Innovation and Technology at the White House

Editor’s Note: Saadia Qamar, a journalist with a local Pakistani newspaper, is on tour across a few cities in the US. Over the next few days of her tour, Saadia will share her perspectives and experiences through blog posts here at CIO Pakistan. Here’s her first entry:

Day one: Washington DC
Washington DC, 15March 2010: How is innovation and technology the prime words at the White House, that led to an all win-win situation for President Barack Obama and gave birth more incrementally to Innovation in the office of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

The very man behind the entire game has been none other than Alec Ross. Yes you are right, Ross worked prior to his services to the State Department, on the Obama-Biden Presidential Transition Team, where he served as Convener for Obama for America’s Technology, Media and Telecomuincation Policy Committee.  Today he holds the position as a Senior Advisor for Innovation in the office of Secretary Clinton.

So at the White House, a group of some 30-odd journalists from around the world, were able to here him speak at the Dining Hall of State Department, where he talked about country specific technology vis a vis American response to development in terms to technology during the Obama years in the White House.

Talking at length on various issues that he touched upon, he maintained, that as the earthquake struck Haiti, Her Excellency Madame Clinton was in a transit from Hawaii to Papau New Guinea but she went back to Hawaii and assembled a group of young people to innovate technologically by using mobile phones and asking Americans to donate through simple SMS $10 in regards to assistance required for Haitians in need, so advanced he said have we all become that in a short period of time, as much as $30 million was raised by the American people through simple mobile technology to the Haiti’s earthquake response.

As far as Mexico, is concerned reporting crime Ross said was a difficult thing to do, because the mafia system is very strong but only recently SMS-based crime reporting has somewhat been able to reduce the menace of various kinds of violence.

Whereas in East Congo, one will be surprised to know that there are certain innovative ways that people have now access to reporting gender based violence in their country.

About the American perception in the world at large, that is it there to overpower than to empower; Ross strongly stood by his ideals and said it is certainly the other way round, for Hillary Clinton believes on empowerment in State practice and diplomacy in her State department.  She strongly advocates freedom of speech and assembly in all its form.

Ross asserted that the Foreign Policy models as of today applied in the US vis a vis Social Media relied more on “Less the push and more listening”, it is no longer Track 1 kind of diplomacy based on Foreign Office to Foreign Office relationship but is basically People Centric and on the models of Track 2.

Only in recent times, have we seen changes the world over from President Obama traveling to Ghana to promote Social Media and Interaction, to the birth of “Our Voice” segment in Pakistani society, where people themselves interact on the platform on Social Media and harbor strong criticism against violence taking place in their country.

Saadia Qamar, Journalist

On the final note, Ross said that  on the same platform  his views were neither naïve nor Utopian, people still should be allowed to exercise free political speech and freedom of expression must be accepted as one of the fundamental rights, but with 130 countries restricting internet access to their citizens, this was surely a poor sign of communication and innovation, at the world at large.