ICT for Peace Foundation

New Media and Humanitarian Aid - Presentation at Kofi Annan Global Humanitarian Forum, 2009

At this year�s Kofi Annan Global Humanitarian Forum in Geneva, Chairman of the ICT4Peace Foundation Daniel Stauffacher was invited to make a presentation on New Media and Humanitarian Aid on 23 June 2009 in a panel entitled New Media. He shared this panel with

Nitin Desai, Member, Prime Minister�s Council on Climate Change, India and Special Adviser to the UN for the World Summit on an Information Society
Wijayananda Jayaweera, Director, Communication Development Division, UNESCO
Don Tapscott, Author, Wikinomics; Chairman, nGenera Insight
Bill McKibben, Co-Founder and Director, 350.org
Florence Nibart-Devouard, Member, Advisory Board, Wikimedia Foundation; Chair, Wikimedia (2006-2008)

The panel was structured on the following framework, with speakers asked to deliver a 5 minute presentation at first:

The humanitarian benefits of latest developments in internet technology and telecommunications are only beginning to be recognized. Hurricane Katrina and other emergencies have demonstrated how the user-defined online encyclopedia, Wikipedia, can act as an unparalleled source of upto-date information on such disasters. While portable phones with imagery devices offer the ability to discretely document atrocities and emergency situations. How will the role of such technologies expand over time? And how can the humanitarian system take better advantage of their benefits?

To download the presentation, please click here.�

For full programme and details of the panel from the GHF website, please click here.�

Good practices in participatory mapping - Review by IFAD

An excellent new report from International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) looks at GIS and participatory mapping techniques that in places like Ghana have been used for conflict resolution as well. As noted in the report,

The breadth of tools available makes participatory mapping highly flexible and valuable in development initiatives. Yet these mapping initiatives can be ineffective and generate confusion and conflict if implemented without a working knowledge of cartography, participatory development processes and community facilitation and organization skills.

This report will review existing knowledge related to participatory mapping and recent developments. Specifically

Section 1 will define the main features of participatory mapping;
Section 2 will discuss key applications of participatory mapping;
Section 3 will present specific tools used in participatory mapping, including their strengths and weaknesses;
Section 4 will identify good practices and explore the significance of process in participatory mapping initiatives.

Download the report from here.

Keynote Speech by Dr. Choi Soon-Hong, Assistant Secretary-General and Chief Information Technology Officer at the United Nations to Deutsche Welle Global Media Forum

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Keynote Speech

Deutsche Welle Global Media Forum, 3 June 2009, Bonn, Germany

Choi Soon-Hong, PhD, Assistant Secretary-General and Chief Information Technology Officer, The United Nations�

Mr. Bettermann, Excellencies, distinguished guests, ladies, and gentlemen.

I am very pleased to be invited to this year�s Deutche Welle Global Media Forum on conflict prevention in the multimedia age.

As in society at large, new information technologies and new media solutions have woven themselves into the fabric of what we do from all sides � whether it is social engagement, economic development, humanitarian assistance, or even UN�s peacekeeping mission. As the first ever Chief Information Technology Officer for the United Nations, I am happy to report that the UN has made good progress in not just recognizing but institutionalizing the power of information technology. Never before, information technology has been as visible and well-positioned as a driver for change within this global institution. The challenge for the UN and its stakeholders is now to find a way to harness the power of both traditional and new solutions to better serve, to better inform, and to better protect people, especially in times of crises.

Often times, this means providing the right information at the right time, whether it is during a natural disaster such as the Tsunami in Thailand, the current urgent need to help internally displaced people in Sri Lanka, or the evacuation of people in certain parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) due to a potential of catastrophic volcanic eruption. In any such scenario, having access to timely and reliable information will save lives and allow governments, UN organizations, NGOs, the media, and others to achieve better results.

The reality, however, is that many organizations involved in crises often develop what we call �point solutions�, instead of �integrated solutions�, to manage crisis information. This is of course a product of a long history of organic growth of these organizations and the necessity among many of the organizations operating across multiple countries and regions to respond to varying situations. However, advances in technology and improvements in our ability to communicate with one another have provided the opportunity to collaborate more effectively and, more importantly, to begin developing more integrated approaches to leverage information to prevent, respond to, and recover from crises.

In fact, my office, in collaboration with the ICT4Peace Foundation, is currently leading an initiative with our key stakeholders in the field and at headquarters to formulate such integrated approaches that will produce significant improvements in the overall crisis information management capabilities of the international community. An initial stocktaking exercise of current situations was conducted last year and we have since gathered a group of information management and technology specialists developing the integrated approaches. Toward this end, we will be focusing on four main fronts: (1) information architecture work to define and gather a set of data critically needed during a crisis, (2) technology development initiatives to create interoperable systems and tools, (3) capacity building activities to enhance the international community�s overall human resources and technical capacity to deal with crises, and finally (4) outreach efforts to increase support from a broad spectrum of stakeholders in both public and private sectors for the new approach.

While these �technicalities� may not seem as directly relevant to this audience, the success of such an endeavor will have incredibly far-reaching implications for the UN and other actors in the field. For example, streamlining and standardizing the way we collect and share critical information prior to and during a crisis could lead to more effective decision making and timely delivery of essential services to those in need of help. The availability of more credible, accurate, complete and timely information could also contribute to improving public communications and journalistic reporting. With improved quality of information, fund-raising efforts that depend upon broad public awareness and support could produce better results. Finally, with more complete and accessible data, post conflict event reporting and evaluation could be facts-based and transparent.

Furthermore, incorporating integrated strategies means that citizens, the media, and organizations can both use and �feed-in� important real-time data during crises as well. In fact, we have been working with a non-profit organization some of you may know, Ushahidi, to enhance real-time situation reporting based on crowd-sourcing. You may recall that Ushahidi arose in response to the 2008 post-election crisis in Kenya. Establishing an environment, where innovation such as that of Ushahidi can be leveraged more broadly and easily, is part of the goals of our integrated approaches. Indeed, if you go to the Ushahidi website today, you will find that they have also deployed the tool in response to the 2009 elections in India and the recent H1N1 virus epidemic.�

Examples like this one are increasingly frequent as more and more people gain access to the Internet and mobile technologies in remote areas of the world. At the same time, it is also important to note that traditional communications channels, such as sirens and radio, are still very much part of how information is communicated during a crisis in some parts of the world. I want to assure you that our integrated approaches to crisis information management that I have described will attempt to support a range of solutions both high and low-tech, as well as for challenging environment where high network bandwidth is not available. ��

Finally, I am conscious of the role that the UN can play in uniting disparate actors and solutions across various sectors of society. As such, I am genuinely interested in learning more about new multimedia tools and practices you may be more familiar with. I also welcome your ideas and inputs on our efforts as well.

Indeed, the world of multimedia technology is in transition. It is increasingly obvious that the transition will have major influence on the future of the media�s information creation, delivery and management. In this regard, I would like to congratulate Deutsche Welle to organize this broad-based discussion on this emerging issue.

I am honored to be part of this year�s event. I look forward to seeing fruitful outcomes from this exciting forum.� �

Thank you very much.

ICT4Peace Chairman Daniel Stauffacher on Ushahidi and crowdsourcing crisis information management

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A brief soundbite from the Chairman of the ICT4Peace Foundation Daniel Stauffacher on Ushahidi and crowdsourcing crisis information management. The soundbite was recorded at the second DW Global Media Forum in Bonn, 3 - 5 June 2009.�

Ushahidi and ICT4Peace Foundation are collaborating to develop of Crisis Information Management Demonstrator (CIMD).

Peace 2.0 - Interview with ISN's International Relations and Security Network

Chairman of the Foundation, Daniel Stauffacher speaks to the International Relations and Security Network on using Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) for peacebuilding and crisis management.�

Listen to the podcast here.

New Facebook page for ICT4Peace Foundation

We've created a new FaceBook page for the ICT4Peace Foundation here.

Our fan page has details of our work on Crisis Information Management with the United Nations, our new publications and other related work and web links on ICTs and peacebuilding.

Please join us.

Cyclone Nargis: Lessons and implications for ICTs in Humanitarian Aid

Download the report here.

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Download the update to the report here.

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Cyclone Nargis was a strong tropical cyclone that caused the deadliest natural disaster in the recorded history of Burma (officially known as Myanmar). The cyclone made landfall in the country on 2 May 2008, causing catastrophic destruction and at least 133,000+ fatalities, over 2.5 million internally displaced with tens of thousands still missing and dead.�Soon after the cyclone hit it was evident that damage to life and property far exceeded initial estimates.�

At the time, a number of emails from a range of highly-placed actors in government, academia and international NGOs were circulated on how the international community and humanitarian aid agencies could help with relief efforts in the country.�

Discussions within the ICT4Peace Foundation on the issues tied to ICT provisioning and relief work within the specific context of Myanmar led to the preparation of a short paper for the Foundation�s Advisory Board and allied partners, outlining key technical, operational and political issues as well as possible solutions. The paper also included a comprehensive media monitoring study of developments on the ground related to communications.

In the interest of stimulating public awareness and debate on these observations, the Foundation has now released this paper to the public.�

Ushahidi and ICT4Peace Foundation collaborate to develop of Crisis Information Management Demonstrator (CIMD)

The ICT4Peace Foundation, Geneva has mandated Ushahidi to develop an ICT4Peace Crisis Information Management Platform Demonstrator (CIMD), based on Ushahidi�s existing platform with the following features and functionality.

A product that is able to be deployed in the field with a minimum of fuss, on any browser, on mobile phones, over any Internet connection and also store data offline for later synchronization.
A database architecture robust enough to meet the demands of information gathering in UN peacekeeping and humanitarian operations, based on requirements and necessary forms provided by the ICT4Peace Foundation.
A front end that degrades gracefully on low bandwidth connections, with key information able to be consumed even on dial-up.
An emphasis on accurate location data, which needs to include GPS co-ords based information and integration with UN OCHA's location and mapping standards. The ICT4Peace Foundation will provide location data.
Strong reporting requirements, incl. automatic generation of reports from designated fields, map plotting, RSS updates, geo-location based alerts, proximity based alerts for specific event categories (on the lines of the Ushahidi DRC implementation )
A comprehensive database architecture that allows for (a) easy and seamless information exchange between field and HQ (b) off-site archival (c) customisation according to context and specific mission requirements (d) offline access to the degree possible (e) strong security (f) multimedia capable

Combined, Ushahidi's thought leadership in the field of crowd sourced information gathering and the ICT4Peace Foundation's expert input into the development of the tool, especially in verifying information in a manner that facilitates robust, accurate, timely analysis and information sharing in peacekeeping operations will make the CIMD a useful tool to augment crisis information management practices in the UN, and elsewhere.

Recommendations and ideas to strengthen best practices of Crisis Information Management at the United Nations, New York

This is an excerpt from Interim Report: Stocktaking of UN Crisis Information Management Capabilities that can be downloaded in full from here.�

Recommendations and ideas to strengthen best practices of Crisis Information Management at the United Nations, New York

The authors strongly feel it is timely for the UN System as a whole to address, at a strategic level, issues of crisis information management and technology best practice and interoperability � to identify current knowledge of best practice, capabilities and challenges, and plot a way forward to improved response.
Respondents in the discussions felt that IM and KM strategies, frameworks and technologies were constantly evolving as well, making it important to create policies in the UN robust enough to handle current needs but flexible enough to accommodate change. Others noted the importance of using appropriate technology � hardware and software solutions � that could leverage existing (embryonic) IM / KM mechanisms and render them more meaningful and effective. This includes the need to develop of mechanisms and tools that work in austere conditions. Crisis information systems need to be developed that work robustly and are �good enough� to work in conditions of chaos, political instability, poor and intermittent network access, lack of physical security, with democratic institutions under siege and very little control over territory by a central government. Developed for these conditions, it is expected that the crisis information management tools can both scale up and be deployed in other conditions less austere, and also at the HQ level at the United Nations in New York.

An emphasis on standards is important. Data mining of intranets and extranets, however sophisticated the process, is but one facet of KM and IM. Without staff buy in at all levels and senior management leadership along with common minimum requirements for knowledge sharing, agencies run the risk of undermining their own KM / IM strategies. Some went as far as to suggest punitive measures for processes and staff inimical to knowledge sharing on a systematic basis. Unless the operations and staff at the field level perceive that systems, processes, tools and mechanisms for crisis management don't benefit them primarily, there would be little or no buy in from them over the long term. For many agencies to design, adapt, adopt and sustain KM and IM strategies, they need to fully acknowledge first that such support services are designed to strengthen actions and initiatives of the UN in the field, especially during a crisis.

Existing best practices and processes that work need to be comprehensively mapped to ascertain who uses what, why, how, when and for how long in terms of tools, technologies and frameworks for IM and KM. Without this, KM and IM strategies run the risk of developing solutions for problems that don�t really exist whilst ignoring ones that do. Process mapping would include looking at the way in which the standard operating procedures for daily SitReps could be aided by technology, so that the information therein could be tagged, geo-coded and distributed amongst the UN system in a manner that aided the work of all agencies involved in a particular region or country. This would in turn strengthen the UN�s ability to respond to a crisis when it did occur. �
Overall, there is inadequate awareness across all agencies of tools and technologies such as Web 2.0 and social networking that can be leveraged and adapted to fit the requirements of agencies at the UN. Using examples of forward thinking best practices, some of which have been noted in this report, the UN must leverage intra-agency expertise and experience in KM / IM design to benefit the larger organisation. The survey questionnaire sent to members of the CEB that will feed into the final report will map some of these technologies and suggest their utility in augmenting some of the KM / IM structures the authors were introduced to. �

Linked to this, the UN needs to urgently harmonise the significant variance in agency approaches to and capacities of IM and KM. As some inter-agency KM processes such as the UNDP�s KSP discovered, this variance can severely hold back the potential of KM and IM for the UN and is also a disincentive for organisations well ahead in the field to engage with other agencies that, in their perception, are not. There must be an emphasis on the development of a common minimum standard of KM and IM across the UN that includes technical standards, sustainable best practices, hardware and software solutions as well as appropriate incentives within human resource, procurement, career advancement and other mechanisms to ensure that KM and IM is mainstreamed and strengthened at all levels at the UN. Many underscored the need for significant and sustained financial and human resources support needed to harmonise and equalise this variance in agency capacity.

Some pointed to the possible value in combining comprehensive crisis information frameworks in the Delivering as One initiative piloted in some countries. As was noted at the meeting to discuss the draft report on 8 July 2008, some suggested that it would be useful to link crisis information management pilots / mechanisms with the One UN process, even though others said that the One UN process was as yet too embryonic to locate such a process in. The authors recommend, if the One UN is considered as a vehicle to develop the institution�s crisis information management capabilities, steps to first define a crisis for the sake of a pilot exercise, identifying a couple of scenarios either past or hypothetical and define the major roles UN agencies, departments and programmes played, and as a subset, the roles they played in collecting exchanging storing and disseminating information. (e.g. who collected what and shared what with who, when and how). An agency such as DSS and / or UN OCHA could take the lead and work directly with CITO to define baseline information shared by all parties during crisis, and define a working group to recommend standards for interoperability and crisis procedure. DPKO could then volunteer a mission for a pilot, maybe Liberia, Sudan or Haiti. The Foundation could develop a tool for the management of crisis information, in collaboration with the UN and incorporating technologies that have been enumerated later in this report. Lessons identified and learnt from such an active deployment could feed into a more robust understanding of crisis information management and the manner in which the UN can and should respond to growing demands and challenges in this context.

Create a case study or pilot programme anew to robustly test and deploy crisis information tools and services across UN agencies. A robust scenario involved multiple agencies can be developed to demonstrate by example how following simple processes and using ICTs can aid in crisis information management. The scenario could be based on previous real world crises. A working group overseeing the scenario development and responses to it could validate the tools and mechanisms that are used in crisis response ask seek senior management buy in and support. This approach gives the flexibility to deal with a large spectrum of mechanisms and tools without endangering real relationships or stakeholders involved in crisis response.

While the buy-in from senior management was repeated noted as essential in the ultimate success of any crisis information management framework, a good system will be required to look at the UN system at the macro, meso and micro levels, corresponding to the HQ, Regional HQ and Country Office levels, perhaps even going down to the Field Office level and the individuals in-situ.

The following recommendations apply broadly to the development of a system that meets the challenges and needs of all these levels:

The crisis information management solution must be provided for staff at each of the three levels. At each level, the IM tools and architecture must be perceived to have been designed primarily for their requirements.
If UN system wide / UN mandated solutions aren�t provided, then staff will find, use and promote their own solutions within peer groups. This is the source of poor-quality intranet sub-sites, ad hoc / point solutions and other undesirable approaches, including the net result of information scatter and little or no interoperability.
A clear policy must be developed, adopted and buy-in fostered, outlining when each of the three levels applies, and how information should be managed within each level.
Processes must be put in place to �bubble up� or �promote� information from lower levels up to higher levels, and trickle down information vice versa. For example, some team-generated information will be critical for the whole organization and some policies passed in NY critical for the safety and security of UN staff on the ground.
As much as possible, a seamless information management environment should be delivered that covers all three levels. This means designing for austere network conditions, mobile devices including mobile phones, able to transverse diverse networks, be browser, platform, device and operating system agnostic to the greatest extent possible
Be based on open standards and open source.

