The November 17 Liberation Technology Seminar was co-hosted by the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR), a nonpartisan economic policy research organization that unites remarkable economic talent from all parts of Stanford University. This seminar featured four student-led design projects that were created in the Designing Liberation Technologies course taught each spring at Stanford's Hasso Plattner Institute of Design (d.school) by professors' Josh Cohen and Terry Winograd. The class works in partnership with the University of Nairobi's School of Computing and Informatics to develop user-based designs that address outstanding challenges in the slums of Nairobi, Kenya. 

Josh Cohen described the three main elements of the design school class:

(1) There is a focus on user/human-centered design. Projects are designed based on a close engagement with end users: the people who will be using the solutions. (2) Courses are inter-disciplinary. The idea is to take people who are deeply embedded in a certain discipline and put them together with people from other disciplines. In order to come up with a solution to a real problem, team collaboration is necessary and (3) The approach to problem solving is about practice, not about theory. It is necessary to fail early and fail often in the process of creating workable solutions.

The panelists consisted of students who were working with partners in Kenya on how mobile technology could be used to address various social issues. A multidisciplinary team of students work in close collaboration with partners in Kenya, and some of these ideas are now being tested on the ground.

The first project that was described was M-maji (mmaji.wordpress.com). Sangick Jeon described how water in Kibera is scarce, costly and contaminated. Their aim is to use the nearly ubiquitous mobile technology to improve access to water. Vendors are able to advertise their water and then buyers can ask questions and provide feedback. This saves the time and resources that it takes to find clean water.

Nishuari, the second project, addresses the problem of inaccurate advice and rumors which lead to risky sexual behavior and often HIV and AIDS. They provide a mobile counseling service whereby individuals can submit health questions and receive responses from trained counselors using text messages. This helps to break down logistical and social barriers.

The third, Makmende considered the issue of serious crime in Kibera. Their aim is to look at how individuals can get safely from Point A to Point B. They set up walking groups so that people would not have to walk alone. Over 90% of people had a mobile phone and this was seen to be an effective way of building timely communication, so that groups of people can coordinate to walk more safely to reach their destinations.

The final project was Take Taka, which was the one project that was not focused on using computer technology. The team took up sanitation as the project and decided early on that the use of mobile phones adds no value to the issue. The focused instead of designing a special sanitary bucket that could be used instead of a toilet inside the home, and on developing a system of transmitting the deposits to a biogas unit. This project however has not been carried forward.

Please click here to listen to the podcast of Kristie Lu Stout's talk.

STANFORD GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS — Chinese internet users have devised an array of creative ways to navigate around government censorship of China's cyberspace, a leading Hong Kong-based CNN journalist told a Stanford audience.

In a November 21 talk at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, Kristie Lu Stout, BA '96, MA '97, an anchor and correspondent for CNN International, discussed the burgeoning internet and social media scene in China. The Stanford graduate described a fast-changing country where daily life increasingly takes place online and where social networking has created new ways for Chinese citizens to interact and express themselves, even as their online activities are strictly monitored for offensive or politically sensitive content.

China has a "vibrant community of netizens and entrepreneurs who are actively challenging the boundaries," Stout said. "They're able to come up with creative ways to bypass [restrictions]. It's a story of expression, control, and innovation."

China has the world's largest internet population, about 500 million users, and it has experienced an explosion in the popularity of social networking.

Based for a decade at CNN's Asia headquarters in Hong Kong, Stout has been at the forefront of covering China's online community. She anchors a daily news show for CNN International, which broadcasts globally (outside the United States). Her talk was hosted by the Stanford Program on Regions of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (SPRIE), part of the GSB.

Stout said that Chinese government controls have tightened over the past year or so, ahead of a transition of power expected in 2012-2013 for China's top leadership. Officials recently have ordered Chinese media outlets to "strengthen information management," "crack down on false rumors," and "enforce real-name registration" on social media sites, she said.

"The rules are broad and vague. There's a blanket ban on anything that would harm state security and social stability."

She listed some keywords that were blocked from online searches in China over the past year: protest, sex, Hillary Clinton, occupy, empty chair, jasmine. In addition, leading Western sites, including Google, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, are blocked.

The CNN journalist discussed her coverage and interviews of two leading figures at opposite extremes of the Chinese internet. The "establishment" figure was Charles Chao, CEO of Sina.com, the online media giant that abides by Chinese censorship rules while also operating Sina Weibo, a microblogging and social networking site that is a popular venue for public discourse. The "anti-establishment" figure was Ai Weiwei, a dissident artist and political activist who recently was detained by Chinese authorities and whose name is banned from the Chinese internet. "Both represent the different story lines that we, as journalists, look into," said Stout.

Stout highlighted the tactics Chinese netizens use to circumvent the "Great Firewall" of China. Individuals and businesses have used virtual private networks, or VPNs, to access forbidden sites. It's estimated that more than 100,000 Chinese are on the Google+ social network and 20,000 on Twitter, Stout said.

A new lexicon has emerged on the Chinese internet, consisting of code words, homonyms, and vocabulary laced with mockery, satire, or sarcasm. The words "empty chair" refer to jailed dissident Liu Xiaobo, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize but was barred by Chinese authorities from going to Oslo to accept it. Being "harmonized" means being censored, a reference to top leaders' frequent calls for creating a harmonious society. Chinese netizens invented the "grass mud horse," or "cao ni ma," a mythical creature whose name sounds like a Chinese profanity. The alpaca-like creature emerged online as a symbol of resistance to censorship, setting blogs, and social sites abuzz with images, songs, and poems about it.

Despite China's strict controls, the internet has become a far-reaching venue for venting public frustration and anger over government corruption and incompetence. When two high-speed trains near Wenzhou crashed in July, killing 39 people and injuring many more, there was an outpouring of anger online against officials for their handling of the disaster, Stout said. Similarly, a photo of Gary Locke, the new U.S. ambassador to China, carrying his own backpack and buying his own coffee at a Starbucks in the Seattle airport in August, went viral on the Chinese internet, where netizens noted the contrast with Chinese officials who often travel with large entourages and expense accounts. The photo sparked "a huge online debate about corruption and values," Stout said.

In response to a question, the CNN journalist said it's impossible to estimate how many people are involved in China's censorship apparatus. However, she said, "the most powerful way to control the internet is through self-censorship." By "creating a climate of fear," Chinese authorities can put much of the responsibility onto media organizations themselves.

Stout acknowledged that many Chinese believe the internet has introduced a level of freedom previously unknown in China. She suggested that it is in China's best interests to further ease controls. "If you want to be a truly innovative country, you can't censor the internet," Stout said.