Background and Concept for a Technology Peace Corps

1. Background and Concept for aTechnology Peace Corps Mel SiegelThe Robotics InstituteSchool of Computer ScienceCarnegie Mellon UniversityIT4B Course – 2003 Dec 03 IT4B Technology Peace Corps Lecture

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3. outline • survey "Technology Peace Corps" concept • place in context of early and current“Peace Corps” activities and philosophies • compare and contrast with other volunteer or low-pay programs • UN's • other countries and international organizations • illustrated with case of Ghana "then and now" • overview of the e2WEHAB concept and proposal IT4B Technology Peace Corps Lecture

4. history … • John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps (1961) “to promote world peace and friendship”. • Three goals comprise its explicit mission: • Helping the people of interested countries to meet their needs for trained men and women. • Helping promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served. • Helping promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of all Americans. IT4B Technology Peace Corps Lecture

5. … history • Kennedy appointed his brother-in-law Sargent Shriver (Arnold Schwarzenegger’s father-in-law) first Peace Corps Director • planning, recruiting, and training began by executive order before Congress provided funding (on “Joe Kennedy’s Am Ex card”) • first group left US for Ghana (after training at Berkeley) on September 1, 1961 • see link: http://www.archives.gov/... IT4B Technology Peace Corps Lecture

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7. key concept • each volunteer lives at the same level as his/her “host country counterpart” • but local Peace Corps organization provides additional health monitoring and care • and additional cash (in local currency) for educational travel during vacations etc • see the classic: “Living Poor: A Peace Corps Chronical”, Moritz Thomsen IT4B Technology Peace Corps Lecture

8. typical assignments • teaching: mostly secondary school, some primary school, university, professional • and a lot of English as Second Language • agricultural technology and economics • fish farming is a very common sort of project • resource development, e.g., geology • health care and issues: family planning, AIDS, malaria, schistosomiasis, etc IT4B Technology Peace Corps Lecture

9. record • ~150,000 returned volunteers (RPCVs) • annual budget currently ~$275M • ~ 1.7% of annual foreign aid budget • ~ 0.1% of annual DoD budget • 42 years of Peace Corps  1 week of DoD • RPCVs represented substantially out-of-proportion in Senate, Congress, executive branches, World Bank, journalism, etc • as are their students in the countries served IT4B Technology Peace Corps Lecture

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11. other “Peace Corp” programs • United Nations Volunteers • see http://www.unv.org/ • World Volunteer Web • see http://www.worldvolunteerweb.org/ • International Volunteer Organization • see http://www.nymouse.org/international-volunteer-organization.shtml • Israel Forum for Internat. Humanitarian Aid • see http://www.israaid.org.il • Global Volunteer Network (New Zealand) • see http://www.volunteer.org.nz/ IT4B Technology Peace Corps Lecture

12. IT & developing nations • personal observation: with the emergence of the internet as a critical tool for research and communication, academics in developing nations are worse off than they were 40 years ago relative to their counterparts in developed nations! • print journals and paper mail were of more-or-less equal quality and availability everywhere • now dismal internet connectivity in developing nations cuts them out of main stream research IT4B Technology Peace Corps Lecture

13.  problem opportunity solution  IT4B Technology Peace Corps Lecture

14. UN Johannesburg Agenda • WORLD SUMMIT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT (WSSD), August 2002 • WEHAB • water and sanitation • energy • health and environment • agriculture • biodiversity and ecosystem management • see http://www.johannesburgsummit.org/html/documents/wehab_papers.html IT4B Technology Peace Corps Lecture

15. window of opportunity • to install comprehensive IT infrastructure (“dark fiber”) while labor is still cheap • to create, operate, and maintain national information grids at affordable costs • but how to link them to the global grid? • relatively small volume of person-to-person communication is affordable with a little help • relatively large volume of data-to-researcher storage and look-up can be handled by mirror sites based on exchange of hard disks IT4B Technology Peace Corps Lecture

16. water and sanitation IT4B Technology Peace Corps Lecture

17. energy IT4B Technology Peace Corps Lecture

18. health and environment IT4B Technology Peace Corps Lecture

19. agriculture IT4B Technology Peace Corps Lecture

20. biodiversity IT4B Technology Peace Corps Lecture

21. CMU extends it to e2WEHAB • education and e-technologyapplied to issues in the WEHAB agenda • achieve via a Technology Peace Corps • academic study/research at senior undergrad, masters degree, maybe PhD graduate levels • collaboration with host country counterpart students in participating developing nations • both distance- and overseas-collaboration IT4B Technology Peace Corps Lecture

22. education IT4B Technology Peace Corps Lecture

23. e-technology IT4B Technology Peace Corps Lecture

24. e2WEHAB proposal • context-appropriate information and communication technology (ICT) • providing education and e-technology • that supports sustainable development • of water, energy, health, agriculture, and biodiversity (WEHAB) • in selected developing nations • via a Technology Peace Corps IT4B Technology Peace Corps Lecture

25. basic research hypothesis • the “Peace Corps approach” • i.e., one-on-one training of a student-volunteer’s host-country counterpart • adding high-quality internet connections • between the volunteer and the counterpart during training and reporting phases • between the academic advisor and student-volunteer during overseas program phases • is more effective than conventional approaches to sustainable development IT4B Technology Peace Corps Lecture

26. practical service component • develop, implement, and deploy sustained economic development projects • in at least one Asian and one African country during the pilot phase, e.g., • Ghana • Sri Lanka IT4B Technology Peace Corps Lecture

