IEEE Humanitarian Technologies News
IEEE Humanitarian Technologies Newsletter: April Notes
A Message from the IEEE HTB Chair
April 2024
Hello and welcome to the April issue of the HTB newsletter.
I feel honored and privileged to welcome you to this edition of our newsletter with the hope that all of us are doing well and managing our diverse undertakings effectively.
I take this opportunity to recognize and thank all of you most sincerely for all those valuable contributions you are making towards fulfilling HTB’s vision and mission as well as improving humanity as a whole. Your contributions play a significant role in advancing the sustainable efforts which will uplift and advance the current and future generations today, tomorrow and always. I therefore encourage you to keep up with the tremendous efforts.
A frequent topic of discussion for HTB in recent years is information and communications technology (ICT), and how it represents an enormous opportunity to introduce significant and lasting positive change across the humanitarian landscape. All evidence suggests that this trend is going to continue as the availability expands, technology advances, and the cost of access continues to decline. This perspective is what was observed during the recently concluded ICT4D Conference in Accra, Ghana where IEEE HTB participated.
I recently had the opportunity to meet some passionate and enthusiastic IEEE volunteers from the IEEE Kenya Section. During this meeting, we discussed how best a Section can increase its involvement in HTB and IEEE available opportunities. We also discussed how they could contribute towards reducing and managing the various humanitarian related challenges that their communities are facing. I was highly impressed and inspired by the passion these volunteers demonstrated towards sustainable humanitarian engagements.
On a related note, let me also thank so many of you for responding to the recent HTB call for proposals through its Tech4Good program. To date, the proposal review and decision process is ongoing and applicants will be receiving feedback as soon as possible.
In closing, I once again take this opportunity to encourage and urge all of us to continue with the sustainable and humanistic activities that we are doing for the betterment of humanity at the community, national, and global levels.
Until next time,
Lwanga Herbert
2023 – 2024 IEEE Humanitarian Technologies Board Chair
Thoughts from the IEEE Humanitarian Technologies Board (HTB) Immediate Past Chair
March 2024
Dear IEEE Colleagues,
I’m excited to share that the IEEE HTB partnership efforts are making solid progress. Our committee recently met and has defined a strong roadmap to support member engagement via the HTB partnership programs. Particularly, we are thrilled with the ongoing collaborative efforts with Regions and IEEE Societies where we are expanding current efforts and establishing newer opportunities to strengthen the membership experience. HTB will announce its annual report in the coming weeks where you can learn about the amazing progress made by each of the partnering programs of IEEE Humanitarian Technologies. We are currently working to establish an expansion strategy to strengthen and attract new partnerships with external organizations too. We are working closely with key programs in the humanitarian space to nurture their growth and impact via the HTB process and frameworks.
We are excited to share that many of our partnering programs have expressed a strong desire to support the Tech4Good Program, and look forward to announcing joint programs with IEEE Societies in the coming months. Also, HTB is co-hosting a side event along with ITU at the UN STI Forum in New York on 10 May.
We are looking forward to delivering strong growth for HTB partnership efforts this year.
Sincerely,
Sampathkumar Veeraraghavan
2024 IEEE Humanitarian Technologies Board Immediate Past Chair
The IEEE Humanitarian Technologies Newsletter
The IEEE Humanitarian Technologies Newsletter provides monthly updates on humanitarian technology opportunities and activities at IEEE.
Let us know about ways for IEEE Members and non-members to engage in humanitarian technology activities at IEEE. Submissions should include a specific opportunity and details on how readers can get involved with a certain humanitarian technology program. Examples include calls for proposals, volunteer recruitment, contests, webinars and other events, etc.
We’d also like to know what you want to read about in upcoming newsletters. Send your suggestions and ideas to htb-office@ieee.org.
Other IEEE HTB News Sources
Videos
Please visit the IEEE HTB/SIGHT youtube channel for presentation and training recordings, in addition to submissions from SIGHT Groups.
IEEE SIGHT Blog
Watch the IEEE SIGHT blog for news and stories on SIGHT projects and events around the globe, submitted by SIGHT members and volunteers.
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