Internews Center For Innovation & Learning
Based in Washington, D.C. and operating globally, The Internews Center for Innovation & Learning experiments with, captures and shares innovative approaches to communication from around the world. The Center seeks to strike a balance between local expertise and global learning in order to develop a comprehensive approach to innovative information exchange. The success of Internews’ programs springs from the expertise of its local field teams and an innovation advisor in each region helps support local experimentation, research and learning. The Center has committed to capturing the technological discoveries of field offices to enrich the knowledge base of the international development community as a whole.
Recent projects of the Innovation Center with local partners around the globe include: text-message news reporting in Pakistan; pioneering "Radio over Internet Protocol" (ROIP) in Afghanistan; social media projects for Egyptian youth; crowd-sourced conflict resolution reporting and mapping in Kenya; and, the first-ever Twitter campaign to cover elections in Ukraine.
In its first year, the Center has deployed a team of regional new media advisors to explore digital tools and potential partnerships with local institutions. The advisors worked with project teams throughout Asia, Eastern Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Middle East on experimentation, adaptation, and customization. Information and analysis gathered from these pilot projects will be shared through an online information platform, research papers, and presentations to development practitioners and the wider public.
"The speed of new players and new technology entering the field of development is rapidly changing," said Bob Boorstin, Director of Corporate and Policy Communications for Google. "Internews has deep experience applying cutting-edge media tools and is extremely forward-thinking in sharing these solutions broadly." Google has supported the center with a challenge grant of $150,000 to jumpstart the Center's funding effort.
Internews' current Media Map project is the research cornerstone of the Center. In partnership with the World Bank Institute and the Brookings Institution and supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Media Map project analyzes and publishes data on the interrelations between information access and outcomes in democracy and governance, economic growth, poverty reduction, human rights, gender equality, and health. Building from this foundation, Internews will seek support for the Center from a variety of private sources, including the technology sector, academic and research institutions, foundations, and individuals, to make the Internews Center for Innovation & Learning a dynamic public-private partnership that leverages resources and expertise to benefit communities throughout the world.
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