It’s with sadness that we say goodbye to Wayan Vota, who has led Geekcorps for the last three years from IESC’s headquarters in Washington DC. As Director, he helped Geekcorps expand into new countries, like AIM-IT in Lebanon, and in new directions, like Smarter Seminars with Hewlett Packard.

Wayan is moving on to direct an online microenterprise mentoring program and will miss the conversation stopper of “I’m with Geekcorps.” A line guaranteed to generate a “Wow!” or two.

If you’d like to have the same fame and cachet at your next gathering, be sure to register with Geekcorps. It’s the first step to get involved.

Do you know how to train educators on information and communication technologies (ICT’s) in low-infrastructure environments? Show primary school teachers how to use audio/visual equipment, including computers, to enhance their lesson planning and educational content delivery when there might be intermittent power an no help desk?

Better yet, want to help design instructional videos and exercises on ICT in education to increase your impact, training local partners on your editing and post-production skills? Would you want to do all that in rural Kenya, a beautiful yet digitally disadvantaged East African country?

Then you’ll be excited to learn that Geekcorps has partnered with the Academy for Educational Development to work on USAID’s Teacher Education and Professional Development program in Kenya, and we’re looking for intrepid technology volunteers.
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In A Global Coalition of Good, by Jeffery Sachs, Geekcorps was featured as “an inspiring and ingenious effort by Americans to make connections, share some know-how and improve the world”:

Geekcorps is, well, just what it says. Its Internet-age volunteers bridge the digital divide one network at a time in the villages of the low-income world. They train people in information and communications technologies and advise them on starting businesses using these new skills. Working in Timbuktu and beyond, Geekcorps relies on its “Desert PC,” specially designed for the low electricity access and high temperatures and dust of the Sahara.

If you too are inspired by income-generating Desert PC’s or even the ingenious CanTV, then do the right thing, register with Geekcorps now!

IESC Geekcorps volunteer expert Steve Porter was featured on SHAW TV for his assignment with the AIM-IT program in Beirut, Lebanon.

During two separate workshops he delivered interactive hands-on training and simulation labs on Microsoft Visual Studio Team System Training to participants from Lebanese ICT companies.

Watch this SHAW TV interview about Steve’s impression of his “experience of a lifetime”: Read the rest of this entry »

IESC Geekcorps is assisting the African Virtual Open Initiatives and Resources Network (AVOIR), to expanding Free and Open Source Software development so African IT professionals can respond - with local solutions - to the needs of African businesses, universities, and civil society.

Geekcorps is looking for a skilled software development expert, knowledgeable in FOSS processes, products, and management to help the AVOIR Network partners, “nodes” develop detailed reports that:

• Identify commercially viable AVOIR software products and services
• Catalog the resources available to each node for AVOIR projects
• Analyze the gaps between AVOIR opportunities and node resources
• Recommend a management model and action plan for nodes to bridge gaps

Based in Capetown, South Africa for two months, with travel across Africa, your pan-African efforts could accelerate the catalytic role of information technologies across all sectors of African economy.

Want to be considered? Register now, or if already registered, tell us you’re interested!

The AIM-IT program, funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by the International Executive Service Corps (IESC), in collaboration with Lebanon’s Ministry of Tourism and Federation of Touristic Syndicates, is launching the first PDA Navigation Guide to tourism and eco-tourism sites in Lebanon, on July 10 at the Ministry of Tourism

The PDA Navigation Guide fully utilizes the power of ICT to increase the competitiveness of rural tourism by encouraging tourists discover landmarks and natural beauty hidden in rural and remote areas of Lebanon. The PDA Guide to tourism provides hand held digitized maps of Lebanon with directions and guidance to over 11,000 Points of Interests across Lebanon.

Upon launching the new GPS enabled portable guide to tourism in Lebanon, USAID / IESC, in collaboration with Federation of Touristic Syndicates, will distribute 70 PDA Navigation Guides to select tourism establishments in order to loan and distribute, free of charge, to tourists visiting Lebanon.
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During two separate workshops in Beirut, Lebanon, IESC Geekcorps international volunteer expert Steve Porter delivered interactive hands-on training and simulation labs on Microsoft Visual Studio Team System Training, the latest Microsoft software project management tool, to participants from Lebanese ICT companies

Mr. Porter’s trainings are part of the capacity building activities within IESC’s Accessing International Markets thru Information Technology (AIM-IT) program. AIM-IT developed the Microsoft Visual Studio training to 70 ICT professionals in collaboration with Microsoft’s Developer Network and Microsoft Lebanon to:

• provide the latest software project management methodology,
• showcase practical know-how on using software management tools

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Papou Coulibaly is young boutique owner in Ouélessébougou. Previously, Geekcorps partnered with Papou to create a Cybertigi - an Internet access point for the local community via a wireless link to a Community Information & Learning Center (CLIC).

The Cybertigi proved to be a very successful experiment, becoming popular with first time Internet users who found Papou’s mini-cyber both affordable and accessible. Unfortunately, after several months of Cybertigi operation the CLIC lost its Internet connection and Papou returned his equipment back to the CLIC.

Undeterred, Papou Coulibaly saw the potential for offering offline ICT services in Ouélessébougou and went about creating a unconnected cyber café at his boutique. Using the Geekcorps’ Cybertigi design, Papou acquired three computers, a laser printer, scanner, digital camera, photo printer, a Bluetooth adapter, speakers and a headset, even building a permanent metal shelter for his cyber café boutique.
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The high cost of rural Internet connectivity in Africa is a major challenge. In nearly every case, the only option is to use a Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) to access the Internet via satellite. The subscription costs are $300 a month on average - prohibitively expensive for rural African communities.

Since early 2006, IESC Geekcorps has pioneered the use of INMARSAT Regional Broadband Global Area Network (R-BGAN) satellite modem as an affordable alternative to a VSAT connection.
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Papou Coulibaly is young boutique owner in Ouélessébougou. Previously, Geekcorps partnered with Papou to create a Cybertigi - an Internet access point for the local community via a wireless link to a Community Information & Learning Center (CLIC).

The Cybertigi proved to be a very successful experiment, becoming popular with first time Internet users who found Papou’s mini-cyber both affordable and accessible. Unfortunately, after several months of Cybertigi operation the CLIC lost its Internet connection and Papou returned his equipment back to the CLIC.

Undeterred, Papou Coulibaly saw the potential for offering offline ICT services in Ouélessébougou and went about creating a unconnected cyber café at his boutique. Using the Geekcorps’ Cybertigi design, Papou acquired three computers, a laser printer, scanner, digital camera, photo printer, a Bluetooth adapter, speakers and a headset, even building a permanent metal shelter for his cyber café boutique.

Read this success story »