People are constantly finding new ways to use the Internet to address our biggest challenges: global education, health care, clean water, effective government. But we’ve only scratched the surface on the potential of the Web. Today, 5 billion people still don’t have access to the Internet and the opportunity it provides.

Google is doing work to get more people connected, especially in places where Internet access lags the most. In Sub-Saharan Africa, we’ve created programs such as Google Apps Supporting Programs for Education, offered technical assistance such as caches for Internet providers, and generated ideas to build Internet capacity.

To help bring the next billion people online, Google.org is announcing today our support of two organizations that share our mission to connect the world: the Network Startup Resource Center (NSRC) and the Internet Society (ISOC).

We are providing $3.1M to the NSRC to grow their work to bring local network engineering expertise to universities and national research & education networks (NRENs) across Sub-Saharan Africa. Through labs and a train-the-trainers program, NSRC will provide hands-on training on campus network planning, deployment, and management for over 600 university and NREN staff. Their work will bring the Internet to students and staff at over 50 institutions and increase network engineering know-how in Sub-Saharan Africa.

KENET-NSRC Campus Network Design Workshop, Photo: NSRC

Lesotho IXP setup. Photo Credit: ISOC/Michuki Mwangi

We are also supporting ISOC, providing $1.3M to improve and create Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) in emerging markets. IXPs play a big role in core Internet infrastructure, allowing Internet Service Providers to peer locally (and cheaply), which can lower end user costs, promote competition, and improve user experience. ISOC will create a toolkit for those who want to create and improve IXPs and build an industry portal to share IXP information and data.

Some of the brightest minds are working to improve lives in new ways through the Internet. By supporting the work of NSRC and ISOC, we can make sure that those opportunities are available to more people in more parts of the world.

Posted by Jennifer Haroon, Principal, Google.org

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“I am standing in a partial enclosure made of sticks and plant fronds. This is the school for roughly 35 students, ranging in age from three to about 20 years old. There are no desks. There is only a single shared chalkboard, and it has gaping holes.” — David Rathmann-Bloch from the 21st Century Chalkboard Project, writing from rural Haiti.

These are just some of the many challenges faced by education organizations who applied for this year’s Google RISE Awards. The RISE (Roots in Science and Engineering) Awards program funds and supports organizations around the world that provide science and technology education at a grassroots level.

This year we’re delighted to give awards to 30 new organizations from 18 different countries. Combined they will reach more than 90,000 children in 2013, helping inspire and teach the scientists and engineers of the future.

• Some, such as Haiti’s 21st Century Chalkboard Project and the Uniristii Association (site in Romanian) in Romania, help those from underserved communities gain access to computing resources.
• Others, like the U.K.’s Code Club and the U.S.’s CodeNow, offer extracurricular activities that help interested children, especially those from underrepresented minority backgrounds, to learn programming.
• A few, such as the Middle East’s MEET and iLab Liberia, seek to use technology education as a platform to bridge wider social and cultural divides.
• Some, like Girlstart in the U.S. and New Zealand’s Programming Challenge 4 Girls, aim to empower girls to study science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

In addition to receiving funding and support to continue their outreach, RISE Award recipients will be brought together for a global summit this June in London. To paraphrase an old saying, from small seeds, great things can grow. The recipients of the 2013 RISE Awards have already made a difference. Connecting with other like-minded organizations will help spread valuable and practical expertise, and spark opportunities for global collaboration and expansion.

Posted by Roxana Shirkhoda, Education Outreach Specialist

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The Google Crisis Response team has assembled a resource page to help track affected areas and provide updated emergency information for the millions affected by flooding in Jakarta. We also have a mobile page with emergency contact numbers and lists of shelters, and enhanced search results on google.co.id to provide information directly when people search. We’ve also included this information in our FreeZone service to reach affected users on feature phones.

On both the page and map, which are available in English and Bahasa Indonesia, you'll see an update on flood locations and related data such as traffic conditions in areas affected by the flooding.



