17 May 2012

Indonesia: In the past, Ewa Wojkowska, Toshi Nakamura and Jordi Joan Tablada were involved with the United Nations in different development projects around the world. Ewa, a former UN Volunteer, worked as a UNV District Field Officer in Timor-Leste. Toshi, a former Junior Professional Officer (JPO), worked as a UNDP Programme Officer in Timor-Leste. Jordi, a former UN Volunteer, worked as a UNV IT Specialist in Vietnam. Through various networks, their paths merged and Kopernik--an online marketplace to bridge the gap between innovators, developing communities and financial supporters in order to distribute life-changing technology effectively to the developing world--was born.

On the occasion of World Telecommunication and Information Society Day on 17 May, the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme hosted an online chat with Ewa. She discussed a number of topics ranging from online volunteering (“We rely heavily on the hard work of volunteers from all over the world!”) to the technological needs of communities (“We are purely demand driven.”).

Ewa’s UN experience has made an impression on her work today, especially as she aims to bridge the development divide through technology.

“I was very lucky because my UNV position allowed me to work at a very grassroots level. It was a completely life-changing and formative experience and formed the way I approached development work. I learned that everything has to be grounded in local culture, in local knowledge.”
-- Ewa Wojkowska, former UN Volunteer

But their development work has not been an easy road. Toshi explains the challenges: “I liked our first project in Nigeria, from which we learned so much. The solar lights we brought there got broken within a few months!” Toshi adds, “We learned the importance of follow-up monitoring and use of quality products. We were able to replace them with another technology which has received very positive feedback from several other organizations.”

With trial, error and success, they have managed to stay inspired. Jordi says, “The most satisfying thing for me is to see the real impact of our work in the field. I think about it every morning so I can keep myself both happy and motivated.” Toshi adds, “A simple water filter, or solar light have transformative impact on many people’s lives.”

Read the full chat here

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Bios:

Ewa is the Co-Founder and COO of Kopernik. Prior to Kopernik, she worked for the United Nations and the World Bank in Timor-Leste, Indonesia, Sierra Leone, Thailand and New York, focusing on the empowerment of vulnerable and disadvantaged groups. In 2011 she was recognized as one of Advance's 50 emerging women leaders and she has been named Rutgers University Social Entrepreneur of the Year 2012.

Toshi (Co-Founder and CEO) has extensive experience in international development gained during his career with the United Nations. He has spent the past 10 years living in East Timor, Indonesia, Sierra Leone, the United States and Switzerland working with the United Nations and dealt with governance reform, peace building processes and post-disaster reconstruction including the tsunami in Aceh and the Yogyakarta earthquake. Toshi was selected as World Economic Forum's Young Global Leader in 2012.

Jordi is a software engineer from the Barcelona School of Informatics and holds a postgraduate degree in International Cooperation and Development from the Technical University of Catalonia. He has worked for several companies in France, Germany, India and Spain. His field of focus since he graduated has been designing and developing software and becoming a specialist in the domain of web applications. His interest in international cooperation and development started when he worked half a year for UNDP Vietnam in 2007.