I’m currently based in a village in Uganda. Internet access has been available for the last few months (free of charge to many in the community and at subsidised rate to the rest) and we have been discussing whether to add any of the ongoing community-based initiatives to Nabuur. So far, it is not clear that any of the initiatives can benefit. Often the knowledge and expertise needed are available locally or it needs someone to have a deep knowledge of the community in order to share effectively. Where information is needed, it seems better to train someone in the village to use Google. (After all, being part of Nabuur requires an Internet connection.)

Having said that, the existing platform, is clearly useful in creating connections between people who might not otherwise connect. For me, the question remains, how to turn the good intentions in to results.

Interestingly, their are quite a few “neighbours” (Nabuur users) who did make the effort of visiting “their village”, it sure is even more rewarding if you’ve been to the community you’re helping online. In that sense, I’d be curious to see how the “polar opposites” as you call them can be joined in one “global ecosystem”.

For instance: Nabuur is partnering with Fairground Sessions, who organise volunteer trips to projects in developing countries. If such a project also has a home at Nabuur, it’s relatively easy to extend the experience and impact beyond “just” the trip, and help connect a local community to the rest of the world. Such connections give the usually very strong local people better access to knowledge and resources, to be effective leaders in realising improvements in their communities.

Perhaps the due diligence that is happening in setting up a project at Nabuur could also deliver the kind of concrete assignments that Geekcorps is looking for, and a Geekcorps volunteer mission would then be embedded in a larger “virtual neighbourhood” to provide ongoing support and networking opportunities for the on-the-ground community.

Scaling up is then creating a fabric out of Nabuur, Geekcorps, Fairground Sessions, and the many many other official and informal initiatives that all offer pieces of the puzzle, doing the bits they’re good at.

Kind regards, Rolf.