DisasterTech at eTech 2008 via humanitarian.info
The Long Last Mile via humanitarian.info
The Long Last Mile via humanitarian.info
OpenStreetMap and the next disaster, Part 1 via humanitarian.info
I’ve corresponded with Mikel Maron for a while now, interested particularly by the work that he’s been involved with introducing Wikis into the UN. However his first love is geospatial and his favourite project is OpenStreetMap, which is a free editable map of the whole world that can be viewed, edited and used in a collaborative way from by anybody, anywhere.
Mikel has been thinking about how this type of approach might be used in disaster response, and he recently gave a presentation at the State of the Map event in Manchester in which he outlined his thoughts so far - you can hear a podcast of his talk, view the slides that accompanied it and read the notes from it. Mikel acknowledges that he’s not an expert, and while there’s a lot of things that I agree...
OpenStreetMap and the next disaster, Part 1 via humanitarian.info
I’ve corresponded with Mikel Maron for a while now, interested particularly by the work that he’s been involved with introducing Wikis into the UN. However his first love is geospatial and his favourite project is OpenStreetMap, which is a free editable map of the whole world that can be viewed, edited and used in a collaborative way from by anybody, anywhere.
Mikel has been thinking about how this type of approach might be used in disaster response, and he recently gave a presentation at the State of the Map event in Manchester in which he outlined his thoughts so far - you can hear a podcast of his talk, view the slides that accompanied it and read the notes from it. Mikel acknowledges that he’s not an expert, and while there’s a lot of things that I agree...
Housekeeping via AIDS Combat Zone
Just a few odds and ends before the July 4 holiday weekend begins...Tomorrow is the submission deadline for the first ever International Carnival of the Pozitivities AIDS Blog Carnival. If you've seen (or written) any good blog posts on AIDS topics please consider submitting them to the carnival.The World Bank Private Sector Development Blog has an interesting post on why global health issues may deserve higher priority than climate change. They remind us that it would take an Aceh-sized earthquake and tsunami every month to keep pace with the number of deaths caused by AIDS alone.The AIDS Awareness Blog links to a Reuters story that India is going to attempt to verify UN reports that in 2005 the country overtook South Africa as the country with the most residents living with HIV....
Housekeeping via AIDS Combat Zone
Just a few odds and ends before the July 4 holiday weekend begins...Tomorrow is the submission deadline for the first ever International Carnival of the Pozitivities AIDS Blog Carnival. If you've seen (or written) any good blog posts on AIDS topics please consider submitting them to the carnival.The World Bank Private Sector Development Blog has an interesting post on why global health issues may deserve higher priority than climate change. They remind us that it would take an Aceh-sized earthquake and tsunami every month to keep pace with the number of deaths caused by AIDS alone.The AIDS Awareness Blog links to a Reuters story that India is going to attempt to verify UN reports that in 2005 the country overtook South Africa as the country with the most residents living with HIV....
The Right to Know via humanitarian.info
The Office of the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery wins the award for UN office with the most unwieldy title. Forget about UN reform, the real issue is giving all these initiatives names that actually make grammatical sense.
However the Office of the… well, they’ve published a really interesting report on the role of public information in accountability measures, called The Right to Know (pdf file). Once again, I’m several months late, since this was published in October. Sue me.
The report takes a wide-ranging look at the issues linking information and accountability, which has also been identified by the Tsunami Evaluation Coalition, the excellent IFRC World Disasters Report 2005 and my own article for the Humanitarian Practice...
The Right to Know via humanitarian.info
The Office of the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery wins the award for UN office with the most unwieldy title. Forget about UN reform, the real issue is giving all these initiatives names that actually make grammatical sense.
However the Office of the… well, they’ve published a really interesting report on the role of public information in accountability measures, called The Right to Know (pdf file). Once again, I’m several months late, since this was published in October. Sue me.
The report takes a wide-ranging look at the issues linking information and accountability, which has also been identified by the Tsunami Evaluation Coalition, the excellent IFRC World Disasters Report 2005 and my own article for the Humanitarian Practice...
Disaster Prediction, Social Networking Boosted by Geo-Data Feeds via humanitarian.info
National Geographic carries an interesting short article entitled Disaster Prediction, Social Networking Boosted by Geo-Data Feeds, looking at how geoRSS can make sharing spatial data simpler, quicker and more useful.
The article deals with prediction rather than response, and the question of how geoRSS might improve disaster response is still open. The obvious one is data sharing from needs assessments or situation reports, but that goes back to the problem that most people don’t really understand the role of spatial data - let alone set up their mobile phone as an automatic GPS ping, like Tim Hibbard in this article.
What it’s about is changing peoples attitudes towards spatial data - making them realise its value - and offering them the tools to work with that data more...
Disaster Prediction, Social Networking Boosted by Geo-Data Feeds via humanitarian.info
National Geographic carries an interesting short article entitled Disaster Prediction, Social Networking Boosted by Geo-Data Feeds, looking at how geoRSS can make sharing spatial data simpler, quicker and more useful.
The article deals with prediction rather than response, and the question of how geoRSS might improve disaster response is still open. The obvious one is data sharing from needs assessments or situation reports, but that goes back to the problem that most people don’t really understand the role of spatial data - let alone set up their mobile phone as an automatic GPS ping, like Tim Hibbard in this article.
What it’s about is changing peoples attitudes towards spatial data - making them realise its value - and offering them the tools to work with that data more...
D-TRAC is 1 year old! via humanitarian.info
Happy birthday to Saundra and all the staff at D-TRAC! Below the radar, D-TRAC have been doing a lot of legwork in terms of practical NGO accountability. Focused tightly on post-tsunami Thailand, they provide a physical focal point with dedicated staff working on support to the NGO community.
One of the things that their work demonstrates is that it takes a lot of resources to reach even a basic level of co-ordination - which in turn raises the question of how to expand this type of work to have a wider reach. They’re now looking at how they can open offices in other countries, providing the same field-focused services.
Tracking organisations has been one of D-Trac’s big concerns, and we’ve been talking about whether Sahana might be adapted to their needs. The news...
D-TRAC is 1 year old! via humanitarian.info
Happy birthday to Saundra and all the staff at D-TRAC! Below the radar, D-TRAC have been doing a lot of legwork in terms of practical NGO accountability. Focused tightly on post-tsunami Thailand, they provide a physical focal point with dedicated staff working on support to the NGO community.
One of the things that their work demonstrates is that it takes a lot of resources to reach even a basic level of co-ordination - which in turn raises the question of how to expand this type of work to have a wider reach. They’re now looking at how they can open offices in other countries, providing the same field-focused services.
Tracking organisations has been one of D-Trac’s big concerns, and we’ve been talking about whether Sahana might be adapted to their needs. The news...
SOMALIA: Political Talks Underway in Khartoum via Ainashe.net
The Reuters news agency reports:
Talks aimed at reconciling Somalia’s fledgling transitional government and the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), were continuing on Monday in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, under the mediation of the League of Arab States. At the same time Kenya announced that President Mwai Kibaki would on Tuesday chair a special summit of the regional Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), which will discuss the Somali crisis. IGAD, which comprises Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, Uganda and Somalia, mediated the reconciliation talks that culminated in the formation of the transitional government in Kenya in October 2004.
Click here to view the full report....
SOMALIA: Political Talks Underway in Khartoum via Ainashe.net
The Reuters news agency reports:
Talks aimed at reconciling Somalia’s fledgling transitional government and the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), were continuing on Monday in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, under the mediation of the League of Arab States. At the same time Kenya announced that President Mwai Kibaki would on Tuesday chair a special summit of the regional Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), which will discuss the Somali crisis. IGAD, which comprises Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, Uganda and Somalia, mediated the reconciliation talks that culminated in the formation of the transitional government in Kenya in October 2004.
Click here to view the full report....
Software Tool For International Relief and Development Coordination via Bytesforall.org - rssBody
The Development Gateway Foundation has launched an open source
software tool that organizations can use to coordinate international relief and development efforts. Called the Local Projects Database (LPD), this tool can be downloaded from the web.
(See...
Software Tool For International Relief and Development Coordination via Bytesforall.org - rssBody
The Development Gateway Foundation has launched an open source
software tool that organizations can use to coordinate international relief and development efforts. Called the Local Projects Database (LPD), this tool can be downloaded from the web.
(See...
How to Build a Global Internet Tsunami Warning System in a Month via Bytesforall.org - rssBody
We need is a tsunami warning system not just for parts of Asia, but for anywhere in the world that might be subject to such conditions. And that decision about what beaches to protect ought to come not from Washington, D.C., or Jakarta, or any other capital city, but from the beach people, themselves. If you are concerned about a giant tidal wave taking out your village, it might be a good idea to build your own warning system, you retired engineer, you Radio Shack manager, you harbor master, you radio amateur, you nerd with a suntan....
How to Build a Global Internet Tsunami Warning System in a Month via Bytesforall.org - rssBody
We need is a tsunami warning system not just for parts of Asia, but for anywhere in the world that might be subject to such conditions. And that decision about what beaches to protect ought to come not from Washington, D.C., or Jakarta, or any other capital city, but from the beach people, themselves. If you are concerned about a giant tidal wave taking out your village, it might be a good idea to build your own warning system, you retired engineer, you Radio Shack manager, you harbor master, you radio amateur, you nerd with a suntan....
Technology’s tsunami relief role via Bytesforall.org - rssBody
The latest satellite technology and the internet have played a crucial role in the aftermath of the devastating tsunami which struck the coasts of countries in South Asia and Africa on 26...
Technology’s tsunami relief role via Bytesforall.org - rssBody
The latest satellite technology and the internet have played a crucial role in the aftermath of the devastating tsunami which struck the coasts of countries in South Asia and Africa on 26...
RED CROSS appeals for support as tidal waves batter South Asia via Bytesforall.org - rssBody
The International Federation of the Red Cross is seeking support for "one of the
largest operations" ever to aid an estimated 500,000 victims in
multiple countries, including the Indian Ocean republic of Maldives
where at least one of its nearly 2,000 islands is completely under......
Some links on Tsunami affects in South And South East Asia via Bytesforall.org - rssBody
* In pictures: Asian quake disaster *
Pictures of the devastation left by huge earthquake-triggered waves
around the Indian...
RED CROSS appeals for support as tidal waves batter South Asia via Bytesforall.org - rssBody
The International Federation of the Red Cross is seeking support for "one of the
largest operations" ever to aid an estimated 500,000 victims in
multiple countries, including the Indian Ocean republic of Maldives
where at least one of its nearly 2,000 islands is completely under......
Some links on Tsunami affects in South And South East Asia via Bytesforall.org - rssBody
* In pictures: Asian quake disaster *
Pictures of the devastation left by huge earthquake-triggered waves
around the Indian...
Arun Mehta’s letter to TRAI on freeing Ham Radio Operation via Bytesforall.org - rssBody
As you can imagine, I hate to be this right. Tens of thousands of
lives is too many to prove a point. But will they be enough to
get the WPC to...
Amatuer Radio Operators on Disaster Mitigation via Bytesforall.org - rssBody
In light of the interest in post-Tsunami disaster mitigation projects, just so that it is on record, the SEANET (South East Asia Network of Amatuer Radio Operators) meets on HF Frequency 14.320 MHz +/- QRM every day at 1200Z for many years now on USB - Upper Side Band....
Arun Mehta’s letter to TRAI on freeing Ham Radio Operation via Bytesforall.org - rssBody
As you can imagine, I hate to be this right. Tens of thousands of
lives is too many to prove a point. But will they be enough to
get the WPC to...
Amatuer Radio Operators on Disaster Mitigation via Bytesforall.org - rssBody
In light of the interest in post-Tsunami disaster mitigation projects, just so that it is on record, the SEANET (South East Asia Network of Amatuer Radio Operators) meets on HF Frequency 14.320 MHz +/- QRM every day at 1200Z for many years now on USB - Upper Side Band....