Status:
IGF Theme(s) for workshop: Access and Diversity
Main theme question address by workshop: Question 9: mobile opportunities and Question 6: women's empowerment
Concise description of the proposed workshop:
Information and Communication Technologies for Employability is a growing field for academics, development practioners, as well as for-profit organizations. In particular, mobiles for Employability is a growing field, with platforms at various stages of development in India, the Middle East, and the Caribbean. Mobiles for Employability platforms have demonstrated that ICTs can impact employability in developing countries.
ICTs for Employability has four types: job search, job match, skills, and telework.
ICTs for Employability platforms include Babajob (job search and job match), CellBazaar (Craigslist-like mobile marketplace), Konbit (job match), MEDCB (job match), MobileWorks (microtasking service), MoneyBee (microtasking service), Samasource (microtasking service), Souktel (job search and job match), and txteagle (microtasking service). All of these organizations are based in developing countries.
This workshop will bring together representatives from ICTs for Employability organizations as well as academic researchers to discuss:
- Best practices and barriers to ICTs for Employability
- The future of ICTs for Employability
- Outcome measurement - at both an individual and a macro level - of ICTs for Employability
- Who is benefitting?
- What development issues are impacted by ICTs for Employability?
The goal will be to share knowledge and discuss the future of this field and the implications for Internet governance.
Background Paper: igfbakuictemplo.pdf
Name of the organiser(s) of the workshop and their affiliation to various stakeholder groups:
Dr. Katy Pearce, Assistant Professor, University of Washington, academic researcher - United States
Have you, or any of your co-organisers, organised an IGF workshop before?: No
Provide the names and affiliations of the panellists you are planning to invite:
- Dr. Maria Garrido, Research Assistant Professor, University of Washington, academic researcher - United States/Mexico
- Lina Palmer, New Programme Development, GESCI, Kenya (GESCI is an international non-profit technical assistance organisation. We are a trusted advisor to governments, development agencies, academia, private sector and civil society organisations working to address key educational challenges of equity and access, relevance and quality through the innovative use of technology.)
- Vir Kashyap, Chief Operating Officer, BabaJob, India (Babajob.com is a Bangalore-based start up that uses the web and mobile technology to connect employers and bottom-of-the-pyramid (BOP) informal sector workers (i.e. maids, cooks, drivers, etc.) with the goal of creating a scalable, replicable and profitable solution to combat poverty. Babajob aims to do this by creating greater market efficiency in the informal sector through voice and web features such as SMS, UssD, automated voice systems, and operator manned call centres, enabling employers and job seekers to find each other.)
- Shannon Gavin, Manager of New Partnerships and Mobile Projects, Souktel, Palestine/U.S. (Souktel designs and delivers mobile phone services that link people with jobs and connect aid agencies with communities who need help. Created in the Middle East, our JobMatch, AidLink, and Voice Response technologies are changing lives across the developing world.)
Name of Remote Moderator(s):
Zachary Peterson, Deputy Director of Communications, Radio Free Europe, Radio Liberty, Czech Republic