Interim Report: Stocktaking of UN Crisis Information Management Capabilities

Interim Report: Stocktaking of UN Crisis Information Management Capabilities�

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Sanjana Hattotuwa and Daniel Stauffacher

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Download the full report as a PDF from here.�

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From October 2007 to February 2008, representatives from the ICT4Peace Foundation met informally with a number of high-level representatives at key agencies based at the United Nations in New York in preparation for a stocktaking exercise on crisis information management capacities and best practices. These meetings with heads of agencies, units and departments, IT administrators and key Knowledge Management (KM), Information Management (IM) professionals and consultants gave vital insights into some of the best practices and key challenges facing crisis information management at the UN including the gaps and needs that had already been identified, the challenges facing KM and IM and ideas for meaningfully addressing some of these challenges.�

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The authors express their sincere thanks for those who shared their knowledge and insights. This report captures pertinent observations on crisis information management based on the discussions we had over February 2008 in New York and subsequently over email. An official stocktaking questionnaire circulated to all members of the CEB in April 2008. A draft report was tabled at a meeting held on 8th July 2008 in New York at the United Nations, where respondents and other high level participants were invited to engage with the preliminary findings and observations. Their input and feedback at the meeting and via email is incorporated in this final draft.

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This report is presented as an anchor for on-going interaction and conversation within the United Nations and is strictly not for public dissemination.

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The responsibility for any faults, omissions and mistakes, as inevitably there are in this report, lie solely with the authors.

ICT4Peace Foundation leads UN GAID Community of Expertise on Information and Communication Technologies for Peace

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The UN GAID Community of Expertise will address the fundamental question how ICTs can be best used for identifying conflict situations through early warning systems, preventing conflicts, promoting their peaceful resolution, mediation and reconciliation, supporting humanitarian action, including protection of civilians in armed conflicts, facilitating peacekeeping missions, and assisting post conflict peace-building and reconstruction. It will support concrete projects and operations in this field, carry out targeted networking, original research, policy development and advocacy.

For more details and a overview of the Community of Practice, please click�here . �

Nobel Lecture by Martti Ahtisaari, Oslo, 10 December 2008

President�Martti Ahtisaari is the�Chairman of the ICT4Peace Foundation Policy Advisory Board�and an ardent champion of the use of�Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) for peacebuilding�and conflict transformation.�

The following is his speech when he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, 10 December 2008. The text is taken from here.

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Nobel Lecture

Nobel Lecture by Martti Ahtisaari, Oslo, 10 December 2008.

Your Majesties, Your Royal Highnesses, Excellencies,

Distinguished members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, Dear Friends and Colleagues around the world,

I feel both humility and gratitude at receiving this year's Nobel Peace Prize. It is the greatest recognition anybody working in this field can be given.

What I am feeling now can only be compared with the joy I have felt when seeing the changes that peace has brought to the lives of people. When people, who have endured wars and crises, begin to build their lives in an atmosphere of peace - When faith in the future returns.

I too was a child affected by a war. I was only two years old when, as a result of an agreement on spheres of interest between Hitler's Germany and Stalin's Soviet Union, war broke out, forcing my family to leave soon thereafter the town of Viipuri. Like several hundred thousand fellow Karelians, we became refugees in our own country as great power politics caused the borders of Finland to be redrawn and left my home town as part of the Soviet Union. This childhood experience contributed to my commitment to working on the resolution of conflicts.

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Mediators do not choose the conflicts they became involved in but the parties to the conflict choose the mediator. Their participation as intermediaries is based on the trust of all the conflicting parties. The task of the mediator is to help the parties to open difficult issues and nudge them forward in the peace process. The mediator's role combines those of a ship�s pilot, consulting medical doctor, midwife and teacher.

However, there tends to be too much focus on the mediators. With that we are disempowering the parties to the conflict and creating the wrong impression that peace comes from the outside. The only people that can make peace are the parties to the conflict, and just as they are responsible for the conflict and its consequences, so should they be given responsibility and recognition for the peace.

The process leading to Namibian independence was long and required strong commitment and determination from the Namibians. Namibia is also an excellent example of what the UN and its member states can achieve at their best. Today, looking back to those years, it feels almost unbelievable that we managed to get all the key actors, the Western five (US, UK, France, Germany and Canada), the Soviet Union, the Organisation of African Unity, (represented by the African front-line states), the South-African government and all the political parties in Namibia, including SWAPO, to work towards a shared goal. It also taught that a durable solution can only be found if one is also prepared to engage in discussions with your political opponents. I do believe that the experience from the Namibia operation encouraged the government of South Africa to begin the process of democratic change.

The peace process in Aceh showed how important it is that a country's political leadership is committed to finding a solution to an internal conflict. Joint efforts by the political leadership in Indonesia and the Free Aceh Movement resulted in a peace agreement. However, it was only a start. Social and economic reforms can only progress if both negotiating parties and the population at large are committed to them in the long term. Work remains to be done in developing a national system that protects, sustains and improves the quality of life in Aceh.

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All conflicts can be resolved

Wars and conflicts are not inevitable. They are caused by human beings. There are always interests that are furthered by war. Therefore those who have power and influence can also stop them.

Peace is a question of will. All conflicts can be settled, and there are no excuses for allowing them to become eternal. It is simply intolerable that violent conflicts defy resolution for decades causing immeasurable human suffering, and preventing economic and social development. The passivity and impotence of the international community make it more difficult for us to place our faith in jointly built security structures. Despite the many challenges, even the most intractable conflicts can be resolved if the parties involved and the international community join forces and work together for a common aim. The United Nations provides the right framework for international peace efforts and solutions to global problems. However, we are all aware of the constraints of the United Nations and of the tendency of the member states to give it demanding assignments without providing adequate resources and political support. It is important that the UN member states work resolutely to strengthen the world organization. We cannot afford to lose the UN.

In a conflict, one party can always claim victory, but building peace must involve everybody: the weak and the powerful, the victors and the vanquished, men and women, young and old. However, peace negotiations are often conducted by a small elite. In the future we must be better able to achieve a broader participation in peace processes. Particularly, there is a need to ensure the engagement of women in all stages of a peace process.

Peace processes and the agreements resulting from them end the violence. �But the real work only starts after a peace agreement has been concluded. The agreements reached have to be implemented. Social and political change does not happen overnight, and the reconstruction and establishment of democracy demand patience. That requires a comprehensive approach to peacebuilding, and support for civil society.

Inequality breeds conflict

Growing inequality within countries and between regions deepens the existing cleavages. It is our task to create a future and hope for regions and countries in crisis where young people suffer from unemployment and have little prospects of improving their lives. Unless we can meet this challenge, new conflicts will flare up and we will lose another generation to war.

There has been a great deal of talk this year about the financial crisis. This financial crisis also highlights the importance of maintaining the commitment of the international community to development cooperation. The effects of this crisis may prove another major setback for the developing world. The very poorest people are already being hit hardest by the impact of climate change, rising food prices and lower levels of foreign trade. A reduction in foreign assistance and investment would be disastrous for badly needed economic growth. At this difficult time, I call on all governments to remain committed to their stated goals of eradicating poverty.

We must all be able to contribute to our own future and to the future of our communities. If the present trend continues, we will be faced with a situation where hundreds of millions of young people will be out of work in countries that are in early stages of development. If nothing is done, we will be creating an effective breeding ground for crime, instability and war as young people lose all hope. I believe that the fight against poverty is also the most effective measure of countering terrorism in the long term.

I returned ten days ago from Liberia I came away with mixed feelings. First, a feeling of sadness at the scale of destruction that the war left in Liberia and the size of the challenge for the Government and the international community. �Second, a degree of optimism that the people we met, can begin to make a real difference - but only if the international community can retain its commitment to Liberia over the long term. �

Conflict settlement requires the injection of optimism and hope born from employment and economic opportunities. Otherwise, fragile peace agreements can rarely be sustained. Over the long term, only the private sector is capable of growing new enterprises, creating investment opportunities which provide employment and enduring economic security. Attracting private-sector investment into war-torn areas is not easy. It requires innovation. A mix of non-economic and economic incentives will have to be devised. Similarly, involvement of the private sector in the larger work of formulating strategies for post-war recovery will require innovative thinking.

A solution must be found to the Middle East conflict

The most challenging peace-building project ahead of us is finding a solution to the conflicts in the Middle East, which have continued for decades. The tensions and wars in the region have been going on for so long that many have come to believe that the Middle East knot can never be untied.

I do not share this belief. All crises, including the one in the Middle East, can be resolved. The solution would require a contribution from all the parties involved as well as the international community as a whole. We might be strengthened in our resolve if we set our sights on the future and imagine what the world could look like if the countries in the region could jointly begin to develop their economic potential, build transport links, make full use of their educated population and begin to reap the benefits of an advantageous location in the crossroads of three continents.

I hope that the new President of the United States, who will be sworn in next month, will give high priority to the Middle East conflict during his first year in office. The European Union, Russia and the UN must also be seriously committed so that a solution can be found to the crises stretching from Israel and Palestine to Iraq and Iran. If we want to achieve lasting results, we must look at the whole region.

The credibility of the whole international community is at stake. We cannot go on, year after year, simply pretending to do something to help the situation in the Middle East. We must also get results.

For many people, tensions between religions have provided an easy explanation for the intractability of the Middle East crisis. I cannot accept this view. During my career I have seen many crises in which religion has been used as a weapon or as an instrument for prolonging the conflict. Religions themselves are, however, peace-loving. They can also be a constructive force in peace-building, and this also applies to the Middle East.

Peace mediators do not work alone

All parties to the conflict play a key role in finding a peaceful solution and putting it into practice. Likewise, a single outside party is rarely able to play all the roles that are required for a peace process to succeed.

All my peace assignments have taught me that a peace process is largely a matter of cooperation and partnership between different actors, parties to a conflict, peace mediators, governments, the civic society and international organizations.

Even though all eyes are often on the peace mediators, it is important to emphasize the role of the mediation teams and the other important actors outside the direct negotiation process itself. In my work I have always been in a privileged position to build up my own team, including my colleagues at the organization I founded after my Finnish Presidency, Crisis Management Initiative. I have had the opportunity to work with many highly qualified colleagues in different peace processes. Without them I would not be here today.

I hope that all those brave women and men that have worked for the peace in their country would feel that they can share this prize with me.

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However, my biggest source of strength is my family. My wife Eeva and my son Marko have always been at my side. They have provided me with both support and constructive criticism. I offer them my heartfelt thanks.

Dear friends,

I hope that this distinguished prize awarded to me will encourage individuals and organizations to continue their efforts for peace. I also hope that they will receive full support for their work in the future.

If we work together, we can find solutions. We should not accept any excuses from those in power. Peace is a question of will.

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Thank you!�

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Gen. Martin L. Agwai, Force Commander of UNAMID with ICT4Peace Foundation and CCCPA in Cairo, Egypt

From L-R:Juan Pekmez (ICT4Peace Foundation), Amb. Daniel Stauffacher (Chairman, ICT4Peace Foundation), Gen. Martin L. Agwai (Force Commander, UNAMID), Amb. Soad Shalaby (CCCPA),�Lt. Gen. Satish Nambiar (United Service Institution of India, New Delhi) and Alain Modoux (ICT4Peace Foundation)

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The ICT4Peace Foundation with the�Cairo Regional Centre for Conflict Resolution and Peacekeeping in Africa (CCCPA) organised a Civil-Military-Local bridgebuilders information sharing training programme. Many other photos from the training programme can be seen�here.

Gen. Martin L. Agwai, Force Commander, UNAMID was a present at the training programme and delivered a comprehensive presentation of the ground realities in Darfur and the role, mandate and difficulties faced by the UN Peacekeeping Mission in Darfur (UNAMID).

Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Martti Ahtisaari on ICT4Peace

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Statement of�Martti Ahtisaari, former President of Finland and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate 2008 delivered at High-level meeting to discuss Interim Report: Stocktaking of UN Crisis Information Management Capabilities, held on 7th November 2008 at the United Nations in New York.

Watch the video on YouTube here .

Launch of GenevaNetwork�s second report: A Time for Action

GenevaNetwork recently launched its second report - A Time for Action. The GenevaNetwork is an informal group of individuals, including ourselves,�concerned about the future of International Geneva.

A Time for Action explores and builds on the 9 Tasks identified in the GenevaNetwork�s first report, �published in September 2006, focusing in particular on themes which are relevant, if not urgent, for�Geneva to prioritize if it wishes to reinforce its role as a leading international centre.

The numerous international organizations, NGOs, diplomatic missions, academic institutions, business headquarters, medical facilities and think tanks work daily on key issues and challenges�of critical importance to the global community. Geneva is also respected and valued enormously for its long humanitarian tradition and its role as a neutral convener.

However, more needs to be done to ensure that new, emerging networks establish themselves in�Geneva and, at the same time, that existing organizations feel encouraged to strengthen their presence�in the region. This requires a comprehensive look at both operational and substantive issues that �affect the ability of the Lake Geneva region to compete internationally, from the reform of IGOs to the conference and hotel infrastructure available for international guests.

Through the launch of this report and the ideas and recommendations contained within, we hope �to provoke a discussion amongst all stakeholders about how Geneva could best move forward. �We would be delighted to receive your comments and feedback on the report.

To download the report and for more details on GenevaNetwork, please click here .�

Conference Report of 'Responsibility to the Future: Business, Peace, Sustainability' event released

Strategic Foresight Group released the full conference report of the Responsibility to the Future: Business, Peace, Sustainability event held in Mumbai, India from 26-28 June 2008.

Co-hosted by United Nations Global Compact, the ICT4Peace Foundation was a key partner in the event and organised a panel discussion on ICT4Peace.

For more information, click here.

To download the conference report, click here.�

Call for papers: Improving ICT use in Crisis Management and Peacebuilding (ICT4Peace) for ISCRAM 2009

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Call for papers: Improving ICT use in Crisis Management and Peacebuilding (ICT4Peace) for ISCRAM 2009

For more details and instructions on submissions, please click here.�

Inter-operability, and the meaningful use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in all aspects of crisis management and response, is about saving lives and resources. Information management mechanisms and frameworks that are closed and inaccessible to key stakeholders in crisis response severely undermine the ability of local and international agencies to save lives. Interoperability is not just a set of technical standards that guarantees that systems, tools and mechanisms can exchange information seamlessly, securely and sustainably. It is also about the commitment and political will at all levels of agencies, including senior management, to share information that strengthens humanitarian and relief efforts leading up to, during and after a crisis. Ad hoc solutions can create or exacerbate many challenges to effective crisis response and management. The challenges faced at present through the unstructured growth and haphazard development of information management systems and mechanisms are significant.

Research Area
ICTs can only help in crisis management and peace-building if they are based on open standards based and interoperable, facilitating use even in austere conditions and engendering staff buy-in. Interoperability at its simplest is the availability of baseline information accessible on demand to stakeholders involved in crisis management. Open standards mean the use of information containers able to transverse various information management architectures reliably, effectively and sustainably without any data loss. Both support an approach to crisis management that leverages the potential of ICTs to help gather, disseminate and analyze information as well archive lessons identified and learnt across agencies so as to contribute to institutional memory. �

The ICT4Peace initiative and its partners worked in 2005 to get the use of ICTs in preventing and responding to conflict and in supporting and promoting peace included on the World Summit on the Information Society agenda. As a direct result of this concerted effort, the following Paragraph was integrated into the final declaration of the WSIS Tunis Commitment:

�Paragraph 36. We value the potential of ICTs to promote peace and to prevent conflict which, inter alia, negatively affects achieving development goals. ICTs can be used for identifying conflict situations through early-warning systems preventing conflicts, promoting their peaceful resolution, supporting humanitarian action, including protection of civilians in armed conflicts, facilitating peacekeeping missions, and assisting post conflict peace-building and reconstruction.�

The ICT4Peace Foundation is anchored to this text and was set up to implement this commitment globally, in particular through international policy making. A key dimension of its work is to facilitate a better approach to, and understanding of, information management during crises. This involves preparing for, warning against as well as supporting and rebuilding societies when natural or man made disasters occur. There is an increasing recognition amongst the international community, including governments, non-governmental organizations and the United Nations agencies that the timely collection and exchange of accurate and impartial information during humanitarian crises requires major improvements. Such improvements could contribute to save thousands of lives and requires the sustained commitment of the international community to effective management of information and knowledge, by using appropriate technologies, including Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs). Used appropriately, ICTs can support all aspects and sectors of humanitarian work. While initiatives have been launched to mainstream ICTs in humanitarian aid and peace-building, none have been able to gain traction at the United Nations, intergovernmental and inter-agency level. What ICT4Peace Foundation through the International Process for Crisis Management (http://ict4peace.org/ict4peace-1.html) proposes is to harvest existing best practices and facilitate an international recognition of the use of ICTs as a means to strengthen crisis information management, response and mitigation as well as humanitarian relief and aid. �

Topics

raising awareness on the use and contribution of ICT to peace-building and crisis management
best practices of ICT use in peace-building and crisis management�
the importance of open standards and interoperability in the application of ICT in peace-building and crisis management
the integration of ICT in UN operations�
training in ICT for peacebuilders and peacekeepers�
improved cooperation, collaboration and leadership amongst all relevant stakeholders�
ICT mechanisms to foster trust between civilian groups and the military, and to improve cooperation between business, humanitarian and peacekeeping groups�
partnerships with business to ensure secure, sustainable and current ICT solutions based on open standards and commercially available solutions (and not tied to a certain provider / manufacturer.) �

For more details and instructions on submissions, please click here.

