Prof. John Sören Pettersson was one of the organisers behind the fifth M4D conference, that is, the conference on mobile communication technologies for development arrange biannual by KAU’s Centre for HumanIT. This year it was Universidade Eduardo Mondlane that hosted the conference; see the website: http://www.m4d2016.com/ and conference proceedings http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kau:diva-47516
He also chaired the final panel which was a round table discussion on “The future of M4D”. A question raised in the ICT4D community the last years has been if the mobile deserve any particular focus. Often this question (or questioning) has been under the assumption that the big issue is if there is Internet access or not. Pettersson pointed to examples in the presentations during the conference demonstrating that the mobile unit as a distinct technology is such a game changer that there still seems to be reasons to have special events for m-researchers and m-practitioners to meet. The conference attendees unanimously embraced the notion that “The mobile phone – this little device with loudspeaker, microphone, display and keyboard, and often a camera, and wireless – does [...] deserve a special status when pro-development people look at what is locally feasible and meaningful (socially and not only economically)” (see p. 300 in the conference proceedings).
At the conference, Ugandan friends of the Information System department were also present (even if Rehema Baguma eventually could not make it). Below, the Dean for the School of Computing and Informatics Technology (CIT) Dr. Gilbert Maiga at Makerere University are seated with Ugandan PhD students from Örebro and Makerere. Edgar Napoleon Asiimwe is now to hand over ipid.se to Solange Mukamurenzi. Emmanuel Eilu continues his work in Makerere on his PhD.
