Two Knight International Journalism Fellows -- Justin Arenstein and I -- attended the first summit of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) on April 17 and 18 in Brazil to see how this new movement can influence our work.

The meeting of the group, founded by the presidents of Brazil and the United States in September 2011, marked the official launch of a global effort to promote the principles of transparency and open data in the public sector.

I attended this year’s South By Southwest Interactive Festival (SXSWi) to interact with industry leaders and explore interactive technologies we could use to help people in developing countries access and share information in new ways.

For the unfamiliar, SXSWi is a five-day extravaganza of panels, parties, free food, meetings planned and moments serendipitous, accelerators, keynotes and one massive tech trade show. Few events bring together such an amazing array of mobile and digital thinkers and innovators.

Tomato farmers all over Jordan face a daily challenge. Should they collect their daily crops and send them to the central vegetable markets without knowing the market availability or price? If there is a big stock of tomatoes in that market, high supply and stable demand reduce the prices. Sometimes there aren't enough buyers and the produce goes to waste. Since there are no tomato processing facilities in Jordan, the result is a direct loss to Jordanian farmers.