ICT4Peace Foundation Board Member Maria Cattaui appointed member of UN Leadership Group on business and human rights

ICT4Peace Foundation Board Member Maria Cattaui was appointed a member of UN Leadership Group on business and human rights.�

John Ruggie, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon�s Special Representative for business and human rights, today announced that he is convening a leadership group to advise him on how best to ensure that businesses orldwide respect internationally recognized human rights standards.� The panel includes Ban�s predecessor as Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, as well as Mary Robinson, the former President of Ireland who also served as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. They are joined by thirteen other leaders from business, diplomacy, and civil society around the world, including Maria Cattaui.

The full press release of this appointment can be read here.�

Bios of those who constitute the UN Leadership Group can be read here.�

ICT4Peace enters into MoU with Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre

The ICT4Peace Foundation signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre. The MoU recognises, inter alia, the need to strengthen the role of African States in supporting peacekeeping operations and conflict resolution in Africa, through provision of quality specialised training programmes in the field of peacekeeping and human security and to develop shared situational awareness amongst all actors involved in PKO and humanitarian operations.

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Information Sharing Models and Interoperability in National, Cross Border and International Crisis Management

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Crisis Management Initiative has published a final report of a project aiming to improve the understanding of information sharing models and interoperability in national, cross-border and international crisis management.

The project�s four case studies have been chosen to reflect four different types of crisis: natural disaster (Portuguese forest fires), accident (Barents Rescue Exercise), complex emergency(humanitarian assistance in DR Congo) and post-conflict state-building (EU Police Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina). In order to investigate the essential information needs and informationsharing models in crisis situations, it is valuable to gain a good understanding of how actors process information. This study uses the Sensemaking theory as a theoretical lens to better understand how this is done.

The main findings of the case studies are grouped into three themes: two-way communication, interoperability of crisis response and decision-making in crisis situations. The study concludes that communicating and explaining the objectives and activities to the local population is vital in a crisis management operation. Often there is room for improvement in the public information area in international assistance missions. While national crisis management missions regularly operate in settings where they are close to the local population, there is often a lack of understanding of the needs for citizens to be informed of what is going on. Timely and clear information is a crucial component in managing consequences and of recovery. The study showed that information sharing when it happens is mostly one directional: from the authorities to the citizens.

The study confirmed the findings of previous research that the exchange of information with people from other organisations during crisis situations is often done informally. These contacts are not institutionalised, but are established on a personal basis. Information is shared more easily with people that one knows and trusts. However, it is clear that technology cannot help in information exchange if it is based completely on personal contacts. On the other hand trust can be built through, for example, common trainings in the mission area. It creates a sense of community and trust can be built which increases information sharing during crisis situations. In post-conflict crisis management operations where the situation is relatively calm, information sharing settles into more institutionalised ways and is not as ad hoc as during an acute crisis.

The study revealed that there are a number of shared requirements in terms of essential information and tools in national, cross-border and international crisis management. There are widely shared information needs such as situational picture, incidents, and other actors, but otherwise the essential information needs are mostly mandate-related. The different levels also share many of the same obstacles in achieving interoperability. Obtaining and maintaining shared situational awareness and picture is seen often a key challenge in crisis response where several organisations are working in parallel. Organisations continue to plan and procure their information and communications technology for their own organisational mission partly ignoring the multi-actor reality of crisis response. At the national level there are more efforts and investments into interagency interoperability. A positive development that the study noted is that interoperability is not any more seen as mainly a technology issue but organisational and human aspects of interoperability are better recognised.

The study concludes that within crisis response organisations there is a need for leadership and initiative to determine how communications systems best support the delivery of the organisational mission in a complex interagency environment. Political, organisational and other substance related factors should determine the development of systems, not the availability and push of technology solutions. Senior management would need to take an increased interest in what kind of tools and systems should be used in crisis management operations, so as to develop the tools from a needs based perspective.

Click here to download the report.�

Information and Communication Technology and Peacebuilding: Summary of a Workshop (2008)

Information and Communication Technology and Peacebuilding: Summary of a Workshop,�July 2008

Carol Arenberg and Greg Pearson, Editors

NATIONAL ACADEMY OF ENGINEERING OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES

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On December 14, 2007, the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) U.S. held one-day workshop (see agenda, Appendix A) to consider how information and communication technology (ICT) can contribute to peacebuilding. People representing a variety of organizations and backgrounds attended, including Sanjana Hattotuwa, Special Advisor to the ICT4Peace Foundation in his capacity as Head of Peacebuilding at InfoShare, Sri Lanka.�

The workshop opened with an introductory talk on conflict in the 21st century, which was followed by two panels. The first panel examined successful cases of ICT use in peacebuilding; the second addressed the ICT-related challenges and opportunities faced by those working in zones of conflict. Designated respondents provided comment on each panel, and there was also general discussion. The meeting concluded with a plenary session on next steps and possible collaboration. This report, prepared by NAE staff, follows the same format as the workshop.��

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Download the report�here. �

15th ASEAN Regional Forum emphasises crisis management and civilian military cooperation

41st AMM
17 - 24 July 2008

Shangri-La, Singapore

Chairman�s Statement, 15th ASEAN Regional Forum, 24 July 2008, Singapore
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1 The Fifteenth Meeting of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) was convened in Singapore on 24 July 2008. The Meeting was chaired by H.E. George Yeo, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Singapore.

2 The Meeting was attended by the Foreign Ministers and Representatives of all ARF participants. The Secretary-General of ASEAN was also in attendance.

3 An ARF Defence Dialogue among defence and military officials attending the 15th ARF was also held in Singapore on 23 July 2008.

Overview of the ARF Process

4 The Ministers reaffirmed the importance of the ARF as the main multilateral political and security forum in the region, and reiterated their support for ASEAN as the primary driving force of the ARF. They encouraged the continued cooperation and contribution of all the ARF participants in moving the ARF process forward to the next stage of its development. The Ministers also agreed that confidence building and preventive diplomacy should be mutually reinforcing and parallel processes.

5 The Ministers noted with satisfaction the significant progress of the ARF and the role that it has played in enhancing political and security dialogue and cooperation as well as confidence building in the Asia-Pacific region. While acknowledging the importance of the basic principles of decision-making by consensus and non-interference, the Ministers agreed that the ARF should undertake more concrete cooperation to address both traditional and non-traditional security challenges confronting the region.

6 The Ministers recognised that the challenges facing the Asia Pacific region are becoming more complex and inter-related and require greater regional cooperation. Given the wide range of issues involved, such as counter terrorism, non-proliferation, disaster relief, maritime security, avian and pandemic influenza, human and drugs trafficking, the Ministers agreed on the need for the ARF to strengthen its efforts and carefully consider how to focus on those issues most relevant to its mandate, capabilities and membership.

Highlights of Discussions on Regional and International Security Issues

7 The Ministers expressed their condolences to Myanmar and China over the loss of lives and devastation caused by Cyclone Nargis and the earthquakes in Sichuan, China. The Ministers noted with satisfaction that the ASEAN Humanitarian Task Force had effectively delivered humanitarian assistance to the victims and survivors of Cyclone Nargis. This first ASEAN-led mechanism involving ASEAN Member States individually and collectively, as well as the United Nations and the international community, had brought positive results.

8 Recognising that many of the ARF countries are in a region prone to natural disasters, the Ministers emphasised the need for the forum to intensify cooperation in the areas of emergency preparedness, disaster relief and management, rehabilitation and recovery including with existing mechanisms and the United Nations. They agreed that there should be further training, technical assistance and coordination among ARF participants in advance of disasters. The Ministers considered the following areas of cooperation:

a) The Ministers called for in greater civil-military coordination for major, multinational disaster responses through training, information sharing, and multinational exercises. They recognised that military assets and personnel, in full support and not in place of civilian responses, have played an increasingly important role in regional disaster responses.

b) The Ministers instructed Senior Officials to continue work on developing the ARF Strategic Guidance for Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief. Along with the General Guidelines on Disaster Relief Cooperation adopted at the 14th ARF, these operational procedures will facilitate better understanding and cooperation among the relief agencies of ARF participants.

c) The Ministers tasked the Co-Chairs of the ARF ISM on Disaster Relief to work with ARF participants to draw up an ARF disaster relief Workplan aimed at coordinating ARF-wide or sub-regional training for disaster preparedness, and to explore the feasibility of an ARF humanitarian assistance military and civil defence assets template that could be utilised for disaster relief. This should be bilateral, voluntary, and only a tool that could be called upon for use between interested affected and assisting states as needed.

d) The Minister also endorsed the proposal by the Philippines and the US to conduct an ARF Disaster Relief Exercise, termed Voluntary Demonstration of Response (VDR), in the next ARF Inter-Sessional year. The Philippines and the US have initiated discussions on potential sites and dates, identified logistical procedures and requirements, and draft proposed rules of participation.

9 In undertaking disaster relief cooperation, the Ministers agreed that several basic principles should continue to apply. These included the principle that the affected country has the primary responsibility to respond to the humanitarian needs of its people following natural disasters occurring within its territory in a prompt and effective manner; where needed, the affected country should facilitate humanitarian assistance from other countries and international organizations to achieve the overall objective of coordinated, timely and effective disaster management and relief based on identified needs; and that external assistance should be provided in response to a request from the affected country, and the disaster relief efforts should be under its overall coordination.

10 The Ministers welcomed the convening of the informal meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the Six-Party Talks at the sidelines of the 15th ARF. They reiterated their support for the Six-Party Talks toward the verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the eventual normalisation of the relations between the relevant Six Party members through the full implementation of the Joint Statement of 19 September 2005. They welcomed the submission of the declaration by the DPRK on its nuclear programs and emphasised the importance of the early establishment of an effective verification and monitoring mechanism. They expressed their hope that the recent progress would contribute to an expedited completion of the Second-Phase actions.

11 The Ministers also emphasised the importance of addressing the issue of humanitarian and people concerns of the international community.

12 The Ministers reaffirmed the continuing importance of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea of 2002 (DOC) as a milestone document between ASEAN and China, embodying their collective commitment to ensure the peaceful resolution of disputes in the area. They believed that the Declaration has been effective in building mutual trust and confidence among the claimants in the area and in maintaining peace and stability in the region. They reiterated the hope that ASEAN and China would expeditiously conclude the Guidelines on the Implementation of the DOC, and looked forward to the eventual conclusion of a Regional Code of Conduct in the South China Sea. They encouraged the continued exercise of self-restraint by all the parties concerned and the promotion of confidence-building measures in this area and welcomed their commitment to resolving disputes in the South China Sea by peaceful means in conformity with the spirit of the DOC and recognised principles of international law including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

13 The Ministers welcomed the meeting between Mr Javier Solana, European Union High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy and Mr Saeed Jalili, Secretary of Supreme National Security Council of the Islamic Republic of Iran, joined by Political Directors of China, France, Germany, Russia, UK and US on 19 July 2008, and encouraged all the parties to continue diplomatic effort in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions, and show flexibility in pursuit of a comprehensive, long-lasting and proper solution of the Iranian nuclear issue.

14 The Ministers strongly condemned the suicide bombing of the Embassy of India in Kabul, Afghanistan on 7 July 2008, and expressed their condolences over the loss of innocent lives. The Ministers underlined their continued support for all efforts to bring about peace and development of Afghanistan. Afghanistan�s stability is crucial for the broader region and the Ministers encouraged ARF participants to consider exploring ways to cooperate with Afghanistan.

15 The Ministers expressed their concern over the continued danger of terrorism, and reaffirmed their commitment to countering it. They underlined the importance of inter-cultural and inter-civilisational dialogue in combating ideology of terrorism and called for greater involvement of civil society, private sector as well as mass media into its development. The Ministers also advocated active cooperation between the ARF and other international and regional organisations in fighting terrorism and transnational organised crime.

16 The Ministers took note of the briefing by Myanmar on the recent developments in the process of national reconciliation and its peaceful transition to democracy, as envisaged in the roadmap to democracy; in particular, the adoption of the State Constitution of 2008 by referendum. The Ministers urged Myanmar to take bolder steps towards a peaceful transition to democracy in the near future, and working towards the holding of free and fair General Elections in 2010. While recognising the steps undertaken by the Government of Myanmar to conduct meetings with all concerned parties, including the NLD leadership, the Ministers reiterated their calls for the release of all political detainees, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, to pave the way for meaningful dialogue involving all parties concerned.

17 The Ministers recognised the fact that Myanmar had tried to address many and complex challenges. The Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to remain constructively engaged with Myanmar as part of building the ASEAN Community. The Ministers encouraged Myanmar to continue to work closely with the Good Offices of the UN Secretary-General and his Special Advisor Ibrahim Gambari in ensuring an inclusive process towards national reconciliation. In this regard, they welcomed Myanmar�s agreement to the upcoming visits of Mr Tomas Ojea Quintana, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar in August 2008, and Professor Ibrahim Gambari in August 2008, and reiterated their call for Myanmar to extend its full support for their missions.

18 The Ministers were briefed by both Cambodia and Thailand on the situation in the area around the Temple of Preah Vihear and noted this with concern. They urged both sides to exercise utmost restraint and resolve this issue amicably.

19 The Ministers were briefed on developments in Timor Leste, and commended Timor Leste on its determination to succeed as a new nation. They noted the progress made in the Indonesia-Timor Leste Commission of Truth and Friendship (CTF), including the recent submission of the final report by the CTF.

Review of Activities of the Current Inter-Sessional Year (August 2007-July 2008)

20 The Ministers expressed their satisfaction with the success of Track l and Track II activities that had taken place during the current inter-sessional year (August 2007-July 2008). They commended the work of the ARF Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) in Singapore on 9 May 2008 and ARF Inter-sessional Support Group on Confidence Building Measures & Preventive Diplomacy (ISG on CBMs & PD), co-chaired by Brunei Darussalam and Canada, which met in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam on 31 October - 2 November 2007 and in Ottawa, Canada on 1-3 April 2008. The Ministers noted the summary report of the co-chairs and endorsed their recommendations.

21 The Ministers welcomed the contributions made by the defence officials in the ARF process. In this regard, the Ministers were pleased with the outcome of the Fifth ASEAN Regional Forum Security Policy Conference (ASPC) hosted by Singapore on 8 May 2008. They noted with satisfaction that the high-level interaction among the ARF defence policy officials had contributed further to build confidence and fostered mutual understanding, thus contributing to the maintenance of peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region and the world.

22 Reiterating the importance of enhancing cooperation in disaster relief, mitigation, and management, the Ministers noted the report of the 7th ARF Inter-sessional Meeting on Disaster relief (ISM on DR) held in Helsinki, the European Union. In particular, the Ministers welcomed the plan by the Philippines and the US to arrange for a Disaster Relief Exercise in the next Inter-Sessional year.

23 The Ministers welcomed the report of Indonesia and India as Co-Chairs of the 6th Inter-sessional Meeting on Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crime (ISM on CTTC), which was held in Semarang, Indonesia on 21-22 February 2008, and endorsed its recommendations.

24 Recognising the significant threat to the region posed by the manufacture and trafficking of illicit drugs, and the need to work together and within existing mechanisms to prevent the diversion of precursor chemicals into illicit drug manufacture, the Ministers adopted the ARF Statement Promoting Collaboration on the Prevention of Diversion of Precursors into Illicit Drug Manufacture.

25 The Ministers noted the following workshops and seminars, which were completed in the inter-sessional year 2007-2008:

� ARF Round Table Discussion on Stocktaking of Maritime Security Issues, Jakarta, Indonesia, 23-24 August 2007

� ARF Desk Top Exercise on Disaster Relief Initial Planning Conference, Darwin, Australia, 4-7 September 2007

� ARF Seminar on Narcotics Control, Xian City, China, 19-21 September 2007

� 11th ARF Heads of Defense Universities/Colleges/Institutions, Australia, 9-11 October 2007

� 4th ARF Seminar on Cyber Terrorism, Busan, ROK, 16-19 October 2007

� ARF Workshop on �Management and Security of Stockpiles of Small Arms and Light Weapons including their ammunition�, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, 13-14 December 2007

� 2nd ARF Peacekeeping Experts� Meeting, Singapore, 5-7 March 2008

� ARF Workshop on Confidence Building Measures and Preventive Diplomacy in Asia and Europe, Berlin, Germany, 12-14 March 2008

� ARF Maritime Security Training Programme, Chennai, India, 24-29 March 2008

� ARF Seminar on Anti-Personal Landmines, Penang, Malaysia, 8-10 April 2008

� 2nd ARF Seminar on Energy Security, Singapore, 15-17 April 2008

� ARF Desk Top Exercise on Disaster Relief, Jakarta, Indonesia, 1-2 May 2008

Programme of Work for the Next Inter-sessional Year

26 The Ministers agreed that the ISG on CBMs & PD will continue to promote confidence building while progressing towards PD, and welcomed the offer by Singapore and the Republic of Korea to co-chair the ISG on CBMs & PD in the next Inter-Sessional year. The Ministers noted that the first meeting of the ISG on CBMs and PD for the Inter-Sessional year 2008-2009 will be held in Singapore tentatively on 9-10 October 2008 and the second meeting will be held in the Republic of Korea in the first half of 2009.

27 The Ministers acknowledged the importance of the continuation of the ISM on DR and agreed that the ISM on DR should continue its work in exploring ways to enhance regional disaster risk reduction and emergency management. The Ministers welcomed the offer of Indonesia and the EU to co-host the next ISM in Banda Aceh in December 2008.

28 The Ministers agreed that the ISM CTTC should continue its work to enhance cooperation in fighting against terrorism and transnational crime. In this regard, they agreed that the ISM should develop a CTTC Workplan to focus on key challenges which are most pertinent to the ARF participants, as laid out in detail in paragraph 35 below. The Ministers welcomed the offer by Viet Nam and the Republic of Korea to co-chair the 7th ISM on CTTC, and the offer by Russia to co-chair the 8th ARF ISM on CTTC.

