ehersman

I'm a changemaker, primarily because I take action and actually do something when challenged. This is usually seen through the lense of a technologists, bypassing inefficiencies and creating a greater impact through the use of the web and mobile phones. I live by a couple simple rules: Always question "why?" - challenging the status quo, then determine if technology can help in a situation, and finally, ask, "if not me, then who?" and prepare to take act accordingly.

I grew up in Sudan and Kenya, so I am particularly well-tuned for anything going on in East Africa.

I want to change the way information is gathered, viewed and used. Specifically, I want to open up the web to the mobile phone masses in Africa - giving them access to and interaction with the internet. Locally, and internationally. There is a paradigm difference though, if one wants to make something truly useful and usable in Africa, it cannot be approached from the normal Western technologists viewpoint.

I'm a co-founder of Ushahidi (which means "testimony" in Swahili), a web application created to map the reported incidents of violence happening during the post-election crisis in Kenya. Currently, I am working with a team of mostly-African programmers to continue development of this new free and open source platform that makes it easier to crowdsource crisis information and visualize data. Though in alpha, it is already being used globally, in Kenya, the DR Congo and by Al Jazeera in Gaza. I'm also the founder of AfriGadget, a multi-author website that showcases stories of Africans solving everyday problems with little more than their creativity and ingenuity. Fascinated by micro-entrepreneurs, gadgets and improvisation, he is proving that technology is changing Africa - daily. Raised in Sudan and Kenya, I think I bring unique energy and insight to the world of technology and innovation – bridging the gap between Africa and Silicon Valley. As an avid blogger I also write two different technology blogs including: AfriGadget and WhiteAfrican. One dedicated to low-tech African ingenuity, and the other to high-tech mobile and web changes happening throughout Africa.