Using the Mobile Web in Development

Stéphane Boyera

http://www.w3.org/2008/02/sb_dis2008/all.htm

Workshop on Building an International Community: Designing Interactive Systems for/ with Communities in the Developing World - DIS 2008

Cape Town, South Africa, February 23rd 2008

W3C: Leading the Web to its Full Potential

Founded by Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee in 1994 ...

• W3C Vision: Universal Web Access: The Web Anywhere, for Everyone, at Anytime, on Everything :

1994: Creation of W3C for standardization and interoperability of Web technologies 1997: Creation of the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI): To make the Web Accessible 2005: Creation of the Mobile Web Initiative (MWI): To Access the Web from Mobile Phones

Mobile Web for Development

• Since 2006: W3C explores how the Web on mobile phones could be a potential solution to bridge the Digital Divide and leverage Web access in Developing Countries

(Photo Source : The Economist )

ICT to sustain development

	Primary Goal: offer a scalable and affordable platform to develop and deploy eServices: Government Services Education Health Banking Communities services Business ...
(Photo Source: Der Spiegel)

How to provide access to ICT?

• With cheap laptops and mesh networking: One Laptop Per Child?
• With specific/special phones: Microsoft FonePlus?
• With the Mobile Web:
  • Taking advantage of the existing 2.7+billion of mobile phones
  • Taking advantage of the GSM cover (>80% of the world population)

Today: SMS Applications

	Successful Mobile Applications Banking NGOs-run SMS based system: e-gov, business (market poll), health, ...
	But few problems: Interoperability problems Discoverability of services limited interaction costly/inappropriate infrastructure no standardized development kit
(Photo Source: Vodafone)

Tomorrow?

• The Mobile Web: the platform to leverage services development, deployment and adoption:
  • No interoperability problems
  • Discoverability through portals and search engine
  • Enhanced interaction through forms/voice/multimodal interaction
  • Cheap/free hosting
  • Standardized technologies and development platform

Challenges

• How to make the Mobile Web usable ?
  • accessibility of mobile browsers: configuration, interface and interaction...
  • accessibility of web content: "natural" interface and interaction...
• How to identify the needs in ICT-based services to leverage development ?
• How to empower people, build local capacity, and leverage local content authoring ?
• What about sustainability ? how to develop entrepreneurship ?

Next Steps

W3C to launch a new group to in April/May 2008:

• Create an inter-disciplinary forum between experts in technology (Web, Mobile), experts in Social Development, experts in sustainability and entrepreneurship, people with grassroot experiences, and experts from Developing regionss
• Identify the challenges of using the Mobile Web in Development projects and establish a roadmap
• Develop resources for the community (directory of key actors, repository of informations about mobile infrastructure and device market in Developing Countries,...)

W3C to organize a workshop on the Potential for Mobile Technology to Foster Development in Rural Communities

• When: beginning of June 2008
• Where: Brazil, most probably Sao Paulo
• Who: anybody interested, position paper required
• Stay tuned on March 11 2008, W3C Press Release

Joining the work now

• The Mobile Web in Developing Countries Home Page: http://www.w3.org/2006/12/digital_divide/public.html
• A white paper on the key challenges: http://www.w3.org/2006/12/digital_divide/ajc.pdf
• A public-mailing list: public-mwi-ec@w3.org archived at http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/public-mwi-ec/
• A public Wiki: http://www.w3.org/2006/12/digital_divide/wiki/
• Stéphane Boyera : boyera@w3.org

Conclusion

• W3C Goal: to make the Web accessible, relevant, usable and useful for under-privileged populations and rural communities
• The Mobile Web is the most promising platform for low-cost large scale development, deployment and adoption of ICTs
• Join the process of gathering the critical mass of experts to start the work

This work is part of the Digital World Forum project supported by the European Union's 7th Research Framework Programme (FP7)