29 Recognising the importance of non-proliferation and disarmament, the Ministers agreed to establish an Inter-Sessional Meeting on Non-Proliferation and Disarmament, which will provide a regular platform for discussion and cooperation on these issues with a particular focus on UNSCR 1540 regional implementation. The concept paper for the Inter-Sessional Meeting on Non-Proliferation and Disarmament. In this regard, the Ministers welcomed the offer by China, Singapore and the United States to co-chair the first ISM.

30 Recognising also the importance of maritime security, the Ministers welcomed the establishment of the Inter-Sessional Meeting on Maritime Security, which will provide an annual platform for discussion of maritime security issues. The concept paper for the Inter-Sessional Meeting on Maritime Security. In this regard, the Ministers welcomed the offer by Indonesia, Japan, and New Zealand to co-chair the first ISM in the first half of 2009.

31 The Ministers reaffirmed the procedure that all proposed ARF activities should first be discussed at the ISG/ISM level and agreed to by the ARF SOM. In this regard, the Ministers approved the work program for the next Inter-Sessional year (July 2008-July 2009).

Future Direction of the ARF Process

32 The Ministers agreed to institute the ASEAN Vice-Chair as the ARF Vice-Chair. Accordingly, Thailand was appointed as the first ARF Vice-Chair at the 15th ARF. Subsequently, Thailand (incoming ASEAN Chair) will serve as ARF Chair and Vietnam (incoming ASEAN Vice-Chair) as ARF Vice-Chair from July 2008 � December 2009.

33 The Ministers adopted the Singapore Declaration on the 15th ARF, which reaffirmed their individual and collective commitment to build upon the achievements of the ARF and strengthen dialogue and cooperation in existing and new areas to maintain and promote regional peace and security.

34 The Ministers had a comprehensive discussion on the Paper on the Review of the ARF, which provided a stocktake on the forum's progress and achievements, and outlined its future direction. The Ministers adopted the recommendations as contained in the Review of the ARF, including the need to strengthen the role of all ARF participants; enhance practical cooperation; maintain the moratorium on membership; focus on concrete areas of cooperation; enhance the role of the ARF Chair and the ARF Unit, develop an ARF Vision Statement, standardise the format of the voluntary Annual Security outlook, enhance cooperation with Track II organisations; and improve the ARF's operating mechanisms. The Ministers tasked the Senior Officials to implement the recommendations and report on the progress at the next ARF Ministerial.

35 The Ministers noted the completion of the Study of best practices and lessons learned by selected international and regional organizations in preventive diplomacy. The Ministers expressed appreciation to the Pacific Forum and the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), which had been commissioned to undertake the Study. The Ministers further tasked the Senior Officials to study the recommendations.

36 The Ministers expressed their support for the ARF Workplan on Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC), which will help provide a focus to the forum's CTTC efforts by listing specific areas of cooperation. The Ministers tasked the Senior Officials to work out the details of the Workplan, including specific projects they may wish to submit to the Workplan, and the list of Lead Countries or Co-Sponsors.

37 The Ministers welcomed the establishment of the Virtual Meeting of Experts on Cyber Security and Cyber Terrorism, and noted that participation in the Meeting will be on a voluntary basis. The Ministers welcomed the offer made by the Republic of Korea and the Philippines to lead the group in the first year and complement efforts under the CTTC Workplan.

38 The Ministers adopted the paper on the assessment of the practicability of the recommendations of the Second Plenary Meeting of the ARF Experts/Eminent Persons (EEP) on Northeast Asia. The Ministers also welcomed the convening of the Third ARF EEP Meeting which will be held in China in October 2008.

39 The Ministers emphasised the need to continue strengthening ties with other regional and international security organisations as well as linkages between Track I and Track II. In this regard, the Ministers welcomed the participation of Track II and regional and international organisations in ARF meetings, where appropriate, as they could value add and enhance discussions. In this context, the Ministers also noted the CSCAP Memorandum on Human Trafficking, and instructed the ISM on CTTC to consider the recommendations put forth in the Memorandum.

40 The Ministers commended the ARF Unit in assisting the ARF Chair and acting as its Secretariat despite its shortage of resources and personnel, including through regularly updating the Matrix of ARF Decisions and their Status, which is made available on the ARF Net. The Ministers acknowledged the assistance that some ARF participants were extending to the ARF Unit and encouraged others to do the same.

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Roundtable on ICTs for Peace-building and Crisis Management - Report on the discussions

Responsibility to the Future Conference organised by Strategic Foresight Group with ICT4Peace Foundation

26-28 June 2008, Mumbai, India

Roundtable on ICTs for Peace-building and Crisis Management

How can information and communications technologies help build peace, mitigate disaster and efficiently address humanitarian needs? How can they prevent conflicts while enabling companies to earn profits?

�� Mr. Sanjana Hattotuwa, Special Advisor of ICT4Peace Foundation
�� Mr. Alain Modoux, former Assistant Director General of UNESCO
�� Lieutenant General Satish Nambiar, Director United Service Institution of India
�� Mr. Dag Nielsen, Director, Ericsson AB
�� General Deepak Sammanwar, former Director General Military Intelligence of India
�� Dr. Linton Wells II, Force Transformation Chair, National Defence University, former Acting Assistant Secretary of Defence of the US

�� Moderator: Ms Barbara Weekes, Director, Geneva Security Forum

�� Chair: Amb. Daniel Stauffacher, Chairman, ICT4Peace Foundation

Download the report in full here.�

Strategic use of ICTs in Disaster Management

Paper on Strategic use of ICTs in Disaster Management by Lieutenant General (Retired) Deepak Summanwar, presented at Responsibility to the Future - Business, Peace, Sustainability organised by the Strategic Foresight Group in Mumbai, June 2008.�

The ICT4Peace Foundation was a knowledge partner at this event.�

Download the paper here.�

CMI and IASCI launch online survey on information management and sharing in crisis response situations

On behalf of the Crisis Management Initiative, IASCI is conducting a research project related to information management and sharing in crisis response situations. IASCI is contacting fellow practitioners from key institutions and agencies to canvas their expert views and experiences regarding information systems and features of utility, and to learn about primary information gaps and constraints.
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If you are professionally familiar with crisis response, either from the field or management perspectives, CMI and IASCI would very much appreciate if you could take a few moments to respond to our questions.

Click here to access the survey.

If you have any questions or suggestions, you can contact IASCI at info@iasci.info

The Communication Initiative Network features the ICT4Peace Inventorisation Wiki

The ICT4Peace Foundation's ICT4Peace Wiki is now featured in the Communication Initiative's website .�

Training for Peace: The Governments of Egypt and Japan, and UNDP launch a project to develop the leading peacekeeping and conflict resolution centre in Cairo

Cairo, Wednesday 18 June 2008 � Today, the Cairo Regional Centre for Conflict Resolution and Peace-keeping in Africa (CCCPA) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Embassy of Japan and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) will launch a project, funded by the Government of Japan, to strengthen the capacity of CCCPA as a regional and international centre of excellence in the vital area of peacekeeping and conflict resolution in Africa.

H.E. Assistant Foreign Minister and Director of the Institute for Diplomatic Studies at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Soad Shalaby, H.E. Ambassador of Japan to the Arab Republic of Egypt, Mr. Kaoru Ishikawa, and United Nations Development Programme Resident Representative, Mr. James W. Rawley will attend the signing ceremony.

The implementation of this project in Egypt confirms the UN system�s effort to transform the outcomes of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) into tangible actions as well as the Japanese Government�s commitment to move into the Peace and Development arena. The Government of Japan has already committed to support four other peacekeeping centres in Africa (namely in Ghana, Mali, Kenya, and Rwanda) within the framework of the fourth TICAD held in Yokohama in May 2008.

Egypt continues to be a strong advocate of international peace and security, particularly in Africa. Egypt established the CCCPA within its Ministry of Foreign Affairs to support peacekeeping efforts and to respond to the needs of African countries to assume a more active role in dealing with crises and conflicts emanating from within the African continent.

The CCCPA currently trains French, English, Arabic and Portuguese-speaking African nationals in a variety of areas including military dimensions of peacekeeping operations, preventive diplomacy, and legal aspects of peacekeeping operations. Its training programmes target African diplomats, military officers, security personnel and civilians involved in peacekeeping operations.

H.E. Assistant Foreign Minister Soad Shalaby indicated that the resulting project places special emphasis on training programmes that bring together major players involved in peacekeeping operations, including members of the military and police forces in addition to civilians and diplomats. She underlined that the CCCPA, through this �integrated training�, will offer an innovative approach to training for peacekeeping that is multi-disciplinary, cross-professional and trans-cultural. Mrs. Shalaby referred also to the strong emphasis the project will have on leadership, teamwork, best practices of knowledge management and use of Information and Communication Technology.

The project will simultaneously adopt a gender mainstreaming approach to peacekeeping operations and conflict resolution in Africa that highlights the negative impact of armed conflicts in Africa on children and civilian women and girls, strengthens the role of women in the prevention and resolution of conflicts and in peace-building, and stresses the importance of their equal participation and full involvement in all efforts to promote peace and security. Developing training guidelines and materials on the protection, rights and the particular needs of women involved in peacekeeping operations in Africa will also be a priority.

Finally, the project will focus on strengthening CCCPA�s communications, outreach and knowledge management capabilities. In this respect, the project will develop and implement an outreach strategy through the following three mechanisms: an internet website, publications, and maintaining linkages between the centre and its graduates and instructors through a roster for future UN and/or African Union peacekeeping and humanitarian operations in Africa.

H.E. Ambassador of Japan to the Arab Republic of Egypt, Mr. Kaoru Ishikawa, spelled out that Japan leads the international community as a �Peace Fostering Nation� to further enhance peace and development in the world and, in doing so, Japan believes that not only nation building should start from human resources development but also and especially peace should be based on the empowerment of people.� He underlined that the Japanese support to the CCCPA is one of the embodiments of the policy of peace-building in cooperation with another peace-loving country, Egypt, and an active international organization in this field, UNDP.

On the project�s aims to promote South-South Co-operation, UNDP Resident Representative James W. Rawley said: �By sharing peace-keeping and conflict resolution experiences between African nations, the project will emphasize collaboration with other peace keeping centres in Africa especially those that are currently supported by the Government of Japan. I am particularly excited by Egypt hosting the first ever regional meeting for African peacekeeping centres later this year.�

International partners include the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO), UNDP�s Bureau for Crises Prevention and Recovery (BCPR), the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), the Geneva-based ICT4Peace Foundation, and the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP). Regional partners will include the African Union (AU) and its regional organizations including Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), in addition to regional peacekeeping centres such as the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC).�

See the UNDP's official Press Release for more details.�

Launch of PeaceIT - June 2008

Crisis Management Initiative has published the first issue 2008 of "Peace IT! Using ICTs to prevent, manage and resolve crises". The journal aims to further the debate on how to advance the professionalism in preventing, managing and resolving crisis through the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). You will find it attached in this mail, but you are also able to find the journal online at the CMI website (www.cmi.fi).
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In this issue, there is an update on the recent developments of the ICT4Peace, an article about International Agency for Source Country Information (IASCI) on the importance of accurate data and information in post disaster and post conflict situations, and a feature of the fifth ISCRAM (Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management) conference held in May. Furthermore, there is an article on Human Rights Monitoring, Reporting and Advocacy platform, a solution created by InfoShare to support the work of two Sri Lankan human rights NGOs. Also incident tracking system Ushahidi set up in Kenya after the disturbances following the presidential elections as well as the recent unveil of UNHRC and Google cooperation in supporting humanitarian operations are presented.

Download the journal as a PDF here.

Roundtable on ICT Technologies for Peace-building and Crisis Management at Responsibility to the Future: Business, Peace and Sustainability

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The ICT4Peace Foundation will conduct a Roundtable on ICT Technologies for Peace-building and Crisis Management on Friday, June 27, 2008, 11:30-13:00, Nehru Centre, Mumbai as part of the Responsibility to the Future: Business, Peace and Sustainability conference organised by the Strategic Foresight Group.

Responsibility to the Future: Business, Peace and Sustainability is organised in partnership with the ICT4Peace Foundation.

Roundtable on ICT Technologies for Peace-building and Crisis Management
How can information and communication technologies help build peace, mitigate disasters and efficiently address humanitarian needs? How can they prevent conflicts while enabling companies to earn profits?

Speakers
� Mr Sanjana Hattotuwa, Special Advisor of ICT4Peace Foundation
� Mr Alain Modoux, former Assistant Director General of UNESCO
� Lieutenant General Satish Nambiar, Director United Service Institution of India
� Mr Dag Nielsen, Director, Ericsson AB
� General Deepak Sammanwar, former Director General Military Intelligence of India
� Dr Linton Wells II, Force Transformation Chair, National Defence University, former Acting Assistant Secretary of Defence of the US
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� Moderator: Ms Barbara Weekes, Director, Geneva Security Forum
� Chair: Amb Daniel Stauffacher, Chairman, ICT4Peace Foundation
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Issues that will be covered
Amb Daniel Stauffacher, Chairman, ICT4Peace Foundation
Will introduce the session and provide a brief background on the activities of the ICT4Peace foundation (3-4 minutes)
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Sanjana Hattotuwa, Special Advisor of ICT4Peace Foundation
Will primarily address issues related to technology and new media for peacebuilding, based on experiences in Sri Lanka and elsewhere. He will, In addition, focus on issues related to the humanitarian response and the mitigation of disasters.
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Alain Modoux, former Assistant Director General of UNESCO
�All stakeholders involved in peacekeeping and humanitarian assistance operations have a common interest to overcome the lack of shared situation awareness. Building cross-cultural bridges and creating a collaborative civil-military information environment are crucial to a fruitful cooperation and an effective coordination between military and civilians (IGO and NGO), within the UN system, between IGO and NGO and within the NGO galaxy. In order to address this critical need, ICT4Peace has developed, jointly with the Cairo Regional Center for Training on Conflict Resolution & Peacekeeping in Africa (CCCPA), an Integrated Training for Integrated Missions concept. Its implementation will enable CCCPA to train yearly� a network of about 50 African multi-stakeholder facilitators (Civil-Military Cooperation Bridge-Builders) whose priority task will be to boost, in using primarily ICTs, the flow and sharing of information among all stakeholders involved in a given crisis situation.�
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Lieutenant General Satish Nambiar, Director United Service Institution of India
Will focus on the use of ICT for facilitating peacekeeping and post conflict peace-building.
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Mr Dag Nielsen, Director, Ericsson AB
Will address the business angle in the discussion focusing on ICT technologies and their implementation.
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Gen Deepak Sammanwar, former Director General Military Intelligence of India
Will focus on the strategic use of ICT in crisis management.
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Dr Linton Wells II, Force Transformation Chair, National Defence University, former Acting Assistant Secretary of Defence of the US
Will discuss the classes he gave to the African peacekeepers in Cairo and recent experiences in trying to establish ICT flyaway kits for Myanmar.�

2008 International Forum on Online Dispute Resolution

Special Advisor of the ICT4Peace Foundation, Sanjana Hattotuwa, chaired a panel on Online Dispute Resolution and Peacebuilding at the 2008 International Forum on Online Dispute Resolution held in Victoria, Canada from 18 - 19 June 2008.�

The Forum has as its purpose the bringing together of the world's leading practitioners, academics, theorists, and online negotiation application developers, to share information, and to create a vehicle for ODR education.

The Forum will consist of two days of plenary sessions and breakout sessions. The Forum brings together the world's leading practitioners, academics, students, and civil society to discuss the resolution of disputes using online technologies. These disputes may range from b2c (Business to consumer) to the prevention of human rights violations in conflict regions, to reconciliation of opposing groups in armed conflict, to disputes over intellectual property on the internet. It also brings together the leading technology developers who design conflict resolution platforms for use legal, commercial, or insurance related disputes (i.e. PayPal).

The ICT4Peace Foundation is also a partner of this event.

ICT for disaster management in the Asia-Pacific region - Chapter for Commonwealth Ministers Reference Book

An adaptation of the essay by Daniel Stauffacher and Sanjana Hattotuwa, ICT for disaster management in least developed countries and small islands in the Asia Pacific Region, that is published in the official Commonwealth Ministers Reference Book on behalf of the Commonwealth Secretariat.

The Book is the Secretariat�s primary communications tool to promote opportunity and potential within the 53 Commonwealth countries and is distributed to all Key Commonwealth Ministers, from Trade to Transport by the Secretariat. The publication will include approximately 35 articles that will be Sub-divided into logical sections that are designed to assist all Commonwealth Ministers and their respective officials in policy development, project initiation, procurement and control, as well as the day-to-day management of ministries/departments.� The Book will also feature relevant, objective case studies on solutions that illustrate effective methods of dealing with a variety of problems and challenges experienced by modern-day Ministries, as well as a complete directory of all Commonwealth Ministries.

Download the essay here.

Download the original essay, written for UN GAID, here.

ICT for disaster management in least developed countries and small islands in the Asia Pacific Region

Authors: Daniel Stauffacher and Sanjana Hattotuwa

Originally written for UN Global Alliance for ICT and Development (UN GAID)

Disaster management is an imperfect science. It is impossible to accurately predict when and where a disaster will occur. Yet efforts towards drawing up national and regional disaster risk management strategies have encountered significant challenges. Studies show that the problem lies not with the use and adoption of technology per se, but with the more entrenched culture of institutional and individual resistance to information sharing in an open, timely and sustainable manner. Governments as well as local and transnational non-governmental institutions are both victims to and perpetrators of this culture of secrecy. In controlling the flow of information � what gets out where, to whom, how and when � these stakeholders directly influence disaster management planning and action.� With little or no incentive to change their ham-fisted approach to information sharing and its twin corollaries - collaboration and coordination - key stakeholders including non-governmental agencies are culpable for significant lapses in information flows. Lessons identified have not been learnt. These gaps have cost lives.

