nobody has come to help us yet
TRANSCRIPT
Disasters
& Online Empowerment
In the spring of 2015, Nepal was hit by two large earthquakes. Close to 9000 people died and over half a million people became homeless…
Extreme events = disasters?
Only if you lack the resources to bounce back or adapt….
Disasters are products of the social order, not just the results of geophysical extremes
The co-development of societies with their environments lead to specific patterns of vulnerability… some groups are less able to prepare for or cope with extreme events
Humanitarians aim to target those most in need “regardless of the race, creed or nationality of the recipients and without adverse distinction of any kind”
Disasters as opportunities for changeEstablished power structures (partially) collapse
Humanitarian actors (re)negotiate their national and local positions of power vis a vis established power structures
Red Cross Code of Conduct, signed by 587 humanitarian organizations
Hundreds of humanitarian actors become active – they are coordinated by the national government, or the United Nations
Disasters as opportunities for change
In the liminal period after a disaster social divisions become less marked – people experience a sense of community…
Possibility to forge enduring ties and connections between different social groups
Crises as Catalysts for Online EmpowermentSocial media can facilitate the development of networks of cooperation and communication between formal responders, responding communities and groups requiring aid*, potentially linking up marginalized groups – building their social capital*these different groups overlap
Social media crisis data could help formal responders target those most in need- Marginalized communities are
sometimes absent from official data sets
- Carrying out independent assessments can take weeks
Accessing and sharing crisis data (online) improves situational awareness- Makes community self-help more effective- Enables communities to broadcast their needs to the wider world- Allows communities to coordinate their efforts with those of formal
responders
Sociotechnical difficulties prevent formal responders from using social media data• Data constitutes a ‘poor
organizational fit’• Concerns about the
reliability of social media data• Responders fall back on
established data routines due to time pressure
Crowdsourcing crisis data
• Organized through community platforms• Mediators connect
formal responders with online volunteers• Using ‘the crowd’
to triangulate information
‘live’ crisis data sets developed by global digital volunteers and local affected people
Screenshot “Mission 4636” run on the Ushahidi Platform
Marginalized communities face barriers that prevent them from contributing to – or accessing – online crisis data
Multiple cyberspaces – barriers to access
• Access to ICT equipment and working infrastructure
• Literacy and digital literacy• Virtual divides: cyberspaces are
language and culture dependent• Social capital: access to information
about the existence of online crisis platforms
Barriers
Screenshot of QuakeMap: most crisis reports came from and were about digitally literate Kathmandu Valley; not the worst hit regions
Crowdsourcing crisis data in the aftermath of the 2015 earthquakes in Nepal
Connecting offline communities to the web• Code for Nepal combined a low-tech digital approach with community
focal points• Mobile Citizens Helpdesks combined an ICT based approach with in-
person visits
But inequalities that are the legacy of the old social order pose barriers to empowerment…
Disasters provide opportunities for new empowering social practices to take hold that challenge the old status quo…
Social media may only further ‘empower the empowered’ if marginalized groups can’t access or contribute to online crisis data
Thank you!@[email protected]://disastergovernance.info