Local first: A different way of localizing technologies on a grassroots level

WeRobotics

Session 340

Thursday, 30 May 2024 09:00–09:45 (UTC+02:00) Physical (on-site) and Virtual (remote) participation Room L2, ITU Montbrillant Building ICTs and Emerging Technologies Interactive Session 3 Documents

Webcast »

In recent years, the use of emerging technologies such as drones, data, and AI technologies to achieve various SDGs has been constantly increasing across the globe. However, the foreign-led, top-down, and techno-centric mindset that still pervades the so-called “technology for good” space hinders the local ownership and sustainable adoption of technologies in the humanitarian and development sector. At WeRobotics and the Flying Labs Network, we believe in a fully bottom-up, locally-led approach, powered by local expertise, to sustainably and responsibly localize technology. This allows us to create actionable impact for climate action, development, and aid solutions, first and foremost on a grassroots level. Technologies are just a tool. A lasting and meaningful impact is created when local experts implement and apply technologies with their vision, locally, in a way that works best for their communities.

The Flying Labs Network is a global network of independent knowledge hubs convening local experts in professional drone, data, robotics, and AI services. The first 3 Flying Labs were launched in 2016 by WeRobotics and three local organizations in Nepal, Tanzania, and Peru. In 2018, we implemented our current localization model, which allowed the Network to grow to 40+ countries today, in Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, and Asia/Pacific. WeRobotics’ role is to facilitate and support the Network, and to create the enabling environment and ecosystem of partners needed to allow the Flying Labs Network to grow and thrive.

During this session, we will share details on our (g)localization approach and experiences made in the past 6 years with Flying Labs to establish a synergy between global and local resources, expertise, and knowledge to achieve meaningful and lasting development outcomes.

Ms. Sonja Betschart Co-Founder & Co-Pilot WeRobotics, Switzerland

Sonja is a passionate change agent, facilitator, social entrepreneur, Ashoka Fellow and Forbes 50 over 50 Member with a longstanding career both in the non-profit and for-profit sectors. She is also the Co-Founder of WeRobotics, a social impact organization that amplifies local expertise to multiply solutions for social good.

With her colleagues at WeRobotics, she supports and connects local experts in drone, data, and AI technologies. By doing so, the social impact organization is cocreating a proven and replicable model to successfully localise and shift power at a grassroots level. Sonja has also been voted as one of the Top 100 Women in Social Enterprise in 2023 and has been elected to the Hall of Fame of Switzerland’s 100 Digital in 2022.

Ms. Uyangaa Munkhbat M&E lead WeRobotics, Switzerland Remote Panellist

Having worked at WeRobotics for over 4 years as a Community and Project Coordinator, then as a Monitoring and Evaluation lead since 2023, Uyangaa is a social change agent, dedicated to scaling the positive impact of social good programs through applications of emerging technologies.

She has been actively in search of and implementing different kinds of innovative methods to measure and evaluate the outcomes and impact of “Drones for Good” projects with Flying Labs members and colleagues at WeRobotics.

Topics

Artificial Intelligence Cultural Diversity Digital Divide Digital Inclusion Digital Transformation Environment Ethics Health Machine Learning Smart Cities

WSIS Action Lines

C1. The role of governments and all stakeholders in the promotion of ICTs for development
C3. Access to information and knowledge
C4. Capacity building
C5. Building confidence and security in use of ICTs
C6. Enabling environment
C7. ICT applications: benefits in all aspects of life — E-business
C7. ICT applications: benefits in all aspects of life — E-employment
C7. ICT applications: benefits in all aspects of life — E-environment
C7. ICT applications: benefits in all aspects of life — E-agriculture
C8. Cultural diversity and identity, linguistic diversity and local content
C10. Ethical dimensions of the Information Society
C11. International and regional cooperation

Sustainable Development Goals

Goal 2: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
Goal 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all
Goal 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
Goal 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
Goal 8: Promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all
Goal 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
Goal 10: Reduce inequality within and among countries
Goal 11: Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
Goal 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
Goal 15: Sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, halt and reverse land degradation, halt biodiversity loss
Goal 16: Promote just, peaceful and inclusive societies
Goal 17: Revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development