To share the page or embed these maps on your own site, click "Share" at the top of the page.

We’ll update the content as more information becomes available.

Posted by Alice Bonhomme-Biais, Software Engineer, Google Crisis Response

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The Internet is redefining citizenship in the 21st century. Technology is helping people to connect, engage, and contribute to society and each other like never before.

We’ve seen developers use our Civic Information API to bring election data to citizens in new and exciting ways. Our live election results maps have been viewed by billions around the world, bringing real-time transparency to elections in Egypt, Mexico, Ghana, and more. Last week, we launched the Kenya Elections Hub for citizens to access the latest news and resources for the country’s presidential election.

Beyond elections, technology can improve everyday civic life: the way we connect, engage, access and act on critical government information. Worldwide, organizations are developing new ways to encourage more open and innovative societies. Google.org is supporting two of these leaders--the Sunlight Foundation and mySociety--and their work on tech solutions for civic innovation.

We are providing $2.1 million to the Sunlight Foundation to grow their programs for open government data, with a focus on making civic information for U.S. cities transparent, available, and useable. By opening up information at the city level for developers as well as citizens, Sunlight is creating opportunity for new ideas that can have an impact in local markets.

We are also supporting mySociety, providing $1.6 million to build a global platform to equip developers with tools and resources--such as open source code--to more easily and quickly launch new civic apps and services. This initiative can promote collaboration between civic-minded technologists, regardless of geography. For example, a civic app created in Finland might be easily replicated 9,000 miles away by a developer in Chile.

Both organizations are working to bring together a larger community--governments, developers, companies, nonprofits, and citizens--with an interest in improving societies. By creating these open platforms today, we can open doors to ambitious new solutions in the future.

Posted by Matthew Stepka, VP, Google.org

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(Cross-posted on the Google Green Blog)

One of the best parts about working at Google is the chance to use the Internet and digital technology to help us all manage energy better. We’ve seen big changes in recent years to the way we watch TV, use phones, read and listen to music, yet how we use electricity hasn’t changed much in decades.

What if instead of a monthly bill we had access to more real-time and actionable information about our electricity consumption? What if our appliances, air conditioners, and lights adjusted automatically to use energy more efficiently and save money? If we did this in every home it would help improve the reliability of the grid and save billions of dollars.

Technology like smart meters and programmable thermostats make it possible to do this today. The challenge is that the rules governing electricity distribution were written for last century’s grid. That’s why Google.org is giving a $2.65M grant to the Energy Foundation to support policy reforms that will lead to more intelligent energy use. The effort will focus on three fundamental areas:

• Smarter electricity rates that encourage consumers to be more efficient, shift their electricity use to times when it’s cheaper and produce their own on-site energy; 

• Access to electricity markets for consumers and other businesses so they can be compensated for cutting energy use at key times; and 

• Open data policies that give customers access to their own energy data, which they can use or share with third parties they select, promoting better energy management tools and services.

These policy reforms, coupled with the new technologies now being deployed on a large scale, can empower consumers to make smarter energy choices, improve real-time management of the electricity grid, and help facilitate more renewable energy all while lowering overall costs.

We hope this grant will help catalyze change and look forward to seeing progress in the years to come.

Posted by Michael Terrell, Senior Policy Counsel, Energy & Sustainability

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One of the world’s biggest challenges is bringing reliable, sustainable and affordable energy to everyone. We need a new energy blueprint for the future—the latest advances in technology have the potential to bring us closer to that goal than ever before.

That’s why I’m pleased to welcome Dr. Arun Majumdar to Google, where he will drive Google.org’s energy initiatives and advise the company on our broader energy strategy. Arun is widely recognized as one of the foremost leaders in energy innovation. He joins us from the Department of Energy, where he served as Acting Undersecretary of Energy and was founding Director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency—Energy (better known as ARPA-E), identifying and providing essential support for the development of transformational new energy technologies. In his roles at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of California at Berkeley, he made great contributions in the areas of energy conversion, transport, and storage, and in 2005 was elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering.