This brief paper is an attempt to map how ICTs can and have helped in disaster management even in least developed countries in the Asia Pacific region and suggests that though key stakeholders may (today) be averse to the accountability and transparency that ICTs bring to disaster management frameworks, their increasing use by citizens are a compelling argument to fully integrate them into all aspects of disaster early warning, management, mitigation and response.

Download the full paper here.

Wireless Technology for Social Change: Trends in NGO Mobile Use

The United Nations Foundation and The Vodafone Group Foundation�s Access to Communications Publication Series produces studies that give governments, NGOs and the private sector research and recommendations on how to use technology and telecom tools to effectively address some of the world�s toughest challenges.

This second publication in the series�Wireless Technology for Social Change: Trends in NGO Mobile Use �examines innovative uses of mobile technology by groups working to achieve the UN Millennium Development Goals. The report identifies emerging trends in "mobile activism" through 11 case studies, and highlights the results of a global survey of NGO usage of mobile technology.

M-Gov and mobile phones for development

Sanjana Hattotuwa

Sustainable and equitable development is severely undermined when citizens do have not have access to a voice. When basic human needs are marginalised or suppressed, the resulting emergence of communal violence in the negotiation of difference and grievances stunts economic growth - sometimes for generations. Today, the exponential growth in the use and ownership of mobile phones offers renewed hope of higher economic development. A well known example is the finding in 2005 by Leonard Waverman, of the London Business School, that an extra 10 mobile phones per 100 people in a typical developing country leads to an additional 0.59 percentage points of growth in GDP per person. Yet the question is, is development just about economic growth? And what of the existing e-gov initiatives, such as we find in Sri Lanka, that have failed to inspire development or engender peace? A recent article on the future of e-government from the US proclaims that Web 2.0 will �transform service delivery, make smarter policies, flatten silos and, most importantly, reinvigorate democracy� and facilitate a shift �from monolithic government agencies to pluralistic, networked governance Webs that fuse the knowledge, skills and resources of the masses.�

Sadly, such heady optimism is ill-placed in the context of Sri Lanka, where e-government reflects (and on occasion exacerbates) significant problems brought about by successive governments uninterested in participatory governance, democracy and sustainable development. Millions of dollars and billions of rupees in attempts to re-engineer government have largely failed to make public institutions and service delivery more responsive, accountable and transparent. E-gov is seen as purely transactional - one-way and top-down. The mechanics of citizen participation and feedback are feeble at best and non-existent most of the time. On many websites, content is to be found only in Sinhala and English, exacerbating problems of language discrimination faced by the Tamils in Sri Lanka. Amongst a litany of other issues, Government websites are replete with outdated information, dysfunctional links, pointers to websites that no longer exist and don�t have common look and feel or functionality, making them difficult and confusing to navigate. The other significant problem is that e-gov as constituted today is mainly for PCs. Few citizens in Sri Lanka own or use PCs. Nearly 8 million people mobile phone subscribers are completely shut out of e-gov services and products. This means that the potential of e-gov is woefully under-realised through the use of an exclusive technologies and a mindset that does not yet see the potential of mobile phones in e-government initiatives.

For answers to these pressing problems, we must turn to citizens themselves. Using mobile phones and through other Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs), citizens can now use a range of methods to hold State institutions and public officials accountable and place on record their grievances. These new conversations amongst citizens (on old problems) are decentralised, two-way, adaptive, resilient and pervasive. Importantly, they take place in the vernacular as well as in English. From Zimbabwe and Kenya to China and Kuwait, from electoral processes and women�s suffrage to the voicing dissent against oppression, mobiles have already revolutionised our approach to and understanding of political and social activism as well as public participation in governance. Yet in many cases, there is simply no interaction between State sponsored e-gov initiatives and citizen driven mobile phone based. The two exist in different worlds - one is about the promotion of the State as it is constituted and imagined, the other is about questioning the status quo. However, renewed interest in governance is forcing an urgent revision the conceptualisation of e-gov. Though the role of Government is still forward and centre in governance, citizens are now forcing politicians, public officials and the State to realise that through self-organisation and better communications between and within communities, an active and vocal civil society plays a growing and indispensible role in strengthening democracy and through it, sustainable and equitable development.

There are already many ideas and mechanisms that combine mobiles with various economic processes to engineer stronger GDP growth. From taking the middleman out and bringing the market closer to the producer to monetising ideas and talents in remote areas, mobiles (and ICTs) have radically altered traditional economic models of consumption, production and delivery. More specifically, leveraging and adapting mobiles to strengthen democratic governance, understood as a vital ingredient of equitable economic development, requires us to think of new and strengthen existing ways through which mobiles help communities generated and exchange news, information and knowledge. On the one hand, not forgetting that leveraging existing e-gov initiatives is necessary if we are to achieve even a modicum of their much-touted potential, a few simple ideas to facilitate this transition could be to:

Design and deploy innovative products and services: Tie ups with mobile telecoms companies can leverage geo-location based cell broadcasting mechanisms to deliver a range of timely information to citizens, from details of utility breakdowns to disaster early warning and security alerts. Citizens are able to receive SMS updates as well as create and send updates of their own, creating timely and useful interactions that can be featured across a range of media and accessed via a range of ICTs.
Celebrate what works in government: Prize competitions to get civil society animated about the potential to use mobile phones the strengthen governance and development would be one way to get citizens to use them more for purposes other than the purely personal communications. Technology is often seen as a tool that helps citizens bear witness to the breakdown of democratic governance and basic service delivery of government. But by using mobile phones to capture and promote best practices and committed personal and institutional leadership in the public sector, citizens can inspire government mechanisms to be more service oriented and citizen centric. Focussing on the positive aspects of government (rare though they may be) can be a powerful catalyst for change by encouraging transformation from within the public sector.
Public private partnerships - Amongst others in Sri Lanka, the nascent Easyseva entrepreneurship model, based on the increasing footprint of relatively low-cost wireless broadband in Sri Lanka, proves that innovative public sector and private sector partnerships can avoid the pitfalls of State subsidised and unsustainable cybercaf� models as we have seen in the past.

On the other hand, strengthening development requires citizens to be animated and vocal on the performance of democratic frameworks and institutions. Mobile phones allow citizens to communicate in ways hitherto impossible or prohibitively expensive. Citizen to citizen knowledge transfers through text, audio and video, no longer dependent on State sponsored e-gov mechanisms, nevertheless complement such mechanisms by fostering innovation and economic development. Some examples in this regard are:

Citizen journalism (CJ) initiatives - Groundviews, a pioneering citizen journalism website I created and edit in Sri Lanka, demonstrates by example that content produced by citizens that interrogates the status quo can be a powerful catalyst for change. Using text, photos, audio and video generated through and distributed via mobile phones (and PCs), citizen journalism shows demonstrable potential to transform repressive social, political and economic conditions that hinder sustainable development.
Development of mobile government (m-government) - The point here is quite simply that nearly 8 million Sri Lankans already own or use the devices necessary to interact with mobile government services and products. As Lirneasia�s path-breaking research suggests, mobiles are already used and owned by those who will never buy a PC, even at the lowest economic groups in Sri Lanka. M-government can complement e-gov (largely designed and built for PC based access) it by providing services through SMS and voice telephony such as free calls to services such as the Government Information Centre, automated voice prompt services (also called IVR services) and on-demand SMS multilingual information services. Using augmented reality and location aware services and devices, citizens can be informed on the availability of and proximity to various government services and products as they travel. Kiosks can be set up in remote villages with SMS devices that print government forms on demand upon a coded SMS instruction. The possibilities are as exciting as they are endless.
Web 2.0 technologies - A plethora of Web 2.0 technologies that help coordination and collaboration can be leveraged, alongside mobile device based content generation and delivery, to strengthen efficiency in government and accountable, transparent governance - both vital anchors of economic growth. Even new technologies such as Google Maps, featuring user generated content coupled to location based information generated via mobiles can be leveraged by governments to create real time maps alive to the needs of citizens and reflective of the dynamism of all communities.

E-governance is ultimately about human engineering - using technology to strengthen the potential for social, political, economic and cultural growth. Mobiles have demonstrated in a few years that technology if affordable and pervasive can and will be used by citizens to interact with each other, hold governments accountable for their actions and mediate differences non-violently. Though the technology itself is often self-effacing, the conversations inspired, produced, stored and disseminated through mobiles, PCs, on the Internet and through the web are rapidly changing governance and government as we know them today.

Governments today can and need to be a part of this revolution. The point about development is that it is not just economic. A country prospers not necessarily because its GDP grows, but because all citizens feel they are part of the socio-political fabric of democratic governance. Love them or hate them, mobiles are the new glue of governance and democracy.

Download PDF of this article, with references, here.

A version of this article will appear in�the June 2008 issue of i4d magazine.

Final Report on the Global Symposium +5 on Information for Humanitarian Action

Dear Colleagues,

It is my pleasure to share with you an advance electronic copy of the Final Report on the Global Symposium +5 on Information for Humanitarian Action, held last October in Geneva (www.reliefweb.int/symposium).� This report is the result of the insights and expertise of more than 300 participants who took part in what was the largest and most diverse ever collaboration of humanitarian information professionals, and a milestone in building the community of practice on humanitarian information and knowledge.� �

The report highlights participants' experiences in collecting, exchanging and analysing information aimed at strengthening humanitarian action through timely and reliable information. It documents the sharing of best practices, lessons learned and provides recommendations developed and supported by the participants.

As agreed at the Symposium, OCHA has taken the lead in developing a plan to move forward on the recommendations presented in the report and ensure appropriate follow-up.� I invite our partners to review these recommendations for their consideration and undertake relevant information activities that fall within their respective remits.

OCHA is committed to reporting back to the humanitarian community on progress made in relation to the recommendations. To this effect, OCHA will periodically post updates on ReliefWeb as well as keeping partners informed of our progress. In return, I hope that you will share the report contents, including its best practices and principles, with your respective organisations and raise the issues for broader discussion and implementation. The impact of the Symposium is being monitored and analyzed in a two-year study by the US-based Penn State University College of Information Sciences and Technology. It follows the initial impact survey of the 2002 Symposium and the survey taken during the 2007 Symposium.� I encourage everyone who was involved in the Symposium to continue to take part in their evaluation.

I highly recommend this report to all professionals who may become involved in this subject and count on your assistance to disseminate it as widely as possible.� The hard copy version is expected to be available next month.

To see the report please click on this link� http://www.reliefweb.int/symposium/docs/symposium5_final_report.pdf or go to the website at www.reliefweb.int/symposium.� �

With best regards,

John Holmes
Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs
and Emergency Relief Coordinator

The Text message � an important transmitter of information in times of crisis

http://letemps.ch/template/international.asp?page=4&article=228202

�Media � The use of information and communication technologies in order to promote peace in the world. This is the challenge of the ICT4Peace foundation, based in Geneva. Interview with its president.

During the first phase of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), that was held in Geneva in 2003, Daniel Stauffacher, Ambassador for Switzerland at that time, had a revelation. He became conscious of� the role that information and communication technologies (ICT) could have in preventing conflicts and keeping peace and launched, together with former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari and others, an organization� (ICT4peace) that is dedicated to this subject. Interview with its president.

Le Temps: The WSIS revealed the link between ICT and development. What about peace?
Daniel Stauffacher: The fight against poverty, injustices and the protection of human rights are necessary factors in order to promote peace. The role of the media and ICT is equally important. There are different levels: prevention of conflicts, crisis management as well as reconstruction and reconciliation.� In the Near East, for example, interviews are given on either side of the wall, and this can help to gain mutual understanding. Of course, this can never replace negotiations around a table, but it is important to inform the public about it. Those who run the conflicts have always used new technologies to perfection, e.g. for propaganda; we want to turn around this tendency.

- Darfour was a war without images and with little information. Are communication tools missing in this African region?
- Infrastructures are effectively missing, but the development is speeding up. The growth of mobile telephones is especially enormous and text messages are becoming an important transmitter of information. Soon, nobody will be able to say �I didn�t know� or �I haven�t seen it�. But often, the problem is not the lack of technology, but the wrong use of it.

- What does this mean?
- You cannot blame a child in Darfour that he did not send a photo with his mobile phone. On the other hand, humanitarians, militaries and other actors in crisis management should do it. The role of our organization is, to get them there. It is essential to coordinate and exchange information about the needs of a population during a crisis. The problem is, that all these actors compete against each other. They all work with the same donors and each one of them tries to be the first one to inform in order to appear more credible. There is also the question of leadership: the old generation does not necessarily recognize the importance of ICT. That�s why we launched a workshop to raise awareness among key leaders at the United Nations in New York.

- What about other mandates of your foundation?
- The second mandate consists of training and development of the concerned parties. Together with the �Cairo Center for Crisis prevention and Peacekeeping in Africa�, we developed a module that we will test in Cairo, starting in August. Police, the military, NGO�s, UN diplomats, donors and members of the government will be brought together to facilitate cooperation among each other.� The third mandate of our foundation involves inventory and research about existing initiatives and tools in the domain of ICT.

� Le SMS, un vecteur important d�information en temps de crise. Un interview avec Daniel Stauffacher, Pr�sident de la Fondation ICT4Peace �

http://letemps.ch/template/international.asp?page=4&article=228202

MEDIAS. Utiliser les technologies de l'information et de la communication pour favoriser la paix dans le monde, c'est le pari de la fondation ICT4Peace, bas�e � Gen�ve. Interview de son pr�sident.

Caroline Stevan
Jeudi 20 mars 2008

Le Sommet mondial sur la soci�t� de l'information (SMSI), dont la premi�re phase s'est d�roul�e en 2003 � Gen�ve, a �t� une sorte de r�v�lation pour Daniel Stauffacher, alors ambassadeur pour la Suisse. Prenant conscience du r�le que les technologies de l'information et de la communication (TIC) ont � jouer pour la pr�vention des conflits et le maintien de la paix, l'homme se lance, avec l'ancien pr�sident finlandais Martti Ahtisaari et quelques autres, dans la cr�ation d'une organisation d�di�e au sujet. ICT4Peace est d�sormais � pied d'�uvre. Interview de son pr�sident.

Le Temps: Le SMSI avait mis en exergue le lien entre les TIC et le d�veloppement. Qu'en est-il de la paix?

Daniel Stauffacher: Combattre la pauvret�, les injustices, prot�ger les droits humains sont autant de facteurs n�cessaires pour garantir la paix. Le r�le des m�dias et des TIC est �galement essentiel. Il y a plusieurs niveaux: la pr�vention des conflits, la gestion des crises et enfin la reconstruction et la r�conciliation. Au Proche-Orient par exemple, des interviews sont r�alis�es de part et d'autre du mur; cela peut aider � la compr�hension mutuelle. Evidemment, cela ne remplace pas des n�gociations autour d'une table, mais il est important d'informer les populations. Les nouvelles technologies ont toujours �t� utilis�es � la perfection par ceux qui m�nent les conflits, pour la propagande notamment; nous voulons inverser cette tendance.

- Le Darfour a �t� une guerre sans images, avec tr�s peu d'information. Les moyens de communication sont-ils absents de cette r�gion de l'Afrique?

- Il manque effectivement des infrastructures, mais le d�veloppement s'acc�l�re. La croissance des t�l�phones mobiles, notamment, est �norme et les SMS deviennent un vecteur important d'information. Plus personne, bient�t, ne pourra dire �Je ne savais pas� ou �Je n'avais pas vu�. Le probl�me, souvent, n'est pas le manque de technologie mais la mauvaise utilisation qui en est faite.

- C'est-�-dire?

- On ne peut pas reprocher � un enfant du Darfour de ne pas avoir le r�flexe d'envoyer une photo avec son mobile. Les humanitaires, les militaires et autres acteurs de la gestion de conflits devraient en revanche le faire. Le r�le de notre organisation est justement de les y amener. Coordination et �changes d'informations sur les besoins des populations en temps de crise sont primordiaux. Le probl�me est qu'il y a une comp�tition entre tous ces gens. Ils ont tous les m�mes donateurs et chacun veut �tre le premier � donner une nouvelle afin de para�tre plus cr�dible. Il y a aussi une question de leadership: la vieille g�n�ration ne reconna�t pas forc�ment l'importance des TIC. Nous menons en ce moment un travail de sensibilisation aux Nations unies, � New York, en ce sens.

- Quels sont les autres mandats de votre fondation?

- Le deuxi�me volet consiste � former les parties concern�es. Nous avons d�velopp� un module que nous allons tester au Caire - en collaboration avec le Cairo Center for Crisis Prevention and Peacekeeping in Africa - d�s le mois d'ao�t. Des policiers, des militaires, des humanitaires, des fonctionnaires de l'ONU, des donateurs ou encore des membres du gouvernement seront ainsi amen�s � travailler ensemble. Le troisi�me mandat de notre fondation r�side dans la mise sur pied d'un inventaire des initiatives et outils existants dans le domaine.

� Le Temps, 2008 . Droits de reproduction et de diffusion r�serv�s. Acheter les droits de reproduction de cet article.

