ICTP Documentary Available Online

A documentary highlighting ICTP's efforts to help remote villages in Africa and other developing world regions join the wireless technology revolution was recently shown during the Trieste Film Festival and is now available online.

The documentary, titled "Unwired", follows a team of ICTP scientists during a mission to Africa where they installed low-cost wireless antennas and provided training at several African universities. The ICTP training encourages the use of recycled materials, such as tin cans, to create antennas, and relies on renewable energy to power the instruments.

As a result of these efforts, wireless networks are now increasingly used in Africa to enhance science collaboration between universities there, to allow remote hospitals access to medical expertise, and to monitor environmental conditions related to Malaria outbreaks.

"Wireless technology is the most effective way to bridge the digital divide that is still affecting many African countries," said Sandro Radicella, head of ICTP's Telecommunications/ ICT for Development (T/ICT4D) laboratory, which has coordinated ICTP's wireless training activities and whose motto is "Wireless Solutions for Science".

The documentary was produced by Trieste filmmaker Nicole Leghissa and can be accessed for free at http://wireless.ictp.it/video.html.