We’re looking forward to great things in the coming year with Arun’s leadership and experience on the team.

Posted by Matthew Stepka, VP, Google.org

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Posted by Shona Brown, SVP, Google.org

When I met Larry and Sergey in July 2003, I had left my role at McKinsey in search of an opportunity to work directly on making the world a better place. I thought I might run a foundation. After our meeting, I realized that this was an entrepreneurial company that could really change with world with technology.

Nearly ten years later, I am retiring from Google to advise startups and social innovators. I will also informally counsel on Google.org efforts. While sad to leave, it has been a terrific ride. Building our Business Operations and People Operations groups, I had the opportunity to develop business strategy, organizational process, and the most important ingredient—the people—to help fuel a rapidly growing Google.

In my decade as a Googler, the Internet has transformed the way we respond to critical human challenges. From our early days, Google has pledged to use technology to tackle big problems, and we continue to deliver on that promise today—whether it’s preparing communities for Superstorm Sandy, publishing live election results in the U.S., Mexico, and Egypt, or investing nearly $1 billion in renewable energy projects that can become major power sources for the future.

It has been incredibly rewarding to end my time at Google leading social impact efforts such as Google.org, Google Green, Crisis Response, Google Giving, and Elections. These teams are improving the world with great leaders at the helm. VP Matthew Stepka will step into my role of day-to-day leadership, while CFO Patrick Pichette will take on a more engaged role from our executive team.

A lot has changed in ten years. But one thing has stayed the same. Google and others are finding new ways to tackle our biggest problems with technology. I’m proud to be a part of that work.

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(Cross-posted from the Google Developers Blog)

Google supports diversity in all our communities, including users, employees, and developers. In that spirit, Google Developers Live launched Women Techmakers (WTM) in November, an initiative to bring visibility to women in technology who are fearlessly innovating, honing technical expertise, and testing the boundaries of the web.

Now, the Women Techmakers series is back for round two! In the spirit of the holidays, hosts Megan Smith of Google[x], Lacy Caruthers (Google.org), Angela Lin (YouTube EDU), and Pavni Diwanji (Google+), sit down with women who are using their technical backgrounds to effect social change and make an impact. Join us in-studio Tuesday through Friday of this week at 2:30 pm PST to learn how Women Techmakers are giving back in big ways.

Tuesday, 12/11: WTM & Julie Hanna - Board of Directors, Kiva.org | 2:30 pm PST | 22:30 UTC | Watch live | Add to calendar

As a repeat entrepreneur, board director of Kiva, startup and venture advisor, and angel investor, Julie Hanna knows about giving back. Her work at Kiva, a crowdfunding pioneer leading the micro-lending marketplace, has been integral in touching over 800,000 low-income entrepreneurs in over 60 countries, adding up to more than $350M loans delivered. Radhika Malpani, Bridgette Sexton of Google Ventures, and Anita Yuen of Google.org dive into Julie’s experience using her technical skills to make social change.

Wednesday, 12/12: WTM & Jennifer Pahlka - Code for America | 2:30 pm PST | 22:30 UTC | Watch live | Add to calendar

Code for America is a new kind of public service. Join hosts Chris DiBona and Lacy Caruthers in the GDL studio, as they sit down with Code for America founder and executive director Jennifer Pahlka to discuss how she is working on the technical side with web professionals and cities nationwide to promote public service and reboot government.

Thursday, 12/13: WTM & Sasha Laundy - Codecademy | 2:30 pm PST | 22:30 UTC | Watch live | Add to calendar

Codecademy makes learning code easy and collaborative. From Women Who Code and Codecademy, Sasha Laundy joins Amanda Surya and Angela Lin for a discussion of how Codecademy makes learning code interactive, iterative, and fun. More minds are better than one!

