The plane tickets are purchased and I’m getting closer to a place to sleep, so I can now announce that I’m going to SXSW for the first time since 2008 (that time I met Mark Zuckerberg at a Facebook nightclub event). I’ll speaking in a session with Josh Stearns of Free Press, Madeleine Bair of WITNESS, and Adaora Udoji of Syria Deeply. We’ll be sharing our experiences hacking global attention for the purposes of disasters and revolutions.
If you’re going to be in town, I’d love to see your face at the session (or over some incarnation of a taco).
Superstorms, bombings and protests around the globe are challenging the way people use technology to respond to crisis and conflict. Journalists, hackers and local people are collaborating to better cover, communicate and support their communities. Using new technology, people all over the planet can participate in providing aid in various forms.
Come play with new tools and apps being designed to document and fight human rights abuses and help rebuild after natural disasters. Learn how ad-hoc networks of digital first responders are keeping people informed and connected through chaotic and frightening moments of crisis. These new networks are challenging old institutions, but do they lack the longevity to sustain longterm change?
With examples from around the globe, we’ll examine how media coverage and Internet activism shapes our responses to natural disasters and ongoing conflicts.