ICT4Peace Foundation enters into partnership with 2008 International Forum on Online Dispute Resolution

The ICT4Peace Foundation today entered into a partnership to strengthen the 2008 International Forum on Online Dispute Resolution . Victoria, British Columbia serves as the host city for the ODR Forum and this important conference will held at venues including Royal Roads University, and the Lester B. Pearson College of the Pacific on Vancouver Island June 18-19, 2008.

The Forum in Victoria will build on the research, applications and field development discussed at other international ODR meetings and workshops that were held in Geneva (2002 and 2003), Edinburgh (2003), Melbourne (2004), Bologna (2005), Brussels (2005), Cairo (2006), and Palo Alto (2007), Liverpool (2007) and Hong Kong (2007).

The Forum will consist of two days of plenary sessions and breakout sessions. The Forum brings together the world's leading practitioners, academics, students, and civil society to discuss the resolution of disputes using online technologies. These disputes may range from b2c (Business to consumer) to the prevention of human rights violations in conflict regions, to reconciliation of opposing groups in armed conflict, to disputes over intellectual property on the internet. It also brings together the leading technology developers who design conflict resolution platforms for use legal, commercial, or insurance related disputes (i.e. PayPal).

The Foundation's participation will ensure that its significant work on ICT4Peace and in other areas is leveraged to strengthen deliberations at the ODR Forum.� �

Interview with Daniel Stauffacher, Chairman of Ict4Peace Foundation on ICT4Peace by David Kirkpatrick of Fortune Magazine

Fortune Magazine published on 4th January 2008 an article on the ICT4Peace Foundation and it's work on ICT for peacebuilding.

"As 2008 gets underway we don't have peace. (Just look at this depressing list in Wikipedia of ongoing conflicts worldwide.) But Daniel Stauffacher doesn't get depressed. Instead he thinks technology can help. This entrepreneur and Swiss diplomat leads a recently-formed group called the ICT for Peace Foundation, which aims to promote the latest digital and Internet tools for the people who truly need them most. (ICT stands for Information and Communication Technology.)"

Read the article in full on the web here or download a PDF of the article here.

ICT4Peace Launch Event at the United Nations, New York - Participants, Report, President Martti Ahtisaari's speech and Concept Note

The Permanent Representative of Switzerland hosted a High-Level working Lunch, on 15 November 2007. The event was sponsored by the ICT4Peace Foundation with the support of UN DESA Global Alliance for ICT and Development.

High level participation and contributions at this meeting included Permanent Representatives to the UN from Tunisia, Brazil, South Africa, France, the Russian Federation, Singapore, Egypt, Mali, Pakistan, Canada, Japan amongst a range of others as well as highly placed representatives and delegates from the UN Dept. of Political Affairs (DPA), Peacebuilding Support Office (PBSO), UNDP, UNICEF, UNHCR, DPKO, DESA. Participants also included high-level representatives of the Conflict Management Initiative (CMI), United States Institute of Peace (USIP), Development Gateway Foundation, the US National Defense University's Centre for Technology and National Security Policy, the US State Department and the Development Gateway Foundation.

H.E. Martti Ahtisaari, former President of Finland delivered a statement at the meeting, that can be access here.
A full report of the meeting and the salient points of discussions can be downloaded here.
The ICT4Peace Concept, that informed the discussions at this meeting and outlined the terrain for engagement and collaboration amongst those who attended, can be accessed here.
The Conflict Management Initiative's PeaceIT! publication ran a story on this important event in its December 2007, that can be access here.

ICT4Peace: An International Process for Conflict Management featured in PeaceIT!

The latest issue of Peace IT!, a journal for conflict and crisis management professionals published by the Crisis Management Initiative (CMI) is out and can be downloaded here. The journal explores how ICTs can be used effectively to prevent, manage and resolve crisis to the benefit of peace and security.

This issue features an article on ICT4Peace I wrote in my capacity as Special Advisor to the ICT4Peace Foundation on the launch of ICT4Peace: An International Process for Conflict Management at the United Nations, New York, on 15th November 2007.

The issue also contains an excellent essay by Chamindra de Silva on Humanitarian FOSS, a field of research and practice that he and his team, responsible for Sahana, have helped define globally.

Statement of Martti Ahtisaari, former President of Finland at ICT4Peace launch, United Nations, New York

ICT4Peace: STRATEGIC USE OF ICTS IN CRISIS MANAGEMENT
New York, 15 November 2007

Statement of Martti Ahtisaari, former President of Finland

I am a strong believer in the UN system and would welcome the appropriate UN agencies to stand up and take the leadership in these issues. This, to my mind, could be one important outcome of this process and a significant marker of the international community�s commitment to the values and principles to save lives as embodied in the ICT4Peace process.

In support of the ICT4Peace process, I believe we need an ongoing dialogue process at the UN in New York once or twice a year with Governments and key actors from Business, Civil society and Academia to tackle the issues of information management, setting data and information management standards.

Read the full statement here.�

ICT4Peace: �Strategic use of ICT for Crisis Management� - High-Level Working Lunch, 15th November 2007

ICT4Peace: �Strategic use of ICT for Crisis Management� - High-Level Working Lunch, 15th November 2007

The Permanent Representative of Switzerland hosted a High-Level working Lunch, on 15 November 2007. The event was sponsored by the ICT4Peace Foundation with the support of� UN DESA Global Alliance for ICT and Development.

The question of how best to move forward on pre-existing commitments was at the forefront of discussion at the High-Level Working Lunch on the use of ICT for crisis management today, 15th November 2007. Focusing attention on implementation and action, participants noted the progress made thus far, highlighted at the recent OCHA Seminar in Geneva, and stressed the need to build on it. They emphasized the need to develop a set of common standards agreed by different agencies and organisations, both within and beyond the UN, to aid knowledge sharing and communication, and all expressed willingness to work together in order to bring about the changes needed. One significant obstacle was thought to be data security and the unwillingness to share information. The importance of creating a multi-stakeholder collaboration � encompassing both the private sector and those who collate and utilise ICT outputs in the field � was emphasised. It was emphasized that ICT can be used as a tool for progress in areas such as crisis management, humanitarian aid, development, peace building, peacekeeping and UN reform. Participants representing a range of national governments, NGOs and international organisations pledged their support to moving forward work in this field, especially via the initiative taken by the ICT4Peace Foundation, functioning as a Community of Expertise of the Global Alliance for ICT and Development. A key issue identified in the discussion was better information management among all stakeholders, and for that purpose the need for improved setting of common data standards, data sharing, cooperation and interoperability. The importance of the commitment and political will of senior leadership - from both international institutions and national governments - to the principles of ICT usage was seen as critical to success.

Read and download the full summary here.�

Global Symposium +5 'Information for Humanitarian Action' Final Statement and Outcomes

The ICT4Peace Foundation was a partner in the organisation of the UN OCHA +5 Symposium (see presentation here), which has just released its Final Statement and Outcomes document.

As noted in OCHA Press Release on the occasion of the public release of these two documents:

"It it my great pleasure to provide you with the Global Symposium +5 'Information for Humanitarian Action' Final Statement and its accompanying Outcomes document.

These documents represent a common vision of the central role of information, analysis and exchange in support of effective humanitarian preparedness response and recovery. It builds upon the community of practice of the Humanitarian Information Network (HIN) and will guide us in future years. Thank you to everyone for your input.

As agreed, OCHA will now develop an Action Plan in consultation with the IASC and HIN partners by March 2008. This Action Plan will take into account the recommendations from the Symposium and list them in order of priority with focal points assigned, as well as deadlines. The Symposium Final Report will also be distributed early next year."

Please download the Global Symposium +5 'Information for Humanitarian Action' Final Statement here and the Outcomes document here.

ICT4Peace Foundation invited to participate at the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Global Forum on Emergency Telecommunications - 10-12 Dec 2007

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Daniel Stauffacher, the Chairman of the ICT4Peace Foundation has been invited to participate at the Global forum on Emergency Telecommunications - 10-12 Dec 2007.

Background
Increasingly, natural disasters are causing considerable loss of life and disrupting national economies, severely weakening the affected countries. While neither natural nor man-made hazards can be entirely prevented, information and communication technologies (ICT) can help reduce their impact and avoid them turning into disasters that impede sustainable development. This event contributes to the progress made at the United Nations International Meeting to Review the Implementation of the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States (Mauritius, 10-14 January 2005), the World Conference on Disaster Reduction (Kobe, Japan, 18-22 January 2005), and a series of other events having focused among other things on the establishment of a Tsunami Early Warning and Mitigation System for the Indian Ocean, including the Ministerial Meeting on Regional Cooperation on Tsunami Early Warning Arrangements (Phuket, Thailand, 28-29 January 2005), the UNESCO International Coordination Meeting for the Development of a Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System for the Indian Ocean within a Global Framework (Paris, France, 3-8 March 2005), and the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction organized Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (Geneva, Switzerland, 5-7 June 2007).
The event builds on a series of events held by ITU on this subject:

Using ICT for Effective Disaster Management: Caribbean Forum 2006, 26-28 July 2006, Ocho Rios, Jamaica
Joint ITU-ESCAP Regional Workshop on Disaster Communications, 12-15 December 2006, U.N. Conference Centre, Bangkok, Thailand
Workshop on the Role of Telecommunications/ICT in Disaster Mitigation, 28 March 2007, Bandung, Indonesia
Disaster: Relief and Management: International Cooperation & Role of ICT, 14-17 April 2007, Alexandria, Egypt
ITU Sub-Regional Workshop on the Role of Telecommunications/ICT in Disaster Management for the Central African Region, 30 May � 1 June 2007, Yaound�, Cameroon
ITU Workshop on Emergency Telecommunications for Disaster Management in Sri Lanka: Developing a National Emergency Telecommunications Plan, 24 August 2007, Colombo, Sri Lanka
ITU Workshop on Emergency Telecommunications for Disaster Management in Maldives: Developing a National Emergency Telecommunications Plan and Ratification of the Tampere Convention, 28 August 2007, Male, Maldives

Purpose of the event
The purpose of this event is to bring together the main stakeholders active in developing, deploying and using telecommunications/ICT for disaster mitigation, and to serve as a forum in which they can map out concrete strategies and adopt practical measures aimed at giving telecommunications/ICT a central role in disaster management, i.e. early warning, preparedness, relief and response. The discussions will focus on policy, regulation, technology, finance and the deployment of last-mile communications systems. The debate will take a multi-hazard approach, as the role of telecommunications/ICT remains the same irrespective of the nature or type of disaster at hand. Attention will also be focused on the ways in which last-mile solutions can be integrated into existing and future early warning systems. For this, cooperation among organizations involved in disaster prevention and management is an essential element. ITU will launch a major telecommunications/ICT initiative that seeks to coordinate the deployment of telecommunications resources for
disaster relief to maximize the use of such resources and ensure that there is timely and universal access to such resources in the immediate aftermath of disasters striking.

Participating organizations will have an opportunity to showcase innovative telecommunications/ICT solutions at the exhibition pavilion. Exhibition space is provided free but exhibitors are advised to focus on demonstrating their solutions and not marketing their products.

A number of partnership agreements and memoranda of understanding will be signed on 10 December between ITU and its partners. These agreements will focus on co-financing future activities aimed at mitigating the impact of disasters through the use of emergency telecommunications.

Expected outcomes
This event, which will attract high-level representation from governments, regulatory authorities, the private sector, United Nations entities, and Non-Governmental Organizations, will result in an increased awareness of the role that each of the participating entities play in giving telecommunications/ICT a central role in disaster mitigation.� A number of new products and practical initiatives will be launched at this important event including:
�� ITU Framework for Cooperation in Emergencies (IFCE)
�� Compendium on ITU Work in Emergency Telecommunications (Telecommunication Standardization, Radiocommunication, Telecommunication Development)
�� ITU Handbook on Best Practice in Emergency Telecommunications
�� ITU Network of Volunteers for Emergency Telecommunications (VET)
�� Signing of Multiple Partnership Agreements.

Prevention Web: a new tool to increase knowledge on disaster risk reduction

The UN/ISDR secretariat is launching PreventionWeb.net, a new website for increasing knowledge sharing on disaster risk reduction (DRR) issues, for both the general public � including media and teachers � and DRR specialists, on 15 November.

"Information and knowledge are key to reducing disasters, and this new tool will facilitate the sharing of information, expertise and experience. Prevention Web will be a reference for experts, practitioners and all people interested in building resilience to natural hazards,� said Salvano Brice�o, Director of the UN/ISDR secretariat in Geneva.

For the first time, a website will provide a common tool for both specialists and non-specialists interested or working in the area of disaster risk reduction (DRR) to connect, exchange experiences and share information at all levels of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction: local to global, UN, international and non-governmental organizations to citizens and companies. Prevention Web is a product of many months of user research, information architecture, visual and technical design, and testing, to meet the needs of target audiences in this field.

Prevention Web relies on contributions from the DRR community and includes: disaster risk reduction news, country reports, publications, good practices, fact sheets, networks and communities, and more. The beta release period will emphasize content development by calling for contributions from the community at large � UN, international, non-governmental, academic, and civil society partners. The website will be managed by a dedicated team of seven information managers between Geneva, Panama City, Nairobi, Cairo, Bangkok, Kobe and Bonn.

DRR practitioners are invited to submit their contents online at: www.preventionweb.net/english/submit/

Craig Duncan, senior coordinator of the project, said �Prevention Web is expected to become an indispensable tool for practitioners working to build the resilience of nations and communities to disasters, much like Relief Web has served the humanitarian response community in the effective delivery of emergency assistance.�

For more about the project, visit: www.preventionweb.net/english/about/ or contact: Craig Duncan, duncanc@un.org. Prevention Web will organize a press briefing later this year to explain to media and the public at large how they can use the tool to facilitate their coverage and understanding of disasters.

An evolving vision: A critique of Development Gateway

Development Gateway has changed significantly in response to external challenges and the emergence of new web-based technologies. Their experience highlights some of the lessons learned in the process that may be relevant for web 2.0 initiatives.

With more than 260,000 registered users and 800,000 unique visitors per month in mid-2007, the Development Gateway is the largest searchable repository of development information and tools on the internet.

The concept of the Development Gateway was first discussed at the World Bank in 1999. Under James Wolfensohn�s leadership, the Bank positioned itself as the �Knowledge Bank�. It would promote knowledge sharing and put growing emphasis on the use of ICTs as tools for disseminating information both within the organization and across the development community.

The Development Gateway Foundation was established in 2001, funded by the Bank, bilateral aid agencies, developing country governments and private companies. The Foundation then set about creating a collaborative web portal offering development content and tools for information exchange. The approach to knowledge sharing focused on capturing and making available relevant information through the �topic pages� (now dgCommunities), which also provided discussion and commenting tools to enable sharing and collaboration among its members. The idea was that experts and users would contribute resources that were then to become the basis for the sharing of explicit knowledge.

Read the full article here and listen to a podcast with Mike Pereira, director of Global Online Communities at the Development Gateway Foundation, here.

Launch of ICT4Peace process at United Nations, New York - A Concept Note

There is an increasing recognition amongst the international community, including governments, non-governmental organizations and the United Nations agencies that the timely collection and exchange of accurate and impartial information during humanitarian crises requires mayor improvements. Such improvements could contribute to save thousands of lives and requires the sustained commitment of the international community to effective management of information and knowledge, by using appropriate technologies, including Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs). Used appropriately, ICTs can support all aspects and sectors of humanitarian work. While initiatives have been launched to mainstream ICTs in humanitarian aid and peacebuilding, none have been able to gain traction at the United Nations, intergovernmental and interagency level.� What this process proposes is precisely that � by harvesting existing best practices, recognizing and nurturing innovation and facilitating an international recognition of the important links between effective humanitarian response and the use of ICTs.�

Read the full concept note on the ICT4Peace process, launched at the United Nations in New York on 15th November 2007, here. �

Speech by USG John Holmes at UN OCHA +5 Symposium

"I come from a professional background � the world of diplomacy � where information and words are absolutely key to everything we do. The collection and analysis of information, questions about with whom to share it � and more importantly sometimes � with whom not to share it, were and are fundamental to understanding and to success. And how this information and analysis was expressed and conveyed � the exact words, the precise nuances, the constructive ambiguity, the hidden as well as the open messages � was an indispensable tool of the trade. I had expected, in coming into the humanitarian world at the beginning of the year, to find a very different context � much more practical and operational, more hands-on, much less concerned with the subtleties of diplomatic word- games. And I have to say I looked forward to this change. �
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What I actually found was that I was only half right. Humanitarians are, rightly, much less concerned with the infinite variations of language, much happier to call a spade a spade, if not a bloody shovel. Nuance is not the community�s strongest point, and has relatively little value. Where I was profoundly mistaken was to imagine that information and analysis would be a less central concern, or would be somehow easier. What I have learned in my first months is that while some facts are obvious �the flood, the earthquake, the conflict, the exodus of refugees and IDP�s � and some consequences are all too visible � death, destruction, despair � as soon as you start to dig deeper you run into the central and glaring need for really good information and really good analysis. In other words decent knowledge. Without that you can�t really get off first base. You don�t know what people really need or where or how urgently. You can�t� make sensible decisions about priorities � whether within or between emergencies. And you can�t communicate credibly with all the other people you need to influence � the media, the donors, the local authorities and, the most neglected of all from this point of view, the beneficiaries themselves."�

Read the full speech of John Holmes, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator and Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs delivered at the United Nations OCHA +5 Symposium, of which the ICT4Peace Foundation was a partner.�

UN OCHA +5 Symposium presentation by Sanjana Hattotuwa

Watch the presentation by Sanjana Hattotuwa, Special Advisor to the ICT4Peace Foundation made at the UN OCHA +5 Symposium here. The original can be streamed off the web here.�

To download a copy of the file, please click here.�

Launch of ICT4Peace: An International Process for Crisis Management at United Nations, New York

ICT4Peace aims to enhance the performance of the international community in crisis management through the application of information and Communications Technology (ICT) � technologies that can facilitate effective and sustained communication between peoples, communities and stakeholders involved in crisis management. Crisis management is defined, for the purposes of this process, as civilian and/or military intervention in a crisis that may be a violent or non-violent with the intention of preventing a further escalation of the crisis and facilitating its resolution. This definition covers peace mediation and peace-keeping activities of the international community. In bridging the fragmentation between various organizations and actors during different phases of crises, ICT4Peace aims to facilitate holistic, cohesive and collaborative mechanisms directly in line with Paragraph 36 of the WSIS Tunis Commitment:

�36. We value the potential of ICTs to promote peace and to prevent conflict which, inter alia, negatively affects achieving development goals. ICTs can be used for identifying conflict situations through early-warning systems preventing conflicts, promoting their peaceful resolution, supporting humanitarian action, including protection of civilians in armed conflicts, facilitating peacekeeping missions, and assisting post conflict peace-building and reconstruction.�

ICT4Peace aims to raise the awareness about the Tunis Commitment and promote its practical realization in all stages of crisis management and peace operations, facilitating knowledge exchange and information transfer between all involved actors, including communities affected by disasters and conflict.

