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.

San Francisco Putting Itself On The Map

P. Barden 

San Francisco is increasingly being referred to as a "truly smart city”, thanks in large part to the introduction of SanFran311: a revolutionary application for reporting local public concerns directly to local government offices - in real time.


The label "smart city" is still somewhat fuzzy. To some its definition rests on the development of a hyper-connected "internet of things" allowing a city to speak to itself, to others an environment driven by opportunities in ICTs to boost local business competitiveness. In the midst of ever-accelerating technological evolution it might be easy to forget to put the human at the centre of urban development. Not so for the case of San Francisco. 

SanFran311, built by the developers HeyGov!, is a sophisticated web and mobile app for citizens to submit, track, and analyse service requests in the city’s 311 non-emergency reporting system. Requests include “Illegal_dumping”, “Pavement_defect”, “Sign_defaced”, or even the very specific “Damaged_Side_Sewer_Vent_Cover”. Pictures can be uploaded at the same time to validate requests.

Reports already suggest that this system has improved community engagement and increased public collaboration, as well as shortened the time taken by the local authority to address service requests and implement updates – “even during peak times” (Forbes, April 29 2012).

The programming for the next Credemus Associates event, Put it on The Map: Smart Cities and Crowdmapping was inspired by this ground-breaking public service. We think this is a monumental game-changer, fundamentally changing the face of local government by giving city residents the ability to upload a huge range of hyper-local service requests in real time.


With SanFran311 for inspiration, we believe the smartest thing about smart cities is smart citizenship - a line of argument this event seeks to explore.

The programme will feature the following speakers:

• Dr Mike Short, President of the Institution of Engineering and Technology & Vice President of Public Affairs at Telefonica International

• Francois Gray, Director of Citizen Cyberscience Centre

• Paul Conneally, Head of Communications & Partnership Promotion at International Telecommunication Union, former Head of Media and Public Communications at International Red Cross

• Esther Gunn-Stewart, North Ayrshire Council Customer Services Manager – developer of “Report It” app

For more information about the event click HERE.

Monitoring Aid and Climate Change on a Map

Two US based organisations, AidData and Climate Change and African Political Stability (CCAPS), have launched a pilot programme developed around a dynamic mapping tool. 

The aim of this platform is to help people visualising African climate change, conflict and aid through the support of an interactive map.

This tool not only allows policymakers to analyse data on a wide and varied scale, but can also enable a deeper understanding of factors influencing aid, as well as a broader share of good practices among interested parties.

The integration of a mapping system within climate change and conflict resolution projects represents a great way to effectively present both natural and social changes that would otherwise be difficult to track.

Ashley Moran from CCPAS confirmed that although the pilot is still at its initial stage, the organisation is working to develop further applications around crowdsourcing in international development.

The greatest merit of this tool is that it increases disaster response capacity by enhancing a two way communication with citizens, who constantly input with their feedback and contributions.

Our suggestion: UK based NGOs should start looking at the potential embedded within these tools.

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Iran - Double Standards

MTN Group has denied allegations made by US-based lobbying group Uani that it bought technology that allowed the Iranian government to track mobile users, saying in a letter to the lobbyists that its Iranian unit is compliant with all laws, Dow Jones Newswires has reported. The claim was made in a letter to MTN's CEO in January. Similar claims have been made of Huawei and Nokia. However the Lawful Interception Management System is a feature of mobile network architecture, mandated by the US Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA). 

Zain Mobile Signs up for Windows SmartPhones

Microsoft and Zain are co-operating to promote Windows Smartphones in the Middle East, the Kuwait-based telco said in a statement issued on Sunday. The deal was struck last week in Barcelona.

It is planned to launch Windows Phone software later this year, jointly with smartphone devices from selected manufacturers, which will be targeted at businesses and consumers in Zain’s mobile operations in Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and South Sudan.

It is envisaged that the partnership will permit the development of an applications ecosystem within Zain’s mobile network, facilitating developers to create and publish applications for the marketplace.

Nabeel Bin Salamah, CEO of Zain Group noted that, ‘the smartphone has become a necessary item in today’s society…’. Gustavo Fuchs, Microsoft Mobility Director, Middle East and Africa said that the growth of smartphones is fuelling the global mobile market. He quoted research house International Data Corporation (IDC) as having forecast that the Windows Phone will have the second largest share of the smartphone market by 2015.

He noted the growth of smartphones in the region with a prediction of 38 percent year-on-year growth for 2012.  

Successful Conference Launch on the Use of Mobiles in Community Development

Credemus Associates launched the successful conference entitled 'The World in the Palm of Your Hands:SMS and Mobile Communications.' The conference took place on Friday the 2nd of March at the premises of DLA Piper in Central London and Ken Banks and Hadjo Van Beijma of Frontline SMS and TexttoChange talked about the possibility of creating local sustainable communication projects in Africa using SMS. They discussed maximising messages by linking SMS dissemination to radio programmes and other community messaging systems. The Founder of Credemus Associates, Fiyaz Mughal OBE also talked about the use of SMS in countering extremism in Pakistan that had been undertaken between 2010 - 2012. He spoke about the opportunities that SMS and mobile engagement provide such as giving rich data on public opinion in real time and in snapshots at specific times. Fiyaz also went onto talk about the work that Faith Matters (www.faith-matters.org) had undertaken in Pakistan on assessing public opinion using SMS immediately after the killing of Usama Bin Laden. The findings he suggested, were startling.

All three social entrepreneurs talked about the cheapness of using SMS which they effectively utilised using existing mobile networks and they also discussed health programmes that were developed on the back of the use of SMS. The use of SMS to check whether women were aware of their HIV status in Uganda was one programme for example that was undertaken by TexttoChange with over 90% of the women surveyed being aware of their HIV status. Compare that to the UK and it puts us all to shame!

The conference also provided participants with a strong insight into the use of social media and ensuring that messages are synergised using different social media sources. The conference rounded up with a panel discussion on the future direction of mobile use on community development work and the need to develop a space in the UK where such issues could be discussed. The good practice around SMS and mobile engagement with communities was highlighted at length and provided participants with plenty of good examples of work that they could undertake in this arena to increase innovation and community penetration. The future looks good; the future is certainly mobile!