The ICT4Peace Foundation, Georgia Tech, and the Berkman Center for Internet & Society organised a strategic brainstorming meeting to discuss key questions and learnings in technologies for development, disaster management, crisis mapping and conflict.

This gathering of a small group of outstanding scholars and practitioners was held at the Berkman Center in Cambridge MA on April 29th. The primary aim of the meeting was to focus on a select number of issues highlighted by recent events in order to share knowledge and collectively learn about the key areas that require further research, thought and innovation from the academic community. As a concrete aim, the discussion will also help to inform projects or new research that could possibly be integrated in the next edition of the  ICT4Peace Paper Series, which is online here.

Participants discussed current challenges to the use of ICTs in crisis response, prevention, mitigation, peacebuilding and a diverse range of issues ranging from technologies of dissent to the ethics of research when dealing with traumatised communities.

The following distinguished participants were present at the meeting:

• Barbara Weekes, ICT4Peace Foundation
• Colin Maclay, Berkman Center for Internet & Society
• Daniel Stauffacher , ICT4Peace Foundation
• Ivan Sigal, Global Voices
• Jennifer Leaning , Harvard School of Public Health
• John Crowley, Harvard Humanitarian Institute
• Juliana Rotich, Ushahidi
• Matthias Wevelsiep, CMI of Finland
• Mike Best, Georgia Tech
• Nick Feamster, Georgia Tech
• Paulo Gonçalves, MIT Sloan School of Management & University of Lugano
• Robert Faris, Berkman Center for Internet & Society
• Sanjana Hattotuwa, ICT4Peace Foundation
• Urs Gasser, Berkman Center for Internet & Society