Report on Getting it Right in Crisis Management: Going beyond the hype on ICTs session at WSIS 2010

Haiti is seen as a turning point in the use of ICTs in Crisis Management but many lessons remain unheeded from previous disasters such as the 2005 Tsunami. Indeed, there is an expectation that ICTs themselves can revolutionize crisis management and provide a “quick-fix” in solving intractable, complex situations often in politically unstable locations around the globe. However, the framework in which the ICTs operate is often just as critical, if not more so, than the technology itself. How can we improve interoperability between UN agencies and other aid agencies to ensure the quick, reliable sharing of information both in crisis situations and disaster mitigation? How can we properly assess the impact of ICTs in Crisis Management to date? What works? What doesn’t? Are we investing in the right technologies that primarily need to function in very difficult environments? Is the humanitarian community setting the right priorities in the development of Crisis Information Management tools? What about capacity building in local communities?

Speakers:

• Lin Wells, Distinguished Research Professor & Force Transformation Chair National Defence University, USA (joining remotely)
• Nigel Snoad, Microsoft, USA
• Juliana Rotich, Co-Founder and Program Director, Ushahidi, Kenya
• Patrick Gordon, Deputy Chief a.i., Information Technology Section; Head, ITS Field Support Unit (FSU), OCHA, Geneva
• Bartel Van de Walle, Assistant Professor, Information Systems and ISCRAM Chair, University of Tilburg, The Netherlands
• Sanjana Hattotuwa, Special Advisor, ICT4Peace Foundation

Chaired by: 

• Ed Girardet, Media21 Programme Coordinator & Author, Editor, The CROSSLINES Essential Field Guide to Afghanistan (1998, 2004 and 2006); Somalia, Rwanda and Beyond (1996) and Populations in Danger (1996), Switzerland