Juliana Rotich: Meet BRCK, Internet access built for Africa

Translator: Joseph Geni Reviewer: Morton Bast

Prevodilac: Aniko Kovac Lektor: Mile Živković

Living in Africa is to be on the edge,

Živeti u Africi znači biti na ivici,

metaphorically, and quite literally

metaforički, ali i doslovno

when you think about connectivity before 2008.

ako pomislimo na povezivanje pre 2008.

Though many human intellectual and technological leaps

Iako je došlo do mnogih ljudskih intelektualnih i tehnoloških pomaka

had happened in Europe and the rest of the world,

u Evropi i ostatku sveta,

but Africa was sort of cut off.

Afrika je na neki način bila odsečena od toga.

And that changed, first with ships

To se promenilo, prvo dolaskom brodova,

when we had the Renaissance, the Scientific Revolution

kada je nastupila renesansa i naučna revolucija,

and also the Industrial Revolution.

kao i industrijska revolucija.

And now we've got the digital revolution.

A sada imamo digitalnu revoluciju.

These revolutions have not been evenly distributed

Ove revolucije nisu bile jednako prisutne

across continents and nations.

na svim kontinentima i među svim nacijama.

Never have been.

Nikada to nisu bile.

Now, this is a map of the undersea fiber optic cables

Ovo je mapa podvodnih optičkih kablova

that connect Africa to the rest of the world.

koji povezuju Afriku sa ostatkom sveta.

What I find amazing is that Africa

Ono što ja smatram neverovatnim je da Afrika

is transcending its geography problem.

prevazilazi svoj geografski problem.

Africa is connecting to the rest of the world

Afrika se povezuje sa ostatkom sveta

and within itself.

i unutar sebe.

The connectivity situation has improved greatly,

Problem povezanosti se znatno poboljšao,

but some barriers remain.

ali neke prepreke i dalje ostaju.

It is with this context that Ushahidi came to be.

Ovo je okvir u kome je nastao Ušahidi.

In 2008, one of the problems that we faced

2008. jedan od problema sa kojim smo se suočili

was lack of information flow.

je bio nedostatak protoka informacija.

There was a media blackout in 2008,

Došlo je do cenzure medija 2008.

when there was post-election violence in Kenya.

kada je u Keniji izbilo nasilje nakon izbora.

It was a very tragic time. It was a very difficult time.

Bilo je to vreme tragedije. Bilo je to veoma teško vreme.

So we came together and we created software

Mi smo se skupili i stvorili softver

called Ushahidi.

nazvan Ušahidi.

And Ushahidi means "testimony" or "witness" in Swahili.

Ušahidi znači "svedočanstvo" ili "svedok" na svahiliju.

I'm very lucky to work with two amazing collaborators.

Srećna sam što imam dva neverovatna saradnika.

This is David and Erik.

Ovo su Dejvid i Erik.

I call them brothers from another mother.

Zovem ih braćom od drugih majki.

Clearly I have a German mother somewhere.

Jasno je da negde imam majku Nemicu.

And we worked together first with building

Naša prva saradnja je bila stvaranje

and growing Ushahidi.

i razvijanje Ušahidija.

And the idea of the software was to gather information

Ideja za softver je bila prikupljanje podataka

from SMS, email and web, and put a map

iz SMS poruka, mejlova i sa veba i postavljanje istih na mapu

so that you could see what was happening where,

kako bismo mogli da vidimo šta se gde dešava

and you could visualize that data.

i da vizualizujemo te podatke.

And after that initial prototype,

Nakon početnog prototipa

we set out to make free and open-source software

počeli smo sa razvijanjem besplatnog softvera s otvorenim kodom

so that others do not have to start from scratch like we did.

kako drugi ne bi morali da počinju od nule kao što smo mi morali.

All the while, we also wanted to give back

Istovremeno, želeli smo da uzvratimo

to the local tech community that helped us

lokalnoj tehnološkoj zajednici koja nam je pomogla

grow Ushahidi and supported us in those early days.

u razvoju Ušahidija i podržala nas tih ranih dana.

