Making the world warmer with scientific technology
Nowadays many people go abroad to help the poor living in developing countries. As we had received financial and technical help in reconstructing Korea in the past, it is quite familiar to us as to give developing countries national assistance. Volunteers including scientists, students have been to overseas to do volunteer work of scientific technique. To hear their stories, I went to ‘Conference on overseas volunteer work of scientific technique’ hosted by ‘Scientists and Engineers Without Borders (국경없는 과학기술자회)’. It was held on April 13th at Seoul National University faculty club.
Let me introduce Scientist and Engineers Without Borders!
The Scientists and Engineers Without borders which organized today conference was founded to provide scientific technology to developing countries. Could you specify exactly what kind of activities does this organization do?
Scientists and Engineers Without borders puts emphasis on ‘network’. In the efforts of encouraging members to do scientific and technological volunteer works in abroad and sharing those volunteer experiences with the general public as well as members of the organization, we have been strengthening domestic and foreign networks. Today’s conference would be a good example of it. Above of all we have researched and developed scientific technology regarding ‘Appropriate Technology’.
Appropriate Technology?
Appropriate Technology(적정기술) literally means appropriate science and technology. When we think of scientific technology, we usually image something difficult and hard. However, Appropriate Technology is a technology which is easy to use and apply anywhere around the world. For instance, we drink water cleared by water purifier. But those living in developing countries should go a long way to get water and carry it back to home. But even that we install a water purifier in that nation, could they use it? Water purifier is useless without electric power so people don’t get benefits from the machine. Appropriate Technology is the one which can be applied and used conveniently in these developing countries.
From this conference, what could teenagers learn?
I expect that their view looking the world would be enlarged. With understanding various cultures, students could strengthen the education that builds their characters. As they have done volunteer activities and made a speech in this conference, teenagers would improve self-esteem as they come to realize that they could be helpful in the society for themselves.
Then let’s go to see how the ‘Oversee Volunteer work of scientific technique conference’ was preceded.
'Overseas Volunteer Work of Scientific Technique Conference' program
The conference consisted of three main sessions.
Session 1- appropriate technology research and development and support.
Session 2- scientific technique volunteer work oversees and cultivate global engineers.
Session 3- develop appropriate technology from on-site experience.
In session1, there was a brief explanation about appropriate technology. And about how these techniques have been applied and developed in recent one year, programs and experiences in developing countries such as Indonesia, Cambodia and Philippines.
After short break time, session 2 started. Session 2 dealt with programs of cultivating global engineers and examples of volunteer works based on these programs.
One professor said that “I think it is meaningful and important to educate students to become great global engineers for the future.”
Among several speeches, I found educational volunteer activity at Kenya presented by a Yonsei university Wonju campus professor interesting. Two attendants of the team members said that even though the work was hard, the team members already had expected such difficulties as no supply of energy, a lot of insects. So those were not big deterrents to them. Also they advised to people who have an idea of volunteering abroad that it would be better to participate in volunteer works with resolute determination.
Last session regarded practical technologies which were already experimented in developing countries. In this session many university students made speeches based on their real experiences.
They planned project, made inventions using appropriate technology and went abroad to set these up. After some period, they sometimes go to the place to check those products’ practicality for further improvements. All these works had been done largely by themselves with the support of universities. Sometimes companies organize these kinds of activities. As an instance, I met several members from Hyosung Blue Challenger before their speech.
Hyosung Blue Challenger (효성 블루챌린저) is a volunteer group of university students supported by cooperation Hyosung.
How and why participated in this conference?
Our professor at Hyosung Blue challenger holds office at SEWB (Scientists and Engineers Without Borders). And he suggested participating this conference to us.
What did you learn?
We have learned a lot by experiencing firsthand. The most essential thing for developing countries is technology and education. As we have realized the importance of ‘teaching them how to catch fish not just giving them caught fish’.
It is also significant to understand and commute with local culture when volunteer abroad.
As an instance, Vietnamese usually nap from 12 pm to 2 pm. Without knowing it, we entered a house to install 'blue stove'(blue challenger's invention) and got embarrassed when we met drunken men.
Through this accident, we came to learn by heart that before providing them with technology, we should respect their lifestyle in advance.
It seems that we should study very hard about science for scientific volunteer.
No, not as such. The technology we provide for developing countries is comprised of basic principles, not very difficult one. In other words, we put stress on making the invention as simple as possible so that residents could use it conveniently. Of course scientific technology and specialized knowledge is important but I think the interest about what would be necessary to them who struggle in these areas matters more.
At this conference, I met and saw many people who struggle to provide developing countries with scientific technology and education around the globe. Those people have been working hard in the pure aim of helping those who suffer from lack of technology which must have been difficult. With the common aim of improving poor countries’ lives better by developing and inventing appropriate technology, volunteers including scientists, technologists, professors and students came together in the conference. They shared their experiences, presented their inventions and sought better ways vigorously.
Seeing not only those people but also the Scientists and Engineers Without Borders, I anticipated in the future the more this kind of people volunteer, the happier the world would be.
Appropriate technology is an ideological movement originally articulated as "intermediate technology". It is generally recognized as encompassing technological choice and application that is small-scale, labor-intensive, energy-efficient, environmentally sound, and locally controlled. Well-known examples of appropriate technology applications include: bike- and hand-powered water pumps, self-contained solar-powered light bulbs and streetlights and passive solar building designs. Today appropriate technology is often developed using open source principles, which have led to open-source appropriate technology (OSAT) and thus many of the plans of the technology can be freely found on the Internet.
From Wikipedia.
For more definition about Appropriate Technology visit the website
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appropriate_technology
Website of Scientists and Engineers Without Borders for more information: http://www.sewb.org/
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