IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2017 - 5

president's message

Paul Cunningham

Operationalizing
SSIT's 5 Pillars

EEE Society on S o -
cial Implications of
Technology volun-
teers a re ma k ing
significant progress
in many areas. This month I will
briefly discuss SSIT Pillar 1, which
is dedicated to Sustainable Devel-
opment and Humanitarian Tech-
nology. Sustainable development
is often defined as an approach to
economic development that signifi-
cantly reduces and eventually elimi-
nates the consumption of natural
resources. Humanitarian technolo-
gies are defined as the use of mobile
and social media to assist in circum-
stances related to humanitarian relief
efforts and disaster recovery.
SSIT is actively involved in rel-
evant conferences such as IST-Africa
Week (Region 8) and the IEEE Global
Humanitarian Technology Confer-
ence (GTHC) (Region 6), and is inter-
ested in developing relationships
with similar conferences in other
regions around the world. SSIT can
contribute compelling keynote speak-
ers and panelists who can share the-
matic expertise, research results, and
practitioner based insight.
SSIT continues to build our bench
of Distinguished Lecturers (DLs).
Remember that SSIT DLs do not
have to be based in the same region
as the national or regional meet-
ing or conference at which they will
be invited to speak. If a speaker is
traveling a long distance, please
consider organizing an "SSIT DL
Roadshow," with one or two public
lectures complementing a confer-
ence keynote or panel, so as to maxi-

I

Pillar 1: Sustainable Development and
Humanitarian Technology
mize impact and strengthen SSIT
brand awareness.
The SSIT Special Interest Group
on Humanitarian Technology (SIGHT)
that I established in 2015 now includes
staff along with increasing numbers
of post-graduate students from Uni-
versity of Gondor (Ethiopia), Strath-
more University (Kenya), Chancellor
College (Malawi) and Nelson Mandela
University (South Africa). SIGHT car-
ried out a needs assessment that
identified digital literacy and infra-
structural challenges in rural and
deep rural clinics and in primary and
secondary schools as local priorities.
We subsequently secured support
from the IEEE Humanitarian Activi-
ties Committee (HAC) to purchase
computing and communications
infrastructure for the first phase of 10
clinics in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Malawi.
A digital skills literacy, maintenance,
and application training program is cur-
rently being developed by SSIT SIGHT
members for implementation during
May and June 2017, in parallel with the
installation of touch screen laptops,
WiFi routers, and tablets by univer-
sity staff and students. A subsequent
phase of activities will target delivery
of health school programs and digital
literacy training at schools in close prox-
imity to participating healthcare clinics.

Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MTS.2017.2693339
Date of publication: 8 June 2017

June 2017

∕

IEEE Technology and Society Magazine

Call for Volunteers
SSIT volunteer opportunities related
to sustainable development and
humanitarian technology include:
■ Join your SSIT Chapter Commit-
tee to operationalize local activity
■ Volunteer to host SSIT Distin-
guished Lecturers (DL)
■ Submit relevant articles or review
submissions to T&S Magazine
■ Review submissions to the annual
IEEE International Symposium on
Technology and Society (ISTAS),
SSIT's flagship event, or to other
SSIT supported conferences such as
IEEE Ethics and IST-Africa Week.
Finally, with the discounted mem-
bership available at this time of year,
there has never been a better time to
encourage respected peers (including
students and young professionals) to
join SSIT. Note that currently IEEE
student members worldwide are
offered a $4 per year rate to add
SSIT to their membership.

Author Information
Paul M Cunningham, 2017-2018
IEEE-SSIT President, is President &
CEO, IIMC (Ireland); Director, IST-
Africa Institute (www.IST-Africa.org);
and Visiting Senior Fellow, Wrexham
t r University. Email: pcunning
Glyndw
ham@ieee.org.

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http://www.IST-Africa.org
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2017
