This document discusses using linked data to improve data sharing in rural developing areas. It outlines several barriers to internet access including lack of connectivity, costs, and low digital literacy. It also discusses how information sharing solutions need to be usable on affordable hardware, accessible across literacy levels, and directly relevant to users. The document proposes that a semantic web approach using linked data can help overcome some barriers by allowing decentralized, language-agnostic knowledge sharing and reuse. It provides examples of using mobile phones, radio, and low-powered hardware to connect more people in developing areas to semantic web technologies.

1. Linked Data for Development
A World Wide Semantic Web
@wwsemweb
Open Development Camp 2013
Christophe Guéret Christophe.Gueret@dans.knaw.nl
Marat Charlaganov Marat.Charlaganov@dans.knaw.nl
Victor de Boer
v.de.boer@vu.nl

2. Need for data
sharing in rural developing areas
•
Agriculture
–
–
–
–
Market Prices
Business opportunities
Support
Sharing indigenous
knowledge
– Etc.
•
Health
– Prevention
– Access to healthcare
– Detection of disease
outbreak
– etc.
•
•
Education
Etc.
Based on Sbc4d.com

3. Barriers to the Internet
1.
Technology: The lack of connectivity
and electricity, cost of devices and
cost of connection are limiting the
adoption and usage of new
technologies;
2.
Capacity: Lack of time and resources
limits the participation in data
sharing processes. There are also
issues related to low education levels,
low capacity to interpret data, and
illiteracy;
3.
Relevance: Power balance, culture,
apathy, lack of incentives, lack of
interest and dis-empowerment are
also all threats to having citizens
engage in data sharing.
Stephane Boyera (SBC4D.com)

4. Information sharing should be made
1. usable on small, affordable,
hardware deployed in various
connectivity contexts;
2. accessible to individuals with
varied cultural backgrounds /
literacy levels;
3. relevant and directly useful to
the target public they aim to
empower.
Infrastructure
Interface
Relevancy

5. Infrastructure
•
•
•
•
No internet,
No bandwith,
No computer,
No electricity
• Cost
– Total cost of ownership

6. Interface
•
•
•
•
Low literacy
Low education
Small languages
low capacity to
interpret data, and
illiteracy;

7. Relevancy
• No local content
• No local ownership
• Power balance, culture,
apathy, lack of incentives,
dis-empowerment
Subsecretario de transparencia, Alcaldes y la gente
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0S3juRQXR0 Max Rodriguez

8. Why the Semantic Web?
• Information (from NGOs) in silos
– Specific products
– Specific communities
• Lot of knowledge is lost due to lack of publication
 Sharing (heterogeneous) knowledge is essential
• LD is well-suited because of:
– Language-agnostic
– Interface-agnostic
– De-centralised authoring
• Slicing
– Re-usability
• Local
• Global
Img: flickr/elcovs

9. Web of Documents (WWW)
Linked Documents

10. Web of Data
Linked Data
Semantic Web

11. New ways of connecting to the
(Semantic) Web

12. Mobile phones

13. Radio
•No. 1 source of information
•Interactive radio programs
•Huge listening base

14. Low-powered hardware
• OLPC XO laptop
• Raspberry Pi
• Sheevaplug etc.

15. With the mainstream
• Dev. countries can
leapfrog directly into the
information age,
– jumping many phases of
immature technologies
• Linked Data is mainstream
computer science
research.
– Let’s worry about the 4.5 B
unconnected prosumers
now!
Img: flickr/n3v3rv0id

16. www.worldwidesemanticweb.org