Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JUNE 30, 2014

We see it as a milestone in our continuing effort to better serve our current users as well as the larger community involved in human rights documentation, including journalists and citizen reporters. You can read more about Martus 4.5 in the post by our VP of Human Rights Enrique Piracés on Benetech’s Blog.

Literacy 164

Literacy Journal Open Source Digital 164

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

NOVEMBER 25, 2013

It wasn’t until 1993, when a reconstruction of these events by American journalist Mark Danner first appeared in The New Yorker , that the full story of the El Mozote massacre was brought to light and sent shock waves through the international community. To help you understand it better, let me pick it up where I left off, back in 1993.

Burma 168

Burma Analysis Guatemala Law 168

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JUNE 9, 2014

Investing in education has an incredible multiplier effect as it leads to increased prosperity not just for individuals, but also for their communities and societies. But the 2014 Global Philanthropy Forum clearly highlighted the role that the philanthropic community can play in affecting this shift. It provides returns for decades.

Education 164

Education Philanthropy Africa Foundation 164

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

OCTOBER 29, 2018

Under Betsy’s guidance, Benetech is developing new software for social good enterprises to connect communities with inclusive technology: Service Net: Reshaping the social safety net in human services to better connect people to the services they need. Our board and I are looking forward to Betsy leading Benetech to even greater impact.

News 189

News Syria Conservancy eBook 189

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

MARCH 10, 2014

These stories about the needs in our communities are data points of real, positive change. A case in point comes from our human rights team, who works with a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) organization based in a country where the LGBT community faces a hostile social climate and state-sanctioned harassment.

Data 168

Data Classroom Measure Accessibility 168

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

MARCH 13, 2014

To make strong security accessible to the community involved in human rights documentation, we developed Martus —a free, open source, secure tool for collecting and managing sensitive information. They are based in a country where the LGBT community faces a hostile social climate and state-sanctioned harassment.

Data 176

Data Empowerment United States Government 176

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

APRIL 20, 2013

Remarks Here are my remarks to the Leadership Conference on receiving the Migel Medal from Carl Augusto and Paul Schroeder of AFB: It’s a great honor to address the leadership of this field, and receive the Migel Medal in recognition of our shared commitment to service to the community of people who are blind or visually impaired.

eBook 221

eBook Award Copyright Syria 221

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

MARCH 28, 2014

Idea Two: Disrupting the Prevention of Blindness in Rural Communities Andrew Bastawrous is an ophthalmologist and TED Fellow. Normally, I listen with appreciation when TED prizes are announced and people in the community jump up to offer help. Worth some thought: I’ll stick that idea into the Benetech Labs hopper !

Ideas 223

Ideas Kenya Brain Software 223

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

OCTOBER 27, 2014

To continue to provide our services, and to explore new ways in which targeted technological applications could address unmet needs of disadvantaged communities, we definitely need your help. Our work is made possible thanks to the generosity of our supporters. Thank you for your support! This post also appeared on the Benetech blog.

Challenge 144

Challenge eBook Social Ohio 144

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

NOVEMBER 29, 2012

Each of these partners has established deployments, an active community and a demonstrated history of creating transformative impact.

International 209

International San Francisco Open Source Global 209

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

OCTOBER 12, 2011

Trachoma has been around f or thousands of years, but as the result of development and targeted interventions, it is now limited to an estimated 57 countries, often affecting poor, rural communities that lack the tools for basic hygiene, clean water and adequate sanitation. The good news is that trachoma can effectively be eliminated.

Ghana 165

Ghana Tanzania Kenya Africa 165

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

SEPTEMBER 16, 2014

Our wonderful volunteers kicking off the Team-Up for Textbooks initiative Here’s the idea: through targeted outreach to parents, schools, and community partners, our staff members are recruiting volunteer teams to proofread student requested textbooks.

