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"Information without experience is not knowledge."
Location: On the web and in different locations to
be determined.
Vision: To build and empower networks
of people who are dedicated to augment human intelligence
through the effective use of technology. oneVillage
Foundation sees the potential for creating an educational
and industrial environment that can help show the way
to a sustainable future, much as Silicon Valley led
the world to the Information age. As McLuhan said, "The
medium is the message." Starting with what the
land suggests, and building in harmony with that, creates
a resonant experience that could assist people to recreate
it in their own communities -- or to realize how the
software being developed could support a paradigm shift
in economies around the world.
Rationale: Many programs from the developed
world are often imposed on the underdeveloped world
in a way that undermines people's sense of self-worth.
Development monies and assistance often becomes a demeaning
process that encourages dependency. To overcome this,
we need to be sure that knowledge and resource transfers
are designed to carefully complement and overlap existing
approaches, particularly with consideration of culture
and agricultural practices. Such a program could be
the base from which people around the world could participate
co-creatively in hands-on and interactive design processes
and courses for sustainable solutions of world urgent
issues. The "Silicon Valley NIC" would allow
SV to focus on what is natural for it to focus on -
ICT. oneVillage.biz through its integration services
platform offers a process of co-designing human network/technology
interfaces offering the combined technology and human
perspectives. OVF will work to develop a global base
for a culture of open investigation that involves experiential
learning experiences.
We want to base the NIC on open source principles:
1. Write programs that do one thing and do
it well
2. Design programs so that they can work together
3. Write programs that handle text streams because that
is the universal interface. that can enable content
creation that is compatible between community/network
modules.
What are the elements that facilitate effective
idea development and technology evolution?
Technology and human networks are symbiotically
interactive components of our evolution as human beings.
How our environments are constructed is key in determining
how we interact to create content and evolve technology.
Effective is different than efficient. The term efficient
simply states the rate at which things proceed. Effective
implies something deeper is that process effective towards
increasing the quality of that service to humans. Systems
increase in complexity as the number involved increases
and the evolving content stacks up, therefore one challenge
is to properly scale systems so that they authentically
value and respect human needs. NICs don't emphasize
the technology but the process of the thinking behind
the development and deployment of the technology.
Three areas of development:
1. Content creation
2. Compelling user-friendly ICT Design
3. Congregation of motivated and inspired people
Proposal Design: This program will
be designed to provide, improved performance among its
networked members. The design of the program will include
a training program offer a package of services to empower
and interconnect global networks. This will involve
the categorization of knowledge with the Digital
Development Dynamics and the OVF Mandala Pillars
to create dynamic knowledge repository. The linkage
of these nodes into a global system with the use of
hypertext technologies as well as social software will
lead to the development of a network of NICs. This in
turn will create a matrix which will rapidly augment
human intelligence of collective IQ. Each community
module will function as dynamic knowledge repository.
Integrated and Sustainable Networked Improvement
Communities
We need to consider not only how to maximize the impact
of method, ICT and content but also the construct of
complementary social systems and the overall built environment
in relation to augmenting human intelligence. Unity
Center will take things that work at the village level
and apply them globally.
NICs will focus on three main areas:
1. Technology Improvement--ICT NICs evaluate ICT and
then distribute this information to identify what works.
2. Process Improvement--NICs focuses on developing better
processes for realizing human potential
3. Environment Improvement
The modularization of development work involves the
building of manuals that dissimilate knowledge rapidly
from knowledge creators to those who need this knowledge
to empower themselves.
Dynamic knowledge repository (Dynamically interactive
systems)
1. DKR capabilities modeling problems
2. Done by first
3. Rendered in code
4. Display to originators
5. Critique code
6. Correct code
7. Test on situations
8. Evolve
9. Apply in more situations
What is Open Content?
We believe an important component of the NIC is to make
content freely available to people. Hewlett Foundation
has provided funding to MIT to make all its teaching
content publicly available. This is called Open Content.
Open Content is the process by which people information
is provided to the public free of charge and to use
as they wish. Open and distance learning technologies
(ODL) can be used to bring knowledge to underserved
communities. The African Virtual University
is now primarily working to develop teaching training
programs at African universities. We propose that they
also provide content and training to local communities
as a way of empowering them to determine their own content
and content needs in relation to economic development
and overall community prosperity. OVF can become the
content providers through AVU of ICT offering eco-living
solutions as part of the overall NIC program. We see
such programs as tools to develop networked improvement
communities at the local level. However trans-national
and national institutions will function as facilitators
of local NICs rather than as content creators. The goal
is to organize groups so that we can develop a framework
that realizes and values each groups area of expertise
within the larger network. Each village will equipped
and trained to function as its own dynamic knowledge
base rather than as is the case today relying on highly
centralized institutions to provide the content to them.
Applying Open Content to the Villages
Every village could have its own content development
teams, rather than simply relying on content from centralized,
western development and educational institutions. The
task of these ICT augmented networks would be to research,
collect, analyze and present relevant knowledge to develop
the local economy and educate people about their local
environment and culture. This knowledge could then be
deposited in the village knowledge base to ensure effective
and sustainable management of local resources. Each
local node should create locally based content for local
needs. Ideally, some of this content will be suitable
for replication in surrounding regions and even other
distant regions that have similar or complementary attributes.
Goals: Solve the problems of humanity by augmenting
collective IQ:
1. Develop Dynamic Knowledge Repositories
that are designed to be intuitive and ecological in
their design; a way of thinking and organizing that
is reflect of how natural systems work.
2. create a system that minimizes repetition and duplication
of ideas and knowledge development-little good is done
in having people work on the same concept sequentially
in different fields or parts of the world.
3. Changes sequencing and modules to suit local needs
4. Link like minded people together-often people are
disempowered by the fact that they work in isolation
5. Teach people how to collaborate within large groups
6. Help people to realize their goals towards building
better lives for themselves.
7. Teach people how to how to search for the information
they need effectively on the web.
8. Develop human information systems that considers
the scale of the interactions.
Target Groups: People who are looking
to be more effective in what they do.
Steps we feel are needed to fully utilize open
content in our work:
1. Organize autonomously from the ground up
2. Enable local people to become the content providers
3. Prepare the global networks
4. Determine readiness of the communities
5. Ensure accountability of funding
6. Identify which communities are the success stories
in each region (use ICT to ensure rapid communication
of best practices).
7. Match up people with solutions those who don't have
solutions
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