LAUNCH OF THE 2013 WORLD DISASTERS REPORT. 17 October 2013, Singapore. Remarks. Oliver Lacey-Hall

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "LAUNCH OF THE 2013 WORLD DISASTERS REPORT. 17 October 2013, Singapore. Remarks. Oliver Lacey-Hall"

Ralf Phillips
5 years ago
Views:

1 LAUNCH OF THE 2013 WORLD DISASTERS REPORT 17 October 2013, Singapore Remarks Oliver Lacey-Hall Head - OCHA Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific Thank you very much for asking me to join this discussion. Its centrality to the work that we are charged with is now beyond any doubt. In this region we can see time and again that communities themselves are the first responders and as such, aid providers need to know how to listen and work with them. Twitter and Facebook are providing new ways for communities to connect with each other and self-organise. But to some extent, these channels are only making visible to us what has been going on all along. People caught in the midst of disasters have always been the first responders, and have always done their best to reach out to those who can help them. They are the ones driving innovation in the use of technology in crises not us. To understand the power of technology, and where our role lies, we need to engage with this people-driven phenomenon - not try to simply harness it as yet another tool in the over-crowded disaster management arsenal. This year, OCHA published the Humanitarianism in the Network Age Report which supports the key findings in the World Disaster Report Specifically, it explores how new information and communication technologies are transforming humanitarian aid. It looks at key issues such as better communications with disasteraffected communities and the role of mobile phones, big data and social media in emergency response. The key recommendations of the HINA report reflect a strategic shift within OCHA

2 - To recognize information as a basic need in humanitarian response. - To ensure information relevant to humanitarian action is shared freely. - To build capacity within aid organizations and Governments to understand and use new information sources. - To develop guidelines to ensure information is used in an ethical and secure manner. OCHA and GSMA (an industry body representing the interests of mobile operating companies worldwide) are now developing a joint policy and advocacy agenda on the importance of communication and information as aid, the role of mobile technology in communications work and the importance of connectivity for disaster affected communities. OCHA is working with GSMA to educate mobile phone operators on humanitarian principles, protocols and models of response, and in providing advice on preparing for and handling crises. In June of this year in the Philippines, OCHA participated in the first of a series of GSMA seminars and hands-on workshops designed specifically for different types of disasters with the aim of building a community of practice across government, mobile operators and humanitarian partners - going beyond socalled traditional humanitarian actors. This is the way forward. In December 2012, in the Philippines, as part of the Typhoon Bopha response, OCHA activated its partnership with the Digital Humanitarian Network. These socalled digital volunteers supported OCHA s efforts to develop a number of information products from online sources, supplementing traditional forms of information gathering. The information came directly from the communities themselves.

3 And what of future opportunities? The potential of technology to put disaster survivors where they belong at the centre of a response is rightly at the heart of the report. Communications technology is no longer just about communication. A phone is a bank, a camera, a TV, a radio, an ID. This report is packed with examples that show how we limit ourselves when we think communications technology is just about communications. What matters in the early stages of an emergency is not so much the ability of those affected to communicate with responders but rather with each other. And as this report also makes clear, this is an idea with massive and important repercussions for us. If helping people connect with each other is now essential, what does that mean for disaster responders? What does it mean for the private sector, who provide most of these services? In Bangladesh, OCHA has began working with the United Nations Global Pulse exploring how new sources of real-time data and innovative analytics technologies can be leveraged to augment and enhance global development and resilience efforts. The project focus is on exploring how mobile phone records analysis could in the future be included in humanitarian operations to provide early warning of crises, and/or real-time indicators for tracking development and recovery. BUT: This report also offers an important warning: while technology has the power to connect, it also has the power to push us further from those we seek to help. Texting and social media are great tools, but when digital communication replaces actual conversation, relationships are weakened. The camps in Syria, for example, host some incredibly technologically savvy people and yet a recent UNHCR evaluation stressed the importance of agency staff being regularly present in communities. This, says the report, is the only way to build trust and relationships. SMS, ,

4 facebooking, tweets are all great. But they are not the same, and do not achieve the same ends, as face to face communication. We also need to heed the warning the report provides on the digital divide. Often those most in need are least likely to have access to the sorts of technology that eases communications. We must never lose sight of the fact that technology is a tool. It is, in itself, neutral: no more inherently good or evil than a radio set or an electric drill, and is neither a silver bullet for aid, nor an unambiguous force for positive change. One recently published study, for example, looking at political violence in Africa, found that that the availability of cell phone coverage significantly and substantially increases the probability of violent conflict. Al Shabaab s live-tweet of their attack on the UNDP compound in Mogadishu earlier this year included public and personal death threats against the head of the UN in Somalia. Fundamentally, this is because while technology is changing, human nature is not. As these examples illustrate, we forget this at our peril. There is no question this is an excellent report. It is the latest in a series on this topic, following OCHA s own HINA report earlier this year, the Disaster Relief 2.0 paper back in 2011 and many other equally powerful publications. Papers, discussion and events like this are great but what are we actually going to do? And, increasingly, who do we mean by we?

5 Additional points Another uncomfortable truth is that when humanitarians talk about technology, they use language that has actually been around for decades. (NB there s a really good quote from the evaluation of the Kobe earthquake in 1995 to the effect that we need to listen more to those affected but I can t find it!). Putting communities at the heart of a response. Being accountable. Listening. And many of the tools we talk about as new are actually anything but. SMS has been around for over 20 years. When he founded his eponymous company, Lars Ericsson said that communication is a basic human need. This is an idea we humanitarians are only beginning to understand. He said that in Are we really more likely to listen and engage just because we can do so via a social network? How many of the blocks in the way of us achieving dialogue, communication and engagement are not technical at all but political, institutional and cultural. If we are not honest, at least with ourselves, about these challenges then technology isn t going to change us all on its own. So what HAS changed? As this report makes clear, though, what matters in the early stages of an emergency is not so much the ability of those affected to communicate with responders as with each other. And as this report also makes clear, this is an idea with massive and important repercussions for us. If helping people connect with each other is now essential, what does that mean for disaster responders? What does it mean for the private sector, who provide most of these services? We need phone companies to realise that if their services are life and death in a crisis, then they too are humanitarian responders. How can we help them achieve that? And what does it mean for us as responders? Should we be helping phone companies restore networks? Building charging stations into refugee camp design, along with toilets and showers? Handing out free credit with emergency rations?

DATA COLLECTION AND SOCIAL MEDIA INNOVATION OR CHALLENGE FOR HUMANITARIAN AID? EVENT REPORT. 15 May :00-21:00

DATA COLLECTION AND SOCIAL MEDIA INNOVATION OR CHALLENGE FOR HUMANITARIAN AID? EVENT REPORT Rue de la Loi 42, Brussels, Belgium 15 May 2017 18:00-21:00 JUNE 2017 PAGE 1 SUMMARY SUMMARY On 15 May 2017,