The Information and Communication Technology Disaster Response Conference (ICT DRC) was a 2-day event in Cebu, Philippines. The aim was to raise awareness in reducing the effects of disasters. Presenters showcased different Information and Communication Technology (ICT) solutions to serve as instruments in improving communication and response in the community. This was the first edition of the ICT DRC with a the theme: “Technology Saves Lives.”
The conference had a presence of national and international speakers. They were from various governmental as well as non-governmental organizations. More details about the conference are available on their website. There were many speakers from the governmental offices in the Philippines talked about how the use of ICT solutions are helping them to collect the data for immediate disaster relief and long-term disaster recovery process. Most of the applications discussed at the conference were tailored for custom use-cases and covers very limited scope. I sensed that the offices are most attracted towards mobile application that can be used to collect data in the field and sync back to the central repository in the office. I also felt that there is a lack of central system or platform that helps to bring all the government offices (from central to local level) under a common umbrella so they can exchange and share data.
This is where Sahana EDEN can fit in and provide a central hub for all the government offices (relief and recovery department, shelter department, disaster operation center, warning and alerting bodies, etc.) An example of this complex use-case is our very own Resource Management System which is used by multiple national societies and branches of IFRC. And since the Sahana Mobile project is rapidly evolving, we’ll soon offer the ability to more easily customize mobile forms, collect data offline, and share that data with other users on and offline.
I represented the Sahana Software Foundation at the conference. My presentation elaborated on the various applications and roles of Sahana solutions that were used in different stages of the Disaster Management Lifecycle.
Specifically, the presentation was on seven different platforms from disaster resilience to disaster recovery, namely:
- Disaster Risk Reduction Portal,
- Community Resilience Mapping,
- Sahana Alerting and Messaging Broker (SAMBRO),
- Washington Common Operating Picture Incident Management System,
- International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC): Resource Management System (RMS),
- DRK Refugee Management System and
- People Locator Project.
I emphasized on the detailed case study of the SAMBRO implementation in Maldives, Myanmar, and the Philippines, one that I was directly involved in. I discussed the implementation strategy, methodology, and the outcomes.
You can view the presentation here.