Tech and Covid-19

Global and regional perspectives on digital trends during the crisis

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About

This series explores how the pandemic has accelerated the digital transformation of all aspects of our lives, and what the impacts are on innovation, inclusion, rights and democracy across the globe.

The series is a co-production of the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung offices in Brussels, Washington DC and Hong Kong, with the support of other global offices. The content is published on the websites of Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung offices around the world.

The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors alone. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung e.V. or any of its global offices.

Videos

Digital life under Covid-19 and beyond

Take a deep dive into the "new digital normal" with tech strategist Belinda Esterhammer. In these video interviews on health, travel, education and social impact, she explores the stories of Asian innovators who address the pandemic with their technology solutions, and talks to experts who are studying the effects of digital transformation.

Digital life under Covid-19 and beyond: Interview with Prof. Sun Sun Lim

Video Series "Why do we need to make digital learning as inclusive as possible?" Sun Sun Lim, Professor of Communication & Technology at the Singapore University for Technology and Design has been researching the social impact of technology in families and their implications on relationships, as well as digital literacy for the past 17 years. Lim’s research shows that with the arrival of Covid-19 in families' lives, children were able to continue learning online. However, not all children an families were equally prepared to use the provided platforms.

Digital life under Covid-19 and beyond: Interview with Keith De Alwis, oDoc

Video Series “What to do when there is no doctor around and a government-imposed curfew?” As a part of the video series “Digital Life under Covid-19 and beyond”, Keith De Alwis, co-founder and COO of oDoc, Sri Lanka’s largest telemedicine and virtual care provider, talks about how Covid-19 has changed the healthcare industry, HealthTech challenges in South Asia, and data protection.

Digital Life under Covid-19 and beyond: Interview with SITATA Co-Founders

Video Series "How did the speed and scope of international travel accelerate this global pandemic?" In this interview with SITATA Co-Founders Dr. Ronald St. John and Adam St. John, you will learn more about why an informed traveller is a safe traveller, how to detect diseases and important events, how to make sure they are not spreading “fake news”, why it is important to combine AI with human fact-checking, and predictions for the TravelTech industry.

Digital Life under Covid-19 and beyond: A video on impact resource bridging platform Dream Impact

Video Series Meet Co-Founder and Chief Catalyst Dorothy Lam and Chief of Strategy and Growth Cintia Nunes from Dream Impact Hong Kong, an impact resource bridging platform which helps social startups grow and scale, both their impact and business.

Digital Life under Covid-19 and beyond: a video on innovators in Sustainability and Social Impact

Video Series This article and video take a closer look at examples of Sustainability and Social Impact entrepreneurs and startups in Asia which have accelerated their business or had a market launch or even expansion because of Covid-19.

Digital Life under Covid-19 and beyond: A Video on Asian Innovators in EdTech

Video Series We take a closer look at some examples of EdTech entrepreneurs and startups in Hong Kong and Asia-Pacific which have accelerated their business because of Covid-19, as well as academics who have been studying the digitization of education and its impacts.

Seminars & Podcasts

#TechCovid19 Online Discussion: Countering the Coronavirus Infodemic

#TechCovid19 Online Discussion: Covid-19 and Contact Tracing Apps in the US, EU & Asia

#TechCovid19 Online Discussion: Data for public good in time of pandemic

Böll perspectives on contact tracing technology from around the world

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Our Voices, Our Choices Podcast: Feminist Digital Disruption during Covid-19

Digital Democracy

Digital Economy

DR Congo city Goma

Why local digital solutions in DR Congo remain overlooked

An economically demanding and foreign-dominated digital market, along with a lack of political will and trust, make it harder for local digital entrepreneurs to succeed in DR Congo.

By Jean de Dieu Cirhigiri

Health tech research is booming during the pandemic - but will the whole world reap the benefits?

Is Covid-19 the challenge health tech was waiting for?

The global pandemic became a linchpin for many health-tech startup companies that were struggling to find their purpose. In 2020, the industry saw record funding and attention – and the need to balance investor’s expectations with public health concerns.

By Srividya Kalyanaraman

Foot and bike food-app workers waiting an order out of a mall

The pandemic has made Mexico’s gig economy even riskier

As the economic recession continues, more people are working for delivery apps, flooding the market and lowering the quality of service.

