Pakistan and SMS: an inseparable binomial!

Pakistanis are increasingly becoming attracted to SMS facilities and services. Being able to use SMS has become an essential everyday-life need for thousands of Pakistanis. National and international connections amongst Pakistanis, its diaspora communities and foreign actors are however, creating uncomfortable issues as many discuss conspiracy theories through SMS messaging and much of the chatter is about foreign intervention and technological snooping through mobile networks. According to an article posted in the Nation newspaper, the vibrant circulation of SMS in Pakistan is causing the propagation of allegations which is further corroding trust in politicians which is already at an all time low.

The SMS conspiracy theories may provoke criticism and suspicion by many of us. However it is critical to understand the wide impact text messages can have on one nation and its citizens. If these technologies are to be used for social development purposes, real achievements could be made in local development and conflict resolution. Indeed, SMS and text messaging can be used to enhance mutual understanding among different religious or ethnic communities - instead of raging endlessly against politicians. The former would help the financial and social development of countries instead of tearing apart trust in political systems.

Faith Matters, a London based not-for-profit organisation, recently developed an SMS campaign to reduce inter-faith tensions in Pakistan. According to the Project Managers, the campaign has been a real success, as the majority of people responding to the SMS received showed great receptiveness and willingness to solve specific issues affecting the nation by suggesting solutions. Millions of Pakistanis were engaged in this process with over 4-6 million people engaged with and over 100 million SMS text messages were sent in FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas) and AJK (Azad Jammu and Kashmir). Faith Matters also mapped responses at a district level in relation to each message showing which ones resonated in which districts in Pakistan and which did not.

The use of SMS in countries like Pakistan can be a great tool for development. Yet, here is the key problem? It can also be used to promote fear, tensions and mistrust. 

A turning point for Senegal: SMS and innovative mapping technologies to ensure fair and democratic elections

February 2012 has been an innovative year for Senegal and its political processes. The impatiently awaited presidential elections have been monitored nationally and internationally to secure a more just and free result, making sure that no incidents were to be obstructing the democratic process. The not-for-profit organisation One World in partnership with different international organisations set up an innovative technological system that allowed monitoring the elections in real time.

The project included a consortium of officers and analysts collecting and monitoring data coming from different regional polling stations on a national level. The analysed results were then sent to the One World team, who from their London based office mapped the results in real time. This innovative project clearly shows the potential residing in simple communication tools, such as mobile phones. Indeed, the collected data were sent to the UK by using a standard SMS code that could rapidly be analysed and made public.

The mapping system was developed to clearly and publicly show real-time statuses of each regional polling station by using a colour-based coding system: green if the situation was good, shading to red if there were problems reported. Problems could include organisational or logistical issues, as well as incidents of violence, tension or potential attempts to corrupt voters.   

The success of this ground-breaking technique was shown just few hours after the opening of the polls; where about 1021 polling stations were sending information in. As suggested by One World, one of the greatest outcomes of this project has been the possibility to measure the amount, capacity and location of well-functioning polling stations.

The election monitoring through this system proved itself for both rounds of elections and enabled Senegal, as well as the international public, to access the final results in real time. Therefore, Wide World technologies not only have proved to be able to speed up the electoral process, but also to ensure transparent and fair elections.  Indeed real-time monitoring enabled to screen and manipulate potential dysfunctions rapidly.

According to Senegalese citizens the February 2012 elections represented the victory of democracy in Senegal.