DISCUSSION PIECE Although I was born and raised in Mato Grosso do Sul, the Brazilian state which is home to the country’s second largest Indigenous reserve, it was only upon moving to the city of Dourados to pursue a degree in Psychology, that I fully comprehended the magnitude of the Dourados Indigenous Reserve (Reserva Indígena de Dourados, RID). Dourados Indigenous … Read More
Unnatural Disasters: The Türkiye Earthquake and Open Data to Fight Corruption
DISCUSSION PIECE ShutterStock In the days following the recent earthquake in Türkiye (February 6, 2023), I was glued to my phone, grieving the loss of thousands of lives and the destruction of homes and historical cities in southeastern Turkey and northwestern Syria. I watched as the sorrow of my Turkish friends and family transformed into a potent anger, further inflamed … Read More
The Return of East India Companies: AI, Africa and the New (Digital) Colonialism
DISCUSSION PIECE Image created Dall-E (Open AI technology) While Silicon Valley’s tech giants are increasing their investments in Africa, terms like “Data Colonialism,” “Digital Colonialism,” and “AI Colonialism” have been increasingly used to describe the situation at play. When it comes to digitalization in the Global South, particularly relating to AI-based technologies, several scholars, movements, and activists have begun to … Read More
Disinformation and Democracy: Reimagining Data Access for Policy-Making
DISCUSSION PIECE Photo by visuals on Unsplash In the last ten years, the world has watched the power and influence of tech platforms grow, largely unregulated by law, while also becoming increasingly interdependent with media and politics. Along with the recent and rapid digitalization of news production, distribution, and consumption, these structural changes have created a media environment in which … Read More
Migration and Gender in the Global South through a Decolonial Lens
DISCUSSION PIECE Núbia Rodrigues at the “2nd Psychology and Migration Seminar: Connecting Knowledges” Author’s Note: For Portuguese speakers, here is the link to watch the original presentation, as well two additional roundtables from the event. On October 8, 2022, the “2nd Psychology and Migration Seminar: Connecting Knowledges” took place in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. This event was organized by the Regional … Read More
Women and ICT Access: Bridging the Digitial Divide for Disaster Resilience
DISCUSSION PIECE ShutterStock Women are often on the front lines of disasters, both in experiencing their impacts and in being powerful agents of change. According to the UNDP, women and children are 14 times more likely to die during natural disasters compared to men. Women are too commonly portrayed as either victims or passive beneficiaries because they bear the brunt … Read More
Why Gender-Responsive Due Diligence in Agribusiness Value Chains Matters
DISCUSSION PIECE ShutterStock Although relatively new, the discourse around Business and Human Rights (BHR) has become increasingly relevant in recent years. This is especially true due to the increasing amount of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into African countries, as well as the continued march of globalization. According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development’s (UNTAD) World Investment Report … Read More
Data-Driven Hope: The August 4th Tragedy in Beirut
DISCUSSION PIECE Pexels It was a calm Tuesday afternoon, my fiance and I had just come back from work and put on our favorite TV show. We were sitting at our dining table, and I noticed it shook. “Please stop shaking your leg!” I said to my fiance, and he replied, “It’s not me, I think it’s an earthqu—” and … Read More
Habeas Data and Personal Data Protection in Latin America
DISCUSSION PIECE ShutterStock “According to recent estimates, in 2022, 2.5 quintillion data are generated daily, and at least 1200 petabytes are saved and exchanged through digital media.” Wilse, 2022 Our daily lives are increasingly influenced by digital data. Its value and potential are widely acknowledged in a variety of industries, due to the enormous benefits they generate every day. Against … Read More
Job Automation: Deliverance or Dystopia?
This discussion piece explores the possibilities that await humankind as AI and automation advance.
The High Cost of Internet Shutdowns
DISCUSSION PIECE ShutterStock At the beginning of 2022, the Kazakh government removed the price cap on fuel, leading to protest movements in the Central Asian republic. The population has long been dissatisfied with the regime, but the increase in natural gas prices, which the Kazakhs rely heavily upon, was the straw that broke the camel’s back. On the one side … Read More
Opinion Polls and Democracy: A Case Study of France
The rise of advanced public opinion technology was supposed to take the uncertainty out of elections, but what is its effect on democracies?
