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What is digital innovation?

Digitally innovating media development

Illustration von Simon Didszuweit zum Thema digitale Innovation

Innovation is one of the buzzwords connected to digital technologies. But going digital does not make a media project "innovative." The question is how does a new element – digital or not – help strengthen Article 19?  

approaches

Crowdsourcing Event VozData

Tools for developing innovative media projects

How is data found, compiled and published? Which techniques can be adopted to ensure resource efficiency and enable easy collection, collation and sharing of information? Here is a brief guide to popular approaches.  

innovation

African SkyCAM drone

Using digital technologies for freedom of expression

As digital technologies reshape our societies, media development projects have to keep up with the change. Which technology to adopt has become a crucial question for fostering Article 19.  

functions of media development

The core of Article 19: Media for the people

Local advocacy in Nigeria

With freedom of expression and access to information for all as the ultimate goal, there are four functions media projects have to work towards. But how can they do so in the era of digital innovation?  

Digital innovation: Taking up the challenge

Illustration von Simon Didszuweit zum Thema digitale Innovation

Digital technologies are not a silver bullet for social inclusiveness. Hence, media development organizations need to address different fields of action: partner selection, media usage, technical expertise and funding.  

  • Citizen Journalist Tablet-Computer

    What makes your project innovative?

    Innovation from the Global South

    The use of digital technologies to strengthen Article 19 varies widely across countries, continents and contexts. Digital innovation is subjective. Here, leaders from 10 projects in the Global South explain what makes their particular project unique and innovative.

  • Porträt von Dickens Olewe

    What makes your project innovative?

    Dickens Olewe, African SkyCAM, Kenya

    "I founded this drone journalism project to respond to challenges journalists were facing when covering fast moving stories in difficult to reach places. We have proved that drones are a viable low-cost option for news gathering. We have even gone further to test developing 3D models and are excited about developing content for virtual reality, live casting and sensor journalism."

  • Porträt von Oscar Parra Castellanos

    What makes your project innovative?

    Oscar Parra Castellanos, Rutas del Conflicto, Colombia

    "We are a journalistic database focusing on the civil war in Colombia, using a website and app for mobile devices that map and describe more than 700 massacres. We work with local media to broadcast the information documented in the zones of the countryside where most massacres took place, looking for relatives of victims of these crimes to check the data and to hear their testimonies."

  • Porträt von Florencia Coelho

    What makes your project innovative?

    Florencia Coelho, Voz Data, Argentina

    "We work with universities and NGOs to engage teams to liberate data, and digitalize documents. We have worked with over 30,000 PDF documents of senate expenses, 20,000 electoral forms and 40,000 audio transcripts that we digitalized and shared on our website. It would not be possible to analyze this amount of data without a structured database process and the utilization of 1000 volunteers."

  • Porträt von Shubhranshu Choudhary

    What makes your project innovative?

    Shubhranshu Choudhary, CG Net Swara, India

    "We’re using appropriate technology to create two-way democratic communication platforms. We use the Internet, mobile phones, radio and Bluetooth. In places where mobile phones have reach but Internet does not, a combination of mobile phone and Internet works. We are trying to create democratic media which is affordable by using the available technology."

  • Porträt von Gustavo Faleiros

    What makes your project innovative?

    Gustavo Faleiros, InfoAmazonia, Brazil

    "We are the only platform reporting on the Amazon region using data, coining the term Geojournalism, and being the first to deal with the scale of environmental issues that would normally be restricted to scientific journals. Using satellite and other earth science data we provide a whole new perspective to phenomena using interactive mapping and visualization."

  • Porträt von Terry Parnell

    What makes your project innovative?

    Terry Parnell, Open Development Cambodia, Cambodia

    "Our platform is the first attempt to track development and offer information to illuminate development trends from both a cross-sectoral and transborder perspective. The database supports moderated crowdsourcing enabling both data sharing and research design and the website offers a range of knowledge products, including an interactive map facility, which helps users explore issues on their own."

  • Porträt von Oludotun Babayemi

    What makes your project innovative?

    Oludotun Babayemi, Follow the Money, Nigeria

    "Before now, communities have been engaged using only traditional means, but our project strategy included the use of digital technologies in amplifying the voices of rural people. When we attend community outreaches we take our mobiles to snap pictures, and record short videos and conversations which we share on our website, and Tweet concerned policy makers and stakeholders."

  • Porträt von Noora Flinkman

    What makes your project innovative?

    Noora Flinkman, HarassMap, Egypt

    "We have a reporting and mapping system on our website using Ushahidi to collect and map reports of sexual harassment (from witnesses and the harassed person). This is unique because sexual harassment work tends to focus solely on victims and abusers. We use social media to spread our message, share information, engage the general public and update them on our events and activities."

  • Porträt von Yatirajula Kanaka Sandhya

    What makes your project innovative?

    Yatirajula Kanaka Sandhya, Mera Swasthya Meri Aawaz, India

    "We track illicit informal fees demanded in government facilities through the combined use of a toll free number, an interactive voice response system and a crowdsourcing internet based service where the reports can be accessed. It enables poor women and their families to make anonymous complaints without fear of backlash from the health providers with whom they have future engagements."

  • Porträt von Wouter Dijkstra

    What makes your project innovative?

    Wouter Dijkstra, Trac FM, Uganda & Somalia

    "We pioneered the field of interactive radio-polling and build on the success and reach of local radio and TV talk-shows. Our innovative power lies in the combination of new media techniques like instant data mapping, cloud based-software, word recognition and visual analytics with established low-tech technologies and formats like radio and SMS."


dw akademie publication

Study: Advancing Freedom of Expression

DW Grafik - Studie digitale innovation

DW Akademie's publication explores the potential of using digital technologies to advance freedom of expression and access to information.  

Section 1 - The Debate | pdf  

Section 2 - Best Practice | pdf  

Section 3 - Conclusion | pdf  

Section 4 - Appendix | pdf  

Article 19

"Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers."

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

interview

girl listening to the radio

You don’t need to reinvent the wheel to be innovative

With phones being used to deliver and create information even in remote corners of the world, projects don't have to be high tech to succeed says Erik Albrecht, co-author of DW Akademie's digital innovation study.  

interview

Photograph of two people sitting in a room in front of a giant screen

Learning from others using digital tech

Digital technologies are the new darlings of freedom of expression. Co-author of DW Akademie's digital innovation study, Kate Hairsine, talks about the diverse ways these technologies are being used in the Global South.