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Student Volunteer Team Help 171

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

FEBRUARY 1, 2013

Last November, Mayrie ReNae, a beloved colleague and part of our Bookshare extended community, passed away after a battle with cancer. In September 2012, Benetech honored Mayrie as our Contributor of the Quarter and saluted her exceptional service to the Bookshare community. Sadly, a month later, Mayrie passed away.

Teen 129

Teen Cancer Volunteer Accessibility 129

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

FEBRUARY 27, 2013

With support from stakeholders in the education, technology, publishing, student, parent, and volunteer communities, Benetech changed that reality. By partnering with the Bookshare community, we reinvented the traditional library for people with print disabilities and brought modern ebook technology to this underserved community.

Develop 144

Develop Social Library eBook 144

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

SEPTEMBER 4, 2014

We’re excited to see Y Combinator admitting some nonprofit teams into their program , but their focus is still on cultivating a community of top-end entrepreneurs for a relatively short period of time. The scaling up of the companies happens outside the incubator, which is busy recruiting and incubating a fresh crop of new entrepreneurs.

Technology 163

Technology Profit Application Method 163

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

FEBRUARY 20, 2011

The campaign, which is currently underway, protects coral reefs in Southern Guam by influencing local communities to prevent and report wildland fires in order to reduce harmful sedimentation. “We Elaina also proposed the introduction of a hotline for community members to report fire violations and a fire violation citations program.

Guam 124

Guam Conservancy Software Help 124

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

MARCH 14, 2012

All of us at Benetech felt that it was absolutely essential to once again rely on our user community as we plan how to utilize these limited resources most effectively. When Benetech first began designing Martus, we began by incorporating input from human rights partners on the frontline.

Global 157

Global Group Thailand Burma 157

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

MARCH 29, 2016

Communities that most need our help are often the least able to afford it. Silicon Valley is an incredible force for change. Unfortunately, the economic model that works so well for creating wealth, falls short when it comes to helping the poor. That’s why Benetech is organized as a nonprofit: we can afford to work on exciting problems.

Money 100

Money Children Problem Model 100

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

DECEMBER 13, 2015

I liked this quote: In addition to enabling students with disabilities to use content and participate in activities, the concepts also apply to accommodating the individual learning needs of students, such as English language learners, students in rural communities, or students from economically disadvantaged homes.

Education 100

Education National Technology Student 100

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

SEPTEMBER 13, 2008

ZeroDivide Background ZeroDivide invests in community enterprises that leverage technology to benefit people in low-income and other underserved communities. Since our inception in 1998, almost $50 million has been invested through us in overcoming community-building barriers. But access to technology is just the starting point.

San Francisco 100

San Francisco California Philanthropy Director 100

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

MARCH 8, 2017

And, we increasingly have to realize that parking that data openly with corporations that are susceptible to government pressure is not honoring our commitment to the communities we serve.

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Facebook Nigeria Amazon Government 186

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

SEPTEMBER 19, 2017

because we rely on the community to build the digital library. We have baseline funding to sustain the core platform: we can serve the rest of the world for less than it costs to deliver the service in the U.S. Helping people with disabilities, especially those who are blind, is a social issue of biblical proportions.

Global 109

Global eBook Library United States 109

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JANUARY 18, 2012

Like almost all libraries, we're scrupulous in following the law, because we're serving incredibly important communities. Copyright hawks like Rupert Murdoch and the MPAA have attacked this movement as being for piracy, against jobs, and dangerous. But, we're not for piracy.

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Site Copyright Wikipedia Law 185

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

DECEMBER 5, 2009

Most of this community doesn’t have access to formal education, most of this community doesn’t have access to jobs and most of this community isn’t recognized by larger society as equals. The status quo is that people with print disabilities are experiencing a book famine. And famines have consequences.

Copyright 158

Copyright Comment Proposal Accessibility 158

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

DECEMBER 17, 2009

So, your effort to address the needs of your community through a new water or sanitation project is going to be evaluated by a group of people who have been through doing the same thing in their communities. Get this: the funding decisions on their new clean water projects are made by peer project leaders.

