Tech for Good by Glean - Tech for Good - Issue 58 - Mar 29th 2021
News
Happy Monday!
I hope your Monday is off to a great start! This week's newsletter is packed full of interesting reads on EdTech, COVID, startups, and equality in tech. Additionally, I've included five new funding opportunities and an amazing job with 500 Startups, based in Singapore.
Have a great week and please let me know if you have any events, funding opportunities, or jobs you'd like to share with this amazing community!
Thanks,
Jesse Orndorff
Tech for Good
EdTech
Successful Low-Tech Educational Solutions in COVID-19 Digital Response
The COVID-19 pandemic paralyzed education systems worldwide; at one point, school closures forced over 1.6 billion learners out of classrooms. While smaller in scale, widespread school closures are not unique to COVID-19: teacher strikes, summer breaks, earthquakes, viruses such as influenza and Ebola, and weather-related events cause schools to close.
ICT4Ag
Teenager aims to develop smart farms to boost productivity
Homeowners can already command the temperature or adjust the lighting of their surroundings thanks to smart-home technology, but one Cambodian startup is looking to improve agricultural productivity through its smart farms.
Agriculture accounts for more than 36 percent of the Kingdom’s gross domestic product and employs in excess of half of its workforce. Innovations in agro-tech can not only improve output, but also improve the livelihoods of farmers, Smart Farms co-founder Sreylin Meng, 19, said.
Startup
Startups Are Great, But Scale-ups Matter Too
While most of Kuala Lumpur is still asleep, the quiet hills of Bandar Muadzam Shah, Pahang begin stirring to life. Loi Tuan Ee’s farmers rise before the break of dawn to tend to his 3000-strong herd, preparing them for their first milking session at 6 AM. The Holstein cows or “ladies”, as Loi calls them, are then mustered along 600-acres of luscious, rolling grasslands to feed for the rest of the day.
COVID
This has been the year of digital grieving
For many, this past year has been a time of unprecedented pain and loss. Those already acquainted with these experiences now find them amplified everywhere they turn. Both in-person and online, the world hangs heavy with grief.
Equality
How to co-create digital solutions with girls
Co-creation and designing with users is an essential part of any digital product development process. Putting end users front and center of the design process to ensure that the digital solution is relevant for them, responds to what they want, and offers an enjoyable user experience. However, intentional efforts are often needed to ensure that girls are included in co-creation activities the same way that boys are. This guide supports innovators and designers in running co-creation sessions with girls. It contains 8 tips and best practices to help teams co-create digital solutions that will meet both boys’ and girls’ needs and realities.
Podcast
Southeast Asia’s Emerging Markets, Post-Pandemic – The Diplomat
Hopes are rising that a COVID-19 vaccine will release Southeast Asian economies from the strangleholds imposed by the pandemic and enable some economic growth over the coming 12 months.
David Totten, managing director of Emerging Markets Consulting (EMC), is optimistic for the longer term but tells Luke Hunt the short and medium term will be bumpy, amid disparities between rich and poorer countries over the rollout of the vaccines.
Events
Global Digital Development Forum
Please RSVP Now for the Global Digital Development Forum on May 5th, 2021, co-organized by USAID, Chemonics, Digital Impact Alliance, IntraHealth International, IREX, TechChange, and Save the Children.
GDDF 2021 will be different from other ICT4D conferences and other online events. We are committed to community-driven sessions that explore digital development challenges and opportunities with four key benefits:
ICT4D Focus: Explore the long-term challenges to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and your opportunities to build an open, inclusive, and secure digital ecosystem for a safer, more prosperous future for us all.
Peer Connections: Join your friends and collaborators from around the world and meet new leaders with emerging ideas, as well as the donors and partners working with them – and you – to leverage technology solutions for greater impact.
Your Ideas: Share your experiences and insights with thousands of other digital development professionals in exciting presentations, lively discussions, and personal conversations across multiple fora.
New Experiences: Expand your concept of an ICT4D conference by joining innovative sessions using emerging tools, music, and virtual worlds to improve on physical interactions with your personal and professional peers.
Jobs
Program Coordinator, Singapore - 500 Startups
This position is a contract role for 6 months, tentatively between April through September. This role will be the key to a successful accelerator program. You will be responsible for the daily success of the program creating a positive experience for all participants. Responsibilities will range from community management to logistical support. You will report to the program manager responsible for the overall program and account management. You will be responsible for performing administrative duties, support with virtual events and remote management. You will be expected to be available at all accelerator and virtual/physical event times scheduled for the duration of the program. You will be interacting with mentors and up-and-coming startups on a daily basis.
Funding
Visa Everywhere Initiative 2021
Get global exposure for your startup or fintech. Enter our competition, featuring $100k in prizes—with the global finals live streamed on TechCrunch. Applications for Asia Pacific are due by June 18th!
Call for Expressions of Interest for at-scale research - EdTech Hub
EdTech Hub is launching a call for proposals for at-scale research investigating EdTech’s role in high potential but low evidence areas in low- and middle-income countries. The purpose of this call is to increase the amount of high-quality research evidence available regarding the impact of technology-based solutions to improve learning and education.
Women's Fund Asia - Strengthening Feminist Movements
The Strengthening Feminist Movements (SFM) grantmaking programme is focused on supporting women, girls, trans, and intersex rights activists, groups, and networks working on the local, subnational, and national levels.
The common threads that run through the grants under this programme are:
- promoting feminist principles and a rights-based perspective in women, girls, trans, and intersex rights work in the region, the key components of which are decisionmaking, agency, and voice; - strengthening the leadership of women, girls (ages 18-24), trans, and intersex people, especially second-line leadership; and - networking and collaborations among groups and activists working at local, subnational, and national levels.
Call for applications to the International Fund for Cultural Diversity (IFCD) is now open
UNESCO will receive applications to the International Fund for Cultural Diversity (IFCD). Established under the 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, the IFCD is a voluntary multi-donor fund which supports the emergence of dynamic cultural sectors in developing countries.
This year, the IFCD joins the celebration of the International Year of the Creative Economy for Sustainable Development by calling for projects that aim to make strong contributions to the creative economy in developing countries that are Parties to the 2005 Convention.
Google.org Impact Challenge for Women and Girls
Let’s empower women and girls to reach their full economic potential and thrive
The Google.org Impact Challenge for Women and Girls commits $25 million to fund organizations creating pathways to prosperity for women and girls. This is an open call for applications, and selected charitable initiatives will receive up to $2 million, as well as opportunities for mentorship and additional support from Google.
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