Mobilizing Technology for Prevention

Colette Mazzucelli New York University School of Continuing and Professional Studies (SCPS) Center for Global Affairs with DevInfo slides prepared by Mr. John Toner, Community Systems Foundation June 12, 2013

Amnesty International Adjusting the Focus on Mass Atrocities

since early 2004, human rights organizations, AI & HRW, collected testimony and ground-level observational data given the outbreak of hostilities in Sudans westernmost provinces size of Darfur, persistent insecurity, rendered comprehensive, systematic documentation of apparent human violations of international humanitarian law in Sudan impossible limited access to Darfur by Government of Sudan (GoS) to international human rights organizations, media, humanitarian aid providers (Edwards 2009, 3.) fog of war obscures events in conflict from a global audience design an initial project to serve as global neighborhood watch (Edwards 2009, 5.) Eyes on Darfur, http://www.eyesondarfur.org/index.html

Making the Case for Remote Sensing Technology

attacks by the Janjawid militias, on horseback accompanied by Sudanese military, targeted villages with aerial bombardment, systematic killing of men and boys, raping/killing of women and girls, burning of domiciles, lead to millions displaced in Darfur and in neighboring Chad 9 September 2004, US Government identified events in Darfur as genocide whereas AI & HRW refrained problems of verification beyond the reach of documentation overwhelming need to provide up-to-date information on the atrocities in Darfur such that AI in partnership with AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science, Science and Human Rights Program) turned to remote sensing technology to fill critical gaps in data collection and verification (Edwards 2009, 5.)

Data from Darfur as Primary Source Documentation

varied international estimates of casualties, difficulties of documentation, inconsistencies of reported fatalities: 200,000 to 400,000 as of early 2009 versus GoS claim of 9,000 deaths to assess scope or scale of mass atrocities, to focus the lens on genocide prevention, identify tools, which may be placed at the service of a range of actors, not simply the most powerful states (Edwards 2009, 4.) Eyes on Darfur June 2007 launch with specific aims: information provision; use of technology as deterrent (Edwards 2009, 5.) information provision site as testimony; images of accountability deterrence imaging 12 villages by tasking satellites; allow global public to participate in monitoring; how to prevent GoS, Janjawid from attacking sites with impunity

Changing the Field of Vision in Darfur http://www.eyesondarfur.org/darfur_risk.swf

http://cohds2013symposium.wordpress.com/
assess relevance of project design & archives to emerging research in oral, digital, and public history
Center for Oral History Concordia University & Digital Storytelling,

The Uses of Satellites and Geospatial Analysis amidst the Fog of War
to overcome denial, human rights non-governmental organizations with global reach must have access, in this case, virtual, to a place that is off-limits owing to government restrictions or security conditions for AI, Eyes on Darfur, serves as an initial test case, with subsequent access to Zimbabwe, Lebanon, Burma, Somalia, and Sri Lanka

Insein Prison, Myanmar (Burma) Run by the military junta of Myanmar, the State Peace and Development Council, the prison is used largely to repress political dissidents.

Remote-Sensing Platforms Breaking a Conspiracy of Silence to Acknowledge the Elephant in the Room

interrupt the time span, close the window of opportunity, in which governments may act with impunity shrink the space in which unaccountable actions occur to sustain justice plan with a purpose to lend watchdogs the capacity to perform information collection and dissemination of verifiable data look ahead to the reach, even in remote areas, on an unprecedented scale of mobile communication technology be attentive in the academic-policy communities to problems of data centralization and to questions of whether the archival materials provide open or closed data (in some cases, maps are public; yet, the underlying data is not) consult the study, The Politics of Twitter Data, in which Cornelius Puschmann and Jean Burgess argue that the owners of social media data are the platform

providers, not the end users

What if our world was lit up by information instead of light bulbs? Map displays tweets in real time as they are posted across the world. N.B. Platform displays only 10% of the 340 million tweets posted each day. (Meier 2013)

2007-2008 Election Violence in Kenya The Emergence of the Ushahidi Platform

The Ushahidi (Swahili for testimony) platform was developed in a few days to track reports of violence following the 2008 elections in Kenya.

