldwide. Now it’s up to the next administration to make the decision; we haven’t heard the last of it yet.

Bobby writes this:

Perhaps, as I have been saying all along, they are waiting for the country(ies) they want the HQ to be based in to stabilize before they make any announcements.

The sad thing about it is that the people who make the US foreign policies always seem to dismiss the interests of those foreign countries as though it won’t hurt the US in the long term.

Sokari, who blogs at Black Looks (from above), instructed readers at African Path that the fight against AFRICOM is not over. People need to keep the pressure on.

The about turn by the US government can be seen as a small victory for African sovereignty and the continents refusal to be drawn into America's “War on Terror” agenda which is being used as a cover for protecting US commercial interests, such as oil, across the globe. Nonetheless, the Command still exists and can be mobilized at short notice and as this report shows - “AFRICOM heads for the Gulf of Guinea“. The questions I raised above should still raise concerns amongst African citizens and Civil Society organizations should continue to pressurize their respective national governments and the African Union, to address the questions.

Also from African Path, here is a comment from Shaft

Let there be democracy in Africa, and let Africans do business withanyone that is willing to do business with them. What Africa need is not another militaristic institution, but businessmen willing to invest in Africa. Africans with their country and resources and anyon else with their money can raise the African's living standard. I am glad that President George W. Bush finally realized that it is not in the interest of Africa and America to have a militaristic institution stationed in Africa preventing democracy from sprouting and flourishing.

Mona El Shazli [1], started her 11th of February episode from “El Ashera Masa’an” with this phrase:

“By the referee’s Koffi Coudja’s whistle, he didn’t –only- mark the end of the match, but an open invitation for thousands and thousands of Egyptians to go to the streets and celebrate the victory. And let the Egyptians live a night of mere happiness, like they’ve never been happy for so long.
And what really astonished me not how the Egyptians were happy, but how other Arab countries were as happy as well. A splendid night indeed, with such unity of feelings all around.”

Under the title “Reflections of the blessing of consolidation with Gaza” [2], Arabawy extracted a part from a BBC article:

“Defending champions Egypt won a record sixth Africa Cup of Nations with a fully-deserved victory over Cameroon. The only goal of the game came in the 77th minute when Mohamed Aboutrika pushed home a Mohamed Zidan pass after a mistake by Cameroon’s Rigobert Song.”

Adfortiori described in his blog post “Masr! Masr! Masr!” the reactions that followed the match on the streets:

“For a country that is so deeply impoverished and repressed, constant frustration gave way to almost inexpressible joy. The girls on my floor sobbed uncontrollably, and so did some of the men on the street. Cars stopped willingly for young men bearing flags, drums, and flaming aerosol cans. Voices, hands and horns combined flawlessly in the same universal 1, 2, 3 and 4 rhythm and vocabularies were reduced to “Mabruk” “Masr!” and “Oh lay, Oh lay” no matter how comfortable you were with Arabic.”

Zeinobia -as well- commented under the title “We are the champions”:

“The sounds of the horns began to be heard , I swear if I have energy I would go to the street in the car with my camera. Today Egypt will stay in happiness till dune. Hard luck for the Cameroon , they played great still people of the Cameroon forgive but we need this victory more than you , we need this joy , this happiness.”

Just to mention, this is Egypt’s sixth time to clinch the tournament's title, and the second in a row after last year's win in Egypt. The this forced The Arabist –like many other- to question:

“But is anyone competent enough to explain why the team always screws up when it comes to qualifying for the world cup?”

Shaheda, or the Myrter wrote :

اشار منتخب مصر انه سيتم التبرع بجزء من مكافأة الفريق اثر فوزه لبناء مسجد في كوماسي عاصمه غانا” حسب معلوماتي الضعيفه رياضيا ” .. وحسب ما اظن سيكون اول مسجد يبنى في كوماسي … جزاهم الله خير الجزاء …

“The Egyptian national team hinted that part of its reward would be directed towards building a mosque in Kumasi. And as far as I know, that would be the first mosque there. God bless them. “

Arab bloggers joined in the celebrations too.

From Moroco:
Kaoutar, under the title “Boss, shoof, Masr bte3mel eh!” or “Look, Learn from what Egypt is doing” wrote :

“Compared to many other teams – and I wouldn’t exclude the Moroccan national team – the Egyptians have proved that mastering the game itself is not the only prerequisite for a squad to become champion. Nor is it the abundance of financial resources. The team spirit that reigns has a real magic effect. Look how respectful they are towards each other and towards their coach and how united they are even in the way they thank God after each goal.
And then look how ruthless they are during the whole match. The way they play makes you feel that they truly care! I am not writing poetry here, but I did see the Egyptian legendary “namoutou namoutou wa ta7ya Masr” (we would die to give life to Egypt) dominating the game during yesterday’s match.”

