The IEEE Humanitarian Technologies Board (HTB) Workshop is focused on sharing best practices when supporting adoption of appropriate Technological Innovation to address societal challenges in partnership with Local Communities. The workshop will briefly provide insight into volunteer activities and professional development supported by IEEE HTB and Region 8 Humanitarian Activities (HuAC) including sharing insight into the IEEE R8 HuAC Climate Change Hackathon. Speakers will share case studies and best practices from a number of successful SIGHT (Special Interest Group on Humanitarian Technologies) Projects undertaken in Region 8 and a volunteer initiative supporting Tribal Communities in Alaska.

The workshop will be inactive in nature with quizzes following each presentation, followed by Hands on Capacity Building Group Work.

Conference delegates who contribute during the entire workshop will have the opportunity to complete a survey and request a Certificate of Participation after the event.

Moderators: Miriam Cunningham, Elizabeth Johnston

Miriam Cunningham Member, IEEE HTB, Chair IEEE HTB Ad Hoc Committee on SIGHT Best Practices

Abdullateef Aliyu, Past Chair, IEEE Region 8 Humanitarian Activities Committee

Lavender Ndunya, Member, IEEE Region 8 Humanitarian Activities Committee

Miriam Cunningham, Member, IEEE HTB, Chair IEEE HTB Ad Hoc Committee on SIGHT Best Practices

Prof Nizar Rokbani, IEEE Tunisia Section SIGHT

Elizabeth Johnston, Member, IEEE HTB

Reporting Back of Group Work Results

Mr. Abdullatif Aliyu

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Mr. Abdullatif Aliyu is an accomplished General Manager of Projects at Phase 3 Telecom. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Bayero University Kano and a master’s degree in ICT from the Northern University of Malaysia. Abdullateef has a certification from USTTI in Washington DC, He is a renewable energy enthusiast and a certified business analyst.

Abdullateef previously worked at Suburban West Africa and joined Phase 3 Telecom in 2013. He played a pivotal role in expanding the company’s optical aerial and underground infrastructure, spanning over 6000 km. He led the successful implementation of Phase 3 Telecom’s 100G transmission network backbone nationwide.

Abdullateef is a distinguished senior member of IEEE and currently chairs the IEEE Student Activities Committee in Region 8 as Vice Chair of Student Activities in Region 8. He founded the IEEE Smart Village Africa Working group in 2020 that now has representatives in 44 Africa Countries with over 800 members and volunteers. He is a Chartered Engineer with certifications including CSM, PMP, CBA, and CQIA. He is also a member of the Nigeria Society of Engineers and Council for the Regulations of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN).

Abdullateef has received several awards and accolades, including recognition from Phase 3 Telecom, IEEE Smart Village, IEEE Region 8, IEEE Nigeria Section, NSE Maitama branch, MGA Board, and IEEE R8 ASYP Congress.

Miriam Cunningham

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Miriam Cunningham (IEEE Senior Member, IEEE-HKN) is a technology and innovation expert with over 25 years experience working with education and research, industry and government organisations. Miriam specialises in contributing to policy analysis, research capacity building, adaptation and implementation of appropriate technology in low resource environments.

Miriam has extensive experience as Co-Principal Investigator of large-scale digital technology innovation oriented cross-border and regional projects in Europe and Africa, including ICT4Development. She has co-organised over 45 large international conferences around the world, including both IEEE and government hosted conferences.

Miriam is Head of Research of the not-for-profit IST-Africa Institute, working in strategic partnership with Ministries and National Councils responsible for Innovation, Science and Technology in 18 African Member States.

Miriam is an active IEEE volunteer with several leadership roles including IEEE SSIT Board of Governors, IEEE SSIT UK and Ireland Chapter Chair and 2023 IEEE Humanitarian Technologies Board Member chairing the Ad Hoc Committee on SIGHT Best Practices.

Lavender Ndunya

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Lavender Ndunya is a Member of the Region 8 Humanitarian Activities Committee since 2021. She has taken the lead during 2023 in organising the Region 8 Humanitarian Activities Committee Climate Change Hackathon. Other IEEE volunteer positions include Industry Engagement Chair & Treasurer, IEEE Kenya Section and Finance Chair, IEEE Africon 2023.

Lavender is based in Kenya and is a New Product Introduction (NPI) Manager for British American Tobacco, managing different manufacturing projects in the company’s East and Southern African Area. She holds BSc. Electrical & Electronic Engineering from JKUAT.

Dr. Nizar Rokbani

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Dr. Nizar Rokbani is an Assit Prof. University of Sousse, Tunisia and an IEEE Senior member. He has served in several volunteering positions in IEEE RAS and SMC Tunisia Chapters since 2009. He has organised the IEEE Robocomp robotics competition from 2010 to 2015.

He is very active in promoting open hard electronics with a specific focus on robotics and related applications. He is very active in promoting STEM and early engineering activities. His research interests include applications of intelligent techniques such as Swarm intelligence, computational intelligence, fuzzy logic, evolutionary algorithms to robotic systems and industrial processes.

Dr. Rokbani received several IEEE awards including the Meritorious Achievement Award in Pre-University Education, IEEE Educational Activities Board 2019, IEEE, USA. “For significantly increasing the impact of the IEEE Teacher In-Service Program (TISP) in Tunisia through the Robotics for Democracy program”; the IEEE R8 Chapter of the year 2019 Award; and the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society, Chapter of the Year Award, 2017.

Elizabeth TB Johnston

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Elizabeth TB Johnston, PE, FPE, SMIEEE. Principal Electrical Engineer at the firm Design Alaska, Elizabeth holds a Bachelors Degree in Electrical Engineering and a Masters in Engineering Management. Elizabeth works in the architectural engineering field specializing in lighting, communications, and power and energy designs for buildings throughout Alaska’s arctic and subarctic. Elizabeth leads a team of engineers and maintains an active design practice specializing in remote projects in communities with stand-alone generation systems. She is an internationally recognized engineer with the Award of Merit from the Illuminating Engineering Society and the IEEE PES Robert Noberini Distinguished Contributions to Power Engineering Professionalism Award. Elizabeth has served IEEE as a volunteer in many roles primarily supporting its humanitarian, student, and governance programs. She currently serves on the IEEE Humanitarian Activities Board among other roles.

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