And that's why we set up the iHub in Nairobi,

I zato smo postavili Ajhab (iHub) u Najrobiju,

an actual physical space

stvaran fizički prostor

where we could collaborate,

u kome možemo da sarađujemo

and it is now part of an integral tech ecosystem in Kenya.

i koji je sada deo jednog usađenog tehnološkog ekosistema u Keniji.

We did that with the support of different organizations

Uradili smo to uz pomoć različitih organizacija

like the MacArthur Foundation and Omidyar Network.

kao što su Fondacija Makartur i Mreža Omidiar.

And we were able to grow this software footprint,

Uspeli smo da razvijemo ovaj početni softver

and a few years later it became

i nekoliko godina kasnije

very useful software,

on je postao veoma koristan

and we were quite humbled when it was used in Haiti

i shvatili smo njegovu veličinu kada je on bio upotrebljen na Haitiju

where citizens could indicate where they are

gde su stanovnici njime mogli da naznače gde se nalaze

and what their needs were,

i koje su njihove potrebe,

and also to deal with the fallout from the nuclear crisis

kao i kada je upotrebljen pri suočavanju sa posledicama nuklearne krize

and the tsunami in Japan.

i tokom cunamija u Japanu.

Now, this year the Internet turns 20,

Ove godine internet puni 20 godina,

and Ushahidi turned five.

a Ušahidi je napunio pet.

Ushahidi is not only the software that we made.

Ušahidi nije samo softver koji smor razvili.

It is the team, and it's also the community

On je tim, a takođe i zajednica

that uses this technology in ways that we could not foresee.

koja koristi ovu tehnologiju na načine koje nismo mogli da predvidimo.

We did not imagine that there would be this many maps

Nismo ni sanjali da će biti ovoliko mapa

around the world.

širom sveta.

There are crisis maps, election maps, corruption maps,

Postoje krizne mape, mape o izborima, mape korupcije,

and even environmental monitoring crowd maps.

pa čak i mape za nadgledanje životne sredine.

We are humbled that this has roots in Kenya

Ponosni smo na to što sve ovo vuče korene iz Kenije

and that it has some use to people around the world

i da ljudi širom sveta koriste ovo

trying to figure out the different issues that they're dealing with.

u rešavanju raznih problema sa kojima se suočavaju.

There is more that we're doing to explore this idea

Radimo još mnogo toga u istraživanju ove ideje

of collective intelligence, that I, as a citizen,

o kolektivnoj inteligenciji, da ja, kao stanovnik,

if I share the information with whatever device that I have,

ukoliko podelim informaciju sa kojeg god uređaja da posedujem,

could inform you about what is going on,

mogu da vas obavestim o tome šta se dešava

and that if you do the same, we can have a bigger picture

i da ako vi uradite to isto, možemo da stvorimo širu sliku

of what's going on.

o tome šta se događa.

I moved back to Kenya in 2011.

Vratila sam se u Keniju 2011.

Erik moved in 2010.

Erik se preselio 2010.

Very different reality. I used to live in Chicago

Jedna krajnje različita stvarnost. Pre toga sam živela u Čikagu,

where there was abundant Internet access.

gde je internet bio široko dostupan.

I had never had to deal with a blackout.

Nikada se nisam suočila sa nestankom.

And in Kenya, it's a very different reality,

U Keniji, stvarnost je potpuno drugačija

and one thing that remains despite the leaps in progress

i stvar koja preostaje uprkos koracima u napretku

and the digital revolution is the electricity problem.

i digitalnoj revoluciji, jeste problem električne energije.

The day-to-day frustrations of dealing with this

Svakodnevne frustracije pri suočavanju s ovim problemom

can be, let's just say very annoying.

mogu da budu, recimo samo, veoma neprijatne.

Blackouts are not fun.

Isključenja nisu zabavna.

Imagine sitting down to start working, and all of a sudden

Zamislite da sednete i počnete da radite i iznenada

the power goes out,

nestane struja,

your Internet connection goes down with it,

internet veza zajedno sa njom

so you have to figure out, okay, now, where's the modem,

i onda morate da otkrijete gde je modem

how do I switch back?

i kako ga ponovo uključiti.

And then, guess what? You have to deal with it again.

