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humanitarian relief

 
MobileActive08

A Global Summit about
Mobile Technology for Social Impact
October 13-15, 2008
Johannesburg, South Africa

 
 
Wireless Technology for Social Change
Read the new report on trends in mobile use by NGOs:
Wireless Technology for Social Change.

The report was commissioned by the UN Foundation/Vodafone Group Foundation Partnership and written by Katrin Verclas and Sheila Kinkade.
 

Souktel: Jobs and Aid via SMS

June 8, 2008 | CorinneRamey
file under:
humanitarian relief, job service, palestine, sms, west bank

Getting information in the West Bank in Palestine can be difficult. Public transportation is fragmented and some 500 checkpoints around the area make travel time-consuming and difficult. Most people don't have regular Internet access, and newspapers are expensive. A project called Souktel has stepped in to fill this information gap. The service, launched in 2006, uses SMS to connect users to two services: job opportunities and humanitarian aid. The name comes from "souk," the Arabic word for "marketplace," and "tel," or "telephone."

Jacob Korenblum, co-founder of Souktel, talked with MobileActive about the project.

Read More >>



MobileActive Geeks: Google Awards for "Mobile For Good" Android Applications

November 12, 2007 | KatrinVerclas
file under:
android, android for good, humanitarian relief, mobile applications, mobileactive

MobileActives, start coding! We called for an "Android for Good" last week and here it is. Google and the Open Handset Alliance's open platform released its software developer kit (SDK) today and issues a mobile application challenge that includes a call for applications for humanitarian benefit and economic development. The challenge will issue a total of $10 million USD, initially in a first phase that will award $25,000 each to 50 applications received by March 3rd, 2008. The second part of the challenge, launched after the first handsets built on the Android platform become available in the second half of 2008, will then award ten $275,000 and ten $100,000 prizes for the most promising apps that warrant further development.

According to the FAQ, the Alliance is "looking to reward innovative, useful apps that make use of Android's capabilities to deliver a better mobile experience." These include applications in these areas:

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Dial H for Humanitarian: Guest Writer Paul Currion on mobiles in humanitarian work

November 6, 2007 | KatrinVerclas
file under:
cell phone, currion, humanitarian relief, mobile phone, mobileactive

I interviewed Paul Currion for a research project for the UN Foundation and Vodafone Group Foundation that will be released next year. I asked him about the "state of affairs" of using mobile phones in disaster relief work and humanitarian emergencies. Veritable blogger that he is, he summarized his thoughts on his blog and gave permission to cross-post here.

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Telecom Sans Frontieres

file under:
Disaster Relief, humanitarian relief, mobile phone, mobile phones in disaster, mobileactive, telcom sans frontier
operates in:
France, Indonesia, Peru

contact:

http://www.tsfi.org/

Mobile phones are used in various disaster relief programs, especially in connecting victims to family or relatives in the immediate aftermath of disasters.

 

References / Past Projects

From TSF website:

Today TSF plays a key role in strengthening coordination and communication by deploying telecommunications centers within 48 hours of an emergency. These centers offer broadband Internet access, voice communications, fax lines and all the IT equipment needed for a field office. To do its work TSF uses highly portable and light satellite terminals deployable within minutes with a worldwide coverage - and teams in our three regional bases are o call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Since 1998, TSF has assisted in 55 emergencies on all of the 5 continents. In 2005 alone, TSF deployed in 10 countries to the benefit of over 50,000 people and more than 250 NGO and UN agencies. TSF has 3 deployment bases, in France, Nicaragua and Thailand.

Created in 1998 and now the leading NGO specializing in emergency telecommunications
3 operational bases for a worldwide coverage and response anywhere within 48 hours
Missions in 40+ countries, serving millions of victims, 350+ UN Agencies and NGOs
Supported by some of the biggest telecommunications companies and foundations
Designated “First Emergency Telecoms Responder”; OCHA and UNICEF partner within the UN Emergency Telecoms Cluster (ETC)
Partner of the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO)
Member of the UN Working Group on emergency Telecommunications (WGET)



Peer-to-Peer Mobile -- Subversive and Effective?

September 12, 2007 | KatrinVerclas
file under:
humanitarian relief, mobile peer-to-peer, mobileactive, sms campaign, Terranet

MobileActive friend and colleague Anders Carlius runs Terranet, an innovative company providing mobile peer-to-peer technology. Anders is a former businessman from Sweden who decided he wanted to do good in the world with a new venture after a career in telecommunications. His company is after an emerging market in developing countries with either a rural or densely populated market (such as a refugee camp, for exaple).

The technology is simple: Terranet outfits a special Erricson phone with peer-to-peer wireless networking ability. In its pure form, there is no need for base stations, antenna installations or infrastructure. With this phone, a user can call and text anyone at no cost within two kilometers, or up to 20 kilometres in a mesh network. Through TerraNet wireless Internet access point, the phone turns into a normal wireless communication device.

From Terranet's prospectus:

Read More >>