From Jordon:
Roba, wrote under “On Winning”:

“And so this year, the Iraqis won the Asian Cup and the Egyptians won the African Cup. The commentator yesterday was going crazy over that. Well, mabrook to both the Iraqis and the Egyptians, who have both finally given us Arabs something to enjoy. I wish I captured the energy at the little corner cafe in Shmesani as the watchers yelled, shouted, and threw advice at the television, until everyone finally jumped and started clapping and cheering when Abou Treika put in that winning goal. I hope they both have good luck at the World Cup qualifiers.”

From Yemen:
Omar Barsawad wrote a post with the title “A well deserved win for The Pharaohs”:

“Last evening, with a little help from a mistake by the Cameroonian captain — Rigobert Song — defending champion Egypt defeated Cameroon 1-0 and won the trophy of the Africa Nations Cup for the sixth time! A record of the continental tournament. The Egyptians, as always, were: controlled, organized and continuously kept attacking. And they won despite being infancied to win in Ghana.
What is most admirable and applaudable of the Egyptians, is that — unlike all major soccer teams in Africa and the Arab world who depend on expensive, foreign coaches — Egypt has one of their own as the coach: the shrewd Hassan Shehata. Shehata has succeeded in winning the African Nations Cup after failing three times as a player for his country. Congratulations to Shehata and to Egypt! Hopefully Egypt will take their dominance and keep their momentum into the build up towards the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Hopefully, a team from Africa will win the cup — then.”

For Palestine things were totally different. For what Abo Tarika did, showing his inner T-shirt written on it “Sympathy with Gaza” meant something even deeper than what he really was thinking. And it –really- turned him into “a hero” in everyone’s eyes.

Noura Yunis, an Egyptian blogger, started the talk with a thank you to her Palestinian friends who congratulated her last night after the match, and mentioned a piece of news from El Jazeera:

قناة الجزيرة: عشرات الفلسطينيون تجمعوا مساء أمس بعد المباراة أمام مكتب التمثيل المصري في غزة، والجانب الفلسطيني من معبر رفح، رافعين أعلام مصر

“Hundreds of Palestinians gathered yesterday after the match in front of the Egyptian representation office to the Palestinian national authority, raising the Egyptian flags.”

But that was not everything.
Nawara Negm, an Egyptian blogger, wrote two posts - one immediately after the match, with only one word and a picture..

“Abu tarika”.. and the picture says “We are all Abu Tarika” for young Palestinian students in their schools.

Later on she explained -in another post- why she cried when she saw those other two very moving pictures.

Palestinians kissing the famous picture of Abu Tarika.. with the “Sympathy with Gaza” written on his T-shirt.

We Love you Egypt.

And from Palestine, Hiyam confirmed the above image stating:

“I have never before seen the Egyptian, the Pharos football team so strong - and never before I have seen such a life spirit and such remarkable people as the Palestinians - they will never, never give up the struggle. The Palestinians on Gaza Strip celebrated and encouraged the Egyptian football team to win, in the finales between Egypt and Cameroon, in the Football Championship of the African Nations, on February 10, 2008.
At a time when the Israelis have besieged Gasa Strip, and after the closure of the wall erected by the Israelis in 2005,between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, Palestinian football fans was carrying posters depicting the Egyptian football player, Mohammed Abo Tarika, in his world-famous T- Skirt, with the words ” Sympathize with Gaza”. written on the inside of the T-Skirt..”

A well deserved victory. A well deserved best goal keeper for “Esam El Hadary”, A well deserved best player in 2008 African Cup of Nations for “Hosni Abd Rabou” [3] and a well deserved thank you goes to the man of the match “Abu Tarika” for his playing and his respectable way of expressing his opinions, despite how Google removed Abu Trika’s “Sympathize with Gaza” images from the internet.

——————
[1] Mona El Shazli: A young female Egyptian presenter, who is famous for her talk show “El Ashera Masa’an” or 10pm. The show discusses daily local affairs. Al Shazli proved to be a great success because of her knowledge, and simple way of presenting.
[2] Arabawy was hinting tp the moment when Egyptian footballer Abo Tarika showed his T-shirt with the text “Sympathize with Gaza”, in the Sudan Vs. Egypt match during the African Cup of Nations in Ghana 2008.
[3] Both “Esam El Hadary” and “Hosni Abd Rabou” are players in the Egyptian national football team.
[*] you can see a few more photos in here: http://baki-neko.livejournal.com/72265.html