Launching of the SPICE Program

8 December 2012 - USAID and the Open Institute launched on 7 December 2012 the Structuring Partnerships for an Innovative Communications Environment (SPICE) program at Raffles Hotel Le Royal, Phnom Penh.
The program will foster partnerships between technology-oriented civil society organizations (CSOs) and the private sector to use existing technologies to deliver a greater diversity of information to the public, improve mobile communications in Khmer, and increase the capacity of CSOs to use social media for development purposes. 
 
“This project enables us to harness the power of technology to bring tangible benefits to people and effect positive change,” Mission Director Fuller said.  “It will change how Cambodians share information and allow us to take advantage of the technological innovation that is already occurring in this country and channel it to further develop Cambodia.”
 
The Open Institute and its partner EZECOM will create an open platform for incubating and developing new services, enabling content providers working in any development sector, such as health, agriculture, and education, to share information in Khmer, and ensure the dissemination of information to audiences nationwide through mobile telephones.  The two-year project promotes the concept of for-profit innovation for development, giving NGOs the opportunity to create content and the private sector an opportunity to earn profit from the dissemination of information through mobile networks.
 
See also:
 

1. Cambodia Daily Report 8Dec 2012