A onda, pogodite šta? Morate da se nosite sa svim tim iznova.

Now, this is the reality of Kenya, where we live now,

Ovo je stvarnost u Keniji, gde trenutno živimo,

and other parts of Africa.

i ostalim delovima Afrike.

The other problem that we're facing

Drugi problem sa kojim se suočavamo

is that communication costs are also still a challenge.

je cena komunikacija, koja je i dalje izazov.

It costs me five Kenyan shillings,

Mene košta pet kenijskih šilinga,

or .06 USD to call the U.S., Canada or China.

ili ,06 američkih dolara kako bih nazvala Ameriku, Kanadu ili Kinu.

Guess how much it costs to call Rwanda, Ghana, Nigeria?

Zamislite koliko košta poziv za Ruandu, Ganu ili Nigeriju?

Thirty Kenyan shillings. That's six times the cost

Tridesed kenijskih šilinga. To je šestostruka cena

to connect within Africa.

povezivanja unutar Afrike.

And also, when traveling within Africa,

Takođe, dok putujete Afrikom,

you've got different settings for different mobile providers.

postoje različita podešavanja za različite mobilne operatere.

This is the reality that we deal with.

To je stvarnost s kojom se nosimo.

So we've got a joke in Ushahidi

Postoji jedna šala u Ušahidiju

where we say, "If it works in Africa, it'll work anywhere."

koja kaže: "Ako radi u Africi, radiće svuda."

[Most use technology to define the function. We use function to drive the technology.]

[Mnogi tehnologijom određuju funkciju. Nama funkcija pokreće tehnologiju.]

What if we could overcome the problem

Šta ako bismo mogli da prevaziđemo problem

of unreliable Internet and electricity

nepouzdanog interneta i struje

and reduce the cost of connection?

i smanjimo troškove povezivanja?

Could we leverage the cloud?

Možemo li podupreti mrežu?

We've built a crowd map, we've built Ushahidi.

Stvorili smo mapu ljudi, stvorili smo Ušahidi.

Could we leverage these technologies

Možemo li osposobiti ovu tehnologiju

to switch smartly whenever you travel from country to country?

da se samostalno preključuje kako putujemo iz države u državu?

So we looked at the modem,

Pogledali smo modem,

an important part of the infrastructure of the Internet,

bitan deo infrastrukture interneta,

and asked ourselves why

i zapitali smo se

the modems that we are using right now

zašto su modemi koje trenutno koristimo

are built for a different context, where you've got

stvoreni za jedan drugačiji kontekst, u kome postoji

ubiquitous internet, you've got ubiquitous electricity,

sveprisutan internet, sveprisutna struja,

yet we sit here in Nairobi and we do not have that luxury.

a ipak smo mi ovde u Najrobiju i nemamo taj luksuz.

We wanted to redesign the modem

Želeli smo da izmenimo dizajn modema

for the developing world, for our context,

za zemlje u razvoju, za naš kontekst

and for our reality.

i za našu stvarnost.

What if we could have connectivity with less friction?

Šta ako bismo mogli da se povežemo uz manje prepreka?

This is the BRCK.

Ovo je BRCK.

It acts as a backup to the Internet

Funkcioniše kao rezervni internet,

so that, when the power goes out,

tako da se, kada nestane struje,

it fails over and connects to the nearest GSM network.

on prebacuje na najbližu GSM mrežu.

Mobile connectivity in Africa is pervasive.

Mobilna mreža je svepristuna u Africi.

It's actually everywhere.

Ima je svuda.

Most towns at least have a 3G connection.

Većina gradova ima barem 3G povezanost.

So why don't we leverage that? And that's why we built this.

Zašto to ne bismo iskoristili? I zato smo stvorili ovo.

The other reason that we built this

Drugi razlog zbog koga smo stvorili ovo

is when electricity goes down, this has eight hours

jeste da kada nestane struje, njemu preostaje osam sati

of battery left, so you can continue working,

baterije, tako da možete da nastavite s radom,

you can continue being productive,

možete i dalje da budete produktivni

and let's just say you are less stressed.

i možemo reći da ste pod manjim stresom.

And for rural areas, it can be

A za seoska naselja, ovo može biti

the primary means of connection.

primarni način povezivanja.

