By Elen Lewis
The GuardianNovember 26 2001
Joe Lowry has got more gadgets than someone in the new media industry. He has a digital camera, a digital video camera, a laptop, a mobile phone and a PDA. The difference is that Joe Lowry is based in Cí´te D'Ivoire, West Africa, as the regional information delegate for the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. And he's using technology to help coordinate humanitarian aid.
"It's surprising how easy it is for charity workers in the field to access the internet. Technology is inseparable from our work," admits Lowry. "Sometimes, I wonder what added value it brings carrying equipment worth thousands of dollars. But letting people know when there's a problem via images and stories is so useful and it would take a long time without technology."
Although it's easy to assume that the new media world is playing a marginal role in humanitarian crises such as Afghanistan, there is one website - alertnet.org, funded and run by Reuters - which is stealthily becoming an invaluable tool for aid workers in the field. It acts as a central, neutral resource for aid organisations, keeping them up to date with the latest crises.
"The initial idea behind launching alertnet.org revolved around communicating with charity workers in the field who needed access and the ability to exchange information quickly," explains Paul Mylrea, editor of alertnet.org. "Collaboration is a difficult issue. It's always something that charities say they need to do more, but in the pressure of the moment it's difficult to do. Alertnet.org offers them a way to collaborate with another agency, without leaving their desk," he adds.
The website's connection with Reuters ensures that its users are the first to know about emergency situations. "If there is a major disaster, an automatic Reuters link flies into the site and this is before the news hits the TV and the radio," explains Mylrea. "Our duty editor will immediately start talking to agencies on the ground."
Alertnet.org's members-only message boards are punctuated with detailed reports from charities on distributed aid.
"The purpose of alertnet is simply to stop charities sending more blankets if it's tents that you need. It keeps people in touch with what's really going on," explains Andrew Keating, ceo of Andel Consulting, which provides the website with its content management system.
The message boards are also used to advise other members of danger and opportunities to save lives. Mylrea recalls one example during the Rwanda crisis when a charity posted a notice on the website asking for help. One of its workers was trapped in Rwanda and the charity didn't have any resources in the area. Another alertnet.org member replied to the message and offered its services as it was based just 15km away from the aid worker, who was able to return home safely.
And for a niche service, alertnet.org is proving popular with its target audience. Its latest traffic figures reveal that it is generating over 600,000 page impressions a month. Meanwhile, the service generates one or two new members a week and has attracted over 167 organisations in 34 countries and well over 3,000 registered members.
And its message boards are not dominated by the usual internet chitchat. This is a different kind of web community. "It's not an industry where people chat. They're far too busy, they communicate by filing chunky amounts of detailed information," explains Mylrea.
"During the Gujarat earthquake a member was based very close to the centre - and they were experienced in drought relief rather than earthquake relief. A member from our advisory board contacted the member on the ground because he had experience of earthquake relief and was able to offer advice and guidance on how to deal with the crisis."
"They went off site and spoke on the phone. We felt very proud that we'd brought together two people from different parts of the world at a time of crisis and that someone experienced had helped someone in need," he says. Alertnet.org's community spirit is strengthened by the establishment of its own fund (via Reuters) to help relief agencies during times of crisis. Mylrea points out that in the immediate aftermath of a disaster, local emergency response is often restrict- ed by something as simple as lack of money to fuel vehicles.
The decision on relief is taken within 24 hours by an advisory board. The whole process is all coordinated via email and unless vetoed the money is immediately paid out to workers in the field. "This keeps reinforcing the community - because those organisations who continue to swap information on the noticeboards are more likely to be recognised by the advisory board," says Mylrea.
The charity has just received funding from the EC and the European Space Agency programme to investigate how useful it is for aid workers to access satellite images. Oxfam in Asia is currently giving alertnet.org some feedback. "Satellite images which show areas of concentrated water supplies could pinpoint where refugees are - this could help eradicate situations like East Timor where refugees just disappeared. Similarly, during the Gujarat earthquake the satellite images showed where lights and cooking fires were so you could find the lost survivors," explains Mylrea.
There are other projects in the pipeline. Mylrea is investigating the possibility of an online resource enabling agencies to buy supplies such as blankets and medicine online. There is already a register of suppliers on the site, but he's not yet convinced an exchange will make a difference. Although many of alertnet.org's members already have their own website, the Red Cross's Joe Lowry believes alertnet.org's independence is important.
"There's no vested interest and if this service was run by an organisation, they're bound to be biased in one way or another. Everyone has their own agenda."
Mylrea concludes: "Lots of people in the new media industry talk about web communities, but it's lots of words. We've created a web community through true interaction. These people don't need to know about technology, they just need to do what they do best - delivering relief."
More Information on NGOs
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