Objective: Enhancing the performance of the international community in crisis management through ICT

ICT4Peace aims to raise awareness about the contribution and potential of ICT in crisis management
ICT4Peace aims to foster exchange of best practices in the field of ICT for crisis management
ICT4Peace aims to enhance the competency of the international community in crisis management through improved interagency interoperability supported by practical collaborative frameworks and ICT tools.
ICT4Peace aims to contribute to the establishment of broad principles derived from operational best practices, help integrate them into UN processes and make ICT part of UN evaluation exercises.

Activities carried out so far:

In-depth research on the Role of ICT and Information Management in Preventing, Responding to and Recovering from Conflict and publication of its report: http://www.ict4peace.org/articles/ict4peace_ebook.pdf.
Negotiation and adoption of Paragraph 36 of the WSIS Tunis Commitment.
Contributions to the Peace.it publication by the Crisis Management Initiative: http://www.ict4peace.org/articles/PeaceIT_1_2007.pdf
Setting up of ICT4Peace Foundation website: http://www.ict4peace.org/
Establishment of an ICT4Peace Informal Policy advisory Board under the Chairmanship of President Martti Ahtisaari of Finland: http://www.ict4peace.org/people-1.html
Launching of Partnership between DESA Global Alliance for ICT and Development (GAID) and ICT4Peace Foundation: ICT4Peace Foundation appointed as leader of GAID community of practice of ICT4Peace
Under the Chairmanship of President Martti Ahtisaari of Finland, a group of experts from the UN, international civil society, business and academia met in March 2007 to identify key challenges of and solutions to existing ICT mechanisms on conflict management. Launching of collaborative research of best practices by CMI, ISCRAM, ICT4Peace Foundation, Interpeace Alliance.
Launch of ICT4Peace inventory wiki: A global database of ICT in crisis management, humanitarian aid and peacebuilding (http://inventory.ict4peace.org/)
Launch of partnership between the ICT4Peace Foundation and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) through the Global Symposium +5 �Information for Humanitarian Action� event and the ICT4Peace: An International Process for Crisis Management process (http://www.reliefweb.int/symposium/).

Roadmap:

Meeting at the United Nations, New York on 15th November 2007 to launch the ICT4Peace initiative and introduce it to an international range of stakeholders.
Organization of a panel and workshops to illustrate and discuss case studies and best practices of using ICT in crisis management and promoting peace in January 2008.
Presentation of a report on the current state of interoperability and ICTs in conflict mitigation by spring 2008, including opportunities and challenges for ICT4Peace
Confirmed buy-in from Governments and UN and key international and local partners by mid-2008 to launch ICT4Peace process in the appropriate UN bodies.
Final commitment by Governments, relevant UN bodies and stake-holders by 2008 on a set of principles and practical guidelines for better use of ICT in crisis management in order to save resources and lives during crisis management and peace-building operations.

Guiding questions for ICT4Peace:

Illustrate with examples and case studies how a good use of ICT has helped in promoting peace or how a lack of a good ICT use has hampered crises management? Corresponding conclusions to be drawn with regard to the priorities and challenges in future years?
How can we enable a greater degree of cohesion, transparency and accountability to processes of conflict transformation? Can ICT augment existing stakeholder interventions, enable marginalized actors to participate more fully in crisis management peacebuilding processes, empower grassroots communities, and bring cohesion to full-field peacebuilding activities?
Establishing computers and Internet connections is insufficient if the technology is not used effectively, if people are discouraged from using it or if local economies and patterns of access cannot sustain long-term application. How do we make sure that a strong political will supports these transformations? How do we make sure that technology is used effectively (how do we train and educate people in the use of ICT)? How do we assure that gains related to the deployment of ICT are distributed in a way as to also serve the interests of those who could hamper the use of ICT? How do we assure that the financial resources needed to sustain long-term use of ICT are assured?
How should ICT be used in the training of crisis managers?
How do ICT contribute to enhance inter-agency interoperability and collaboration within the international community (UN system, EU/EC efforts etc) in order to improve peace-keeping, conflict prevention and crisis management?
How do we promote information-sharing in places of conflict and/or crises?

For more details of the United Nations launch event, please download the PDF here.

Using SMS to promote democracy, human rights and free and fair elections

A conversation between Colin Rule (Director of ODR at eBay/PayPal) and Ken Banks, founder of kiwanja.net and creator of FrontlineSMS can be found here.

Ken's FrontlineSMS programme allows for new ways through which sensitive information can be disseminated in a timely manner in support of processes as wide ranging as health pandemics to election monitoring and ceasefire monitoring.�

This podcast covers the uses that mobile phone equipped only with basic SMS technology can be utilised for and suggests that FrontlineSMS is more sustainable and appropriate than other technologies that seek to empower the grassroots in the Global South.

The limits of the web and Internet to engender democracy?

From the New York Times comes an interesting news story on how the junta in Myanmar thwarted the use of the web and Internet by pro-democracy activists.�

It was about as simple and uncomplicated as shooting demonstrators in the streets. Embarrassed by smuggled video and photographs that showed their people rising up against them, the generals who run Myanmar simply switched off the Internet.

Until Friday television screens and newspapers abroad were flooded with scenes of tens of thousands of red-robed monks in the streets and of chaos and violence as the junta stamped out the biggest popular uprising there in two decades.

But then the images, text messages and postings stopped, shut down by generals who belatedly grasped the power of the Internet to jeopardize their crackdown.

The efficiency of this latest, technological crackdown raises the question of whether the vaunted role of the Internet in undermining repression can stand up to a determined and ruthless government.

Read the full article here.�

Welcoming new members to the ICT4Peace Foundation Advisory Board

The Foundation is pleased to welcome Nigel Snoad and Dag Nielson to its Advisory Board. Between them, Nigel and Dag bring to the Foundation a wealth of technical knowledge and applied field experience of great value in helping shape the Foundation's understanding of and approach to ICT4Peace, as articulated in our Mission Statement.�

For more details of Nigel and Dag, please click here. �

Partnership between the ICT4Peace Foundation and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)

1st October 2007, Geneva, Switzerland: The ICT4Peace Foundation is pleased to announce the new partnership between the ICT4Peace Foundation and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), through the Global Symposium +5 �Information for Humanitarian Action� event and the ICT4Peace: An International Process for Crisis Management process.

The ICT4Peace process and Global Symposium +5 share the common objective of mobilising the international community within its respective areas and to seek member state commitment by way of United Nations General Assembly endorsement. By forming this timely partnership, the two initiatives will strengthen their individual purposes by working towards one common Declaration.

The ICT4Peace Foundation believes this partnership is an excellent opportunity to link OCHA and the Humanitarian Information Network with the Foundation�s global thought-leadership and work in promoting Information and Communication Technology in international crisis management, humanitarian aid and peace building.

For more details on the ICT4Peace Foundation�s work, please read our mission statement.

We encourage you to get in touch with the Foundation to find out more about the ICT4Peace process. Please email Mr. Daniel Stauffacher, Chairman of the ICT4Peace Foundation, at danielstauffacher@ict4peace.org.

Download a PDF of this Press Release here. �

ICT4Peace: une approche internationale de la gestion de crise

ICT4Peace (Technologies de l�Information et de la Communication pour la paix) a pour objectif de relever le niveau de performance de la communaut� internationale dans la gestion de crise en s�appuyant sur l�utilisation des technologies de l�information et de la communication (TIC). Celles-ci peuvent, en effet, contribuer � rendre plus efficace, dans la dur�e, la communication entre individus, communaut�s et autres acteurs impliqu�s dans la gestion de crise, l�assistance humanitaire et le r�tablissement de la paix. Dans ce contexte, il faut comprendre la gestion de crise comme une intervention civile et/ou militaire dans une situation de violence ou de non-violence aux fins de pr�venir une aggravation de la crise et de faciliter sa r�solution. Cette d�finition recouvre toute activit� de la communaut� internationale d�ploy�e dans le cadre d�une m�diation pour la paix, d�op�rations de maintien de la paix et de r�tablissement de la paix. En �tablissant pendant les diff�rentes phases de la crise des passerelles entre organisations et activit�s, ICT4Peace cherche � mettre en place des m�canismes permettant une approche qui soit globale et coh�sive et qui favorise la collaboration.

Lisez dedans compl�tement ici. Pdf de t�l�chargement ici.

Mapping a Peace Process using ICT

In exploring the possibilities of constructing a mapping process for peace in Sri Lanka, this monograph engages with the theoretical aspects of process mapping and then explores possible ways in which such mapping exercises can be conducted. The author�s research into the creation of Computer Supported Collaborative Work (CSCW) systems to support negotiations and peacebuilding has fed into this paper, along with his earlier work on systems design for early warning, conflict prevention and the mitigation of communal violence using technology.

Beginning with a brief outline of what constitutes a process and the importance of mapping such an activity, the monograph will follow through an examination of �wicked problems� and the locale foundation and then explore other frameworks that may be useful in the formulation of a comprehensive mapping architecture for a peace process. Ending with some basic recommendations and a blueprint that synthesises the key aspects of other frameworks, the monograph primarily aims to stimulate further discussion on a relatively under-developed topic within the existing academic literature on conflict mitigation.
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Download the full paper here.��

ICT4Peace now on Facebook

The ICT4Peace Foundation has opened a Facebook group to raise awareness and share information on its ICT4Peace process . Please join the ICT4Peace Facebook group here - you'll need a free Facebook account, that you can create here.

Can SMS really help in emergencies and early warning?

Two posts from Sri Lanka examine the role of SMS in alerting populations at risk in coastal areas of a tsunami. One, from the Editor of the country's first SMS based news service JNW, speaks of his experience during a couple of hours on 12 September 2007 , when an earthquake off Indonesia triggered tsunami warnings across much of South - East Asia and South Asia.

The other, by Sanjana Hattotuwa (Senior Advisor to the ICT4Peace Foundation) asks pertinent questions on the real significance of SMS during such emergencies , and whether the hype lived up to reality.

In conversation with Daniel Stauffacher on ICT4Peace - What is it? How can it help?

"Do you believe that the better use of technology can strengthen peace processes to the extent that there will be more peace 5 years hence than today?

Yes indeed. ICTs and in particular web 2.0 will create even more transparency and efficient tools for actors in the field of conflict prevention, mediation, conflict resolution and peace building."

Daniel Stauffacher, in conversation with Sanjana Hattotuwa , explores vital tenets of ICT4Peace. From ideas to action, Daniel Stauffacher explains the raison d'etre of ICT4Peace, where it is heading, the key challenges and vital opportunities for Information and Communications Technology in peacebuilding, conflict mitigation and other facets of the Foundation's mission.

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Download and read the interview here.

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This is vital reading for policymakers, practitioners and ICT4Peace activists.

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Please also listen to a podcast with Daniel Stauffacher recorded in late 2006 on the same issues here with a related blog post here .

Building Peace Through Information and Communications Technologies

"Peace is not created with a one-time act: �the cease-fire, accord, or reconciliation is just a public point on a timeline between war and durable peace. �True peace is built over time, with many different processes and approaches that move conflict into lasting, peaceful relationships. �It requires action at many different levels, by different people, in different ways, and at different points in a conflict.�

Activities can be as diverse as alternative dispute resolution (arbitration, mediation, negotiation), reconciliation, peacekeeping (both civilian and military), conflict prevention, post-conflict reconstruction, institutional and organizational capacity building, demobilization and reintegration, monitoring and advocacy, conflict transformation, psychosocial rehabilitation, and rule of law. �These peace-building methods, as part of a cohesive long term strategy, target both the root causes of a conflict and the violence that may result.�nformation and communication technologies (ICTs)� hardware and software that helps people communicate, understand data, and learn, via tools such as computers, the internet, mobile phones, and more - �can be a tremendous help in implementing these peace-building methods."

Ronald "Skip" Cole and Teresa Crawford co-author an essay published�here�on ICT4Peace that complements the work of the Foundation and in particular, it's�ICT4Peace inventorisation.�The examples in this essay and many more found in our�wiki�point to the fact that ICT4Peace is rapidly maturing as a field of practice and applied research.

Launch of ICT4Peace inventory wiki: A global database ICT in crisis management, humanitarian aid and peacebuilding

27th August 2007, Geneva, Switzerland: The ICT4Peace Foundation is pleased to announce the launch of its ICT4Peace Inventory Wiki, accessible immediately from http://www.ict4peace.org/inventory-1.html.

The ICT4Peace inventory wiki is one of three key foci of the ICT4Peace Foundation. It will be updated regularly and highlight emerging best practices from the field, significant research initiatives and well-grounded examples of ICT4Peace as defined in the Foundation�s mandate. This will include cataloguing at least 100 existing ICT tools and mechanisms � operational, legal and conceptual � geared towards conflict mitigation. The inventorisation will include initiatives identified in the report on ICT4peace by the ICT4Peace Foundation published in 2005, along with more recent examples from around the world in the use of ICT for conflict mitigation using PC�s, mobile phones, the web and the Internet.

�This tool provides a comprehensive overview of the many ways in which ICT is already used in crisis management.� said Daniel Stauffacher, Chairman of the ICT4Peace Foundation on the occasion of the launch of the launch of the ICT4Peace Inventory Wiki. He went on to say that �Over time, it will be an invaluable resource for policy makers, academia as well a practitioners in the field to share and learn from best practices and examples of ICT4Peace across the world.�

The ICT4Peace process spearheaded by the Foundation aims to enhance the performance of the international community in crisis management through the application of information and Communications Technology (ICT) � technologies that can facilitate effective and sustained communication between peoples, communities and stakeholders involved in crisis management, humanitarian aid and peacebuilding. Crisis management is defined, for the purposes of this process, as civilian and/or military intervention in a crisis that may be a violent or non-violent with the intention of preventing a further escalation of the crisis and facilitating its resolution.

Two other key foci of the Foundation are to enhance the performance of the international community in crisis management through ICT and develop templates for ICT, media and communications in conflict management. From 2007 � 2008, key partners in ICT4Peace will work with the United Nations, bilateral and multilateral donors, international NGOs, civil society organizations, academia and Universities as well as global business to establish ICT4Peace as integral to their approach to and understanding of crisis management. ICT4Peace will establish broad principles derived from operational best practices, integrate them into UN processes and make ICT part of UN evaluation exercises.

For more details on ICT4Peace and the Foundation�s work, please read our mission statement - http://www.ict4peace.org/mission-1.html. The Foundation also has a growing library of content related to ICT4Peace and a list of events that can be accessed through its library and events database respectively. Please visit our website for more information � http://www.ict4peace.org.

We encourage you to get in touch with the Foundation with details of your work and to find out more about the ICT4Peace process. Please email Mr. Daniel Stauffacher, Chairman of the ICT4Peace Foundation, at danielstauffacher@ict4peace.org.

First version of the OCHA Information Management Toolbox

The first version of the OCHA Information Management Toolbox , a resource base designed to assist Humanitarian Affairs professionals in managing information to support their work in ensuring better humanitarian planning and response.

The Toolbox refers to four main areas, Information Management Principles and OCHA Standard Products; GIS and Technical Tools; HIC Management and Administration; and General Reference.� As with all tools, your feedback is welcomed.� In particular, please share with us examples of best practice from your own offices to assist in the development of the second version.

Access the toolkit here.

Business engagement in humanitarian relief: key trends and policy implications

Business engagement in humanitarian relief: key trends and policy implications

Authors: A. Binder; J., M. Witte
Publisher: Humanitarian Policy Group, ODI, 2007

This paper explores the new roles that companies are playing in humanitarian action. It examines the various forms corporate engagement, with a particular focus on partnerships, and explores the underlying motivations behind this involvement. The authors also discuss whether these new forms of corporate engagement - along with new donor funding patterns - represent potential competition to humanitarian ctors, and how they could potentially impact humanitarian principles.

The paper finds that business engagement in humanitarian relief has expanded in scope and size in recent years, in both voluntary and commercial ways. This increased humanitarian involvement is attributed to a range of factors, with the most prominent rationale being that such activities of contribute to positive branding and motivate staff.