By Rodolfo Aguirre Reveles

Pandemic strengthens China’s platforms as infrastructure providers

From rural live-streaming to coordinating medical care, technology platforms in China have taken on a central role during the Covid-19 crisis. The pandemic accelerated trends that further cement these companies as key infrastructure providers working in close tandem with the state – but this cozy relationship comes at a cost to many.

How the pandemic kickstarted a health tech renaissance in Nigeria

Covid-19 has accelerated innovation in the Nigerian health tech sector, providing opportunities for growth in an industry that has typically lacked investment, government endorsement, and attention.

By Ayodeji Rotinwa

Profiteering from the pandemic: How India’s lockdown paved the way for big e-commerce disaster capitalism

Covid-19 has become a moment of opportunism for Indian e-commerce companies to consolidate their market power, insert themselves into local supply chains and co-opt neighborhood stores. Policy interventions are urgently needed to preserve the autonomy of the traditional retail sector and prevent Big Tech’s takeover of local economies.

By Anita Gurumurthy and Nandini Chami

Will Big Tech emerge as the big winner in the coronacrisis? Not so fast.

Big technology companies are getting a break from the “techlash,” but this does not mean that the monopolists are permanently off the hook. The crisis has highlighted privacy and security concerns and well as subpar labor standards in the industry. Social media face additional scrutiny for how they deal with COVID-19 related disinformation.

By Sabine Muscat

Digital Rights

Dream Impact video thumbnail

Digital Life under Covid-19 and beyond: A video on impact resource bridging platform Dream Impact

The pandemic accelerated and changed many social impact communities across the globe. Social impact encompasses the impact everyone of us creates, whether positive or negative - all these activities create an impact on the environment and people as well as the world around us...

Innovative green technologies, smart systems and recycling for environmental sustainability, network of isometric concepts (c)elenabsl @Shutterstock

Digital Life under Covid-19 and beyond: a video on innovators in Sustainability and Social Impact

This article takes a closer look at examples of Sustainability and Social Impact entrepreneurs and startups in Asia which have accelerated their business or had a market launch or even expansion because of Covid-19.

By Kristina Ernst

Digital Life under Covid-19 and beyond: A Video on Asian Innovators in EdTech

This article takes a closer look at some examples of EdTech entrepreneurs and startups in Hong Kong and Asia-Pacific which have accelerated their business because of Covid-19, as well as academics who have been studying the digitization of education and its impacts.

By Kristina Ernst

Koreans receive pandemic alerts on their smartphones

In South Korea, pandemic data transparency comes at a high cost

Efforts to follow social distancing and mask-wearing rules have been crucial to South Korea’s success in containing the Covid-19 pandemic, but experts worry that other measures—such as sharing data from confirmed cases—have stigmatised and harmed marginalised communities.

By Dahye Yim and Christoph Mayer

How Covid-19 is spurring civic tech in Senegal

As citizens in Senegal come together to fight misinformation and support healthcare workers, more participation demands more accountability.

By Mamadou Diagne

How to use data for the public interest, even – or especially -- in a pandemic

Governments, the private sector and other organizations increasingly collect massive amounts of data, some for the public good, other times not. A consistent framework could ensure data use is both beneficial to the public interest and sufficiently protected against misuse.

By Aline Blankertz

Covid-19 tracing apps may see renewed push under Joe Biden

US President-elect Joe Biden is preparing for a long-overdue national effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus. That may include facilitating and promoting widespread use of smartphone-based tracing apps that have been developed and distributed in a state-by-state patchwork.

By Gopal Ratnam

Pan-European contact-tracing – a chance for more normality and freer movement

Most EU countries have worked out the kinks in their contact-tracing apps and now offer them as part of efforts to track coronavirus infection and break the chain of transmission. The next step is ensuring the apps can connect across borders.

By Zora Siebert

Are fitness trackers the next answer to fight Covid-19?

As contact-tracing apps prove less useful than hoped in many countries, other digital tools such as wearable fitness trackers are gaining in popularity for detecting or tracing coronavirus infection. But a reliance on such technologies comes with big questions about effectiveness and privacy.

By Deepika Yadav

Berlin Germany 29.08.2020 Anticorona demonstration in Berlin street of June 17 and Brandenburg Gate

"It must be a plot!" – Coronavirus conspiracy theorists take to streets in Germany

Conspiracy theories might seem funny in ordinary times. But against the backdrop of escalating far-right attacks worldwide in recent years and now the pandemic, these myths have spiraled into a dangerous pattern of radicalization.

By Katharina Nocun

Digital Society

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