This thesis project investigates ways in which technology can help eliminate the existing layers and bureaucracies separating between those who have, those who need and those who can actually deliver to developing nations. Indigi-Net is a service aimed at creating more meaningful connections between independent travelers and local entities in developing countries by facilitating exchange possibilities between the two. The service takes advantage of technology to help empower locals in developing nations and support these connections made when travelers visit the third world.

Indigi-Net is a service aimed at creating more meaningful connections between independent travelers and local entities in developing countries by facilitating service and skill exchanges between the two. Indigi-Net takes advantage of technology to help empower locals in developing nations and support these connections made when travelers visit the third world. The service supports a grassroots movement of socially aware travelers, resulting from a change in perspective. Every year millions of people[1] strap on a backpack and go off to see and be part of the world. They visit small villages and remote locations. No one wants to be just a tourist, and many often wish they could do something that could both connect them in a more substantial way to local people and in a way be helpful for local communities which they visit. I see these explorers as a potential distribution system of needed resources and information - a perpetual and sturdy link between the remote and the urban, the developed and the third world. Each person has different skills and knowledge that can be used to the local community’s advantage. Backpackers are also usually “armed” with mobile phones and cameras, amongst other devices, which enable for both data storage and telecommunications.

Indigi-Net focuses around three main possibilities for exchange: knowledge, skills and conversation. I believe that each traveler can use his distinct skill-set and strength to the benefit of the local communities he visits. This provides foreign visitors a way to leave behind a more meaningful contribution. There are endless possible ways to help while traveling. Having a conversation in English with a local student can be rewarding for both sides. A traveler can directly benefit local artists by uploading photographs taken while traveling, and posting information to help promote their products. One can show a local businessman how to use Microsoft Word to his advantage, how to format a formal letter to a potential lender, or even the proper method of labeling an invoice. Whoever is interested can help paint the decaying walls of a preschool’s playground. The possibilities are endless, and every person can find a way to contribute somehow. The idea is to have a global repository of local initiatives on the Indigi-Net website, available for browsing and updating. Information is fed to the system either from local entities or from travelers who visit these areas. As a result, instead of simply bringing candy and chocolates, it will be possible to gather enough information from the site, providing users with relevant information on exchange opportunities while traveling.

More than 80% of the world's population is covered by the GSM cellular networks[2], and more than 2 billion people own a mobile phone. Indigi-Net takes advantage of this increasing penetration of the cellular networks, by merging a mobile phone based service with the capabilities that online social networking has in connecting between people with similar interests. It is a powerful tool, which is accessible, inexpensive and simple to use. This results in a lower entry barrier, enabling active participation even from those who do not have internet access, or are computer illiterate. Indigi-Net's underlying goal is to empower local communities by facilitating their ability to post and edit data regarding their initiatives online. By letting locals post their own information regarding initiatives, it is possible to take the existing status one step further. In the case of this service, technology is used as a tool to encourage real-life physical connections and interaction to occur between locals and travelers, and will be made as transparent as possible.

Image 1 : A visual taken from the Indigi-Net website

[1] World Bank Tourism statistics

[2] From a report by the World Bank and the GSM Association: http://www.gsmworld.com/universalaccess/index.shtml

When implementing IT related projects in rural locations around the world, throwing technology at the local communities in what is called the “parachuting approach”, is quite common. This method does not take into account social aspects and cultural differences in technological implementations.[3] Implementation of technology is rather a social matter, not only a physical one. Some refer to a “parasite approach”, or parasiting (in contrast to parachuting), where the new technology almost acts like a parasite in the community. It makes its entry with a meager presence, growing and becoming more and more refined as time goes by. Physical implementation is just the first stage of the social implementation, which takes into account a two-way cycle of operation between the technology developers and the local communities.

Independent travelers are usually technology savvy and most of them own mobile phones. Many of them go back and forth between the more urban, central regions and the remote, rural areas. I see much potential in taking advantage of this already existing network of people who are “armed” with technology know-hows and diverse ranges of personal knowledge.

I see this gap as a very clear opportunity, or so called feedback loop, in network terms. It is an opportunity to enhance the traveling experience on the one hand by making it more engaging, educational while reaching out to the needs of local communities and entities. Moreover, this system can take advantage of people’s knowledge and familiarity with technology, as an access method to allow for a more meaningful way of information and service exchange; a physical world extension to some of the services we take for granted by having unlimited access to the web.

[3] An interesting study by Norio Okada from the Disaster Prevention Research Institute in Kyoto University on implementation of IT based systems in rural Japan supports this argument. It can be found online at:

http://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/APCITY/UNPAN020323.pdf

I dream of Indigi-Net expanding as a global and actively updated repository of data on local initiatives and exchange opportunities in developing countries. The millions of travelers who roam these areas on a yearly basis would be able to consult this information before heading out on their adventures, similar to the way a Lonely Planet guidebook is used. Whole trips could be planned around ‘where I could do what’ for a local cause. With the existing structure of travel-volunteering opportunities, it is unbelievably difficult to gather valid and updated information, especially before visiting a third world country. Backpackers and independent travelers visit and will keep visiting these locations. 99% of them take photos and growing number write online trip journals. All this data holds the potential to be used for promotion of local causes. Just by writing about a local organization and uploading that text to an online space, it is possible to raise awareness to problems that a community faces. By promoting their initiatives it is possible to get many more people to help them out. This can be seen as a form of micro-philanthropy, allowing foreign travelers to take part in small yet meaningful actions while visiting a country.

I see travelers as agents of change, being able to engage with their hosting communities instead of taking the passive role of viewers. My hypothesis is that with increasing local information coming from these areas, the connections made between those who have, those who need and those who can get it there could have a long-lasting positive effect on locals, communities, travelers and non-governmental organizations.