Friday, 12/14: WTM & Kim Polese - ClearStreet Inc., Sun Microsystems | 2:30 pm PST | 22:30 UTC | Watch live | Add to calendar

ClearStreet Inc., a social finance startup, is focused on helping people eliminate debt and achieve long-term financial health. Chairwoman and original Java Project Manager at Sun, Kim Polese, speaks with Megan Smith and Pavni Diwanji about her experience as a leading Silicon Valley entrepreneur and technology executive, and how her work with ClearStreet is impacting users’ daily lives.

Catch up on the first WTM series while you're getting ready for this week's lineup. Visit the Google+ events to RSVP, add the episodes to your Google calendar, tune in live on GDL, and ask questions of our on-air guests. And, most importantly, become part of the conversation by hashtagging #WTM posts on Google+.

Posted by Phoebe Peronto, Developer Marketing

Connect with GDL at developers.google.com/live. Tune in to live programming, check out the latest in Google tools and technologies, and learn how to make great apps.

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The Google Crisis Response team has assembled a Typhoon Pablo crisis map to help you track the storm’s progress and provide updated emergency information. On the map, you’ll find storm warnings, shelter locations, the latest weather information, and more. The map is available in English, as well as Filipino.

 

You can easily share and embed these maps on your website — just hit the “Share” button at the top of the map to get the HTML code. We’ll continue to update the maps as more information becomes available.

Posted by Steve Hakusa, Software Engineer, Google Crisis Response

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(Cross-posted from the Official Google Blog.)

Inspiration comes in many shapes and forms. For U.S. Marine Sgt. Winston Fiore, it was a news article about the International Children’s Surgical Foundation (ICSF) and Dr. Geoff Williams, who provides free facial-reconstructive surgeries for children with cleft lips/palates in developing countries. Although cleft palates are quite correctable, if left untreated the deformity can cause serious health issues. Many children don’t have the surgery because the cost of each procedure ($250 USD) is out of reach for their families.

Inspired to do something to help, Winston set out on a 5,000-mile trek across Southeast Asia to raise money and awareness for the ICSF—a mission he dubbed Smile Trek. Armed with sturdy boots, a 20-pound vest carrying essentials and an Android phone with Google Maps, Winston set off on his mission in October 2011. In the last year, he has walked (yes, walked!) through Brunei, China, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. Along the way he’s met countless individuals who have contributed to his cause, whether it was a place to stay, a hot meal or a monetary donation on his website.

Trekking along: Winston, standing in front of a durian fruit stand near Sematan, the westernmost town of Malaysian Borneo

Out on the road, Winston’s Android phone and Google Maps became “the hub” of his entire operation. He used Google Maps to find accurate and easy-to-use walking directions everywhere he went, whether it was through remote villages and farms, down tiny dirt roads, or across rice paddies and desolate sugar cane fields. “Walking directions in Google Maps were critical to my trek. The directions were accurate and efficient—it’s essential to take the shortest route when you’re walking 20-25 miles each day,” said Winston. “But the best part was being routed onto roads and trails through areas I otherwise never would have discovered with, say, driving directions, or even a physical map.”

View the complete map of Winston's journey on his site.

In addition to using Google Maps, Winston relied on many other Google products during his trek. He used Google Latitude to keep his family, friends and supporters informed of his whereabouts, and MyTracks to record his speed, distance and the places he visited. He also used Google Translate to communicate with locals, and in one case found it essential: when bit by a stray dog outside of Bangkok, he typed "I got bit by a dog, can someone take me to a hospital?" into his app. A taxi driver took him to the hospital, where he got 11 shots!

Today, after walking 5,000 miles in 408 days, Sgt. Fiore completes his journey, with more than $65,000 raised for ICSF. The money will help to fund more than 200 life-saving surgeries for children in Southeast Asia and other parts of the world. If you’d like to contribute to the International Children’s Surgery Fund and Winston Fiore’s effort, we encourage you to visit: http://smiletrek.org

Posted by Jennifer J. Chen, Product Manager, Google Maps

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