The software sensibility at Ushahidi is still at play

Korisnost softvera u Ušahidiju je i dalje bila ključna

when we wondered how can we use the cloud

kada smo se zapitali kako da mrežu upotrebimo tako

to be more intelligent so that

da bude još inteligentnija

you can analyze the different networks,

i da budemo u mogućnosti da analiziramo različite mreže

and whenever you switch on the backup,

i da kada se prebacimo na rezervu

you pick on the fastest network,

odabir padne na najbržu mrežu

so we'll have multi-SIM capability

i zato imamo multi-SIM sposobnost,

so that you can put multiple SIMs,

možete da koristite više SIM kartica,

and if one network is faster, that's the one you hop on,

i ukoliko je određena mreža brža, priključićete se na nju,

and if the up time on that is not very good,

a ako konekcija nije dobra,

then you hop onto the next one.

možete da pređete na sledeću.

The idea here is for you to be able to connect anywhere.

Ideja je da možete da se priključite bilo gde.

With load balancing, this can be possible.

Sa balansiranjem opterećenja, ovo postaje moguće.

The other interesting thing for us -- we like sensors --

Druga interesantna stvar za nas - jer mi volimo senzore -

is this idea that you could have an on-ramp

jeste mogućnost "on-ramp"-a [širokog dometa]

for the Internet of things.

za internet.

Imagine a weather station that can be attached to this.

Zamislite meteorološku stanicu prikačenu za ovo.

It's built in a modular way so that you can also attach

Zato što je modularne građe, možete da priključite

a satellite module so that you could have

i satelitski modul i tako omogućiti

Internet connectivity even in very remote areas.

vezu sa internetom čak i u najudaljenijim predelima.

Out of adversity can come innovation,

Iz nedaća proizlazi inovacija,

and how can we help the ambitious coders and makers

a kako možemo da pomognemo ambicioznim programerima i stvaraocima

in Kenya to be resilient in the face of problematic infrastructure?

u Keniji da postanu otporni na probleme u infrastrukturi?

And for us, we begin with solving the problem

Mi počinjemo sa rešavanjem problema

in our own backyard in Kenya.

na našem terenu, u Keniji.

It is not without challenge.

To nije bez teškoća.

Our team has basically been mules carrying components

Naš tim je doslovno kao mazga vukao komponente

from the U.S. to Kenya. We've had very interesting conversations

iz SAD-a u Keniju. Imali smo interesantne razgovore

with customs border agents.

sa agentima na carini.

"What are you carrying?"

"Šta to nosite?"

And the local financing is not

A lokalno finansiranje nije deo

part of the ecosystem for supporting hardware projects.

ekosistema za podršku hardverskih projekata.

So we put it on Kickstarter, and I'm happy to say that,

Zato smo projekat postavili na Kikstarter i drago mi je što mogu da kažem

through the support of many people,

da je uz podršku velikog broja ljudi

not only here but online,

ne samo ovde, već i onlajn,

the BRCK has been Kickstarted,

BRCK pokrenut

and now the interesting part of bringing this to market begins.

i sada počinje interesantan deo njegovog plasmana na tržište.

I will close by saying that, if we solve this

Završiću time što ću reći, da ukoliko rešimo ovo

for the local market, it could be impactful

na lokalnom tržištu, to može imati uticaja

not only for the coders in Nairobi

ne samo na programere u Najrobiju,

but also for small business owners

nego i na vlasnike malih preduzeća

who need reliable connectivity,

kojima je potrebna pouzdana veza

and it can reduce the cost of connecting,

i ovo može da smanji troškove povezivanja

and hopefully collaboration within African countries.

i nadam se, saradnje među afričkim državama.

The idea is that the building blocks of the digital economy

Ideja je da su temelji digitalne ekonomije

are connectivity and entrepreneurship.

povezivanje i preduzetništvo.

The BRCK is our part

BRCK je naš doprinos

to keep Africans connected,

povezivanju Afrikanaca

and to help them drive the global digital revolution.

kako bismo im pomogli u pokretanju globalne digitalne revolucije.

Thank you.

Hvala vam.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)