The paper also finds that:

companies engaged in humanitarian work tend to prefer in-kind assistance to cash aid
the vast majority of engagement relates to natural disaster relief, with the financial value of such engagement remaining very small
commercial engagement in humanitarian relief is based largely on effective public relations/brand management campaigns by companies involved in this field
the perception that companies increasingly compete on a commercial basis with traditional humanitarian actors seems overstated and may be influenced by the highly publicised instances of corporations receiving large USAID contracts during the Afghan and Iraq wars
commercial business engagement seems to be largely limited to reconstruction and long-term development
partnerships with businesses can bring needed technical expertise and added capacity.

The report recommends that:

partner selection should be based on a match between identified gaps, the skills and capacities on offer and the ability of the agency to manage the partnership
companies should seek not to limit themselves to natural disasters or high-profile cases
companies should be more transparent about the contributions they make to humanitarian relief.

Click here to download.

Technology and its limits in humanitarian aid

Photo credit: The Economist �

The Economist, in a recent article, contributes to the debates on how technology is (re)shaping humanitarian aid. Titled� , the article goes to explore how mobile phones and the web are transforming the manner in which humanitarian aid is planned and operationalised, with significant changes in the relationships between victims and aid agencies.

Not all are convinced. Paul Currion has an excellent post on his blog that questions many of the assumptions of the article in the Economist. He avers,

The response to famine was exactly the same as it has always been - send more food. Mohammed Sokor is in exactly the same position of supplication as he would have been ten years ago, only now his begging letter is a text message that can be quickly deleted, rather than the �crumpled note� passed on by hand. The aid world is about power relations, with beneficiaries at the bottom of the pile, and there are limits to how much technology can change that. The �familiar flow of authority� is still intact, except now it comes with a customised ringtone.

What do you think? Send us your comments and experiences and also see our own approach to technology and conflict management. �

Launch of ICT4Peace: An International Process for Crisis Management

ICT4Peace aims to enhance the performance of the international community in crisis management through the application of information Communications Technology (ICT) � technologies that can facilitate effective and sustained communication between peoples, communities and stakeholders involved in crisis management, humanitarian aid and peacebuilding. Crisis management is defined, for the purposes of this process, as civilian and/or military intervention in a crisis that may be a violent or non-violent with the intention of preventing a further escalation of the crisis and facilitating its resolution. This definition covers peace mediation, peace-keeping and peace-building activities of the international community. In bridging the fragmentation between various organisations and activities during different crisis phases, ICT4Peace aims to facilitate a holistic, cohesive and collaborative mechanisms directly in line with Paragraph 36 of the WSIS Tunis Commitment.

Read more on our Mission page and download a copy of our concept note and roadmap here . Please send in your comments, ideas and suggestions to help strengthen ICT4Peace by adding them on to this post or by emailing us.�

A world wide web of terror?

"In short, the hand-held video camera has become as important a tool of insurgency as the AK-47 or the RPG rocket-launcher. As Mr Zawahiri himself once put it in an intercepted letter to Zarqawi, �More than half of this battle is taking place in the battlefield of the media.� Or as one jihadi magazine found on Irhabi007�s computer explained: �Film everything; this is good advice for all mujahideen [holy warriors]. Brothers, don�t disdain photography. You should be aware that every frame you take is as good as a missile fired at the Crusader enemy and his puppets.� Just before his arrest, Irhabi007 had set up a website that, he hoped, would rival YouTube, to share jihadi videos. He called it Youbombit.com."

Internet jihad: A world wide web of terror is a compelling article published in The Economist that explores the use of the internet and web by Al Qaeda and terrorists in general.

Sanjana Hattotuwa, Advisor to the ICT4Peace Foundation, writes about the article on his blog here and avers that a more nuanced approach is necessary to address the growth of hate and extremism on the Interweb.�

ICT as a tool for Peacebuilding, Conflict Prevention and Crisis Management: Some pertinent questions

Special Advisor to the ICT4Peace Foundation Sanjana Hattotuwa 's blog on ICT4Peace has an entry with links to research, websites and current best practices from the field on the use of ICT as a tool for peacebuilding. The post is in response to some questions posed to the panelists invited to share their ideas at an upcoming event on ICT4Peace in Geneva organised by GAID .

Click here for the post.

Launch of the second issue of PeaceIT!

Published by the Crisis Management Initiative , Peace IT! aims to further the debate on how to advance the professionalism in preventing, managing and resolving crisis through the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). It also advocates the importance of the safety and security issues and information sharing in the field.

The journal is basically divided into three different sections: Bridging the gap between research and practice, ICTs in the field and the role of the private sector in building peace.

Download the file from here. �

7th Global Forum on Reinventing Government recognises role of ICT in developing countries

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The 7th Global Forum on Reinventing Government , via the Vienna Declaration on Building Trust in Government, draws the world's attention to a global cancer of low trust in governments and prescribes measures that can help enhance confidence in governments of the day.

Key recommendations of the Vienna Declaration include:

Securing legitimacy of government
Prioritizing service delivery and access
Enabling public-private partnerships
Increasing transparency and accountability to combat corruption
Improving the access of developing countries to ICTs
Supporting effective civil society engagement
Focusing on making women's concerns central to implementation
Bringing government closer to people
Promoting innovations in public sector reform
Rebuilding trust in crisis and post conflict countries

Read the full press release here .

Our Common Humanity in the Information Age: Principles and Values for Development

A speech late last year by President Martti Ahtisaari , Chairman of the Board at Crisis Management Initiative, titled Our Common Humanity in the Information Age: Principles and Values for Development and delivered at the UN is worth recalling today as a prescient statement on the use of ICTs in peacebuilding, conflict mitigation, conflict prevention and development.

"Effective use of ICTs can help to provide access to critical, real-time information, which is crucial in timely and appropriate decision-making in crisis situations. ICTs have also proven to be valuable tools in creating institutional memory of crisis management operations which are often characterised by a rapid turnover of staff. ICTs help to facilitate sharing of information and communication amongst multiple organisations and agencies working in crisis management and thus increase the multi-stakeholder coordination. Proper use of ITC would also have great impact in improving situational awareness in crisis environment where dozens of actors work without knowing enough about each other�s activities. The lack of information sharing and associated tools have been noted as key contributing factors in some of the recent incidents resulting in death or injury of international personnel. The concerted use of ICT in crisis management can improve the safety and security of all crisis management personnel in crisis areas. Functioning information sharing between organisations improves situational awareness and creates opportunities for early-warning on threats and prevention of conflicts."

Read the full speech here. �

My Digital Dream: A disaster mitigation program strengthened by the use of ICT

"Having a disaster mitigation program strengthened by the use of ICT would not only save lives in times of disaster, it would also help foster community development. In developed countries, this could mean stronger intergenerational relationships, closer communities, and a stronger sense of protection. For developing countries, this would have the same positive effects as in developed countries, but could be further seen as a tool to help achieve the millennium development goals, and a greater economic prosperity for the region.

ICT is here to connect people. It is also here to protect people from disaster. My digital dream sees ICT accomplishing both goals."

Canadian Michael Alty articulates a dream that not just the Foundation, but many involved in peacebuilding and conflict mitigation share. Read his full article here .

Peace and ICT Research Project

The Peace and ICT Research Project website contains some interesting information on the possible uses of ICT for peacebuilding. As noted on the website, the aim of the project was to:

"...analyze and identify possible relationships between conflicts and the set of technological and educational inequalities known as the digital divide. Each member of the research team is focusing, in their own local context as well as the global, on the confluence of new technologies/education and the quest for peace and equal opportunity. Thus, the research effort seeks to identify the perceptions of youths and other contributors to policy creation in diverse cultural and economic settings. It will make enquiry into the views and perceptions of youth towards possible implementation of new communication technologies for promotion of peace and tolerance."

However, the website itself does not seem to have been updated for over 2 years. Nevertheless, the ideas contained therein form a useful foundation for other individuals and organisations who may be interested in developing programmes based on the work already carried out and featured on the website. �

Terrorism and Technology

The debates on the use of ICT by terrorists and the need to protect democracy are vexed and have no easy resolution. The definitions themselves are contested, as are the assumptions, of labeling terrorism, resulting in no insignificant difference of opinion amongst those who explore the use of technology for harm and good on how the emphasis can be shifted to the latter, as opposed to the mainstream news media coverage of the former.

A case in point was the recent plans to blow up JFK Airport in the US, which ignited debate in the US on whether technology such as Google Earth should be allowed in the public domain at all, whether such technologies should be regulated and controlled and how terrorism could use ICT to erode democracy. A counter opinion comes from Bruce Schneir, who in a reasoned post on Wired explores the dangers of giving too much credence to the threat of terrorism as opposed to efforts to use ICT to secure and strengthen resilience - which as Fareed Zakaria noted recently , is our best defense against terrorism.

For more food for thought, read:

Technology, Trust and Terror
The New Terrorism
Untying the Gordian Knot: ICT for Conflict Transformation and Peacebuilding

* The Foundation is not responsible for the content or opinions of links outside this domain.

Humanlink : Connecting those who help others

From Paul Currion's blog comes news of a new organisation to design ICT solutions for humanitarian field work called Humanlink.

The Humanlink Mission

As veteran aid workers, we have experienced the frustration of responding to an emergency, only to find ourselves faced with the burden of first having to establish our own communications networks so that we could begin to coordinate the arrival of much needed aid. There is little communication and technology support for frontline aid organizations, and the result is diminished capacity and a delayed response. With a growing demand for adequate technologies, there is a need for an organization capable of supporting the activities and missions of numerous international humanitarian aid organizations.

Humanlink was created to fill this need, specifically to bring technology solutions and technical expertise to bear on the world's most pressing humanitarian situations. Through a core group of aid industry experts and a dedicated network of volunteers, Humanlink strives to improve the efficacy of our fellow aid organizations and meet the growing technology demands of the aid industry and the communities they serve.

Humanlink plans to focus on a number of areas:

Emergency telecommunications and IT support. Deployment of field teams with requisite equipment to natural disasters and other relevant situations to establish communications networks and to assist in building the technological capacity of aid organizations on the ground.
Development of technologies to assist aid groups in their quest for more efficient systems by which to manage their activities. Specifically, Humanlink aims to develop network optimization(Squid proxy), GIS (Geographic Information Systems) , VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) technologies for use by fellow aid organizations. We believe that such technologies will prove invaluable to the aid community.
Long term development and training on software and technologies. By bringing valuable proven technology and training to areas deprived of such technologies, Humanlink can positively impact the livelihoods and economic standing of local populations.

As the world's reliance on technology grows, we believe that applications such as web development, 3D animation, film editing, and sound engineering software all hold promise as platforms on which less advantaged populations can build businesses and professions.

An Award, An Event, A Community: The Stockholm Challenge 2008

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The Stockholm Challenge 2008 programme features six category awards for ICT for development projects and a chance to win the prestigious Stockholm Challenge Trophies. The prize ceremony in the City Hall will take place during Challenge Week from May 18 - 22, 2008. An extended programme of workshops, conference, study visits and social gatherings will bring together the most inspiring ICT entrepreneurs, researchers and students from all over the world to share experiences and knowledge.

The Stockholm Challenge promotes ICT for development with a six category award that invites entries from projects that use ICT to tackle the world's biggest problems. Participants present their methods and their achievements to the Challenge jury, the world and each other through the Challenge online platform. The award is open for applications from January 1st to December 31, 2007.

The 2008 programme will close with Challenge Week in Stockholm in May 18-22, 2008. This five day event for the finalists has become one of the strong features of the Challenge programme. The invitation-only event is free to all finalists who constitute a community of energy, expertise and inspiration in social entrepreneurship. In May 2006 Challenge Week brought over 200 people to Stockholm to participate in workshops, a conference, study visits and the prize giving event in the City Hall.

In addition to the regular awards programme, the Stockholm Challenge is collaborating with the Global Knowledge Partnership (GKP) on an extended opportunity for participants; the Stockholm Challenge GKP Awards 2007. This award is especially for those Challenge participants that are also Multi Stakeholder Partnerships (MSPs). The Stockholm Challenge GKP Awards 2007 will be presented in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia at the Global Knowledge III conference. Read here about the Stockholm Challenge GKP Awards 2007.

Knight Foundation grants for community news media

In 2007, Knight Foundation will again award $5 million in grants to individuals, organizations or businesses with ideas and projects that will transform community news. Anybody, anywhere in the world is eligible for funding � if the project meets all of the following criteria:

Use digital media.
Involve new forms of news in the public interest.
Focus on specific geographic community.

This site will begin accepting applications on July 1, 2007. Please do not try to send in applications before.

Submit your email address below to be notified of important information regarding the News Challenge.

For more details, please click here.�

Micro-grant Proposals for Blog Outreach

Rising Voices, the outreach arm of Global Voices , is now accepting project proposals for the first round of microgrant funding of up to $5,000 for new media outreach projects. Ideal applicants will present innovative and detailed proposals to teach citizen media techniques to communities that are poorly positioned to discover and take advantage of tools like blogging, video-blogging, and podcasting on their own.

As the internet becomes more accessible to more people, as computers become cheaper, and as software applications move from the desktop to the web, the so-called digital divide seems to be narrowing. In its place, however, we see a participation gap in which the vast majority of blogs, podcasts, and online video are being produced in middle-class neighborhoods in major cities around the world.

Rising Voices aims to help bring new voices from new communities and speaking new languages to the conversational web, by providing resources and funding to local groups reaching out to underrepresented communities.

Launch of the Global Information Society Watch 2007 Report

The Global Information Society Watch 2007 report - the first in a series of annual reports- looks at state of the field of information and communication technology (ICT) policy at local and global levels and particularly how policy impacts on the lives of people living in developing countries.

Studies of the ICT policy situation in twenty-two countries from four regions are featured: Africa (Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa and Uganda); Asia (Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and the Philippines); Latin America (Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico and Peru); and Eastern Europe (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania), with one report from a Western European country (Spain).

The report concludes that when it comes to ICTs for development, there are some conspicuous similarities between the countries. Excluding Spain, the other twenty-one countries each show obvious evidence of the �digital divide� which impacts on the majority of people negatively. According to Brazilian authors RITS, the absence of a people-orientated policy framework in Brazil runs the risk of condemning the vast majority of people to �eternal disconnection.� The report also includes provocative, analytical essays on five international institutions (including ICANN and the World Intellectual Property Organisation) questioning the extent to which they allow all stake-holders to participate in their processes. There is a special section on how to measure progress.

Download the report here .�

Open Source, interoperable web identity systems through Microsoft

Ars Technica has an article on Microsoft's recent moves to secure and strengthen interoperability in web identity management frameworks. As the article avers:

The concept of web identity involves three participants: the user/customer, the web site owner, and a third party that holds information that can verify the user's identity. The services and projects Microsoft has announced are intended to improve interoperability between all three components of a web-based identity system.

Read the article in full here . �

Geneva Security Forum - 20-21 June 207

The Geneva Security Forum is a unique annual two-day international security conference, showcase and training centre in Geneva, Switzerland. Held in June each year, the gathering will be a top-level forum that will target key stakeholders in the highly competitive and rapidly changing global security market: policymakers, business leaders, key practitioners, and thought leaders who will work together to anticipate and address the issues on the global security agenda. The Geneva Security Forum will also be an occasion to raise awareness, showcase products and services and conduct training seminars. The Geneva Security Forum is the first global conference designed to facilitate communication between security professionals to anticipate the changing global security environment, promote commercial solutions and discuss policy trade offs.

Please click here for more details. �

Launch of new website for ICT4Peace Foundation

Dear Colleagues and Friends,

We are pleased to launch the ICT4Peace Foundation's new website.

Our new website sports a new look and feel, and features enhanced functionality and ease of use. Featuring RSS feeds for easy access to information, new additions to the library and an updated and growing list of links to work of our partners and allied institutions, our website aims to be the world's clearinghouse for information and knowledge on ICT4Peace - featuring breaking news, incisive analysis, compelling research and opinions from the world's leading thought-leaders and visionaries.

We encourage you to browse through the new website and discover new resources. Over the coming weeks, we would have updated some of the content you see on this website to more fully reflect our current mandate, priority areas and project staffing. Accordingly, please bear with us if some of the information herein, which we migrated from the earlier avatar of the Foundation's site, is not yet entirely up to date.

In the meanwhile, for more information on our work, please read The ICT4Peace Foundation Programme of Work 2007-2008.

We hope you will join us in our work to secure and strengthen our evolving understanding of ICT4Peace and most importantly, how this embryonic field of practice and study can help transform the most pressing humanitarian issues and violent conflict of our times.

Yours,

The ICT4Peace Foundation

Welcome statement from Daniel Stauffacher, Chairman of the ICT4Peace Foundation and former Swiss Ambassador to the WSIS

Dear Colleagues,

Since 2005, the Swiss government has funded a project called �ICT4Peace� that focuses on the application of information and communication technology (ICT) to support activities promoting peace in areas of conflict.

This process developed out of my involvement as co-organiser of Phase 1 of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in Switzerland in December 2003. Despite evidence that conflict has a direct and negative impact on development processes, ICT4Peace was not a priority of the first phase of the WSIS. The Swiss government felt that it was worth exploring these issues further, particularly in the context of WSIS and the United Nations� Millennium Development Goals.

We hope that the website will become a useful resource for the emerging ICT4P community, and that it will provide a platform for ongoing research and dialogue in this critically important but under-supported field. Please send us any comments and suggestions you may have concerning ways to promote the objectives mentioned above and to make the website a vibrant and helpful community resource.

Yours,

Daniel Stauffacher
Chairman of the ICT4Peace Foundation and Former Delegate of the Swiss Federal Council for the World Summit on the Information Society