The immediate project goals for this thesis project are listed below. If successful, this will serve as a proof of concept, which can then be magnified on a much larger scale.

• Focus on a simple, grassroots solution using technology. Prove that a bottoms-up method can also serve as a solution to help lessen the imbalance caused by travel and generally the tourism industry.[4]
• Make sure the system is sustainable and aimed at truly empowering local communities. Finding representatives from the local communities who are willing to participate is a key factor for testing usability of such a system.
• Use technology as a facilitator, and not as the main focus of this service.
• Simple and cheap to use: the system must be affordable for locals as well as travelers in developing countries.
• Use this written paper as the base-line structure for a grant proposal in order to continue this project either at a university setting, or through a business venture.
• Develop a presentation to promote the idea with possible partner organizations such as airline carriers, Kiva and Lonely Planet, amongst others.

[4] More information regarding some of the faults of the tourism industry can be found in the ‘background research’ section of this paper.

Growing up in Israel was rewarding, yet required a certain amount of cynicism, in order to deal with the intense daily situations, which at the time, did not seem like anything out of the ordinary. I have many vivid memories from those times - young school kids carrying gas masks on their way to school along with the mix of excitement and fear when I was drafted to the IDF. I remember a period when I would carefully choose a seat as I boarded a bus, calculating where I would be harmed least if a suicide bomber decided to detonate. No physical object feels heavier than the weight of a wasted life hanging over a fallen soldier’s funeral. I try to go back to my high school for its Memorial Day ceremony to respect those who cannot be there, and I do not feel fear, but acceptance because this situation is regular, therefore normal. I accept not because I agree with it, but because I have no other choice.

Because I want to live a normal life.

Israel is a country surrounded by borders and walls. For many years the Israeli media masterfully painted a picture of our enemies from the other side of the borders, as evil, barely human. When presented with numbers and statistics, you forget that real people actually make up the figures. But walls do come down when people get together and discover their common grounds. Then it is possible to minimize the differences and appreciate a shared sense of community.

Current day technologies such as the web and mobile phone networks give us the ability to leap over the walls, penetrate through political boundaries and connect as human beings. These prevalent ways of communication can accommodate the creation and continuation of dialogue. Politicians have always had a stage from which to speak to the world. Now regular people can tell their own powerful stories to a worldwide audience. These tools carry the potential to empower people to choose to make a difference and not to live with the silent acceptance anymore.

It is my generation’s duty to find a way to help get these stories out. This is not just a dream, but becoming reality. Last summer, Israeli and Lebanese bloggers wrote web-posts together, criticizing the war that tore all of their homes to shreds. When enough Palestinians have the ability to post their thoughts online, maybe then both sides of the wall will be able to realize that everyone has similar wishes: a chance to celebrate family dinners or to go for picnics at the beach.

But technology alone is not a solution, it is a tool.

Standing on this bridge between cultures gives me perspective to see a potential for these walls to come down. I have lived in East Asia for almost half my life, and have been fortunate to travel extensively throughout the area. I am constantly fascinated by this new merger that is happening between culture and technology; the adaptation and creative uses of it. When comparing between access opportunities in the Western World and those in developing countries, the differences are astounding. Most of the world’s population does not enjoy the benefits of having this bottomless pit of information at their disposal. Within a minute we have the ability to create a post that is seen worldwide, describing a physical item or piece of knowledge that we seek. It is significantly harder for people in the third world to express their needs, even just within the boundaries of their own province. Moreover, most online representation of these communities is usually biased, outdated or probably non-existent. Creating possible solutions to alleviate this gap, even in the slightest way, is a true challenge, which I gladly take on for my thesis project.

I believe it is essential to get real stories and information out not via traditional media channels, but with innovative technology based initiatives. Expand the outreach for people who don’t read newspapers, using alternative social networking services like flickr, RSS feeds, myspace, and so on. It is important to put a human face on problems, and not just count numbers. There is a famous Hebrew saying - “for each person there is a name”. It is frequently used in reference to the WWII Holocaust. We say names and not just numbers in search of a more meaningful way to grasp both tragedy and hope.

I hope to continue and explore ways in which my facility with technology and photography can help make more of these connections possible; a grassroots possibility for direct links between people in the developed and the developing, the first and the third worlds. We need to take advantage of available web tools and the mobile networks to eliminate intermediary layers, for this direct contact to be simpler and affordable. I see the potential for local difficulties to be worked through as a result ofthem being shown and known to the world at large.

I have been fortunate to have had many travel opportunities throughout my life, always learning and absorbing as much as I could while on the road. Usually I choose a more independent method of travel, and aim to make as many local connections as I can. Many times I have wondered if there was a true way for exchange to occur, not in a superficial way, but by filling an existing need, using my skills or background.

Travelers are a close community. Even though they span across different people from all over the world, once you visit a foreign location, and meet someone else who has been there, an immediate base-line connection exists.

While traveling, I have witnessed the impact of fast-paced development in these areas, which are trying to catch up with modern technology and the western world. I strongly believe that everyone deserves to have that choice. I choose not to have internet connection at home. That choice is powerful, and I feel lucky to have it, acknowledging that most of the world cannot even understand the importance of that statement.

It is impossible to estimate how and if this project will be useful, until users put it to actual use. Margaret Mead, a renowned anthropologist, once wrote “Never doubt the power of a small group of committed people to change the world. That's about the only way it has ever happened in the past”. Even more so today, with the web, finding this core group of fanatic users is an absolute necessity for the success of a project. That is a challenge that will definitely continue after the period of this thesis project at ITP.