India 113

India Map Proposal Project 113

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

MAY 10, 2013

Senator, helped launch the Peace Corps and led the Corporation for National and Community Service. He was President of two colleges and Pennsylvania’s Secretary of Labor and Industry. He served as a U.S. Last February, Sen. Wofford received the 2012 Presidential Citizens Medal from President Obama for his seven decades of public service.

Technology 172

Technology India Washington America 172

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JUNE 11, 2015

If the code is public and freely available for review, then the end-users, their experts, and the open source community at large can verify that the software does exactly what it claims to do and that there are no “back doors.” At Benetech, we believe that collaboration and community best help deliver strong security.

Open Source 100

Open Source Open Software License 100

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

FEBRUARY 25, 2015

Chuck and Jerry Colonna hosted a reception at Boulder’s Impact Hub (such a cool organization, I am a founding member of the San Francisco Impact Hub) to connect me with the tech community in Boulder. I’m looking forward to coming back and doing what I can to support Chuck and the Boulder community to do even more to transform the world.'

Impact 100

Impact Colorado Social San Francisco 100

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

NOVEMBER 23, 2009

One of the coolest meetings was with Under Secretary of Education, Martha Kanter, who headed our local community college here in California before getting the appointment. She and her senior policy adviser, Hal Plotkin, are huge fans of Open Educational Resources (OERs), having been involved in starting that movement in community colleges.

Accessibility 150

Accessibility Content Open Copyright 150

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

DECEMBER 10, 2011

T, December 10th, the international community is observing Human Rights Day to commemorate the 63rd anniversary of the creation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. 2011 has been an amazing year for human rights defenders. 2011 has been an amazing year for human rights defenders.

International 150

International Guatemala Colombia Analysis 150

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JUNE 15, 2010

Scott is helping with the Bookshare volunteer community as a Benetech Fellow. As I headed out the door, I ran into Scott Rains and we had a picture taken of Scott in his Brazil jersey (after the U.S., I'm a big Brazil fan too). I can tell World Cup fever is really hitting!

Brazil 113

Brazil DC Copyright Picture 113

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

SEPTEMBER 21, 2012

The Section 121 copyright exception (often known as the Chafee Amendment after the Senator who introduced it in 1996) makes it possible for Benetech to scan just about any book and make it available to this community. We don't have to pay a royalty, and we don't have to ask for permission. Ethical behavior engenders trust.

Copyright 158

Copyright Social Law Student 158

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JUNE 13, 2009

A: We are wholly driven by our community. A: No, it more sorts of rolls along from our approach [ focusing on the community ]. Tags: service All for Good Newmark Fruchterman craigslist Craig community nerds Boot Camp. I may be one, but it seems to have too many syllables. I think of myself as a nerd. Q: Any final comments?

Interview 100

Interview Afghanistan Iraq Government 100

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

JUNE 25, 2014

What’s new and timely is the opportunity to apply them globally with philanthropic support by making technology suitable and relevant to the lives of the world’s most underprivileged communities. What if we brought the power that creates so much wealth in the tech community to bear on the inequality challenge?

Paraguay 144

Paraguay Problem Application Global 144

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

OCTOBER 5, 2010

Dan Goldin (former head of NASA) and Charlie Kennel (former head of the Scripps Institiute of Oceanography) pulled together a proposal for what they call "Knowledge Action Networks," to help local community get access to data about how climate change was likely to affect their communities.

Japan 113

Japan Technology Conservancy Proposal 113

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

SEPTEMBER 20, 2009

The program also requires the students to create a real life project as a part of their training, a project that will be useful to the community, thereby ensuring that the institute contributes to solving some of the issues faced by the community at the same time they train their participants.

International 129

International India Social Student 129

Beneblog: Technology Meets Society

MARCH 13, 2011

It was great to see another social enterprise successfully meeting the needs of a community! I had the privilege of getting in-depth demonstrations of OJS and some of the other open source software built by PKP.

Accessibility 133

Accessibility Project Open Journal 133