Embracing the Principles for Digital Development: Leveraging Big Data Sources for Policy Evaluation in Crisis Settings
“Leveraging Big Data Sources for Policy Evaluation and Analysis in Crisis Settings”, is a web platform for policymakers to draw insights to assist with crisis responses (including COVID-19).
The Women Leading the Fight Against Land Expropriation in Latin America
An exploration of how Indigenous women are leading efforts to curtail land expropriation in Latin America. An exploration of how Indigenous women are leading efforts to curtail land expropriation in Latin America, including how Earth Observation technology can aid these efforts.
The High Cost of “Free” Data: Zero-Rating and its Impacts on Disinformation in Brazil
This discussion piece explores the ways in which “zero-rating” programs facilitate the spread of misinformation and also help to maintain unequal power dynamics between the Global South and the Global North.
Digital Transformation in the Global South: Enhancing Citizens’ Trust
If governments in the Global South integrate digital transformation into their public services’ agenda, will they be able to enhance citizens’ trust?
Africa’s Poverty Tsunami: Do Cash Transfers Work Best?
DISCUSSION PIECE Africa’s GDP is poised to grow exponentially in the next decade. According to the African Development Bank, GDP growth is expected to rise by 3.4% in 2021, an increase from 2.1% in 2020. Despite this anticipated gain, the continent still faces numerous challenges. Although hunger, malnutrition, extreme weather events, water scarcity, food insecurity, injustices, inflation, and conflicts remain … Read More
The CODE for Building Participatory and Ethical Data Projects
DISCUSSION PIECE This piece was published with the support and as part of the Data Values Project (#DataValues) launched by the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data, of which Data-Pop Alliance is a founding member. Photo: Rawpixel (Shutterstock) What’s the best strategy for ensuring development projects adhere to ethical guidelines? It’s a complex question as answers may vary by sector … Read More
Un nuevo contrato social para la era del Big Data
DISCUSSION PIECE (SPANISH) En la era del Internet y de los datos, las sociedades han modificado a tal grado sus formas de interacción, intercambio de información, generación de valor, entre otros tantos aspectos, que se requiere un nuevo “contrato social” para asegurar la prevalencia de la democracia y sus instituciones. Este artículo discute cómo hemos llegado colectivamente a este punto, … Read More
Addressing the Unrealized Potential of MD4D
DISCUSSION PIECE Piece originally published on DIAL’s website. Last week, the Digital Impact Alliance (DIAL) and Data Pop Alliance made public a free online handbook on Mobile Data for Development (MD4D), available here on the DIAL Online Catalog, as a result of a 10-month collaboration between both organizations. (Note: You can navigate the handbook through your web browser, as well … Read More
8M: Reporte y registro de violencia doméstica en Bogotá, Ciudad de México y São Paulo
DISCUSSION PIECE Sobre el Día Internacional de la Mujer (8M) Alrededor del mundo el Día Internacional de la Mujer se conmemora cada 8 de Marzo (también referido como 8M) con el objetivo de crear conciencia y alentar la reflexión crítica en torno a las diversas desigualdades entre hombres y mujeres que persisten a nivel global, así como para impulsar y … Read More
Violence Against Women in Latin America: The Multiple Facets of a Pervasive Issue
DISCUSSION PIECE Photo: Analise Benevides. Edition: Paola Caile. November 25 marks the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, a date that serves as a global reminder of what it is now refered to as the “shadow pandemic” (UN Women, 2020). But how to tackle a problem which is widely veiled, avoided by the spotlights, and even normalized … Read More
Fortaleciendo la cultura de datos y las capacidades para alcanzar los ODS en Colombia
DISCUSSION PIECE Durante la última década, el número de organizaciones que se han interesado por explorar el uso potencial de fuentes de Big Data para medir indicadores demográficos, económicos, sociales o ambientales ha crecido exponencialmente. En 2014, las Naciones Unidas reconocieron el potencial que ofrece el Big Data para mejorar las estadísticas y la información en los países en desarrollo, … Read More
Using Data to Shed Light on the Shadow Pandemic of Domestic Violence in Mexico
DISCUSSION PIECE Violence against women and girls (VaWG) is a worldwide phenomenon that occurs in various forms and spaces, unfortunately including where one should feel safest: at home with one’s partner or family. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, as gender inequality and domestic violence have worsened, it is becoming increasingly clear how much we are still in the … Read More