2007-2008 Election Violence in Kenya The Emergence of the Ushahidi Platform The platform has its origins in the collaboration of Kenyan citizen journalists during a time of crisis. The original website was used to map incidents of violence and peace efforts throughout Kenya based on reports submitted via the web and mobile phone. The initial website had 45,000 users in country when violence occurred in 2008. The realization emerged that there was a need for a platform, which could be created for use by others around the world.

2007-2008 Election Violence in Kenya The Emergence of the Ushahidi Platform

The Ushahidi platform is now used all over the world accepting information and reports by email, text messages, Twitter, iPhone app and Android app.Features continue to be added as the platform is adapted to new contexts, including the new Crowdmap hosted platform, which is relatively simply to setup. Ushahidi may be utilized in emergency situations, to curate local resources, monitor elections or identify needs on the ground during a natural disaster. Ushahidi has grown dramatically from its modest origins several years ago.

Since early 2008 Ushahidi has developed from an ad hoc group of volunteers to a focused organization. The Ushahidi team is comprised of individuals with a wide range of experience from human rights work to software development. There is a strong team of volunteer developers primarily in Africa, and in Europe, South America and the US as well.
Heather Leson hleson@ushahidi.com and Rob Baker robbaker@ushahidi.com

mission

strategy

data for all

vision

facts. you decide

values

public good

innovation for developme

OPEN DATA
Query and retrieve data from DevInfo databases in other response formats

3rd Party Developers

Civil Society DevInfo Crisis Database

Development Actors

DevInfo and SMS

50 45 40 35 30 25 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

DevInfo and Ushahidi

Monitoring Election Violence in Kenya 2007-2008

Report
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Reported Incident By Type

95 - Civilian Gathering 54 - Government Forces 20 - Looting 53 - Property Destruction 67 - Riots

69 - Death/s 2 - IDP 52 - Peace Rally 5 - Rape

DevInfo and Ushahidi

Monitoring Election Violence in Kenya 2007-2008

December - 2007

Uasin Gishu Nairobi

Kisumu

Nakuru

DevInfo and Ushahidi

Monitoring Election Violence in Kenya 2007-2008

December - 2007

Uasin Gishu Nairobi

Kisumu

Nakuru

DevInfo and Ushahidi

Monitoring Election Violence in Kenya 2007-2008

January - 2008

Uasin Gishu Nairobi

Kisumu

Nakuru

DevInfo and Ushahidi

Monitoring Election Violence in Kenya 2007-2008

February - 2008

Uasin Gishu Nairobi

Kisumu

Nakuru

DevInfo and Ushahidi

Monitoring Election Violence in Kenya 2007-2008

March, April, May - 2008

Uasin Gishu Nairobi

Kisumu

Nakuru

DevInfo and Ushahidi

Monitoring Election Violence in Kenya 2007-2008

Total Incident Reports By type

Uasin Gishu Nairobi

Kisumu

Nakuru

DevInfo and Ushahidi

Monitoring Election Violence in Kenya 2007-2008

Total Number of Reported Riots

Uasin Gishu

Nairobi

Kisumu

Nakuru

DevInfo Technology Integration

Benefits

advanced visualizations including DevInfo and Google Maps open data customizable software available for National Statistical Offices, civil society, governments and others ability to overlay official subnational data for predictive and evaluative analysis royalty-free online and offline versions

Challenges

data compatibility with other systems requires manipulation or harmonization techniques can accept data at any geographic level, but must line up with established mapping boundaries such as village, province, district or state

Mapping Elections - Kenya

The applications of technology to monitor election-related violence in Kenya, as in Burundi, provide documented evidence about the struggle for the dignity of the human being in the local context This data, in the form of messages and reports, supports the construction of narratives and stories from the ground, which are important to assess in learning about local contexts, as policy decisions are made and legal judgments rendered

In a world of states, what is happening to society?

crisis mapping & citizen activism in the crowd-sourced generation

how may crisis mapping be used by local citizens to break a local conspiracy of silence (Zerubavel, 2006)? orientation question as we reflect on election monitoring in Kenya crisis mapping in an environment that underlines engagement with a local society, emphasizes cultural as well as historical specificities, transformed consciousness and experience, with the long term goal of human emancipation (Bentz and Shapiro, 1998) Activists in local contexts must grapple with emerging global realities Mind the gap between civil society and predatory society (Goldstein and Rotich, 2008) underlined by the 2007-2008 election in Kenya Echoing Freires (1970) emphasis on calls for action around peace and justice issues, with attention to conceptions based on in-depth knowledge and investigation of local realities

