Jokko Initiative

The project is based on the idea that mobile phones and SMS texting can provide a more economical means of communication than a phone call; serve as a practical tool for learning and reinforcing literacy and numeracy skills; and offer other applications to practice the organisation and management skills taught in Tostan's CEP programme.

In addition, the project organisers believe that cellphones have the potential to accelerate social change by:

• connecting women with each other and their communities, helping to build consensus on local priorities;
• amplifying the voices and influence of youth and marginalised groups in a communities decision-making process;
• providing a platform for exchanging information, broadcasting ideas, and organising advocacy work; and
• accelerating social interaction and facilitating large-scale and significant cross-group effects at community and societal levels.

The project is using a two-phase approach. Phase 1 consists of teaching the basics and practical uses of standard cell phone capabilities and SMS texting. As part of Phase 2, the Jokko Initiative provides practical SMS-based applications. To these ends, the initiative is identifying mobile services that exist to serve the needs of rural communities, as well as developing new mobile applications as they are needed.

For example, Tostan and UNICEF developed an SMS social networking platform that uses RapidSMS technology. The technology allows users to send an SMS to multiple people at once, somewhat like sending an email. During training sessions on the technology, participants are given an overview of how it works and brainstorm possible uses and advantages for their communities. They are then able to practice using the technology. Organisers say communities appreciate the technology and can see the practical advantages. For example, one participant remarked that "when someone dies, I can't call everyone at one time; with RapidSMS I can."

Tostan's long-standing emphasis on the inclusion of women and girls in CEP classes ensures that those populations most at risk of exclusion from the benefits of technological advances will be reached. According to organisers, the Jokko Initiative will provide a new generation of girls with access to the tools of communication technology and training in its applications for community engagement and positive social change.

Prior to testing the project, Tostan and UNICEF, in collaboration with the Center of Evaluation for Global Action (CEGA) of the University of California Berkeley (United States), conducted a baseline study focusing on the zone the initiative would be implemented in. The objective of the study was to capture the knowledge and practices of the class participants before the start of the training modules, so that this information could be compared to the knowledge after the end of the training. The main areas under study are the project's outcomes on literacy, social networking, and youth participation. The team hopes to use not only the surveys themselves to gather information, but to also monitor how the system is being used through the RapidSMS interface.

In 2010, Tostan is launching two projects using RapidSMS: (1) "Jokkondiral!", a website that will allow Tostan's rural participants to communicate via SMS texting with their relatives in the diaspora, and (2) a real-time monitoring system that will allow Community Management Committees, community-based organisations trained by Tostan to lead local development initiatives, to report on their activities.

To find out more, go to the Jokko Initiative blog.

Rural Development, Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs).

From the Tostan website:
"Tostan's experience and successes have shown that communication is critical to the spread of positive social change; in particular, the kind of communication that encourages the diffusion of ideas between individuals, through family networks, across regions, and into the diaspora. Unfortunately, it is often difficult to reach large numbers of people in rural areas due to a lack of financial resources, transportation infrastructure, and communication technology.

The internet and mobile phone services are rapidly becoming more widespread and are beginning to present a solution to this problem. Mobile phones are increasingly serving as the platform for services provided by governments, health clinics, schools, and banks. Access to information in the developing world is still limited and most rural communities are still "offline" and excluded from the benefits that online networking has to offer. With mobile phone networks now able to reach the vast majority of African citizens, and mobile phones already commonplace even in the most remote villages, SMS technology is a promising platform for more powerful and inclusive systems of communication. What’s more, this expansion is creating a new demand for literacy, and providing the perfect tool for training - cell phones are a means for people to learn and practice literacy skills daily, in a way that is relevant to their lives."