Local social activism platform amandla.mobi will be among the four laureates from around the globe honoured at the third annual Tech for Global Good celebration in the US next month.
Established in 2014, amandla.mobi runs social activism campaigns using technologies such as mobile phones, USSD code, an online platform, SMS and WhatsApp, to mobilise its almost 300 000 members from across the country to take targeted, co-ordinated and strategic action to make a real change in their communities.
Tech for Global Good is a US-based year-round programme designed to create the next generation of innovators ready to tackle the toughest challenges facing the planet.
Each year, Tech for Global Good celebrates innovators who use technology to tackle big problems. The stories of these laureates are the bedrock of the programme.
The 2019-20 edition honours laureates who, through the use of technology, enable women and others often excluded from full participation in the world around them to more fully engage in life.
The other three recipients of the award are medical product delivery company Zipline International and artificial intelligence firm AI4ALL, which are both based in the US; along with Swedish water treatment system provider Solvatten.
"As we know, technology is not neutral and is all too often used to reinforce existing inequalities. So, for us at amandla.mobi, it's important to constantly be thinking about how it can also be used to help us fight back and help to build a better world for all," explains amandla.mobi executive director Koketso Moeti.
"At the heart of everything done by amandla.mobi is black people, with a particular focus on low-income black women and gender non-conforming people. We need to constantly be thinking about ways to harness technology creatively to build the world we want, rather than leaving it solely to those whose only interests are profits and exploitation.”
Each recipient will be featured in a year-long, prominent exhibition, as well as in educational materials and workshops used at The Tech Interactive, a science and technology centre in the heart of downtown San Jose.
The Tech Interactive showcases the work of young innovators using the engineering design process to solve real-world problems, while educating others to follow suit.
The exhibition will be launched on 2 November, with the aim of providing an engaging platform to show how real people use technology to create innovative solutions on a global scale.
Last year, Moeti was the only South African selected among 20 Obama Foundation Fellows, where she had the opportunity to meet the Obamas and top business coaches, as part of the programme.
She will head to the US again this week as part of her latest international recognition.
“This is an affirmation for our community, knowing that we are doing something that others can learn from,” she says.
“We know that technology cannot in and of itself change existing inequalities, but at the same time, there are many legacies of people and movements who are using it to build more just societies.
“Amandla.mobi builds on those legacies of African innovation and we are excited to be able to share this with a wider audience,” concludes Moeti.
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