From News Flash to Flash Drive to Social Net Revolution? Implications for Prevention Using Technology on the Libya Crisis Map

What is a crisis map? * http://libyacrisismap.net/main * Reports on Incidents by Location (Libya Crisis Map 3rd Situation Report) Violence: armed attacks, deaths, armed threats, injured people (03/08/2011)

From News Flash to Flash Drive to Social Net Revolution? Implications for Prevention Using Technology on the Libya Crisis Map

The Standby Task Force (SBTF) works primarily on the Ushahidi platform for which there are numerous resources available online

From News Flash to Flash Drive to Social Net Revolution? Implications for Prevention Using Technology on the Libya Crisis Map

Who participates? * http://libyacrisismap.net/page/index/4 * We are the crisis mappers Volunteers on the Standby Task Force (SBTF)

From News Flash to Flash Drive to Social Net Revolution? Implications for Prevention Using Technology on the Libya Crisis Map

What is a report? - * http://libyacrisismap.net/reports/view/1084 * Dead and wounded in Misurata, 17/03/2011 (single report to verify) Aggregate Data in Context (Situation Report Specific Date)
Since March 6, reports on armed attacks, armed threats, deaths and injured people have more than doubled. Bin Jawad, Zawiyah, Zintan, Misratah, Ras Alnuf, Brega, Tripoli all report violence. Reports describe shelling, destruction of health infrastructure, and the continued involvement of foreign mercenaries. There are claims and counter claims on who controls what towns. Zawiyah appears to be the site of the most brutal fighting to date. Reports on heavy fighting, often targeting civilians, began on March 4 and intensified on March 7. There are reports of shelling, snipers, and attacks on hospitals and private homes. March 7 saw an attempt by Gadaffi forces to recapture the city (sometimes reported as a siege of the city) The latest report on Zawiyah came in over 24 hours ago. Reports on violence against civilians are beginning to emerge, including people used as human shields, increasing civilian deaths and hostage situations.

From News Flash to Flash Drive to Social Net Revolution? Implications for Prevention Using Technology on the Libya Crisis Map Is this a Revolution? * http://libyacrisismap.net/alerts * (Get an Alert) Crisis Mapping Provides a LocalGlobal Reflexive Interface Over 450 unique reports mapped (as of March 8, 2011) 3rd Situation Report on the Libya Crisis Map
The pattern of reports in the past 48-72 hours shows a shift in the conflict: it is becoming more intense.

Reports of Incidents by Category

Reports of Incidents by Source

From News Flash to Flash Drive to Social Net Revolution? Implications for Prevention Using Technology on the Libya Crisis Map

Why does the Libya Crisis Map make a difference?

* http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=3yIgMjsVJlw * * a non-sovereign effort across borders worldwide, coordinated by volunteers at the request of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)

* unprecedented cooperation by a online volunteer technical community of engaged citizens, some of whom have backgrounds in communication and print journalism
* implications for the ways in which media coverage of humanitarian crises is reported as those reports are utilized by crisis mappers who verify sources using triangulation methods

From News Flash to Flash Drive to Social Net Revolution? Implications for Prevention Using Technology on the Libya Crisis Map

who can apply? * http://blog.standbytaskforce.com/?page_id=17 * No Prior Training Is Necessary once accepted, members receive instructions via Skype communication from a team leader members may join one of the following teams:

Media Monitoring GPS Support Verification Support Report Creation Analysis Support
cooperate with the dedicated members of the UN Online Volunteer Service see where Standby Task Force (SBTF) crisis mappers are located around the world

From News Flash to Flash Drive to Social Net Revolution? Implications for Prevention Using Technology on the Libya Crisis Map * http://www.usip.org/publications/lessons-haiti-and-beyond-report-the-2010international-conference-crisis-mapping * (Haiti) * http://blog.standbytaskforce.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Standby-TaskforceColombia-Simulation-2010-Deployment-Report-1.pdf * (Colombia Earthquake Simulation) * http://blog.standbytaskforce.com/?p=319 * (Changing the World One Map at a Time) * http://mobile.technologyreview.com/communications/35097/ * (Internet Activists Mobilize for Japan) * http://blog.standbytaskforce.com/?page_id=252 * (Standby Task Force Volunteer Profiles)

