The 2009 International Development Design Summit in Ghana brought together people from around the globe to build appropriate technologies and develop the creative capacity in our partner communities in rural Ghana. This year, there were over 90 participants and organizers representing 21 countries from around the world: India, Ghana, United States, United Knigdom, Zambia, Sierra Leone, Guatemala, Ireland, China, Malaysia, Brazil, Malawi, Peru, Pakistan, Canada, Colombia, Nigeria, Guinea, Singapore, Tanzania, Uganda. The 2009 summit is unique in that it was hosted outside of the United States for the first time. IDDS prides itself on the spirit of co-creation and this movement from the United States to Ghana enabled participants to be immersed in the local context and work together with community members on a regular basis. There is a huge difference between an MIT lab and a rural village of a developing country; the main benefit of having IDDS in Ghana was the proximity to community partners and potential end users of the technologies.

The 5 week long collaboration took place at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi, Ghana where participants had access to Suame Magazine, the largest informal industrial sector in the world. The Magazine is located in the centre of Kumasi, spanning twenty miles, with a working population of over 200,000 people. There are approximately 12,000 independent micro, small and medium enterprises located in the area and their main activities of vehicle repair and metal fabrication (welding and casting) are renowned for their ingenuity all across West Africa. IDDS teams worked closely with the mechanics and artisans of Suame Magazine, sharing ideas, techniques and technologies with each other in hopes of solving design challenges that could help transform the lives of those living on less than $1-2 a day. Teams also collaborated with ten villages throughout the Brong - Ahafo and Ashanti regions, visiting them three times over the course of the summit. At the conclusion of the summit, representatives from each village attended the final presentations at KNUST to see the updated versions of the 12 devices that they helped to create. Prototypes were then displayed at the 2009 Maker Faire Africa in Accra.

Working prototypes that IDDS teams have designed and built in partnership with local communities:
A press that speeds up the process of extracting oil from shea nuts
Poster 1 Poster 2 Poster 3
A device for generating electricity from a playground carousel
Poster 1 Poster 2
A machine for making recycled products from used water sachets
Poster 1 Poster 2
A series of tools which can be used to thresh groundnuts
Poster 1 Poster 2
A chlorine dispenser for disinfecting drinking water, independent of volume
Poster 1 Poster 2 Poster 3
A mechanism for producing chlorine from salt water using readily available materials
Poster 1 Poster 2 Poster 3
A device for monitoring the growth of children under five through cell phone technology
Poster 1 Poster 2 Poster 3
An easy to assemble battery for low cost lighting made from local materials
Poster 1 Poster 2 Poster 3 Poster 4
A human powered grating machine for speeding up the processing of cassava
Poster 1 Poster 2 Poster 3
A thresher to improve the quality of rice by preventing stones from mixing with the grains
Poster 1 Poster 2 Poster 3
A family friendly latrine designed to promote use among young children
Poster 1 Poster 2 Poster 3 Poster 4
A series of devices to improve the shelf life of tomatoes during transport and storage
Poster 1 Poster 2 Poster 3 Poster 4 Poster 5

KNUST and MIT cordially invite the public to attend the following open events held at the KNUST Campus in Kumasi, Ghana:

Monday, 10th August
3:00pm-5:30pm, KNUST Museum
Final Presentations, Poster Session and Demonstration of Prototypes

Maker Faire Africa, 14th-16th August
Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT at Accra, Ghana
Showcase of Final Projects

Wednesday, 8th July
9:00am-10:30am, Great Hall Conference Room, KNUST
Professor John Powell, Former Director of the Technology Consultancy Centre

Tuesday, 14th July
1:30pm-2:45pm, Great Hall Conference Room, KNUST
Mr. Paul Polak, Founder of International Development Enterprises and Author of Out of Poverty

Thursday, 30th July
10:30am-12:00am, Great Hall Conference Room, KNUST
Professor Paul Hudnut, Colorado State University College of Business