W3C Mobile Web for Social Development Program

Mandelieu, France, October 2008

Background

~1.5B Web users in the World
Missing ~4.5-5B to be Universal
- Mostly in Developing Countries. e.g. Firefox3 download map
- Mostly at the Bottom of the Pyramid

	ICT: a cheap and scalable solution to bridge historical divides: Access to health services Access to education Access to finance services Access to employment Access to government Services Access to information Access to trade and commerce ...
(Photo Source: Der Spiegel)

With cheap laptops and low-cost broadband access
With Mobile Phones:
- 3.5 Billions+ of people having access to a mobile phone
- >80% of the world population covered by a GSM network

Can Mobile phones be an ICT platform? How?


(Photo Source : The Economist )

	Many Success Stories m-banking agriculture government .... But lots of activities but still disconnected a limited impact at the Worldwide level high barriers for potential service providers high access barriers for potential end users
(Photo Source: Vodafone)

Launching a global inter-disciplinary concerted effort
Understanding how to lower the barriers of developing and deploying development-oriented services on mobile phones
Understanding the key specific challenges for potential service providers
Identifying key challenges of access for potential end users

Understanding available technologies
- requirements, domain of applicability, constraints... of each mobile technology: SMS, Voice, browser, widgets, native applications,...
Understanding education/capacity building needs
Identifying tools needs
- software
- guidelines
- ...
Raising awareness

How to make relevant, accessible, usable, useful and affordable services
- Service needs
- Accessibility and Usability issues
- Affordability
- ...

A Handbook about how to deploy social-oriented content and applications on mobile
- Audience: NGO/grass-root/non-profit, potential public sector
A roadmap identifying the key actions to launch to lower the barriers for deploying social services, and for accessing it
- audience: standardization organization, foundations, operators,...
A set of resources
- Information about mobile infrastructure and device characteristics
- links to existing tools and material
- relevant actors and stakeholders
- ...

Launched in end of May 2008
An Interest Group open to public participation
Chairs: Ken Banks (kiwanja.net), Stephane Boyera (W3C)
Length: 12 months
Home page: http://www.w3.org/2008/MW4D/
Public Mailing-list: public-mw4d@w3.org archived at http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/public-mw4d/

A public workshop to gather input:
- W3C Workshop on the Role of Mobile Technologies in Fostering Social Development (june 2008): http://www.w3.org/2008/02/MS4D_WS/
Some drafts
- Draft Framework document: http://www.w3.org/2008/MW4D/wiki/mw4dframework
- MW4D focus diagram
- Draft Roadmap document: http://www.w3.org/2008/MW4D/wiki/roadmap
A wiki for public contributions: http://www.w3.org/2008/MW4D/wiki/
- We are looking for information of the device market
Next step: a new workshop in Africa 1stQ09

Contact: Stephane Boyera (boyera@w3.org)
MW4D Home Page: http://www.w3.org/2008/MW4D/
MW4D Charter: http://www.w3.org/2007/12/MW4D/charter1.1.html
Executive Summary of the W3C Workshop on the Role of Mobile Technologies in Fostering Social Development: http://www.w3.org/2008/02/MS4D_WS/exec_summary

Misc info.: