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Views from the frontline: Giving Disaster affected communities a voice

Challenges: 
USAID Development 2.0 (2009)

Views from the Frontline

The Global Network for Disaster Reduction has been established by a global network of NGOs to work alongside the United Nations' action plan for disaster reduction (The Hyogo Frameword for Action HFA): bringing hard facts and robust information and pressure to bear to make sure that promised action and resources reach the people who need it.

www.globalnetwork-dr.org

The Network is connecting up actors at all levels so that the voices of community members are heard, and so that they can collaborate together across the network. We are   generating ‘social demand' for improved delivery of Disaster Risk Reduction.

The network's strategy demands that people in communities - often remote and poorly connected - are given a voice.

The project connecting the frontline

We are combining the approach of MoSoSo (Mobile Social Software) with its emphasis on human emotional interfacing and ‘Mesh' networking approaches which allow for local extensible self healing networks which can connect externally via a single synchronous or asynchronous node.

There are two options for the device platform for this firstly the OLPC (One Laptop per child) XO1. The second option is suitable mobile phones, assuming Wifi enabled phones that can be configured for Mesh networking. The approach has some similarities with emerging networks such as Aka-Aki in Germany.

Action research project

Our programme is already underway. In the first phase we are establishing an architecture of Regional, National and Local participating organisations and communities. In parallel with this we are building the network infrastructure to connect up those with ‘traditional' access. In the coming phase we will apply the ideas outlined in this paper.

We are embarking on an initial pilot phase in which we collaborate with selected communities from those engaged in the network to pilot the concept. Implementation will require software selection and development/customisation, confirmation of the hardware platform, development of Mesh networks and external nodes in the pilot communities, and support and facilitation with the community to develop the network.

Project Details
Project url: 
http://www.globalnetwork-dr.org
Project Assessment
Financial support: 
Project has financial support
Sustainability Model: 
The Global Network was formed under the umbrella of, and with the support of the UN's International Strategy for Disaster reduction (UNISDR) but it is important that it is independent of the UN in order to be able to speak directly and robustly in the call for targetting and direction of resources. Its support therefore come directly from civil society participants, from International NGOs and from Corporate sponsorship.We have core funding in place for the initial 'Views from the Frontline' programme and the small secretariat is underwritten by UK NGO Tearfund. We are currently securing funding for the next stage of our activities. The communications programme is part of this next phase, and we will use the additional funding to establish the 'proof of concept' stage of engaging communities in the network using Mobile Social Software and appropriate hardware with facilitation and training support
Expertise needed: 
Technical Expertise: Resources required<br /> <br /> We need to partner up with imaginative and lateral-thinking software people - open to the human cultural interface issues involved in engaging communities and breaking down cultural and gender barriers to develop the social networking environment and interface on the selected platform. We need support in identifying the right hardware platform. We want to collaborate with anyone who shares a similar concern for unlocking the potential of social networking, social media and social learning to give vulnerable communities a voice.
Project goals: 
UN Hyogo Conference 2005 - The UNISDR recognise the value of a co-ordinated Civil Society Network.June 2007 UNISDR Global Platform meeting - A group of Civil Society Organisations agree the formation of the network October 2007 Network foundedJanuary 2008 Funding secured for initial &#39;Views from the Frontline&#39; programme.  July 2008 300 organisations subscribed to the organisation.  October 2008 Commence programme of regional workshops and training to initiate &#39;Views from the Frontline&#39; Project.  
Identified Obstacles: 
•      Cultural; Engaging an appropriate Social Networking environment with cultures who are not familiar with this medium with particular emphasis on gender and age issues. •      Motivational: Collaborating with communities to create engagement and to provide facilitation to achieve the critical mass necessary for the network to become self-sustaining. •      Technical: Creating Mesh networks and linking them to nodes for external connectivity •      Financial: The costs of customising software to engage effectively with communities, and the hardware and training/support costs.
Project Locations
Project Location: 
Impact locations: 
Submitted by terrygibson on March 17, 2010 - 6:19pm

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