From News Flash to Flash Drive to Social Net Revolution? Implications for Prevention Using Technology on the Libya Crisis Map

From News Flash to Flash Drive to Social Net Revolution? Implications for Prevention Using Technology on the Libya Crisis Map

From News Flash to Flash Drive to Social Net Revolution? Implications for Prevention Using Technology on the Libya Crisis Map

Focus on societal security (Thiel, 2007)

implicates collective groups in relation to other communities or the institutions of the state in which they reside the focus of security is between societies (often within states)

move away from the state-centric view to other reference points such as minority ethnic groups
The promotion of minority rights is key to the experience of societal security

Obstacles to Consider
the size of a country, note particularly the difficulty of Ushahidi to deploy effectively there lack of infrastructure, limited electricity and access to technology learn from experience since many NGOs are looking to crisis mapping to combat on-going insecurity in specific areas as well as massive sexual violence (election intimidation) ability of government to shut down a SMS network ask in which instances citizen activists may be instrumental in sorting through and reporting on incoming data in a mapping engagement in some instances of election monitoring, mapping does not work if there are too many reports coming in at once infrastructure overload (International Foundation for Electoral Systems)

Forging Links between Mapping Deployments and NGO Monitoring Teams Bearing in Mind the Risks
there is a danger that activists mapping may become the targets of a repressive government that can use the map to locate those involved in monitoring election violence and human rights abuses the are limits presently to those connected (2011 estimate 35% of the global population has access to the Internet) although mobile technology is expanding rapidly, exclusion is still a concern the lack of understanding about a local context may cause a mapping project to fail challenge for NGOs, like Amnesty International, is to learn from and with empowered local communities

Eyes on Syria
Amnesty Internationals Science for Human Rights Program
assess the live project design in light of the costs of inaction & the imperative for preventive and proactive policy decisions mobilizing the Will to Intervene

Teaching Methods in the Classroom Apsel on History, Challenges, and New Directions Eyes on Syria in the Classroom without Borders Learning with Technology for Prevention

a. b. c.

critiquing the syllabus; included, excluded materials, as well as media resources place, the state, and genocide; coverage in different areas of the world, through historical periods student prejudices and viewpoints denial of genocide incorporating at least one recent scholarly work, as well as oral, digital, and public history references each year use of ecamm, https://www.ecamm.com/mac/callrecorder/, Skype Call Recorder (for the Mac) to conduct interviews with colleagues in the field, formulate research questions, triangulate data, archive bibliographic materials for gradaute theses choice of texts to integrate constructivist principles in pedagogy
generative learning (students create knowledge and take responsibility) anchored instruction (relate academic content to professional engagement) cooperative learning (accept group projects tackling global concerns)

Live Public Maps Developed with Ushahidi Data Can Help Synchronize Shared Awareness (Meier, 2011)

an important catalyzing factor of social movements Habermas those who take on the tools of open expression become a public, and the presence of a synchronized public increasingly constrains undemocratic rulers while expanding the right of that public multiplicative impact of information technology is indisputable with each generation cooperating on new tools and approaches to improve their local contexts challenge of big data for Ushahidi responsibility of university teams to engage focus on the verification of data data triangulation is important field observers, live mapping, imagery analysis

Selected Materials & Sources

Alex J. Bellamy, (2011) Mass Atrocities and Armed Conflict: Links, Distinctions, and Implications for the Responsibility to Prevent, The Stanley Foundation, February Policy Analysis Brief. Markus Thiel, (2007) Identity, Societal Security and Regional Integration in Europe. Jean Monnet/Robert Schuman Paper Series Vol. 7 No. 6 April.

Eviatar Zerubavel, (2006) The Elephant in the Room. Oxford.

Joyce Apsel and Ernesto Verdeja, eds., (2013) Genocide Matters. Routledge. Valerie Malhotra Bentz and Jeremy J. Shapiro, (1998) Mindful Inquiry in Social Research. Sage. Patrick Meier, (2011) Theorizing Ushahidi: An Academic Treatise, http://irevolution.net/2011/10/02/theorizing-ushahidi/

Official Launch of the Declaration of Global Principles at the United Nations, (2012) http://www.gndem.org/launch-of-the-declaration-ofglobal-principles