27. deliverables • basic ICT research results • practical contributions to sustained economic development projects • training of approximately 60 American student-volunteers • in the intersection of ICT and sustained economic development • and training of approximately 120 counterparts in developing nations IT4B Technology Peace Corps Lecture

28. technical challenges … • low cost systems and software • hardware reliability in harsh climates • minimal indigenous maintenance capability • software robustness in environments with limited access to support expertise • providing low cost, easily deployed, easily integrated sensors for monitoring functions IT4B Technology Peace Corps Lecture

29. … technical challenges • supporting environments with low levels of literacy and rare local languages • reliable performance in the absence of a reliable power grid • high-bandwidth high-reliability wireless communication at all geographical scales IT4B Technology Peace Corps Lecture

30. approach • Our approach to e2WEHAB is modeled on the success of the US Peace Corps as a proven low-cost and effective means for communicating practical sustainable knowledge and skills between the developed and the developing worlds. We say “between ... and” vs. “from ... to” to emphasize that the basic Peace Corps model of pairing an American volunteer with a “host country counterpart” of similar age and sophistication assures a bi-directional transfer of knowledge and skills that ultimately benefits the developed nation, i.e., the US, as much as the developing nation. IT4B Technology Peace Corps Lecture

31. implementation … • the pilot program tests the hypothesis that ICT-intensive sustained economic development programs are more effective than traditional programs • approximately 60 student-volunteers in 60 development projects • individually tailored projects of typically15-18 month duration IT4B Technology Peace Corps Lecture

32. … implementation … • small enough that only minimal administrative infrastructure is required • big enough to generate meaningful data • big enough to permit deciding whether effectiveness is local or apparently global • local: works in some specific regions • apparently global: seems like it should workin any developing nation IT4B Technology Peace Corps Lecture

33. … implementation … • each student-volunteer is enrolled in an established CMU academic program • student-volunteer selection based on assessed • ability to learn and teach cutting edge ICT technology • participate in basic research • work productively in an overseas project • student-volunteer receives interdisciplinary faculty supervision and advice IT4B Technology Peace Corps Lecture

34. … implementation … • student-volunteer works side-by-side with a host country counterpart • physically side-by-side during overseas phases • remotely side-by-side via high-quality internet link during on-campus phases • individually tailored projects of typically 15-18 month duration • Masters Degree at end of program makes it attractive for undergraduates • interdisciplinary research potential makes it attractive for graduate students. IT4B Technology Peace Corps Lecture

35. … implementation • faculty advisors receive benefit of publishing in interdisciplinary research area • faculty honoraria only if supplementary foundation support is obtained IT4B Technology Peace Corps Lecture

36. contrasts • critical contrasts with “classical” Peace Corps programs: • volunteers must start with substantialtechnical expertise • ongoing ICT-based support • from faculty advisor to volunteerwhen volunteer is in the field • from volunteer to host country counterpartwhen volunteer is at CMU • volunteer receives academic credit forhis/her contribution and experience IT4B Technology Peace Corps Lecture

37. project scenario … • water + sensors: • humans are not good water safety sensors • bad looking, smelling, tasting water can be safe • clear, odorless, tasteless water can be deadly • semiconductor, MEMS, and other sensing technologies have been demonstrated, but extensive software support is needed for • installation and maintenance instruction • automatic calibration and drift compensation • distributed environmental monitoring networks IT4B Technology Peace Corps Lecture

38. … project scenario … • energy + off-grid capability • inhospitable climates and terrain lead to frequent outages in many developing nations • nodes in an electric power grid require external power to recover from outages • hence grid management requires substantial human intelligence or excellent AI capability • ICT physically independent of grid and power line right-of-way integrity enhances reliability • software and hardware challenges to • sustain ICT in difficult environment • employ ICT to manage the difficulties IT4B Technology Peace Corps Lecture

39. … project scenario … • health + literacy and language • low levels of literacy and rare local languages challenge attempts to deliver health care • low cost ICT needed to provide • high quality translation • concept-to-concept vs. word-to-wordwhen local language lacks necessary words • voice-to-voice communication • pressing health care needs drive applications • e.g., AIDS awareness and prevention IT4B Technology Peace Corps Lecture

40. … project scenario … • agriculture + wireless communication • wireless support for “just in time” agriculture • timely response to unexpected weather, pests, etc • an edge that transforms marginal commodity markets into lucrative specialty markets • reduce worldwide dependence on over-localizedproduction of essential agricultural products • promotes return to diverse mix of varietiesvs. current concentration on monotypes • more interesting, more healthful, and genetically much more robust IT4B Technology Peace Corps Lecture

41. … project scenario … • biodiversity + environmental computing • monitoring, management, and re-introduction of biodiversity into environments damaged by • deforestation • overgrazing • monoculture • ICT and robotic support for automation of • wildlife detection, identification, and census • plant census and life-cycle monitoring • microbiological analysis of soil and water IT4B Technology Peace Corps Lecture

42. impact • for the US: experience and training of Americans in sustainable development • potential extension to domestic programs • for developing nations: impact of projects, on-going work of host country nationals • developing international collegial relationships • for the ICT field: methodology and results of project and volunteer evaluations • validation of technological approaches IT4B Technology Peace Corps Lecture

43. wrap up • contrary to expectations, move to internet-based communication and publication may be widening the academic gap between developed and developing nations • we have a technological model for closing it • it requires substantially raising the level of ICT capability in the developing nations • accomplish it via a “Peace Corps” model • instantiate it on the UN WEHAB agenda IT4B Technology Peace Corps Lecture